Wakefield School's Board of Trustees serves as the guardian of the school's mission. Our Trustees bring their varied and valuable wisdom and expertise to the table, helping guide the school's long-term strategic vision and fiduciary health.
Wakefield follows the general Board Committee structure as recommended by the National Association of Independent Schools. Board committees include: Executive, Finance, Trustee, and Development.
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.
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.
Susan is founder and owner of Susan Whitson Travel, a boutique travel agency. Susan has been named as Conde Nast Traveler magazine's Top Travel Specialists in the world in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. 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 2031.
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 Junior Kindergarten.
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.
Kevin Cole 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. Kevin is 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 attended Old Dominion University.
Kevin Handford 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 in Warrenton, Virginia. 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 '20 and Brianna '20, 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 '24.
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.
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 '22, 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 '20 and Kate '23.
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 '21 and Walker '21.
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. She and her husband, Dan Savage, live in Aldie, Virginia.
Lieutenant General John Fairfield joined Wakefield's Board of Trustees in June 2004. John served in the Air Force for 35 years where he had extensive combat and Pentagon-level assignments. Upon retirement in 1997, John worked for DynCorp and the Computer Science Corporation. For the past ten years, he has served as the Director of IBM's Strategic Business Relationships Team. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from San Francisco State University and has advanced studies at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
John served as a Trustee from 2004 to 2016, when he became a Trustee Emeritus. In August of 2022, The Middle and Upper School Building was renamed the Fairfield Building in honor of The Fairfield's dedication to Wakefield School.
John and his wife, Donna, have one daughter, Kelsey, and one granddaughter, Mariah '13.
Susan joined Wakefield's Board of Trustees in 2005 and took over as Chairman in 2008. Professionally, Sue had a 25-year career in banking and commercial real estate investment. She retired in 2005 as Executive Vice President and Chief Real Estate Investment Officer for Citigroup's Alternative Investment Group where she managed their $12 billion portfolio of worldwide commercial real estate investments and partnerships. Sue holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance from Rollins College.
Sue became a Trustee Emeritus in 2017.
She and her husband, Steve, have two children: Kelly, and Brenton '09.
