Meet the Board
- Kerianne Maloney, Co-Chairperson
- James C. Ryan, Chair Finance Committee
- John Fleck, Chair Advancement Committee
- Jorge Balthazar, Trustee
- Matthew G. Lipscomb, Trustee
- Father Thomas Ellerman, Trustee
- Father David Musso, Trustee
- Joe George, Co-Chairperson
- Harriet Rosa, Trustee
- Father Bill Rowland, Trustee
- Lori Armistead, Trustee
- Ken Willers, Notre Dame Academy President
- Contact the Board
Kerianne Maloney, Co-Chairperson
Kerianne Maloney is an experienced finance and accounting professional. She is currently Chief Financial Officer at Wells Real Estate Funds, Inc. (Wells), an Atlanta-based national real estate investment company. Ms. Maloney is responsible for all corporate operations at Wells including Corporate Accounting, Corporate Tax, Financial Planning and Analysis, Treasury, Accounts Payable, Human Resources and Risk Management. Prior to her work with Wells, Ms. Maloney worked for Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as a tax consultant with a focus on real estate, venture capital, and start-up clients.
Ms. Maloney is a licensed, active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Georgia Society of CPAs. She received a Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude from Boston College (BC) with a double major in Finance and Accounting. She is an Inducted Member of Alpha Sigma Nu (National Jesuit Honor Society), Beta Gamma Sigma (International Business Program Honor Society) and Golden Key National Honor Society. At graduation, Ms. Maloney served as the student commencement speaker, was awarded the Eric Allen Serra Award by the BC Carroll School of Management, and was featured in the 1998 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges. Ms. Maloney received a Master of Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) with a concentration in Finance. As a graduate research assistant at GA Tech, Ms. Maloney conducted research for GA Tech’s Financial Reporting and Analysis Lab under the direction of the Invesco Chair. Ms. Maloney is a high school graduate of Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia.
Ms. Maloney currently serves as Co-Chairperson of the Board of Trustees. Previously, in her role as Trustee of Notre Dame Academy, Ms. Maloney served as the chairperson of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee and a member of the Finance Committee. She is also a member of the Catholic Foundation of North Georgia Finance Committee and has served as a mentor for Catholic Charities of Atlanta Leadership Class. Ms. Maloney, her husband Bill, and their three children are parishioners at St. Brigid Catholic Church in John’s Creek and reside in Peachtree Corners.
James C. Ryan, Chair Finance Committee
James C. Ryan has served as Gray Television’s Chief Financial Officer since joining Gray in October, 1998 and has served as Executive Vice President since January, 2016. Previously, Mr. Ryan had been Senior Vice President since September, 2002. Gray Television Inc. is a public company that owns and/or operates local broadcast television stations across the United States. In his capacity at Gray, he is responsible for all corporate operations involving Corporate Finance, Accounting, Tax, Financial Planning and Analysis, Treasury, Accounts Payable, Human Resources and Risk Management. In addition, as an Executive Vice President of Gray, he is also involved in the overall management of the company. Prior to Gray, Mr. Ryan held other finance and accounting roles with two other television broadcast companies between 1985 and 1998 and worked in public accounting from 1982 to 1985.
Mr. Ryan is a 1982 graduate of Saint Bonaventure University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting.
John Fleck, Chair Advancement Committee
John Fleck is a licensed professional engineer providing water and wastewater design and consulting services for over 25 years. He has been an owner and officer of Engineering Strategies, Inc. for the past 15 years and serves as president of the firm. Prior to joining ESI, John started and served as the division manager for a new water/wastewater group for the Atlanta office of Gresham, Smith and Partners. John is an active member in the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) and Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce.
John received his Bachelor and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering from Auburn University and a Masters of Business Administration from Kennesaw State University. He is a graduate of the Future Leaders program for American Council of Engineering Companies and Young Leaders program of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals.
John and his wife Britt have three daughters. They have been active members in the NDA community since its inception in 2005. John has served as the Annual Fund Chair, Chairman of the Capital Campaign, Chair of the Advancement Committee, acting Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee, as a coach for multiple NDA basketball teams, and serves on the Irish Nation Athletic Association board. John is also a youth softball coach. John and Britt are active members of the NDA Marist Way Community. John and his family live in Roswell and are members of St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church.
Jorge Balthazar, Trustee
Jorge Balthazar is a Sales and Marketing global professional with ample experience in the sectors of Pulp & Paper, Chemical and Tobacco. He currently is a Sales & Marketing Director at SWM INTL, a multinational producer of premium specialty papers and resin-based engineered materials headquartered in Alpharetta, GA.
