BOARD OF TRUSTEES
The Santa Fe Prep Board of Trustees is responsible for affirming and upholding the mission of the School, establishing school policies, selecting the Head of School, establishing goals for annual giving and capital campaigns, and approving the annual budget.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
| Sara April, Chair |
| Sara is president of Dirks, Van Essen & April, the nation's leading merger and acquisition firm for the newspaper industry. Sara is a graduate of George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. Prior to joining DV&A, she worked with HomeWorks Media Group in Boston and The New Republic magazine in Washington, DC. Sara previously served on the board of the Child Development Center at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, as well as several years leading the board of the Carlos Gilbert Elementary Parents, Teachers & Kids association. She has two sons, Adam '27 and Nathan '29. A Massachusetts native, Sara grew up helping her family run a sheet-fed printing business. |
| Randy Dry, Vice Chair |
| Randy was born and raised in Santa Fe. After completing his BBA in finance from the University of New Mexico's Anderson School of Management, Randy moved back to Santa Fe and started his financial career at Davis Advisors. In 2001, Randy joined Thornburg Investment Management, where he served as the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director. Randy and his wife, Ocean, have two children, Quinlan '25, and Savannah '27. Randy enjoys adventures with his family, traveling and spending time in the mountains, skiing, biking, and hiking. |
| David Kocon, Treasurer |
| David grew up in Minnesota and earned a double degree in industrial engineering and economics through a joint program with Claremont McKenna College and Northwestern University. After college, David joined a private equity firm in Chicago and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania. After his return from Romania, he earned a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and then worked as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, where he specialized in leveraged finance. Since moving to Santa Fe in 2009, he has become an investor and entrepreneur. Amongst his current investments, he owns the dealership for the Twice the Ice brand of ice and water vending machines for the state of New Mexico. He previously served on the Impact Investment Committee of the Santa Fe Community Foundation and was a soccer coach with the Rio Rapids Northern Soccer Club for eight years. David and his wife, Amanda, have two children, Charlotte '24 and Henry '27. |
| Alice Dunn, Secretary |
| Alice is a multi-generational New Mexican, born and raised in Santa Fe. Alice attended UNM where she graduated with a BBA in Accounting and Finance. After the birth of her second child, Alice decided to pause her career in finance to care for her children full-time. During this time, she discovered a new passion: working with, and advocating for, students with disabilities. She became an avid parent volunteer, substitute teacher, and reading interventionist. Alice is a firm believer in lifelong learning and in 2021, found herself back at UNM working on an MA in Special Education. This experience opened Alice's eyes to the vast spectrum of diversity and disparity embedded in all aspects of education. Alice plans to pursue a PhD in Special Education where she hopes to explore ways to improve educational outcomes for the culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse students of New Mexico. Alice is the mother of Jack '26, Sam '28, and Maddy '32. When she isn't shuttling her children around town, she enjoys hiking, reading, and learning new things. |
Board of Trustees
| Guillermo Bleichmar |
| Guillermo grew up in Argentina and Mexico before moving to the United States for college. He holds a BA in English from Columbia University and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Harvard University. In 2008, he moved to Santa Fe to join the faculty at St. John's College, where he has taught throughout the school's great-books curriculum and served on various administrative committees. Guillermo has also worked as a translator of literary and non-fiction books from Spanish to English. He and his wife, Katie, have two sons, Gabriel '27 and Mateo '30. |
| Bob Borden |
| Bob is the founder and CEO of Ideas and People, LLC and brings his vast experience in product design, global marketing and merchandising to the Prep Board of Trustees. Noted leader at Nambé from 1992 to 2005, Bob is responsible for more than tripling their revenue and building one of the most prestigious luxury gift brands in America. Prior to his work at Nambé, Bob founded a marketing firm, Bookitt, in NYC and worked with several luxury fashion brands throughout Europe. As CEO of Ideas and People, Bob is responsible for all P&L decisions, oversees strategic planning for clients in marketing, brand management and media sales channels. Born in Albuquerque, Bob holds a BS in Marketing and Economics from Southern Methodist University and is the proud father of two Prep alumni, Myla '15 and Peter '18. |
| Charnes Chiu, MD, FASN |
| Charnes is a board-certified nephrologist based in Santa Fe. He earned his BA in History with a minor in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before graduating cum laude with his medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas. Charnes completed his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, where he served as Co-Chief Fellow. In 2007, he moved to New Mexico to become a full managing partner at Nephrophiles, LLC. He currently serves as the Nephrology Section Chair at Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital and as a board member for Mountain Dialysis Investors. Charnes is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology and has previously served on the ASN Practicing Nephrologist Advisory Group. He has two children at Prep, Ari '28 and Alexis '30. |
