Ann Batko
Current Parent, Director Since 2010
Serves on the Building and Grounds Committee
Ann is a marketing and communications executive with more than 25 years of experience in strategic brand management, integrated marketing, and corporate communications. After beginning her career in the advertising industry, Ann served as the Senior Vice President, Executive Editor at Rand McNally & Company, and then as the Senior Director, Communications & Brand Management at CDW. She is now enjoying a new role in the not-for-profit world as Senior Vice President, Marketing for CompTIA. Ann has a passion for writing and language and is the author of When Bad Grammar Happens to Good People.
B.A., Saint Mary's College of California |
Jonathan Cowan
Current Parent, Director Since 2012
Serves on Finance and Advancement Committees
Jonathan is the Chief Research, Design, and Innovation Officer at the KIPP Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the national network of KIPP public charter schools. KIPP schools serve over 40,000 students from educationally underserved communities and help them develop the knowledge, skills, character, and habits of mind needed to succeed in college and the competitive world beyond. Prior to joining KIPP, Jonathan worked for over 10 years at The Boston Consulting Group where he assisted senior executives of large, complex organizations in addressing strategic, operational, and organizational issues and in managing large scale change.
B.S., Yale University
M.B.A., Harvard Business School
M.P.A., Harvard Kennedy School of Government |
Teju Deshpande
Current Parent, Director Since 2011
Co-chair of Buildings and Grounds Committee
Serves on Advancement Committee and Executive Committee
Teju is co-founder at Mindcrest, a legal outsourcing company delivering a suite of legal process outsourcing services in the areas of litigation, corporate legal services and legal content and publishing. At Mindcrest, she is responsible for marketing and development of client solutions. Prior to Mindcrest, Teju spent over 15 years working in a variety of technical and marketing roles at Sun Microsystems, Cypress Semiconductor, Cirrus Logic and Intel.
M.B.A., Santa Clara University
M.S., Electrical Engineering, Florida State University
B.E., Electronics and Telecommunication, University of Pune, India |
Stacey Empson
Current Parent, Director Since 2010
Chair of Advancement Committee
Serves on Executive Committee
Stacey has been a healthcare consulting executive for approximately 20 years. She currently serves as managing director, health solutions for Computer Task Group, an international, publicly traded information technology services company. Trained as an attorney, Stacey brings legal experience to the board, in addition to expertise in strategic planning, marketing and fundraising.
B.A., University of Kansas
J.D., University of Kansas School of Law
M.H.A., University of Kansas School of Medicine |
Catherine Grimsted
Current Parent, Director Since 2012
Serves on Buildings & Grounds and Finance Committees
Cathy Grimsted has served in administrative leadership roles in higher education for over 20 years. As Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Northwestern University, she was responsible for finance, planning, human resources, and information technology. She previously held a similar role as Associate Dean for the Kellogg School of Management and specialized in leading delivery of world class service for MBA programs. At Northwestern, she served as a member of the University Program Review Council and the Change Management Advisory Board. Currently, she provides consulting services in higher education management. Cathy’s community experience has included board membership for Citizens Information Service, Evanston History Center, Girl Scouts of Chicago, and The Night Ministry.
B.A., Stanford University
M.B.A., University of Chicago |
Vivien Hanson
Current Parent, Director since 2009
Serves on Board Development and Advancement Committees
Vivien is a stay-at-home parent. She earned her Masters degree in Social Work, focusing her clinical practice on work with children and families. She went on to earn her certification as a therapeutic riding instructor, working with individuals with disabilities. She has been active in the Baker Parent Organization since 2008, and is a school liaison to the Family Action Network.
B.A., University of Michigan
M.S.W., UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work |
Tammy Ho
Current Parent, Director Since 2012
Serves on Finance and Board Development Committees
Tammy is a nephrologist with the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, NorthShore University Healthsystem. She serves as Medical Director of the Acute Dialysis Facilities and Chronic Kidney Dissease Care Program. Her responsibilities outside of direct patient care include internal medicine resident and nephrology fellow training and clinical research in the area of chronic kidney disease management and care. She sits on the Department of Medicine Quality Committee and oversees quality assessment of provided care and ongoing policies of the Division. She is active in a number of national organizations and sits on a variety of additional committees.
B.S., University of Miami
M.D., University of Miami |
Hilde Kaiser
Current Parent, Director Since 2010
Serves on Board Development Committee and as Board Liaison to the BPO
Hilde is a writer and stay-at-home parent. Her previous professional experience includes local and state-level leadership positions in a national not-for-profit breastfeeding and parenting support organization. She has been active in the Baker Parent Organization since 2008, and is currently a school liaison to the Family Action Network.
