Board of Trustees

Eileen is Senior Vice President and Capital Region Managing Director of Alliant Employee Benefits, where she aids organizations in designing and managing health care and employee benefit programs and risk strategies. She has over 20 years' experience in the field of health strategy, employee engagement, and workforce health and productivity. Eileen has a B.A. in Psychology and Economics from St. John Fisher College in her hometown of Rochester, New York. She has three children: Max ’12, Mia '22, and William '24. She resides in Warrenton with her children and husband Steve Penders.

Piers is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Teneo, a specialist integrator of next-generation technology focusing on networking and security for enterprise customers around the globe. He was educated in the United Kingdom at Reading University and holds a B.A. degree with honors in Geography and English. Piers and his wife Amber have two children, Joshua '21 and Sophia '22,  and they reside in Middleburg, Virginia.

Susan is co-founder and co-owner of King & Whitson Travel, a boutique travel agency. Susan and her business partner, Martha King, have been named as Conde Nast Traveler magazine's 2020 Top Travel Specialists in the world. Susan holds a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education Language Arts from Auburn University. She began her career as a high school English teacher and her most famous student is Taylor Hicks, the 2005 winner of American Idol. From 1997-2001, Susan served as a press secretary on Capitol Hill to Rep. Bob Riley of Alabama and Rep. Bill McCollum of Florida. From 2001-2002, Susan was the Deputy Director of the Office of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice, where

she served as the deputy spokesperson for Attorney General John Ashcroft on national breaking news, including the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  Susan then became the Chief of the FBI's National Press Office and was the national spokesperson for the FBI and Director Robert Mueller. In 2004, Susan was the Deputy Communications Director for the Bush-Cheney campaign, where she was the spokesperson to the President and Mrs. Bush's daughters. Susan served as White House Press Secretary to First Lady Laura Bush from 2005 - 2007, working on Mrs. Bush’s priorities including literacy and education, international women's issues, and historic preservation, as well as all White House social functions.  After leaving the White House, Susan worked with HarperCollins Publisher as a media consultant and traveling publicist to promote Jenna Bush's first book, Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope. Susan and her husband, Keir live in Washington, Virginia and are parents to son Dryden, Class of 2029 and daughter Lucy, Class of 3031.

George McLamb is a Partner at Akre Capital Management and serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to joining the firm in 2013, George worked as a financial and operational consultant from 2009 to 2013, providing strategic business planning and tactical execution. From 2002 to 2008, George served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Digital Lifestyle Outfitters. He was Controller for Productivity Point International and RTO Operating, Inc., prior to

working at Digital Lifestyle Outfitters. George began his career in 1995 at Coopers & Lybrand, LLP. George holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Masters of Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. David Bassam is a native of Northern Virginia having grown up in Alexandria and graduating from Virginia Tech (B.S. 1993) and The University of Virginia (M.D. 1997). Dr. Bassam is the principle founding partner of a specialty medical practice focused on the care of spine conditions in Manassas, Virginia. Dr. Bassam’s professional interests include efforts to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic through advocacy and education.  Dr. Bassam has served on the Virginia Board of Medicine as well as other area civic organizations. Dr. Bassam sponsors rising Wakefield seniors interested in pursuing medicine with summer internship opportunities through the Wise program.  He and his wife Laura are strong advocates for independent schools and active members of the Wakefield community. Dr. Bassam has four children at Wakefield (graduating classes of 2026, 2027, 2029, and 2031) who have been enrolled since JK.

Kevin has been in the construction industry for more than 30 years, working as an engineer initially, then serving an apprenticeship and working his way up to CEO of an electrical contracting company. He now works for a national electrical contracting company managing preconstruction in the DC Metro area. He is also active in various industry associations, serving on the boards of the Associated Builders and Contractors, and the Prince William County Education Foundation. He is also very active with various children's charities, including the Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center, and serves on the board of directors of Youth For Tomorrow, a charity serving at-risk youth in a residential educational facility, in outpatient facilities, and with foster care programs throughout Northern Virginia.

Kevin and his wife, Karen, have three children, all of whom are Wakefield graduates: Rachel '11, Hannah '16, and Jared '18. Rachel graduated from American University. Hannah graduated from James Madison University and is now working on her second BS degree at Shenandoah University. Jared attends Old Dominion University.

Mr. Cowasjee is currently responsible for the development, design and construction of the Washington, DC, Chicago and Boston portfolios. Since joining Tishman Speyer in 1999, he has been responsible for the design and construction of the company’s projects in Northern Virginia, District of Columbia, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. He has also been responsible for setting up Tishman Speyer’s design and construction departments and projects in India. Prior to joining Tishman Speyer, Mr. Cowasjee worked for London & Leeds Development Corporation and was responsible for the design and construction of the commercial office building portfolio and hotels in the Americans, including in Canada, the Caribbean and South America. He has also worked as an architect for I.M. Pei & Partners in New York. Mr. Cowasjee graduated from Cornell University with a B. Arch and earned an MAUD in architecture and urban design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

Kevin joined Wakefield’s Board of Trustees in 2013. Kevin is a Certified Financial Planner, and the owner of Handford Financial Strategies, a financial management firm. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute with a degree in Economics. He is a strong believer in small schools such as VMI and Wakefield School, and the community and networking that can be fostered in such an environment.

