BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Gwynedd Friends School is governed by a Board of Trustees, comprised of a majority of Quakers. The board is the guardian of the School’s mission. It is the board’s responsibility to ensure that the mission is relevant and vital to the community it serves and to monitor the success of the school in fulfilling its mission.
Adrienne Aiken is native New Yorker, who currently works as the Division Director at Easterseals of Southeastern Pennsylvania in Bucks County. Adrienne has over 25 years’ experience in Early Intervention and Special Education. In 1992, she worked at United Cerebral Palsy (Blossom) as an educator. She has been at Easterseals since 1999. Adrienne is also the Core Leadership Administrator for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) at her school, which focuses on providing children, with social, emotional and behavioral support and giving families tools that can be used in all environments.
Adrienne has participated in non-profit fundraisers and events including Easterseals’ ‘Walk with Me” at the Philadelphia Zoo, the Multiple Sclerosis Society's “Climb to the Top” at Rockefeller Center and “Bike MS” in New York City. She currently lives in Wyncote.
Adrienne has spent her time on the board learning the many facets of Gwynedd Friends School, its programs and examining the ways she and the board can offer their support.
Mason Barnett grew up around Quakers and began attending Durham Friends Meeting in 1984. She was later active with German Yearly Meeting. When she returned to the Philadelphia area in 2009, she transferred her membership to Gwynedd Friends Meeting.
Mason’s professional background is in organizational development, with a focus on strategic planning, governance, and philanthropy. She is delighted to serve on the School’s board. Mason is now retired and enjoys spending time in her woodshop, gardening, and camping.
Sarah Braccia is a passionate advocate for the integration of nature and learning. She grew up in Wilmington, DE, attending the Wilmington Friends Meeting, where she developed a deep appreciation for Quaker values. These principles of integrity, stewardship, and community have shaped her life and the way she and her husband raise their children.
Sarah and her husband were drawn to Gwynedd Friends Preschool for its commitment to Quaker teachings, seeing it as the perfect environment to nurture their children's growth in a values-centered community.
With eight years of experience as an online school counselor, Sarah is dedicated to supporting and empowering students in their educational journeys. She believes in fostering a holistic approach to learning, where academic growth is complemented by emotional and social development. Outside of her professional life, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family in nature, where the beauty of the world around them becomes a perfect backdrop for learning and exploration.
Deb Hejl
Marie Hubbs is married and lives with her husband in Lower Gwynedd Township. She has two grown children, and is active in her granddaughters' lives.
Marie is a retired circulation manager at the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, where she was employed for over 30 years. This position offered her great satisfaction while helping the public and working with the library staff. She is a member of Gwynedd Monthly Meeting and has served on a number of committees and as a Trustee for the Meeting.
Volunteerism has been an important part of her life. Among other commitments, she served for over 25 years on the Board of the College Settlement Camps in Horsham, which offer a camping experience to underprivileged children. She is currently on the Board at Foulkeways.
Marie has had the opportunity to watch the School grow from very small to its current size, while continuing to offer a high quality caring and learning environment for children.
Heather O’Malley and her wife, Erin, moved to Ambler in 2014, seeking a strong, positive, and engaged community in which to raise their family. When it came time for their daughter to begin school, they sought a warm and nurturing place that reflected their values - equity, love, and acceptance - and sought a place where all students are welcomed for who they are.
A graduate of St. Joseph’s University with a degree in Elementary & Special Education, Heather believes that how children learn is as important as what they learn. From the very first day Heather visited Gwynedd Friends School, she was drawn to the school’s mission and to the energy of its faculty, its leadership, and especially its children.
Heather is a lead stylist at Vanity Salon in Philadelphia. Community participation and outreach are important to Heather. Over the years, she has worked with the homeless in Philadelphia, on AIDS outreach initiatives, and with juvenile delinquency programs designed to teach self sufficiency. She has been a long-time advocate for the underserved and excluded.
These pursuits are balanced by Heather’s absolute mandate that life must be fun! She enjoys bringing her high-spirited energy to Gwynedd Friends School.
Faith Paulsen Having come to Gwynedd Friends Meeting for the first time as the parent of a Preschool child, Faith Paulsen found a spiritual home here, eventually becoming a member. She has served on every Parent Association of every school her three children have attended, including several terms as President of the Parent Associations at Oak Lane Day School and Solebury School, and also on the Board of Oak Lane Day School.
A native New Yorker with degrees from Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and Drexel University School of Library and Information Science, she has worked as systems analyst and technical writer, and on a freelance basis as writer of technical, travel, parenting and general interest materials. She has written and published fiction, personal essays and poetry in a number of journals and anthologies. Her day job is in the family insurance business. She lives in Norristown with her husband Barton Sacks.
Diane Pilch is a pediatric physical therapist currently working with babies from birth to three years old in Montgomery County. In 2003, she worked with a preschooler at GFS and began attending Gwynedd Meeting. After testing the waters, she brought her family to Gwynedd Friends Meeting, and she and her two children became members in 2011.
Since she started attending Gwynedd Meeting, she has served as a youth quaker education teacher (Sunday School), as well as on committees for Peace Camp, Religious Education, Child Safety, and Wales Exchange. Basically, if it has to do with children, she is involved. Diane also serves as a childcare provider on Sundays for our littlest Friends (under 5 years old) while their parents go to Meeting for Worship.
She is married and has two adult children who attended Gwynedd Meeting, Youth Quaker Education, Peace Camp, as well as participating in the Wales Exchange. Children are our most valuable resource, and they learn by what they see, practice, and explore. Diane tries to be an example of how to be joyful in the world by nourishing her inner child with laughter and play.
Roger Sternfeld