B.A., Texas A&M University
M.A., University of Chicago |
Louise Keely
Current Parent, Director Since 2012
Serves on Advancement and Finance Committees
Louise Keely is a Senior Vice President at Nielsen and concurrently serves as Chief Research Officer for The Demand Institute. Louise was most recently Intellectual Capital Director at The Cambridge Group, a division of Nielsen that specializes in helping Fortune 500 companies drive growth strategies that are grounded in a deep understanding of consumer demand. Before joining The Cambridge Group, Louise was a member of the Department of Economics faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a research fellow in economics at Oxford University.
B.S., International Economics, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
M.S., Econometrics, London School of Economics and Political Science
Ph.D., Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science |
Letitia P. Mann
Current Parent, Director Since 2007
President, 2011-present
Serves on Executive, Advancement, Board Development, Building & Grounds, and Finance Committees
Letitia has been an active volunteer at Baker since 2002. As a board member, she has has participated in all board committees, chaired the Marketing, Enrollment and Communications Committee from 2008-2011, chaired the revision of the mission and vision in 2008-2009, and chaired the Head Search Committee in 2010. Her professional experience includes ten years with Xerox Corp., where she established national pricing for a new product line, engaged in direct sales with a wide variety of businesses and non-profits in Chicago, and served as Central Region marketing manager of a line of business. Prior to getting her MBA, she worked at Mellon Bank as a Commercial Lender and International Financial Products Specialist. Letitia brings her broad-based business background and deep appreciation of Baker's progressive educational practice into strategic decision-making to ensure Baker's long-term success.
B.A., Bryn Mawr College
M.B.A., Fuqua School of Business, Duke University |
Jay Robinson
Current Parent, Director since 2012
Serves on Building and Grounds and Advancement Committees
Jay is an industrial designer specializing in the generation, specification, and pre-visualization of custom aircraft interior concepts. His company, Robinson Design, consults to state, corporate and private jet owners. His previous work has been as an employee of Learjet, Bombardier, and consulting for companies such as Boeing and Lufthansa.
B.F.A., University of Kansas, Lawrence |
Paul Ryan
Current Parent, Director Since 2012
Serves on Building & Grounds and Advancement Committees
Paul is a senior technology executive with more than 20 years of experience in Fortune 100 and private consumer products companies and the federal government. He has global experience and a demonstrated ability to conceive and execute major organization, business process and technology transformation initiatives. Paul brings a broad-based, pragmatic perspective built through experience in strategy, organizational development and leadership, and strong financial management principles.
B.S., B.A., Bryant University |
Matt Rooney
Alumni parent (1988-2002), Director Since 2012
Serves on Advancement Committee and
Ad Hoc Committee on Risk Management
For 30 years Matt was a litigation partner at the international law firm of Mayer Brown, in Chicago, handling complex commercial, antitrust and securities cases. For his last three years as a partner, he co-chaired the firm’s worldwide pro bono committee, which supervised the provision of free legal services to people of limited means and for the advancement of human rights. He spearheaded the firm’s efforts to give its pro bono program a global reach. As of January 1, 2011, he became a Senior Counsel at the firm and since then has devoted his time to helping developing counties strengthen their rule of law and ensuring that their citizens’ human rights are protected. As part of those efforts he has provided free legal and consulting services in Cambodia, Iraq, South Africa, China and Sri Lanka. Matt served for three years on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Bar Foundation and chaired its Advocacy Committee.
A.B., Georgetown University
J.D., University of Chicago |
Ralph Walsh
Current Parent and Alumni Parent, Director Since 2010
Chair of Board Development Committee
Serves on Advancement Committee and Executive Committee
Ralph is a current stay-at-home parent. He has worked as a research associate for a local child advocacy organization, taught English at the university level in China, and for twelve years was co-director of Walsh Gallery, specializing in contemporary Asian art.
B.A., Brown University |
Elena Zanussi
Current Parent, Director Since 2007
Board Secretary Since 2009
Serves on Advancement and Executive Committees
Elena is an ERISA and Employee Benefits attorney with over 25 years experience. Currently, she is working as an employee benefits consultant.
A.B., U.S. History, University of Chicago
J.D., Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College |
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The Baker Board of Directors overseas the strategic, long-term direction of the school and establishes goals and plans consistent with Baker's mission and vision. There are 18 directors who serve three-year terms, and both standing and ad hoc committees to address fulfillment of strategic goals. Our directors are sourced from our current parent community, alumni, and interested community members. The day-to-day operations of the school are overseen by our Head of School, Dan Schwartz, and his administrative team. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Baker Board of Directors at: board@bakerdemschool.org