Why We Volunteer as Trustees:

Quite simply, we believe we are touching future generations in profound ways. Through our work with the school, we are helping young children develop a love of learning that will continue for the rest of their lives. We believe that by helping them establish a firm foundation in areas like academics, initiative, grace, courtesy and respect, they will become valuable additions to our society, making our world a better place to live for everyone.

In addition, serving on the Board strengthens our community. As with any volunteer opportunity, such an effort allows you to meet new people, learn new skills, and share your knowledge.

Composition of the Board:
Regular board members with full voting privileges attend most scheduled meetings. Ideally, we would like to have 9 regular members, including parents of students, alumni parents, and members of the community. We also welcome Members at Large and Advisory Members. Members at Large are individuals are usually invited to be part of the Board for a short period of time for a specific purpose. Advisory Members are people with skills in a specific area who cannot meet the time requirements for the other types of membership. (Voting privileges for these latter groups are negotiable and depend on the reason for recruiting such a member.)

The Board has four officer positions (President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary) along with General Members.

Board of Trustees:

Erinn Mansour, President, joined the board in 2008 and previously served as Secretary. She is currently a stay-at-home mother of three. Her oldest daughter is in her third year at the school, her son is a second-year student, and she has a one-year-old daughter. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with a second major in Russian language, from The Johns Hopkins University. After college, she worked as a legal assistant in the area of labor and employment litigation and then as a management consultant, specializing in change management, process change, and technical training. She worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers for the last three years of her career and left to start a family and obtain a master’s degree. She has a Certificate in Intelligence Analysis and a Master’s degree in Public Policy, specifically International Security and Economic Policy, from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. She was also Secretary and then President of her homeowners’ association for three years. She attended Montessori school as a child and feels that it engendered both her love of learning and interest in public service. She also enjoys cooking, swimming, tennis and photography.

Bob Scharff, Vice President, joined the board in December 2007 and is an Alumni parent, his son graduating in 2006 and his daughter in 2007. Bob is a strong advocate for Montessori teaching, having witnessed the strong foundation it has provided to his children. His wife Rose served as the school’s historian during their children’s tenure, and he is carrying on his family’s tradition of volunteering at BWMCH. Bob has a background in theatrical design and has worked the last 6 years in sales. In 2005 he joined Northwestern Mutual as a financial representative, where he works with businesses on risk management and employee benefit issues. Bob is an avid runner and enjoys camping and traveling with his family.

Robert Rickenbrode, Treasurer, has been on the Bryant Woods board for one year and plans to send both of his girls to the school. Currently, he is the program manager for a national project examining teacher preparation programs in higher education for the National Council on Teacher Quality. Prior to that he was, the Chief Academic Officer for the Cesar Chavez Charter Schools--three schools serving over one thousand students in grades 6 to 12 in Washington, DC. He has taught mathematics and computer science in grades 7 to 12. For seven summers, he was a computer science teacher, curriculum developer, and technical support for the ‘Nda’hoo’aah Summer Program, bringing students and elders together around traditional and modern technologies on the Navajo Nation. He holds a MA in applied economics from the Johns Hopkins University and a BS in economics from the California Institute of Technology. He looks forward to contributing to the school his daughters love by serving parents, students, and staff on the board.

Angela Galarza, Executive Director/Head of School, brings to our school 19 years teaching and professional experience in Montessori education. She taught in Florida before becoming our school’s director and a member of the Board. In addition to her expertise in Montessori Education, Angela also holds a degree in Early Childhood Education/Child Care Center Management and is a certified Musicgarten music teacher for ages birth to five. Other positions Angela has held during her educational career have been: Music Teacher, Summer Program Coordinator, and Adult Education Instructor and Music Workshop Presenter for Summit Montessori Teacher Training Institute and South Florida Montessori Education Center. She also developed and implemented an Assistants Training Program, Character First Cheerleading Program and French Music curriculum for the schools where she taught in Florida. Being a wife and mother, reading aloud to children, performing in local plays and singing in choirs are Angela’s longtime passions. Angela, her husband Santos, and her two boys (5, who is currently enrolled in BWMCH, and 11 years old) happily reside in Columbia, MD.

James Kim, Secretary, joined the board in February. His daughter is enrolled at BWMCH as a second year student and he plans to enroll his son in September 2010. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Masters Degree in Health Sciences and Ph.D. in Toxicology from the Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology. After obtaining his degrees, he worked for Sciences International, as a risk assessment and toxicology consultant for agencies such as the World Health Organization, EPA, FDA, Health Canada, and various private clients. He currently works as a Scientific Program Manager for the International Life Sciences Institute, a non-profit research institute, seeking to discuss and resolve controversial scientific subjects through corroboration with Government, Industry and Academic experts. He also manages the 51-member Board of Trustees’ Communications Committee, responsible for outreach and public relations. He is an active member of several scientific Societies and was recently elected Secretary/Treasurer for the Korean Toxicologists Association in America. He joined the Board of Trustees in the hopes of assisting BWMCH in its continued success.

