BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The Board executes on its fiduciary duties to make certain the School remains in a strong financial position, engages in long-range and strategic planning for Westerly’s future, and delegates all of the School’s operations and the execution of Westerly’s mission to our singular employee, the Head of School. The purview of the Board, as is the case with other independent schools, is to hire, manage, and support the Head of School.

The Head of School is responsible for all other employees and the School’s operation. As a result, Trustees do not get involved in day-to-day school affairs, disciplinary or personal issues, or admissions decisions. The Westerly Board follows the Principles of Good Practice published by the National Association of Independent Schools.

The Board meets on a monthly basis during the school year, and operates through a committee system. Each committee meets regularly to set annual goals, makes policy recommendations, and provides regular reports to the Board.

Board committees are groups of trustees and, in some cases, community members who focus on specific areas of Westerly’s mission and operations. These committees help guide decisions, provide expertise, and support the school’s growth. Additionally, all committees (except Finance and Trustee), may include non-trustee members.

Westerly’s Board has three types of committees :

• Executive Committee: Includes the Board Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary.
• Standing Committees: Advancement, Buildings & Grounds, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice & Belonging (DEIJB), Finance, and Trustee Committees.
• Ad-Hoc Committees: Risk and Strategic Implementation Committees, created to meet temporary or specialized needs.

Each committee member is selected based on their expertise or commitment to the committee’s area of focus, as outlined in its charter. Contributing at the committee level is a great way to get involved and can serve as a pathway to future trustee service!

Alicia Mckie has over 24 years of experience in the financial services industry and her life’s passion has always been to serve people.  A graduate of Long Beach Poly and born on United Nations Day, she has always seen the value of diversity and education. She attended Barnard College in New York City and majored in Pan African Studies.  Working with mostly immigrants during her years in NYC, she developed a unique worldview that has helped her to connect with people from all walks of life.  Alicia is a single mom with a 19-year-old son named Eli who attends San Francisco State University.  When her son realized that public school wasn’t supporting him emotionally, she took a huge financial risk and put him in a private school that had similar ideologies to Westerly. This school changed his life for the better and now she would like to help other children have a positive educational experience from an academic, social and emotional standpoint.  Alicia loves to travel the world and interact with great humans. She is honored to serve on the board with all of its dynamic members.

Years Served: 2023 to present

Committee Participation:

• Trustee

Board Chair

Alex is a Westerly alumni of the class of 2003. After attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach and graduating from Sage Hill School in Newport Beach in 2007, she attended George Mason University in Fairfax, VA where she graduated in 2011 with a B.A. in Communications and minor in Business. Upon graduation, Alex moved back to Southern California and joined her family's business, Frieda's Branded Produce in Los Alamitos, making Frieda's a three-generation family-business success story. Alex started in Frieda's marketing department before moving into the sales department in 2014. In 2014 at the age of 24, Alex was the youngest produce professional to be accepted into the International Fresh Produce Association Leadership Program and that same year earned a certificate of Produce Executive Development from Cornell University's Food Industry Management Program. In 2017, Alex was named one of the "40 Under 40" by Produce Business Magazine for her success and leadership in the produce industry. Now, Alex serves as the Director of Sales of Frieda's.

Alex lives in Westchester, Los Angeles with her one-and-a-half-year-old son, Eli and dog Kiwi. She has served on the Board of Trustees for nine years and takes pride in giving back to the school, engaging alumni back into the Westerly community and is excited to continue making an impact.

Years served: 2012 to 2018; 2019 to present

Committee Participation:

• All Board Committees: Executive, Finance, Trustee, Buildings & Grounds, Advancement, DEIJB, Risk (ad-hoc)
• Financial Assistance Committee
• Head of School Search Committee 2018
• Vice Chair 2017-2018; 2022-2023
• Trustee Committee Chair 2017-2018

Years served: 2023 to present

Committees:

• Executive (Secretary)
• Advancement
• DEIJB
• Risk (ad-hoc) - Vice Chair

David Wright is currently a Software Account Manager for One Identity owned by Quest Software in Aliso Viejo.  One Identity is a market leader in Unified Identity Security specializing in Privileged Access Management, Active Directory Management, Multi-factor Authentication and Single Sign-On solutions.  David was previously Founder & CEO of an Entertainment Management company as well for about 12 years specializing in the career management of up-and-coming artists and established entertainment acts. He has had the opportunity to work with the likes of Teena Marie (singer), Doug E. Fresh (rapper), Mike Epps (comedian/actor), Robb Hunter (musician), Tommy Organ (guitarist for MJ’s This is it Tour/Janet Jackson), Crystal Starr Knighton (actress/singer—American Idol Top 20), Ms. Diddy (Brand Ambassador) & DJ Prophet (93.5FM) & Craig Thomas (actor/movie producer).

David was born in Dallas, TX and raised in the Dallas area until he relocated to Southern California in December 1999 with Insight, a Fortune 500 technology company. David is a huge sports fan but loves his Dallas Cowboys the most! David currently lives in Long Beach with his daughter, Madison (Class of 2026). David co-parents Madison along with her mother Ebony White and have all been members of the Westerly family since 2017 starting in Kindergarten.

