Leadership

The St. George's Board of Trustees is made up of individuals who collectively bring together a wide experience in business, law, medicine, marketing, education, volunteerism and other professions to provide governance of the school. The Board of Trustees is headed by an Executive Committee that meets monthly. This group consists of the following members: the Head of School, Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer of the board, as well as the Parents Group President. Other committees of the Board of Trustees include the Committee on Trustees; Development Committee; Employee Advocacy and Engagement Committee (Ad-Hoc); Facilities and Master Planning Committee; Finance Committee; Head of School Evaluation Committee; JEDI Committee; and Marketing and Admission Committee.

Jennie Diemont, Chair

Jennie Diemont is the founder and President / Chief Creative Officer of Deep Fried Advertising, a creative and interactive agency headquartered in uptown New Orleans. An entrepreneur at heart, Jennie created Deep Fried in 2004 after obtaining a degree from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. Her passion is in helping businesses reach their potential, and her vision was to create an approachable space where talented creatives could craft beautiful, memorable brands and cross-channel campaigns that speak to their clients' customers.

Now 19+ years in business, Deep Fried has grown to a full-service agency that serves the needs of some of the best-known names in regional business. She and her team have worked with numerous clients to craft their brand stories, marketing strategies and online experiences, including RESTORE the Mississippi River Delta, Tulane Doctors, Jefferson Parish, the River District, JEDCO, E Pluribus Unum Fund, Aunt Sally’s Pralines and the French Market.

In 2018, Jennie was awarded the honor of Advertising Person of the Year for Agency Executive by the New Orleans Ad Club. She serves on the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance Française de la Nouvelle Orleans. Deep Fried is a certified woman-owned business, and Jennie is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.

Jennie and her husband, Kevin, joined the St. George’s family in 2019 and are proud parents to two boys in the Lower School, Hays and Miles. During her free time, Jennie enjoys cooking for friends, exploring historic architecture and visiting with family around Southern Louisiana.

Jennie currently serves as our Board Vice Chair, Marketing & Admissions Committee Chair and sits on our Committee on Employee Advocacy & Engagement.

Angela Blankenship, Vice Chair

Angela Blankenship is a Director of Media Strategy at Spark Foundry, a leading media agency within the Publicis Groupe, awarded Media Agency of the Year by both AdAge and Adweek in 2022. At Spark, Angela oversees paid media customer acquisition and loyalty strategies for Starbucks Coffee. Over the last several years, she has helped drive significant gains in high value customer growth through Starbucks Rewards, as well as supported new store innovation and performance media. Throughout her career, she has worked with a diverse client roster including Verizon Wireless, Caesars Entertainment, Amazon, Bartell Drugs, Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Providence Health and other partners across the healthcare, retail and government sectors.

Originally from the Seattle area, Angela first moved to New Orleans to attend Loyola University. After completing her Communications studies in 2004, she returned to Seattle and began her career in advertising at ZenithMedia. She was eventually drawn back down to New Orleans in 2018 with her husband, Will, an anesthesiologist, and their twin daughters, Alta and Iris. Angela and her family joined the St. George’s community in the fall of 2019 and Alta and Iris are now in the Lower School. Angela became involved as a Class Captain and is an active member of the Parents Group.

Angela currently serves as President of our Parents' Group and sits on the Development Committee and JEDI Committee.

Ava Alltmont, Secretary

Ava Alltmont is an architect and an Associate with Cushing Terrell, a national architecture and engineering firm. Ava is a Tulane graduate who worked in her hometown of New York and Washington, D.C. before returning to help rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She spent twelve years of practice focused on recovery projects ranging from education, hospitality, historic preservation and other project types. At Cushing Terrell, she has worked on new construction and adaptive reuse projects for well-known national and international technology clients. Ava currently serves on the Louisiana State selection committee for the National Register of Historic Places, and is a founding member of the Louisiana Chapter of Women in Architecture.

Ava and her husband Mike joined the St. George's community in 2020 when their daughters Evie and Tatum entered Pre-K3 and 1st Grade respectively.

Samantha Murrah Berman, Treasurer

Samantha Berman, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), brings her financial expertise to Advantage Capital, a distinguished Registered Investment Advisory Firm (RIA), where she holds the position of Accounting Manager. Beyond her financial acumen, Samantha is also a licensed Realtor in Louisiana, associated with McEnery Residential, LLC, a boutique real estate brokerage. Educated in the field of accounting, Samantha earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University (LSU) and further enhanced her credentials with a Master of Accountancy from Brock School of Business at Samford University. In addition to her professional pursuits, Samantha is a dedicated parent, with two children attending St. George's. Samantha's commitment to her community shines through her extensive volunteer work, exemplified by her recent role as Parents Group President during the 2022-2023 school year.