Mr. Balthazar leads the Americas commercial team responsible for the region’s top line, managing the overall B2B relationship with over 150 industrial clients in 20 countries, including Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 100 corporations throughout his career with SWM. Before his current position, Mr. Balthazar worked as Commercial Director in the management board of SWM do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and various sales and marketing positions with SWM in Miami, FL and Kimberly-Clark Corp. in Roswell, Georgia, and Medellin, Colombia.
Mr. Balthazar has a Chemical Engineering degree from Universidad Potificia Bolivariana, Medellin’s Catholic University, postgraduate education in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Manchester, Manchester, England, an Executive MBA from Coppead Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and conducted Advanced B2B Marketing studies at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France. Mr. Balthazar is a recipient of the Rotary Foundation Graduate Scholarship for International Understanding.
Mr. Balthazar and his wife Victoria moved back to the US in 2009, and their daughters joined ND Academy in 3rd and 5th grades, both are now attending St. Pius X, they live in Alpharetta, GA. Mr. Balthazar joined the ND Academy Board of Trustees in December 2014.
Matthew G. Lipscomb, Trustee
Matt Lipscomb serves as the Senior Vice President at Ashford Advisors where he provides strategies to help his clients reach their financial goals. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has earned his Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designations from the American College. For over 25 years, his work and business philosophy is driven by the concerns of the private business owner or entrepreneur, not by traditional financial and insurance planning. Mr. Lipscomb educates these motivated individuals and helps them potentially maximize both income and protection, while aiming to minimize lifetime taxes.
In addition to guiding clients, Mr. Lipscomb is passionate about encouraging young adults and youth to develop their own God-given gifts and to strive for leadership and personal excellence. Mr. Lipscomb has served on the board at Sophia Academy since 2013. As a board member and volunteer at Sophia Academy, he led “Man-to-Man”, a program to help form middle school male students on how to live a virtuous life. In addition, through a program called C-Legs, each summer Mr. Lipscomb mentors college-aged men of faith to help them integrate their faith with the business world. In sports, he strives to teach youth outside the classroom by sharing with them his outdoor passions: soccer, fishing and hunting. Since 2004, he’s shared his enthusiasm for the game of soccer and used the game to teach young people life-lessons of virtue and leadership. Matt feels blessed to have coached over 100 soccer teams both at the club level at Concorde Fire, Brookhaven FC, and Buckhead FC, and at the recreational level at the Ashford Dunwoody YMCA. Over the years, he has been able to share his love of the outdoors by taking many young people hunting or fishing for the very first time.
While Mr. Lipscomb thoroughly enjoys his work with clients and youth, his first love is his family. He and his wife Melanie married in 1995 and love spending time with their four children, Mary Hathaway (20), Annie (18), Robert (16), and their son Ivan (11), whom they adopted from Russia in 2007. He and his family are active members of the Cathedral of Christ the King. His children attend UGA, St. Pius X Catholic High School, and Notre Dame Academy.
Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities, LLC (PAS). Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. Ashford Advisors is not an independent registered investment advisor nor an affiliate or subsidiary PAS or Guardian. Guardian and its subsidiaries do not endorse or have any direct or indirect responsibility with Notre Dame Academy. 2017-44894, exp 08/19
Father Thomas Ellerman, Trustee
Fr. Thomas Ellerman has a BA in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America. He also received his Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureatus and Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus from the Pontificium Athenaeum Anselmianum in Rome. Fr. Ellerman has taught at the Notre Dame Seminary School of Theology and at Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans. Currently, Fr. Ellerman is the senior priest in residence at Marist School.
Father David Musso, Trustee
Fr. David Musso is a Marist priest, and serves as Chaplain for Notre Dame Academy, and Marist School in Atlanta. He began his ministry at Marist School in Atlanta, 20 years ago as Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry, after serving as a College Chaplain and Campus Minister at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Fr. David was born and raised in Fresno, CA, but spent most of his adolescent and early adult years in the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaii. He graduated from St. Peter Chanel Marist School in San Rafael, Ca, and the University of San Francisco. Prior to Fr. David's Campus Ministry work in Calif., he spent two years in a parish on Kauai, Hawaii, his first assignment as a priest, following his Ordination in June, 1998.
Prior to his studies for the priesthood, he had various occupations and careers, including actor, machinist, janitor and business owner, a correctional officer at San Quentin Prison, 30 years as a professional clown, 14 years in law practice as a criminal defense trial lawyer, Deputy District Attorney, and law professor. During the eight years of seminary training and theology school, he worked as a hospital chaplain, an immigration attorney, and campus minister at American University in Washington, D.C. While in Hawaii, he was appointed as a Tribunal Judge for the Diocese of Hawaii.