| Kelly Sue Enfield |
| Kelly Sue is a serial entrepreneur and community advocate. After earning a degree in Field Science from Prescott College, her professional career began at the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, where she led wilderness expeditions and served as the Staffing Director. Kelly Sue's business ventures include Citizen Burro, a B Corp-pending company that supports regenerative agriculture. Kelly Sue is also deeply committed to community service, serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the First Judicial District to support youth in the foster system. She has two daughters at Prep, Francis '29 and Isis '31. |
| Dominic Garcia |
| Dominic serves as Santa Fe Prep's Endowment Board Chair and has spent over 23 years in investment management. He has been recognized as a Power 100 Global CIO, Top Public Pension CIO, and Allocator Innovative Voices. Dominic is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and the University of Chicago. He is married with three kids — Isabela '23, Santi '25, and Catalina '30 — and enjoys living in the rich culture and mountain air of Santa Fe. |
| Estevan Gonzales |
| Estevan was born in Santa Fe and raised near the Rio Grande in rural San Pedro, a scenic neighborhood in the beautiful Española Valley. He is a Crimson Scholar graduate from New Mexico State University, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with a minor in mathematics. He also received his MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University with a breadth of study in Technology Entrepreneurship. Estevan is certified as a Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute. Recently, Estevan was one of five broadcast executives in the country awarded a fellowship to the prestigious National Association of Broadcaster's (NAB) Business Leadership Training Program, an executive MBA-style program focused on the fundamentals of purchasing, owning, and running successful radio and television stations at the highest level. In 2021, he was appointed to the NAB's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee by the NAB President and Board Chair. Estevan is the father of Adaiah '27, Asher '28, and Ami '31. |
| Jenny Cohen Kaufman '94 |
| Jenny was born and raised in Santa Fe and is a proud graduate of Santa Fe Prep. She obtained a BA in Spanish and International Relations from Claremont McKenna College and a law degree from New York University. Prior to returning to Santa Fe in 2007, Jenny practiced law in New York City at the law firm Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP. Her current law practice focuses on estate planning and employment law. Jenny has two children, Henry '25 and Hannah '28. |
| Bob Kirkpatrick |
| Bob began his career in independent schools, spending over 40 years as a teacher, coach, and administrator at institutions such as Shady Side Academy. He served as Head of School at Fox Chapel Country Day School in Pittsburgh and later at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin. Since 2016, Bob has worked as a consultant with The Education Group, where he specializes in head of school searches, executive coaching, and board governance training. A dedicated community volunteer, he previously served as a firefighter for 22 years and has held numerous board positions for civic and professional associations. Bob and his wife, Sue, a fellow longtime educator, now live in Santa Fe and enjoy spending their summers in Scotland and Wyoming. |
| Brian Lewis '11 |
| Brian was born and raised in Santa Fe. After graduating from Prep, he studied physics and economics at Whitman College. Brian began his professional career at Sun Mountain Capital, where he focused on direct equity, fund of funds, and credit investing targeting New Mexico businesses. Brian currently serves as the VP of Finance for a renewable natural gas business. He is also actively involved in the local community, serving as the Chair of the Board of Growing Up New Mexico. Brian and his wife, Caroline Stanley '13, love hiking, camping, skiing, and fly fishing throughout New Mexico with their two dogs and baby. |
| Dr. Thao Marquez |
| Thao is a colorectal surgeon with Presbyterian Medical Group. She earned her medical degree at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she also completed an internship and a residency in general surgery. Thao completed a master's degree in clinical research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and went on to complete a fellowship in colorectal surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. She is board-certified in both general surgery and colorectal surgery. Thao moved to Santa Fe in 2018 with her husband, Sam, and two daughters, Zoe '25 and Isa '28. She enjoys traveling, golfing, and playing tennis with her family. |
| Christina Price |
| Christina is an East Coast transplant who moved to Santa Fe in 2008 after finishing an Emergency Medicine residency in Philadelphia, and has worked as an Emergency Medicine physician at the University of New Mexico since 2008. She is also an Assistant Residency Director for the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at UNM, where she focuses on resident education and well-being. Christina has supported other not-for-profit organizations in Santa Fe, especially as a board member for Communities in Schools of New Mexico since 2019, and for the Rio Grande School. Christina received a BS from Boston College in 2001 and an MD from Drexel University College of Medicine in 2005. Christina currently has two children at Prep, Juliette '28 and Pippa '31, as well as recent graduate, Ella '26. |
