Board of Directors and Staff

VOTING MEMBERS

Bruce Davis – President

Bruce Davis, WS '73, previously served two Board terms as Treasurer and also chaired the FWS Alumni Committee. His connections with Landour and Woodstock go back many years. He was born at Landour Community Hospital and attended Woodstock from grade 1 through grade 12. Mussoorie and Woodstock were his home until he graduated in 1973 and relocated to Chicago. Over the next 30 years Bruce visited Woodstock a half dozen times, continues to regularly visit the School, and is deeply engaged with Woodstock and many of his classmates. Mr. Davis also serves as a member of Woodstock’s General Body. Bruce majored in Asian Studies at the University of Chicago and received an M.A. from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. During an internship at the India Desk of the State Department, he helped plan a State visit by Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Mr. Davis is a Partner at Appraisal Associates, a commercial real estate valuation and consulting firm in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to joining Appraisal Associates in 2009, he was a Vice President and commercial banker at JP Morgan Chase Bank in Chicago and provided debt financing and treasury management to municipalities, school districts and not for profit institutions in the Chicago region. Before joining Chase in 2005, he spent over twenty years in corporate finance and banking with Continental Illinois National Bank, National Australia Bank, and The Industrial Bank of Japan. In the mid-1980s, Mr. Davis spent four years as the India and South Asia Country Officer for Continental Bank.

Bruce and his wife, Susan Enright, are regularly seen at Annual Meeting and Reunions, participate in Alumni Enrichment activities, and often host alumni gatherings in the Chicago area or their home.

David Shastry – Vice-President

David Shastry, WS '09, is based out of Chicago, Illinois and is the principal and senior creative consultant of David Shastry Consulting. He champions enterprise design, user-centered empathetic design, designing for accessibility, and creative thought leadership while leading design teams to solve complex problems and craft beautiful digital experiences. His expertise spans numerous domains and over the years Mr. Shastry has partnered with clients at the highest levels of the legal, finance, manufacturing, healthcare, insurance, government and defense sectors.

David is also a pilot, powerlifter, and model who is active in the community, speaking on the topics of entrepreneurship, digital technologies and the business of design. “Studies show, and common sense dictates, that people adopt technology that is meaningful, valuable and enjoyable to them, and so I work very hard to craft experiences that deliver value, empower business and delight users!”

Steve Van Rooy, Treasurer

Steve Van Rooy's, WS '68, parents arrived in Bombay, India, in February of 1950 when Steve was six months old where they served as missionaries with TEAM for the next 18 years. Following language school, their first mission station was in Dharchula along the Kali Ganga River on the border of Nepal. After their first furlough, the Van Rooys moved to Mussoorie and Steve attended Woodstock School for 11 out of 12 grades. His mother was the anesthetist at Landour Community Hospital and his dad started a Bible Correspondence Course ministry called Jiwan Jyoti (Light of Life). Steve has an older brother and two younger brothers and in his last year in India his parents adopted one of his cousins in the US, his only sister.

After graduation from Woodstock in 1968, Steve attended Seattle Pacific University, followed by Dallas Theological Seminary and then joined the Wycliffe Bible Translators. He married Judy Beekman, an MK from Mexico, and they headed to Sudan, first in Khartoum for Arabic and then to a village in the very SE corner of the country. They lived with a remote tribal group called the Didinga and began learning that language and started the process of Bible translation.

Several years into the process they discovered their daughter had a rare form of childhood cancer that was considered 100% terminal. After six years in the US for treatment (which was successful—she was in the first tier of survivors ever) they went back to Africa, this time to Kenya and later finished out 25 years of missionary service in Dallas, TX. Cammie’s cancer returned twice during this time. They have two other daughters, both of whom went into medicine. One is a physician and the other a nurse. All three are married and live in N. Texas. The Van Rooys have ten grandchildren so far.

Steve and Judy then started a real estate investment and property management business in Dallas which allowed them to retire in 2015. Steve continues to be involved in their church in Dallas, where he is an elder, and is involved in several mission organizations in a variety of ways. Steve serves on the FWS Finance Committee and considers it a privilege to have been invited to serve on the FWS Board.

Suzanne Turner Hanifl – Secretary

Suzanne Hanifl, WS '63, wears many hats. You may best know her name in association with the Hanifl Centre for Outdoor Education at Woodstock, the Turner Organic Garden at Woodstock, and her long association with WOSA, 1995 – 2014. She attended Woodstock from 1956 – 1963 and is the Class of ’63 Secretary. Suzanne holds a M.Ed. from Boston University, B.S. in Home Economics from Hood College, and is the President of the Paul and Suzanne Hanifl Foundation and President of Suzanne Stables.

