Bridges Academy: Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Karen Breslow, Chair
Kevin Yoder, Vice-Chair
Peter Godwin, Secretary
Jacques Stambouli, Treasurer

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Kate Merritt, Chair
Seri Bryant
Tom Ropelewski
Emily Lehrer

MARKETING COMMITTEE
Kevin Yoder, Chair
Max Goldberg
Robin Schader
Ellen Rosen

FINANCE COMMITTEE
Jacques Stambouli, Chair
Emily Lehrer
Brian Haskin
Rob Rader
Rick Rosas

COMMITTEE ON TRUSTEES/GOVERNANCE
Joanne Belonsky, Chair
Vi Huang
Tom Ropelewski
Kate Merritt

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE
Peter Godwin, Chair
Rob Rader
Kevin Yoder

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE
Peter Godwin, Chair
Rick Rosas
Seri Bryant

AUDIT COMMITTEE
Brian Haskin, Chair

BRIDGES EDUCATION GROUP TASK FORCE
Ellen Rosen, Chair
Robin Schader
Brian Haskin
Joanne Belonsky
Kevin Yoder
Peter Godwin

The Board Chair and CEO/Head of School are ex-officio members of each committee.

GOOGLE SITE

Karen Breslow — Chair, Board of Trustees
Karen Breslow, a litigation attorney, received her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D. from Columbia University. She practiced in New York at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; in California at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown; and Irell & Manella, and was Vice-President of Litigation and Assistant General Counsel for Sony Pictures. She is married to Robert Schwartz, a partner at Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, and Sullivan. Their son, Ben, graduated from Bridges in 2017.

Seri Bryant
Seri Bryant's multifaceted background, combined with his acute business acumen and personal integrity, positions him as a trusted advisor in the real estate industry, dedicated to achieving optimal outcomes for his clients. Beyond his professional endeavors, Seri finds fulfillment in family life, residing in Sherman Oaks, California, with his two young sons. Their household is enriched by the presence of four dogs, two cats, five fish, and one snake—a testament to his children's love for animals and strong negotiating skills In the event, that Seri has any “free time” he can be found in the gym training toward his Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Seri joined the Board in 2024.

Peter Godwin
Peter Godwin has served as an in-house and private practice attorney and consultant for public and private start-up technology and telecommunications ventures for more than 20 years. He received his J.D. with a specialization in International Legal Affairs from Cornell Law School and his M.A. in Social Science and B.A. in Economics from The University of Chicago. Peter is married to Hilary Godwin, the Dean of and a Professor in the University of Washington School of Public Health. Their son started at Bridges as a student in the Phoenix program and graduated in 2019.

Peter joined the Board in 2014.

Max Goldberg
Max Goldberg joined the Bridges Board of Trustees in 2015, becoming the Board’s first ever Bridges Alumnus to serve as a Board Member, having graduated with the Class of 2003 at Bridges‘ original campus in Sherman Oaks. Max achieved a Bachelor of Arts from Emerson College in Boston, studying Entrepreneurial Studies and stand-up comedy, helping to create Emerson’s first ever Stand-Up Comedy Major. Producing successful online content led to his launching several online marketing businesses, as well as serving the role of Senior Search Engine Marketing Specialist for advertising agencies and Fortune 1000 companies. Max’s actively strives to bring a “Bridges kid’s perspective” to all Board-related activities.

Brian Haskin
Brian Haskin is the director of marketing and business development at Poplar Forest Capital, where he is responsible for managing and directing the firm’s sales, client service, and marketing activities in the retail and institutional channels. Prior to joining Poplar Forest in 2017, Mr. Haskin spent 24 years in the investment management industry specializing in distribution, product development, and investment strategy across both traditional and alternative investment products. His experience includes senior management roles in the U.S., Asia, and Australia for firms such as Barclays Global Investors (now BlackRock), Wilshire Associates, Deutsche Asset Management, and Analytic Investors. Early in his career, Brian practiced as a Certified Public Accountant with Ernst & Young and served as a senior financial analyst with The Walt Disney Company. He earned his Masters of Business Administration, with honors, from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

One of Brian's children graduated from Bridges in 2017. Brian joined the Board in 2010.

Violette ("Vi") Huang
Vi was born in New Jersey and raised in Hong Kong. Prior to graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Lafayette College, Vi passed the State of Pennsylvania NCEES fundamentals of engineering examination. She was one of the founding members of the Society of Women Engineers Lafayette College Student chapter, as well as serving as President of the International Students Association. She was also both a Student and Professional Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Vi has worked for the petrochemical, contracting, and aerospace industries, specializing in the areas of mechanical equipment design, waste treatment, and project engineering. Vi is married to David, a retired engineering manager who previously worked in the aerospace industry and holds both a Bachelor's and Master's of Science in Mechanical Engineering from University of California at Berkeley. Their son Nick graduated from Bridges and is attending the College of Wooster in Ohio.