Kevin and his wife, Jennifer, have three daughters: Gabriella and Brianna, Class of 2020, and Natalie, Class of 2025 . The Handford family has been at Wakefield for eleven years.

Ashley Harper is Head of School at Wakefield School. Ashley's career in education spans teaching, college admissions, lower- and middle-school division leadership, and development. Ashley has a B.A. in Economics from Florida State University, and a M.A. in Teaching and Learning/Curriculum and Instruction from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was a National Association of Independent Schools Aspiring School Heads Fellow from 2011-2012.

Ashley and her husband, Doug, have two children: Jack and Riley (Class of 2024).

Brenton Lewis is a graduate of the Wakefield Class of 2009.  He earned a Bachelor’s in English and Media Studies from University of Virginia in 2013 and began work at Google in October 2013 as an Account Specialist. He has moved through the ranks in a number of positions from Product Expert, Account Strategist,  to Commerce Account Manager.  He is currently YouTube Activation Lead, Product & Sales Activation.  Brenton was recently married to Kathryn and lives in Austin, Texas.

Stamatina McGrath was elected to the Wakefield Board of Trustees in 2018. Stamatina earned her B.A. in History at The College of William and Mary, and both her M.A. and PhD (Byzantine History) at The Catholic University of America. She teaches History at George Mason University. Dr. McGrath is very active in the Wakefield community and looks forward to continuing to help improve the educational experience for all students.

She and her husband Jim have two children: Nicholas '17, and Anna, Class of 2021. The McGraths have lived in the Centreville area for the last twenty-six years.

Darrin is the Owner/Founder of Beverly Equestrian. She was instrumental in bringing together an Equestrian Program at Wakefield School and serves as Co-Chair for the Great Meadow Eventing Committee. Darrin is an attorney and has worked in the field of litigation with an emphasis on employment and intellectual property law. Darrin holds a B.A. and J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

She and her husband, Bill Ballhaus, have two children: Brooke, Class of 2022, and William, Class of 2025.

John is a partner at Akre Capital Management in Middleburg, Virginia. Prior to coming to this area, John worked for William Blair & Company in their equity research department. He holds a B.A. in English from Colgate University and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

John and his wife, Jennifer, have two children: Michael, Class of 2020, and Kate, Class of 2023.

Linda is Senior Managing Director for Government Relations and Legislative Affairs for CME Group, a global derivatives firm based in Chicago. She is responsible for developing and implementing CME Group’s U.S. and global legislative and policy strategy. Linda has also worked as head of government relations for the NYSE, and prior to that, on Capitol Hill as a Senior Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services. She holds an A.B. from Brown University and a J.D. from George Washington University. She and her husband, Peter, have three children: Mackie '18, and Will and Walker, Class of 2021.

Dr. Spytek is an OB/GYN at Novant Health in Gainesville, Virginia. She and her husband Joe live in The Plains and have four children who attend Wakefield: Sophia, Class of 2021, Sydney, Class of 2023, Joseph, Class of 2026, and Saylor, Class of 2029.

Karen's professional background focused on real estate development, urban planning and revitalization, and environmental issues, both as an urban planner and thereafter, a lawyer. She has always had a strong commitment to pro bono activities and enhancing the lives and infrastructure in urban and rural communities. After a ten year tenure with law firm DLA Piper in Chicago, her family moved to Virginia in 2007. She has her own Virginia pro bono practice serving those in our larger community to find creative solutions to legal problems.

Karen Way has one son and is Godmother to three Wakefield students. In addition to spending time with her husband and son, she is known for her friendly cows and leading hiking adventures around her family's farm, Ovoka in Paris, Va.

Gracie Withers is a graduate of Wakefield School, Class of 2010. She earned her Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Studio Art at Lynchburg College (now Lynchburg University). She has a thriving photography business, Gracie Withers Photography, and was recently married to Dan Savage. They live in Aldie, Virginia.

Mark Wyatt is the President of Diversified Educational Systems, a family owned and operated interior specialty contractor headquartered in Middleburg, Virginia. DES provides turnkey facility solutions for educational, research, and healthcare environments. Their experienced staff of former educators, designers, and fabricators provide in-house interior design, educational and laboratory consultation, specifications development, procurement support, engineering, MEP coordination, management, and installation.  Mark and his wife Nicole have four children. Their son Birch is in the Class of 2025 at Wakefield.