Currently, Samantha serves as the Treasurer, bringing her financial stewardship to the forefront, and holds key positions on the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Committee on Employee Advocacy & Engagement.

Alex Breckinridge '95, Emeritus

Alex Breckinridge serves as Ex-Officio of the Board of Trustees. Alex is an attorney and partner in the New Orleans law firm of Jones Walker LLP, where he specializes in securities and corporate governance litigation, as well as advising clients on compliance with anti-corruption laws, trade sanctions and export/import regulations. Alex is a St. George's alumnus, graduating in the class of 1995. He and his wife Kirsten have two children at St. George's in the Middle School.

Alex currently sits on our Committee on Trustees and our Strategic Planning Oversight Committee.

Larry Closs

Larry Closs, owner of MaxHome®, graduated from Tulane University and the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program (OPM). He resides in Uptown New Orleans with his wife Amy and 2 children, Lilly and Eric. He is past-chair of Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans, and founding member of Baths for the Brave – a nationwide initiative that provides bathrooms for veterans. Larry also sits on private boards, invests in Louisiana start-ups, and guest lectures in MBA programs.

Larry’s wide-ranging business experience includes leading an automotive insurance agency with 5 locations, founding a direct response advertising & marketing agency, and establishing multiple regional home improvement companies that were placed ten times on the INC 5000 list--once named the fastest growing construction company in the country.

Larry currently serves as our Strategic Planning Oversight Committee Chair and sits on our Development Committee.

Tiffany Dickerson, Parents Group President

Tiffany Dickerson has been a full-time licensed realtor in Louisiana since 2019. She is currently broadening her expertise in real estate development and design. She has over twenty years of previous work experience in business growth and development. Combined with previous roles in sales, retail management, and the entertainment business industry, the core of her work is delivering a superior customer experience. Her vast knowledge in customer service has fueled her passion for real estate and helping others enrich their lives by translating their visions into reality.

Originally from the Los Angeles area, Tiffany moved to New Orleans in 2002 where she attended Xavier University of Louisiana graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Not only did she fall in love with the city, she also found the love of her life. Married now for almost 13 years to her husband, who is affectionately known as “DJ Raj” in the StG community, they have four beautiful children at StG: Brycen (2nd), Ayvri & Elyće (1st) and Vincent (Kindergarten). Tiffany has served as a 2nd Grade Co-Class Captain in the 2022-23 school year.

In her free time, you can usually find her with a coffee in hand on the Carrollton soccer fields or at an StG kiddos’ birthday party. In their short time at StG, the Dickerson Krewe have made wonderful friends, truly feeling at home and like family in the StG community!

CJ El-Dahr

Lauren Flower, Emeritus

Lauren Flower is a stay-at-home parent to her three children and step-daughter and is also an active volunteer. Lauren's professional background includes marketing and public relations work for local government and private businesses, as well as residential real estate development. She maintains a consulting business to continue work in these areas part-time. Lauren has served as a St. George's room parent (2017), chair of the Soiree' Auction (2017) and Vice President of the Parents Group (2018-19). Lauren and her husband Ken's son, Hank, is in the Middle School at St. George's.

Lauren currently sits on our Marketing & Admissions Committee.

The Very Rev. Stephanie Fox

The Very Reverend Stephanie Fox began her ministry with St. George's Episcopal Church on July 1st, 2022 and serves as the first female Rector in the 150-year history of the congregation. Stephanie has been Episcopal for 30 years. She loves preaching, teaching and pastoral care.

Stephanie called Little Rock home off and on for over 30 years. She has also lived in Hawaii, Okinawa, and Vienna. Her parents and two adult sons live in Arkansas.

Stephanie has had a variety of roles in the corporate world, from social services to HR management. She cared about her work and the people she was able to help, but always felt there was a higher purpose to serve. Ultimately, she left the corporate world when she realized her true calling was to the priesthood.

She is passionate about beaches, nature, and travel. Music has been part of her life for as long as she can remember, from classical piano to singing in a band. Buddy, her sweet rescue dog is her constant companion.

Veronica Gillispie-Bell

Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell is a Board-Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist who practices at Ochsner Health in New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Gillispie-Bell also serves as the Director of Quality for Women’s Services for the Ochsner Health System and is the Medical Director of the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative and the Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review. She also serves as the co-lead for the Ochsner Physician Diversity and Inclusion Council and is on the Ochsner Xavier Center of Health Equity steering committee. She has received many accolades and awards for her clinical and community efforts. She is married to Troy Bell, Esquire and is the mother to Gregory, who is in the Lower School at St. George's.