Vi joined the Board in 2015.

Emily Lehrer
Emily Lehrer is a Managing Director and Partner at ICG Advisors, where she leads the operational due diligence and investment structuring efforts. She previously served in a similar role at Guggenheim Partners. She received her B.A. from Yale University. She is married to BJ Rimel, M.D., and the proud parent of two children, Avi, 16, and Sol, 12. Sol started at Bridges as a 4th grader and is an expert in vehicles of all kinds.

Emily joined the Board in 2024.

Kate Merritt
Kate Merritt is a Missouri native with a degree in Communications from Wake Forest University. After graduating, she moved to California to be with her husband Sean, a naval aviator, and began a career in independent school development at Cate School. Following seven years at Cate School, Kate moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where she became the Assistant Director of Development at Shorecrest Preparatory School. In 2018, Kate was appointed Director of Advancement at The John Thomas Dye School, a K-6 day school in Los Angeles, overseeing all fundraising, alumni programming, events, and communications. Kate and Sean live in Los Angeles with their twin boys. Their son Miles is a current Bridges student.

Kate joined the Board in 2024.

Rob Rader
Rob Rader is a highly experienced executive with over 20 years of general counsel, business and legal affairs, operations, and government relations experience for multi-billion-dollar media / tech companies, high-growth digital media companies, major and boutique law firms, government bodies, sports teams, and non-profit organizations, including over $7 billion of M&A and financings. Presently, Mr. Rader is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at the Ovation TV network, a 30 million household television cable and Connected TV (CTV) / OTT / streaming VOD network focused on arts and culture where he supervises a team of over 25 outside and in-house counsel.

Rob joined the Board in 2024.

Tom Ropelewski
A graduate of Dartmouth College, Tom Ropelewski has written and directed for both film and television. He wrote and made his feature directorial debut with the comedy Madhouse, starring John Larroquette and Kirstie Alley. Other film credits include Loverboy, Look Who's Talking Now, and The Next Best Thing.

In 2010, he produced his first documentary, Child of Giants: My Journey with Maynard Dixon and Dorothea Lange, which has screened on public television and at film festivals around the world. His latest documentaries, 2e: Twice Exceptional and 2e2: Teaching the Twice-Exceptional, focus on the challenges and rewards of twice-exceptional education and features staff, teachers, and students from Bridges Academy. 2e was named Best Documentary Feature at the 2015 Richmond International Film Festival, Audience Choice: Best Feature Film at the 2015 Silver Springs International Film Festival, and Best Social Benefit Documentary at the 2015 Eugene International Film Festival.

Tom resides in Berkeley, California, with his wife, screenwriter Leslie Dixon (Mrs. Doubtfire, Hairspray, The Thomas Crown Affair, Limitless). Their son Thomas graduated from Bridges Academy in 2014.

Rick Rosas
Rick Rosas is a retired partner with PwC. He is a CPA with over 30 years of experience advising clients, primarily in the entertainment and media sector.

He has a son attending Bridges Academy.

Ellen Rosen — Immediate Past Board Chair
Ellen Rosen is an attorney who received her JD from Villanova University School of Law and earned her BA with honors in psychology at La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA. She was associated with the law firm of Simke Chodos in Los Angeles where she practiced in commercial and business litigation. Prior to her tenure at Simke Chodos, she was associated with the firm of Lamb, Windle & McErlane in Pennsylvania and practiced in business, real estate, municipal and governmental law. She is married to Martin Rosen. They have three children, one of whom graduated in 2016 from Bridges Academy.

Robin Schader
Robin holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, with a focus on talent development and the role of parents, from the University of Connecticut. She was the Parent Resource Specialist for ten years at the National Association for Gifted Education. She was also the founder and director of Music House, a non-profit “home away from home” for highly gifted pre-college music students who needed to live near the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has served on the boards of several public and private institutions, including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Neag School of Education Advisory Board, the Berkshire Hills Music Academy, the Butte Valley, California Public School Board, and Apple Computer’s National Dealer Advisory Board (she owned and operated an independent Apple dealership for 15 years prior to graduate school).

Jacques Stambouli
Jacques is an entrepreneur currently serving as CEO of Via Trading Corporation and has founded and run multiple businesses over the years. He holds a BSc and MSc in management from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is married with three children. Jacques previously served on the board of Pacific Point Academy and in his spare time enjoys watching Manchester United and playing backgammon.

Jacques joined the board in 2019.

Kevin Yoder

Kevin is a senior strategic marketing and research executive with over 25 years of experience in branding, business development, and marketing. Kevin has a son who attends our Bridges Academy.

Kevin joined the Board in 2018.

Board of Trustees

Contact the Bridges Board