Board of Trustees

Becki Fleischer is the mother of Liz ‘15 and Asa ‘17. She is a consultant and project manager for non-profit organizations. A graduate of Ball State University, she held management positions at the U.S. Department of Education and other government agencies. She joined the Board in 2015, serves as Vice President of the Board and Chair of the Development Committee, and chaired the Trusteeship and Strategic Planning Committee that produced the Framework for our Future Strategic Plan.

Chris has been at LRS for 3 years with his son Leonardo (class of 2020) and his daughter Annabella (class of 2022).  Chris works in Finance at JP Morgan Chase in New York.

Guy Bailey retired as Assistant Head at St. Luke’s School. He is a former LRS teacher, Business Manager, and was Head of LRS from 1985 to 1989. His son Andrew graduated from LRS in 1996. Guy has served on the CAIS Commission on Membership and Accreditation for many years. He received a B.A. from the University of Rochester and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University, in the Klingenstein Independent School Leadership Program. He joined the Board in 2016 and serves on the Finance and Trusteeship Committees.

Irene Eddy is the mother of Nick Donahue LRS ‘13 and Ellie Donahue ‘15. As an LRS parent, she was involved in Kids Helping Kids and numerous other activities. Most recently, Irene worked for GE in ABS, Structured Finance, Securitization and Capital Markets. She also has a JD from Fordham University School of Law. She joined the Board in 2016 and serves on the Finance and Diversity and Inclusion Committees.

Aditi is the mother of Om ‘17 and Dev ‘20. She co-chaired the Auction in 2012 and 2013. Aditi also has been involved as a Room Parent, co-chaired the Annual Fund, and many other activities. A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan College, she spent a post graduate year at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai, India. Aditi works with Malabar Bay, a family-owned business. She was elected to the Board in 2012 and has served as President for three years.

Christen DeSantis is the mother of Miles ‘17 and Will ‘21. She co-chaired the Parents Group for three years. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Management from North Carolina State University and a M.A. in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport. She opened her business Christen DeSantis Nutrition in 2009. Previously, she worked at Diageo, Equitable Life, and Bain Consulting. She joined the Board in 2015 and serves as the Chair of the Finance Committee and is the Treasurer of the Board.

Patty Litzen is the mother of Oliver Kreeger ‘17 and Harry Kreeger ‘19. She currently co-chairs the Parents Group. She has served as a co-chair of the Book Fair, as a Room Parent, and as an LRS Community Ambassador. A graduate of SUNY College at Buffalo, Patty is pursuing a master’s degree in speech pathology. She worked at Heartland Music, in all aspects of the company, and volunteers with The Yellow Finch Project, a theatre group for children with special needs. She joined the Board in 2016 and serves on the Development and Diversity and Inclusion Committees.

Adaobi Odili Arpino is the mother of Milan Arpino ‘20. She is an executive at IBM Global Financing and previously worked at JPMorgan Chase & Ford Motor Credit. She received a B.S. from Barry University and an M.B.A from Columbia University. She joined the Board in 2016 and is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion, and Finance Committees.

Jenny has been at LRS for 2 years with her daughters Sabrina (class of 2019), Charlotte (class of 2020) and Christina (class of 2022).  Jenny is Senior Vice President of Public Relations at FerenComm. Previously Jenny has held public relations positions at NBC Universal, MSG Varsity and WWE. Jenny has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio, TV & Film from California State University, Northridge.

Bio to Come

John has been at LRS for 3 years with his son Dan (class of 2020) and his daughter Eva (class of 2022).  John has worked at Nasdaq since March 2016 as a Product Development Specialist. Previously he was a Sales Representative at PeriShip and has also held positions at BGC Partners and Tradition Securities as an Equity Derivities Broker. John holds a degree in Finance, Business and Economics from Fairfield University. 

Bio to Come. 

John Ora is a seasoned school leader with experience as a teacher, administrator and Head in preschool-grade 12 independent schools. From 2007-2016 he served as the Head of School at the Woodland School in Portola Valley, CA.

John was the Head of Middle School at Princeton Day School in Princeton, NJ; Assistant Head of School and Science Department Chair at Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, CO; and Science Department Chair and Physics and Chemistry Teacher at The Community School in Sun Valley, ID.

John has completed doctoral coursework in Educational Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University; holds a Master of Arts in Educational Administration, Policy and Analysis from Stanford University; teaching credential from the University of Washington; and a BS in Biology from Seattle University.

He has engaged in numerous professional development opportunities and has received a number of awards and achievements, notably a Klingenstein Fellowship from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Carissa Lewis is the Assistant Head of School and joined The Long Ridge School in 2009 as a 2-3 classroom teacher.  She has a B.A. in Anthropology from State University of New York at Oswego and a M.S. Ed. from Sarah Lawrence College.  In 2014 she became the Science Specialist and in 2016 started the robotics program for the school. Prior to Long Ridge she was the lead nursery teacher for the Early Childhood Center at Memorial United Methodist Church in White Plains, NY.  Carissa is the very proud mom of Jake and Zoe ‘12.

Marietta Morelli is the faculty representative for the Board of Trustees and joined the faculty at The Long Ridge School in 2001. She earned her B.S. from the University of CT and her M.Ed from Wheelock College. Prior to teaching, Marietta worked for seven years in the Child Life Play and Preparation Program at Yale New Haven Hospital with pediatric patients.  She is the proud mother of 3 LRS graduates, Alex’02, Nick ’05 and Annie ’09.  After many years of teaching, in September of 2017, Marietta became the new librarian at  LRS.  Marietta is the recipient of the 2010 Stepping Stones Playful Practices in Teaching Award. She serves on the Boards of The Friends of the Ferguson Library.  In 2018 Marietta became a certified school librarian through the Connecticut Alternate Route to Certification for Library Media Specialists.

Ronald Japha is the father of Adam ’98 and Alex ‘02. He serves as liaison to the Long Ridge School and has also served on the Personnel and Facilities Committees. Ron graduated from the University of Virginia and Dickinson School of Law. He has been a partner in the law firm of Gordon & Scalo since 1987. He has been a Trustee since 1996 and an Honorary Trustee since 2004.

Mark Davis was appointed Head of St. Luke’s School in New Canaan in 2002. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and a M.A.L.S. from Wesleyan University. Mark serves on the Board of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). He joined the LRS Board in 2012, serves on the Trusteeship Committee, and was very involved in the strategic planning process.