| Joohee Rand |
| Joohee is an Associate Partner at Tideline, a national specialist consulting firm for the impact investing industry advising institutional clients. Prior to joining Tideline in 2022, Joohee spent over 12 years working in the New Mexico philanthropy sector and served as the Vice President for Philanthropy and Impact Investing at Anchorum St. Vincent. Joohee was also the Vice President for Community Investment and Strategy at the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Prior to her philanthropic and impact investing career, She was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company based in San Francisco and Seoul Offices. Joohee has served on several national and regional nonprofit boards and advisory committees, including the Mission Investors Exchange, Groundworks New Mexico, the New Mexico Impact Investing Collaborative, and the Santa Fe Children's Museum. Joohee holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, an MPP in International Economic Policy from the KDI School of Public Policy and Management in Korea, and a BA in General Management from the Assumption University in Thailand. Joohee and her husband, Lee, moved to Santa Fe from San Francisco in 2009 and have two boys – Luke '26 and Jaden '29. |
| Leslie Anne Ross, Psy.D |
| Leslie oversaw programs in research, evaluation, training, and implementation of evidence-based practices and trauma-informed care for children and families at Children's Institute, Inc. (CII) for over 15 years in Los Angeles. She was formerly the Vice President of the Child Trauma Center at CII and the PI for CII's National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) Leadership Center Program. During this time, Leslie directed CII's Domestic Violence Treatment Program and co-authored the implementation manual, Responding to Domestic Violence: The Whole Person Approach, a 20-week group treatment model for adult victims of DV and their children. Leslie is currently the Director of Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma implementation and training at the UCLA-DUKE University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCTSN), and was the co-founder of the NCTSN Secondary Traumatic Stress Collaborative Group. She is on the Advisory Board for The Center for Trauma and Children at University of Kentucky's Well@Work program and works nationally as an independent consultant, speaker, and trainer on Trauma-Informed Care. Leslie is the mother of Ty '27. |
| Rachel White |
| Originally from New York, Rachel studied biology at Rice University, earned a MS in Wildlife Biology from Texas Tech and a PhD in Ecology from the University of Arizona with her research focusing on birds and conservation in human-inhabited areas. Since moving to Santa Fe in 2007, Rachel has consulted on wildlife research projects and volunteers with several non-profits, including as a tutor with Santa Fe Public Schools and as the coordinator for the Tesuque Valley Firewise program. She recently served as Board Chair for Communities In Schools of New Mexico, as Chair of Hestia Santa Fe, and as a member of the board at Rio Grande School. Rachel and her husband, Richard, are happy parents to Max '29. She enjoys traveling, baking, hiking, and spending time with friends and family. |
Trustees Emeriti
| Christine Lehman |
| Christine was born in the United States, raised in Melbourne, Australia, and returned to the US to attend university. She graduated with an AB from Duke University and a JD from Harvard Law School. Christine practiced corporate and healthcare law in San Francisco prior to moving to Santa Fe with her husband, Jon, a radiologist. Christine and Jon have three sons: Benton '18, Oliver '20, and Andrew '22. She has also served on the Christus St. Vincent Hospital Foundation board and the Santa Fe Ski Team. |
| Suzanne Moss |
| Suzanne is Prep's first Trustee Emerita. She served on the Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2003 and was Board Chair from 2000-2003. Suzanne is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law. Suzanne practiced international corporate law for several years and was a member of the Minnesota State Legal Ethics Committee. She has served on the Rio Grande School Board, the Board of United World College, and the Board of Youth Shelters and Family Services. She and her husband, Philip, have a son, Michael '02. |
| Carol Romero-Wirth |
| Carol is a Trustee Emerita, after serving nine years on the Board and as Board Chair from 2010 to 2012. Carol also chaired Prep's 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign. She holds degrees from Colorado College, the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, and the University of New Mexico School of Law. As a lawyer with a master's degree in public policy, Carol has worked over the last thirty years in public policy, politics, government, and philanthropy. She has served on many Santa Fe nonprofit boards, including the Santa Fe Community Foundation, Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, Wood Gormley Elementary School PTC, Breakthrough Santa Fe, Communities in Schools, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Atalaya Institute. She and her husband, Peter, have two children, Alex '11 and Elena '15. |
| Warren Thompson '72 |
| Warren is Prep's second Trustee Emeritus and is a member of Prep's class of 1972. He originally served on the Board of Trustees from 1997 through 2005, finishing as Board Chair. Warren graduated from Fort Lewis College and the Anderson School of Business at the University of New Mexico, where he earned an MBA in finance. Currently, he is president of Los Atrevidos, Inc. His father, Leland Thompson, was one of the founders of Santa Fe Prep. Warren and his wife, Mickey, have two sons, Leland '07 and Cass '08. |