Veronica currently serves as Secretary and is our JEDI Committee Chair. She also sits on the Committee on Trustees and the Strategic Planning Oversight Committee.

Sue Gilly

Sue Gilly is a retired educator and former Head of Lower School at St. George's. She recently served on the Search Committee for our new Head of School. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board for the Chartwell Center, a local nonprofit that provides educational and clinical services to children and adults with autism.

Sue currently sits on our Facilities/Master Planning Committee.

Jasmine Gorowara

Jasmine Gorowara is an attorney and serves as in-house executive counsel to Maritech Commercial, Inc., a global marine surveying and consulting company. Jasmine is a New Orleans native and a 2006 graduate of American University. She received her law degree from Loyola University and her Masters of Maritime Law from Tulane University. Jasmine and her husband, Dr. Joseph Tarsia, joined the St. George's community in 2018 and have two sons in the Lower School.

Jennifer Kitner

Jennifer Kitner is an educator and served as the Associate Director of Diverse Learning Initiatives and Compliance at Morris Jeff Community School, a charter school in New Orleans where she managed Related Services, Gifted and Talented Services and 504 plans, as well as served as the Elementary and Middle School Testing Coordinator. Jen was also a Third Grade teacher, Kindergarten Teacher and Interim Math/Reading Interventionist. Prior to her employment at Morris Jeff, Jen was the Digital Education Coordinator at the National World War II Museum where she was responsible for creating digital curriculum and other teaching resources. She has also served as a middle school math and history teacher in both charter and independent schools.

Jen graduated from Teachers College in 2006 with a Masters of Arts in Independent School Leadership. In 2004 she also received a fellowship to attend the Klingenstein Summer Institute held at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. In 2001 she graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Jen and her husband, Mark, joined the St. George’s community in 2019 and their son, Zachary, is currently in the Lower School. Jen currently serves as President of the Board of Friends of the New Orleans Public Library, and she has served on the board of the Jewish Community Center of New Orleans.

Jen currently sits on our JEDI Committee and the Committee on Employee Advocacy & Engagement.

Mark Knapp

Ryan McKinnon

Ryan McKinnon is currently the Executive Vice President of Westfeldt Brothers, Inc., the oldest green coffee importing company in the United States. In 2019, Ryan led efforts to form a new division of Westfeldt Brothers, Green Shutter Teas. Green Shutter places a focus on value added services needed in the coffee, tea and botanical industries. Ryan serves on the Executive Board as a Vice President overseeing all operations. He has served as President of the Southern Coffee Association, Vice President of the Green Coffee Association of New Orleans, and holds a committee position with the Pacific Coast Coffee Association.

Ryan and his wife, Mary Scott McKinnon, are both native New Orleanians and both graduated from the University of Alabama. They have three children, one of which, Dugan, is in the Lower School at St. George’s.

Ryan currently sits on our Finance Committee.

Annie Balart Michaels, Immediate Past Chair

Anne Balart Michaels is the President of ARB Meetings and Events, a meeting planning firm that specializes in large scale association conferences and corporate meetings across the US. She is also the Vice President of Business Development at Focus Medical Communications, a medical education company based in Parsippany, NJ. Anne is the mother of two boys in the Lower School and Middle School divisions at St. George's.

Anne currently serves as our Board Chair and sits on the JEDI Committee.

Alvaro Munoz

Nina Pugh

Nina Pugh is an attorney and served as General Counsel to Planet Beach Franchising Corporation, an international franchisor based in Marrero, LA, where she handled regulatory compliance, contracts and franchisee disputes in litigation and arbitration. She has been involved in St. George's programming in many ways, having served as a Room Parent, Parents Group President and Vice President and has hosted various events in her home. Nina and her husband Larry have three children at St. George's in the Lower School and Middle School divisions.

Nina currently serves as our Committee on Trustees Chair.

Nigel Rafferty

Nigel Rafferty is the Founder of Nouvelleo Creations, a creative agency specializing in Merchandise Production, Graphic Design and Web development with a focus on the music industry. Nigel services some of New Orleans’ most well-renowned music clients such as New Orleans Jazz Fest, Tipitina’s, Preservation Hall, George Porter Jr., Galactic, Anders Osborne, Dumpstaphunk, Soul Rebels, and more. Additionally, Nigel has done work for large brands such as Paramount, and Intel.

Nigel’s career has been firmly entrenched in the music industry, having worked previously as the Creative and Merchandise Director for a large music festival promoter before starting his own business in 2017.