The Hanifl Family Foundation has also established the Angelic Organic Learning Center in Rockford, IL; Hanifl Soccer Fields in Hugo, MN; Hanifl Center for Performing Arts in White Bear Lake, MN; the Minnesota Zoo’s Hanifl Family Wild Woods Playground in Bloomington, MN; acts as the CPA for Children’s Performing Arts, White Bear Lake, MN; and philanthropic outreach for several U.U. Churches and Health Clinics.

Along with teaching, Suzanne has led many committees in several states, travels when she can, is an avid knitter and recently did a knitting tour to the Shetland Islands, belongs to two book clubs, gardens, and owns the son of triple crown winner, American Pharoah, among other racehorses. Married to Paul Hanifl for 52+ years, all three of their children have visited Woodstock. Kerry and her family were at Woodstock for two years, 2014 – 2016. Suzanne and Paul have nine grandchildren, ages 1 – 19.

We are very happy to have Suzanne Turner Hanifl join the Board in 2020 and deeply appreciate her connections to Woodstock, her philanthropic expertise, and her many talents and interests.

Stephen Alter

Stephen Alter, WS '74, is the author of twenty books of fiction and non-fiction. He was born in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India and much of his writing focuses on the Himalayan region. WILD HIMALAYA: A Natural History of the Greatest Mountain Range on Earth (Aleph 2019) is his most recent work of non-fiction. Becoming a Mountain: Himalayan Journeys in Search of the Sacred and the Sublime (Aleph 2014) received the Kekoo Naoroji Award for Himalayan Literature. In The Jungles of the Night: A Novel about Jim Corbett (Aleph, 2016) is his latest work of fiction, which was shortlisted for the DSC South Asian Literature Award. The Cloudfarers (Puffin, 2018) is his most recent book for younger readers. He has written extensively on natural history, folklore and mountain culture, particularly in his travel memoir Sacred Waters: A Pilgrimage to the Many Sources of the Ganga. Educated at Woodstock School and Wesleyan University, Alter has taught at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, where he was director of the writing program for seven years. Following this, he was writer-in-residence at MIT for ten years, where he taught courses in creative writing. Among the honors he has received are fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright Program, the East West Centre in Hawaii, and the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture. Stephen Alter is founding director of the Mussoorie Mountain Festival.

Kim Gingerich Brenneman

Kim Gingerich Brenneman, WS ’79, arrived at Woodstock as a high school sophomore along with her parents and younger brother. She credits her parents for instilling the travel bug in her and for setting her path on a professional trajectory to include cross-cultural research and leading educational experiences to India for undergraduate students.

Kim received her Ph.D. in Developmental and Educational Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh (PA) and an Ed.S. in Counseling from James Madison University (VA). After working as a child, adolescent and family counselor, Kim taught in the Psychology Department at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and served as department chair for a number of years. She has conducted research in the areas of adjustment and well-being of Internationally Mobile Adolescents, in the relationship between cross-cultural experiential learning, hopeful thinking and multicultural adaptation, and in the application of positive psychological principles to higher education learning. A highlight of her time at EMU was organizing and leading four different groups of undergraduates to India for a semester long cross-cultural educational experience. During these four months, at least two weeks of that time was spent in Mussoorie as Kim “showed off” Woodstock to them! It was a gift to be able to re-connect with the Woodstock Community in person.

After 30 years as a professor in the Psychology Department at Eastern Mennonite University (VA), Kim retired and is currently training and competing in local agility competitions with her Shih-poo pup, Jampa. Kim and Jampa are a certified pet therapy team through Alliance of Therapy Dogs, volunteer with a local hospice agency, and visit retirement centers several times a week. Kim also enjoys conversations with friends over a good cup of coffee, traveling, reading, gardening and canning, and artwork using watercolor pencils and graphite as mediums.

Kim is married to Bob and they have two grown children Jeremy and Rachael. Bob, Jeremy and Rachael have all spent time in India (and Woodstock) as part of Kim’s cross-cultural work with EMU. And of course, we are all looking forward to our next trip!

Craig Cook – Principal, Woodstock School

Dr. Cook brings a wealth of experience in educational leadership, having worked at schools and in higher education in the USA, the Philippines and Indonesia. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, a B.A. in intercultural studies and a M.Div. in Theology, both from Biola University, California. Before coming to Woodstock, he was Dean of the School of Education at Simpson University, Redding, California where he successfully led the school through complex accreditation procedures. He currently serves as President of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee on Sociology of the Body.

Craig is married to Jamie Williams, J.D. They met in Indonesia, where she was teaching international law in the Faculty of Law at Universitas Pelita Harapan. Jamie holds a B.A. degree in Literature and Letters and a Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School. A licensed attorney in New York and Texas, she has practiced family, criminal, and commercial law. Before Woodstock, she was a professor in the History and Political Science Department at Simpson University and an adjunct professor teaching restorative justice and international law at Le Tourneau University. Jamie was also the Program Coordinator for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a nonprofit organization that advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the foster care system.