Years Served: 2020 to present

Committee Participation:

• Advancement (Vice Chair)
• Buildings & Grounds

 Jackie Caplan Wiggins is an alumni parent of Westerly School of Long Beach (Franklin "Frankie" Wiggins, Class of 2005 and Rachel Wiggins, Class of 2008), a Long Beach resident; a former business-owner, Vice President, CAO, and COO, as well as a committed volunteer with board experience. As a breast cancer survivor and mentor for other women who have battled the disease, Jackie’s compassion for organizations that help others live their life to the fullest is ever present. When she looks at the opportunity to bring her professional and personal experiences to the Board of Trustees at Westerly, she can’t help but reflect on the community that she called home for 11 years and the whole-child philosophy that helped her children live their lives to the fullest. As an active volunteer parent during her time at Westerly, including as auction chair, as well as her late mother’s former Westerly Board of Trustee experience, Jackie knows what it means to give time, talent, and treasure to feed Westerly’s longevity. Having recently sold her business and wanting to give back at a high-level, Jackie knows she can contribute to further Westerly’s priorities around advancement, large-scale fundraising, building alumni donor relations and improving our buildings and grounds. 

Years Served: 2023 to present

Committee Participation:

• Executive (Vice Chair)
• Advancement
• Buildings & Grounds
• Finance
• Strategic Implementation (Chair)
• Trustee

Westerly Alum Student

Years Served: 2021 to present

Committee Participation:

• Finance
• Risk (ad-hoc) - Chair

Years Served: 2021 to present

Committee Participation:

• Executive (Treasurer)
• Finance (Chair)
• Risk (ad-hoc)

Bio coming soon

Michael is the founder and owner of Wyeth, a leading fashion hat label that he began in 2014. Wyeth is a local Long Beach business with offices and a warehouse in the Zaferia district.  He has supported many local organizations with hat donations including The Women's Shelter of Long Beach, Homeboy Industries and City of Hope. Michael was born and raised in Sierra Madre, California. He was a reserve firefighter for the City of Lynwood and Sierra Madre for 3 years in his early 20's until he developed a passion for travel which has never faded.  

He and his wife Hedda Staines live in Bluff Park, Long Beach with their daughter Ida (Class of 2025) and have been members of the Westerly community since 2018.

Years Served: 2021 to present

Committee Participation:

• Trustee
• Buildings & Grounds
   

Bio coming soon

Nola-rae Cronan has more than two decades of experience in independent schools, including her current role as head of school at an elementary school in Santa Monica. Nola-rae has served in a variety of capacities in education, including as a teacher, student advisor, dorm parent, coach, school counselor, dean, and division head. Her vast experience touches all aspects of school life, including curriculum development, technology integration, professional development for faculty and staff, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, student leadership, and student programming. The independent school world is part of her family life as well; her husband, Ara Brown, spent twenty years as an independent school educator and is now an educational search consultant, and her children, Kalah and Noah, both attended day and boarding schools. Her eldest, Kalah, is beginning her second year as a high school English teacher at an independent school in VA.

Years Served: 2024 to present

Committee Participation:

• Finance
• DEIJB
• Risk (ad-hoc)

Years served: 2020-21, 2023 to present

Committee Participation:

• Finance (Vice Chair)
• Trustee

Years served: 2024 to present

Committee Participation:

• Advancement
• Buildings & Grounds

Tonya Porter (Chair)
Monique Agress (Vice Chair)
Mundi Attinasi (non-trustee)
Jackie Caplan Wiggins
Alicie Mckie
Mark Michaylira (non-trustee)
David Wright
Tiffany Starr (admin)

Angana Pathak (Chair)
David Wright (Vice Chair)
Monique Agress
Jackie Caplan Wiggins
Michael Hagen
Karen Rosolowski
Adrian Mendoza (Admin)
Anthony Vo (Admin)

Nola-rae Cronan (Chair)
Anjam Bahl (non-trustee)
Leigh Hunter
Amber Dickens (Admin)
Shannon Matthews (Faculty)

Karen Rosolowski (Chair)
Roseline Agboke (Vice Chair)
Jackie Caplan Wiggins
Nola-rae Cronan
Joseph Porter IV
Tonya Porter
Christina Yee-Won
Anthony Vo (Admin)
Chris Wiebe (Admin)

Christina Won (Chair)
Joseph Porter (Vice Chair)
Mundi Attinasi (non-trustee)
Nola-rae Cronan
Leigh Hunter
Karen Rosolowski
Amber Dickens (Admin)
Jesse Mardian (Admin)
Molly O'Brien (Admin)
Chris Wiebe (Admin)

Jackie Caplan Wiggins (Chair)
Alex Jackson (Vice Chair
David Wright
Karen Rosolowski
Michael Hagen
Rebecca Geary (Admin)
Amber Dickens (Admin)
Tonya Porter
Nancy Cherin (Faculty)
Gina Ashworth (Faculty)

David Wright (Chair)
Tonya Porter (Vice Chair)
Jackie Caplan Wiggins
Michael Hagen
Alicia Mckie
Amber Dickens (Admin)
Tiffany Starr (Admin)