As he celebrates his 22th anniversary as a priest, and 28th year as a Marist, he says that nothing in his life has given him more energy and joy than his ministry as a Marist priest. He says that for him, the privilege to be a priest, and chaplain for Marist School, and Notre Dame Academy is the most joy-filled, and rewarding career he could imagine being blessed with.
Joe George, Co-Chairperson
Joe George is a 30-year veteran of Cox Enterprises serving in executive positions in the automotive division. During his tenure, Joe has held executive roles in Manheim, AutoTrader, Cox AutoTrader, and Cox Automotive, currently serving as President Cox Automotive Mobility Group. During Mr. George's 30-year Cox career, he has seen the rapid growth of Cox’s automotive units including assisting with the start-up and growth of AutoTrader.com.
Mr. George has a Masters in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University, Masters of Business Administration and Bachelors of Business Administration from The Ohio State University. He graduated as a Weidler Scholar from Ohio State’s Max Fisher College of Business. He also completed the Yale University CEO College program.
Mr. George has served on Notre Dame Academy’s board since 2008 serving on the strategy and governance committees. Joe and his wife Kelly are both active with the Marist Way small faith group program and St. Vincent de Paul society. They attend St. Benedict Catholic Church.
Harriet Rosa, Trustee
Harriet Rosa was a parent of two students at Notre Dame Academy for nine years from 2007 to 2016. During a portion of that time, Mrs. Rosa worked as Notre Dame’s Advancement Director, overseeing the Annual Fund and working on the Capital Campaign for Kavanaugh Hall & the George Student Center. Mrs. Rosa graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgia State University with a BBA in Finance and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). She also holds her Chartered Financial Analyst designation, CFA®. Mrs. Rosa worked for Bank of America as a Private Bank Portfolio Manager until she had her children, Grace & Jack. In 2016, Mrs. Rosa and her family relocated to Wichita, KS where she currently serves on the Bishop Carroll Catholic High School Board of Trustees and works for St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
Father Bill Rowland, Trustee
Fr. Bill Rowland, S.M. has a BA degree in English Literature and an MA degree in Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He has served in parochial ministry for 15 years, having served as assistant pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Atlanta, GA; St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Wheeling, SV and as pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Paulina, LA. He has served as the provincial (1994 – 2000) and as the vocation director (2001 – 2009) for the Marists in the United States. Fr. Rowland, SM was appointed to Marist School in Atlanta on January 1, 2010, as the Chaplain to the Marist Alumni Association and as the Special Assistant to Fr. Harhager, S.M. Very Rev. Paul Frechette, S.M., the provincial superior of the Marists in the United States, appointed Fr, Rowland as the President of Marist School.
Lori Armistead, Trustee
Ken Willers, Notre Dame Academy President
President Willers, a native of San Francisco, offers over 30 years of service in Catholic Education. He holds a BA in Philosophy/Teaching Credential from Don Bosco Seminary College, Newton, NJ; an MDiv in Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology, and Advanced Certificate in Catholic Educational Diocesan Leadership from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. President Willers served as Associate Superintendent of Leadership for Innovation and Growth for the Diocese of Oakland, CA. In addition to his 17 years as an elementary school principal, Ken has been a classroom teacher at the elementary, Jr. High and High School levels. He has taught in Archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Diocese of Oakland.
President Willers served 9 years as principal of St. John School in SF (2001-2010). During that time, the school received the 2003 Innovation in Technology Award (12 schools in the nation) and his Advisory Board was awarded the NCEA Outstanding Board Award in 2009. Under his leadership at the School of the Madeleine (2010-2018), the school’s Advisory Board received the NCEA’s ‘Lead Learn Proclaim Award’ in 2016. In recognition of his innovation with technology integration and visionary leadership style, he was honored with the 2016 Exemplary Leadership Award from the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) as well as the NCEA’s Leadership Award in 2017. In October of 2017 Ken was honored by the NAESP with the National Distinguished Principal Award in Washington, DC (one of three Catholic school principals in the nation along with 1 public school principal from each state). In addition to his administrative role, President Willers serves on the Board of Directors for Salesian College Preparatory and The Procedo Project. Since 2005, he has served as a Regional Representative, and Executive Mentor, and an Advisory Consultant for the NCEA’s Department of Professional Learning. He continues to offer his insights and expertise regarding Catholic education as national speaker, presenter, and author for Catholic educators, the NCEA, and for dioceses across the country. He is well-known to many on Twitter as @21stCenPresKW
Contact the Board
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