Nigel’s love for music and the arts dates back to his proud years as a St. George’s student. He graduated high school from Country Day and attended Loyola University, where he graduated in 2011 with a degree in Music Industry Studies and Business Administration.

Nigel and his wife Caroline are the parents to two beautiful boys, Leo (3), a current student in the Jasmine Room, and Rider (1). In his free time, which is seemingly less and less these days, Nigel is an avid golfer, live music enthusiast and still actively plays guitar, which he started playing in 7th grade at St. George’s.

The Raffertys have been proud members of the St. George’s community for over thirty years. Nigel’s grandmother Brucie was a seminal figure in the formation of the curriculum as well as being responsible for bringing computers to St. George’s for the first time in the early 1990’s. Both of Nigel’s siblings, Barkley and Patrick, also attended St. George’s, and his father, Shaun, was the Board President in the late 1990s. Nigel’s mother, Katie, taught lower school and middle school art classes periodically throughout her career as well, which she happily retired from after teaching Nigel’s Art History class in 1999.

Leclare Ratterree, IV, '95

Leclare Ratterree is a Data Engineer at Optum, the technology segment of UnitedHealth Group. He has worked in Health Care related IT for over ten years, specializing in Medicaid and Medicare data management and analysis. Leclare was born and raised in New Orleans and is a proud St. George’s Alumnus. He started in kindergarten and graduated in the class of ’95. He then attended Benjamin Franklin High School. Leclare went on to New York University, where he studied Mathematics at the Courant Institute and lived in New York City for ten years. He moved back home to New Orleans and started a family with Dori Hernandez, who works in the Solar Industry. Dori has a Master of Architecture from Tulane University. They have one son, Leclare V, who joined St. George’s in 2014 for PK-3 in the Blue Room. He is currently in 6th grade and represents the Dragons for a second generation.

Dr. William Shelton

Dr. William J. Shelton, aka “Dr. Will,” is a New Orleans native who returned to the city he loves to give back to the community that gave so much to him. As a Holy Cross alumnus, Dr. Will went on to graduate from Xavier University of Louisiana ’06 with a degree in Chemistry. He completed his Doctorate in Dentistry training at Howard University College of Dentistry ’10. From a young age, dentistry has and continues to be Dr. Will’s passion as he strives for perfection in his field by attending courses in cosmetic dentistry, implant dentistry, endodontics, and sedation dentistry. Dr. Will, along with his wife Dr. Lex, formed and established their own practice in 2013, Tulane Family Dentistry. Dr. Will has practiced Dentistry for 13 years strong and aspires to lead his community to focus on health awareness. Dr Will’s focus is education and empowerment, so patients have comfort and a sense of enjoyment when going to the dentist. Dr. Will is married to Dr. Alexis Russell and they have four beautiful children together, three of whom attend StG and are currently in the Lower School. He enjoys family time, traveling, running and rooting on LSU and The Saints.

Will currently sits on our Marketing & Admissions Committee.

Ilse Stough, '00

Ilse Falk Stough is the Director of Development for NORF Companies, a boutique real estate investment firm headquartered in New Orleans, where she manages the restoration of historic properties and implements the firm's strategic tax initiatives. Prior to joining NORF, Ilse graduated from the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering and practiced civil engineering for several years in New York City and New Orleans. She went on to receive her MBA at Tulane University where her studies were focused on real estate development and real estate finance.

Ilse is a St. George's alumnus, graduating in the class of 2000. She and her husband, Burke, have two children at St. George's in the Early Childhood program.

James Yockey

James Yockey is a business builder currently scouting his next venture. James has more than 20 years of experience as a founder or early team member at businesses in the start-up through growth stages. Most recently James co-founded and led a software company called Landdox, which was acquired in late 2020 by Quorum Software. James is a New Orleans native and 1999 graduate of the University of Virginia. He and his wife Zizi previously lived in New York City before moving home to New Orleans in 2011. They have four children, including a St. George’s Lower School student, Hampton. James currently serves as chairman of Holy Name of Jesus School’s advisory school board and volunteers in various alumni activities at Jesuit High School. James is an instrument-rated private pilot.

James currently sits on our Finance Committee.

Dr. Joseph Kreutziger, Ex-Officio

Dr. Joseph Kreutziger graduated from St. Martin's Episcopal School in New Orleans before attending the University of the South at Sewanee, where he received his BA in English. He holds a Masters Degree and Doctorate in English and American Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Kreutziger started his career in education at St. George's in 1993, teaching English and Physical Education in the Middle School. He now serves as St. George's Head of School and is a member of the Board's Executive Committee.