In Dr. Cook’s own words: “I have been an athlete and participant in vigorous physical exercise for the whole of my adult life, being a regular basketball and tennis player and a tennis coach for many years. We lived in a mountainous area of Northern California, where we enjoyed hiking on many beautiful trails… The heart of Christian leadership is being a servant to others, as evidenced by Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet and commanding us to do the same.”

Ben Henderson

Ben Henderson, WS '09, is a product and strategy consultant in business IT and start-up ventures. His passion is people and understanding the way technology can impact lives. Ben has helped Fortune 100 companies in oil and gas, energy, retail, healthcare, and technology better understand their ecosystems and shape solutions around their unique needs. He is currently working with Ncontracts in Nashville as a Senior Product Manager and manages all products for the Enterprise Engagement line of business consisting of four web and mobile SaaS products with 100,000 users.

He credits his origins at Woodstock School with igniting his passion for the global community and desire to create positive change.

Sharon Seto, Chair of the Alumni Committee

Sharon Seto, WS ’79, grew up in Iran and attended Woodstock for her last two years of high school. She returned to Woodstock for ten years as Development and Alumni Director, teacher, and residential staff from 1998-2006. Her two children, Dorien,WS '06 and Robin, WS '17, attended Woodstock during this time. She was on the organizing committee for the FWS Reunion in Boston in 2017 and enjoys staying in touch with alumni around the globe. Sharon was also on the board of SAGE, Inc. for eight years and has served on numerous other local boards.

Sharon has worked in international and experiential education for over 25 years, most recently in Shanghai, China, with Northeastern University. She was instrumental in designing a gap year program for Winterline Global Education that leveraged skill-building for personal development. She served at the United World College - USA as Geography teacher, Dean of Co-curricular Programs, and Director of Community Engagement. She holds an MBA from the University of New Mexico and BAs in Geography and Economics from San Francisco State University. Sharon believes that both experiential education and international education are powerful tools to transform and equip people to make positive changes at both local and global scales.

Emeritus Board Members

Glenn Conrad

Glenn Conrad WS ’68 has been active in and a leader of Woodstock alumni affairs since 1983. A lawyer by profession, Glenn has worked in a variety of positions where, as a lawyer, his legal expertise has been put to good use. In addition to working on Capitol Hill as a staff member for a Representative to the US Congress, he has worked for the American Banking Association, as director of development at Woodstock and as the executive director of the Winterline Foundation. Glenn has served as president of WOSA/NA, was on the board of directors of KW International (KWI), and played a leading role in the transition of KWI from a largely mission representative board into an independent board of directors selected for their expertise and skills in non-profit board management. In 2006, when KWI devolved into two separate organizations, Glenn became a member of the FWS board of directors and in 2008 he became president of FWS, a position he held until the expiration of his term in 2012. In recognition of Glenn’s extraordinary commitment to the Woodstock Old Students Association of North America, KW International and Friends of Woodstock School, the Board of Directors of FWS in 2012 established the GLENN CONRAD VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD to be awarded for exemplary volunteer service to FWS or Woodstock School. Suggested nominees for the award should be submitted to dwheeler@fwsfoundation.org

Staff

David Wheeler – Administrative Manager

Behind the nice voice that answers the telephone if you call the FWS office is also a very nice man who is committed to Woodstock. David joined the team in 2002 when FWS was KWI and we were gearing up for the Woodstock 150 Campaign. His wife, Connie, was already working at the KWI office and David joined to help with the 150 Campaign. Eventually Connie went on to another position and David became the administrative manager for KWI and then FWS. Over the past 20 years, David has been a steady, reliable, conscientious presence in the FWS office, managing to keep everyone on track and headed in the same direction. David and Connie live on Whidbey Island with numerous cats, a lovely garden and sailboat.

Connie Wheeler – Communications Manager, Database and Donor Relations Coordinator

With a background in non-profits (four of them), city government, architectural and planning firms among many other interesting career paths, Connie returned to FWS in 2015 to join David in the office and brought her experience in donor relations and database management back with her. She worked with Jane Cummings as the office manager for the 150 Campaign and holds a deep fondness for FWS and all those involved with the Foundation through the years. Born in Cairo to TWA parents, moved to Paris, grew up in a Southern California beach community, attended California State University – Long Beach, Connie holds a BA in English from California State University – Northridge along with grad work in English and Education at Northridge. Her passions? A life-long ocean person who still loves to scuba, snorkel, windsurf and sail, Connie and David have logged 10,000 open ocean miles on their sailboat and lived in Mexico, French Polynesia (Tahiti and her isles), and Hawaii. The Wheeler’s classic 43-foot sloop is slipped in Port Townsend, WA. Connie’s ashore interests include anything “dance aerobic,” the Wheeler’s garden and Puget Sound cottage, the kitties, and life on Whidbey Island.

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Board of Directors and Staff

Emeritus Board Members

Staff