Cathy Coleman, Fundraising Coordinator, joined the board in June. Cathy is a stay at home mom of two girls, Mackenzie (5) and Emilie (3). Mackenzie is currently enrolled as a kindergarten student at BWMCH. Her husband, Steve, is a commercial airline pilot. Cathy has a strong love of the Montessori education. She believes children should be able to learn at their pace using all different teaching methods. It is important to her to create a strong foundation for the love of learning. She joined the board to help uphold the excellent education that BWMCH has to offer the community. Cathy’s degree is in French, Spanish and Japanese with a minor in business administration. She previously worked as a manager for Starbucks Coffee Company. Cathy was responsible for all aspects of running a successful business. This included hiring, training, scheduling, and disciplining employees; maintaining outstanding customer service to internal and external customers; adhering to corporate policies and procedures; balancing the store’s financial statements; and participating in district events. She currently keeps busy working with doctors, nurses and medical clinics to offer first-rate service to her family and Mackenzie for her chronic health conditions. Cathy loves to travel with her kids and husband.

Michael Lucero, Member at Large, joined the BWMCH Board of Trustees in December 2007 and attended the school himself when he was a boy. Michael brings to the Board his professional experience helping non-profit organizations become financially secure through capital planning and strong fiscal discipline. Michael and his wife Cheryl are long-time advocates of the Montessori method. Cheryl's mother is a Montessori-trained educator. They have two boys: Michael Edward Jr. (Mikey) and Matthew Pierce. Mikey attended BWMCH's half-day program. In his professional life, Michael Sr. serves as an advisor to CIOs and CISOs for public and private sector organizations. Michael holds a Master of Science in Information Systems and Telecommunications from Johns Hopkins University (JHU), a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Maryland at College Park, and is completing an MBA through JHU's Carey School of Business. Michael is a guest lecturer at the JHU School of Medicine and a Project Management Mentor with the University of Maryland Incentive Awards Program.

Lan-Feng Tsai, Member at Large, joined the Board in October 2008 and is the parent of a current student at BWMCH. Feng and his wife, Felicia, strongly believe in the Montessori methods. Their son is finishing his kindergarten year at the school. Feng holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Statistics from Tamkang University, Taiwan, and a Master’s degree in Biostatistics from UCLA. He has also completed additional doctoral coursework in Mathematical Statistics at theUniversity of Maryland’s Mathematics Department, as well as serving as a Teaching Assistant and a Lecturer. He currently is a Statistical Analyst in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. Feng’s hobbies include playing basketball, hiking, and bird-watching.

Jenny Hobbs, Member at Large, has also served as the Board Secretary and President in past years. She is a busy mother of three sons. Her oldest now attends Howard County public school, but he is a former BWMCH student, and her middle child completed his third year at the school. Jenny, her husband, and sons moved to Columbia from London in 2004. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and worked for 8 years with Cisco Systems in various technical roles, including as a Network Design Engineer. She is now fortunate enough to be at home with the children during the day, but she also finds time for her hobbies, including learning to fly, cooking, and gardening.

Anita Gottschalk, Member at Large, was a Montessori Directress and has been a trustee on the BWMCH Board since 2007. She has a BA in Sociology from the University of Maryland and attained her Montessori Teacher Credential in 1983. Along with her teaching experience at several Montessori schools in the Columbia area, she also home-schooled her three daughters, Laura, Alison and Mary, through elementary school. (Laura is a volunteer with Americorps in New Orleans, Alison is a Montessori teacher in Mexico, and Mary will be a junior at St. Mary's College this Fall.) Anita also teaches the music curriculum at a Montessori teacher training center in Maryland. Her other passions include tutoring children in reading and language skills, sharing her love of music with children, swimming, and hopes to one day, write and publish children's stories. Anita and her husband, Paul, (who works for the Capital Police in Washington D.C.), have resided in Columbia for the past 23 years.

Mary Mayhew, Member at Large, joined the Board in December 2008. Two of her grandchildren currently attend the school and she sent her daughter to Montessori school. Professionally, she recently retired after more than 30 years of service at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She has nearly 15 years experience in health policy, legislative analysis and substance abuse policy in the federal sector; extensive experience working with private sector constituent groups and non-profit organizations in the mental health and substance abuse fields. She has over a decade of additional experience in management policy and organizational analysis in the federal sector. She also has experience in marketing and sales and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology.