Board of Trustees

Executive Committee

List of 5 members.

Kate Pigman
Bio
Kate is the international human capital managing director in Global PwC Tech, Network Security and Chief Data Office at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. She has held market, regional, and national human capital roles during her 25 year tenure with the firm. After graduating from Sewickley Academy, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business and personnel management from Juniata College, going on to work in human resources and operations for the healthcare and insurance industries prior to joining PwC.

A dedicated volunteer, Kate has served as the chair of the board of directors and trustees for the Laughlin Children’s Center where she led the strategic planning committee. She was also on the board of directors and nominating committee for the Edgeworth Club. She co-chaired the Evening of Hope event in Sewickley for Girls Hope of Pittsburgh for several years.

Kate lives in Sewickley with her husband, Paul. Their daughter, Emma, graduated from SA in 2019. Kate has been a trustee with Sewickley Academy since 2015, serving as chairman since 2017 and as a member of Executive and other Board committees. She has also been the Annual Fund Parent Chair, on Division Head search committees, and a member of the Alumni Association.
Rachel Lorey Allen
Bio
A graduate of Allegheny College with a BS in Economics, Rachel earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Virginia. In her career, she has been Vice President at DQE Enterprises and a Partner with Jones Day’s private equity practice. She acted as the principal outside lawyer on numerous completed mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity transactions in more than 20 years in practice. Since retiring from Jones Day, Rachel has served as general counsel for ALung Technologies, Microbac Laboratories, Inc., and most recently for Encentiv Energy.

Rachel is a board member for the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh where she founded the Spring Clothes Out event in 1995 to collect business suits and other essentials for women and to raise awareness about domestic violence. She also serves on the boards for Community College of Allegheny County Educational Foundation and Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh, and has been an active volunteer with the Brother’s Brother Foundation. She was awarded the National Philanthropy Day Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser through the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

Rachel lives with her husband, Brian, and their daughter, Kathryn ‘23, in Sewickley.
Divya Thadani
Bio
Divya is the Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at BlueScope Steel where she is responsible for working with leadership to set enterprise strategy and lead transformation efforts. Prior to this, Divya had a dual role as General Manager of PPG Services and Paintzen (an online paint service company that was acquired by PPG in 2018) and Head of Strategy for PPG’s US and Canada Architectural Coatings business. Before coming to Pittsburgh to work for PPG, Divya spent 13 years in various roles at J.M. Huber Corporation, a privately owned $2B engineered materials and specialty chemicals company. She has also worked in strategy consulting at KPMG, LLP, and the Mitchell Madison Group. She recently joined the board of ABARTA, Inc. as a Board Advisor.

After earning a BA in mathematics and international relations from The College of Wooster, Divya completed an MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University. She lives in Sewickley with her husband, Barry, and two sons, Narayan ‘31 and Neel ‘34. The family enjoys bicycling together.
Dennis Zeitler
Bio
Growing up in western Pennsylvania, Dennis attended St. Vincent College for economics and earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He began working in finance by creating a computerized accounting system for Pittsburgh’s iconic Isaly Company. He then joined the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Pittsburgh before moving to MSA Safety as Manager of Financial Services where he climbed over 37 years to eventually retire as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. While with MSA, Dennis performed a variety of responsibilities with a particular focus on the company’s global business development, investor relations, and corporate strategy.

Though his career led him to travel extensively and globally, Dennis has always been active in the local community, having served as director of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, treasurer of the Pittsburgh Pension Fund Group and Economics Club of Pittsburgh, and chairman of the Regional Learning Alliance as well as the Butler County Community Development. He was also treasurer of the National Kidney Foundation located in New York.

Dennis has four children and four grandchildren, and he resides in Edgeworth. His youngest daughter, Chaira ’25 is enrolled at the Academy.
Brad Busatto
Bio
A Sewickley Academy lifer, Brad is now president of Industry Terminal & Salvage (ITS), a company started by his father that is a leading cargo carrier on inland waterways nationwide offering barge, terminal, marine, and industrial services. He purchased ITS in 2006, launching an extensive expansion plan.

Brad is also president of Energy Insight Technologies, a boutique firm offering patented energy saving and efficiency technologies. He has previously served as president of The Edgeworth Club and was Vice Chair of SA’s Board of Trustees 2017 - 2022.

Brad met his wife, Marne, while earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management at the University of Denver, bringing her to Pittsburgh after graduation. They have two daughters, Kate’16 and Brooke ‘25.

Members

List of 10 members.

Ashley Birtwell
Robert James
Bio
A Sewickley Academy lifer, Robert played baseball and was active on the Curriculum, Activities, and Fundraising committees. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Boston College before completing a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He then pursued dual Master of Business Administration and Master of Health Administration degrees from the University of Pittsburgh.
A leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as well as corporate strategy, Robert has been Vice President for Allegheny Health Network/Highmark Health since January 2021. He had previously spent five years as Supplier Diversity Program Director with Highmark Health during which the program was recognized with the Procurement Leaders Americas Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Award. He has also worked as a practicing lawyer for more than 20 years, general counsel for a physicians’ practice, and as an advisor with the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion in the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission.
In addition to serving as a Trustee for Sewickley Academy, Robert is on PA Governor Wolf’s Advisory Council for Diversity, Inclusion, and Small Business Opportunities and a board member with the Three Rivers Chapter of the National Association for Corporate Directors, Riverside Center for Innovation, Pittsburgh Opera, and Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation. He has received DiversityPlus Magazine’s Top 30 Champion of Diversity Award and the New Pittsburgh Courier’s Men of Excellence Award, among others. He has completed Northwestern University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) certificate program, Highmark Health’s Higher Mark leadership development program, and the Executive Leadership Academy through Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business/The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI).
Glen Meakem
Bio
A remarkably successful entrepreneur, Glen has founded and built multiple companies throughout his career. In particular, he founded FreeMarkets, Inc. in 1995, which became the leading provider of software, services, and solutions to improve corporate sourcing and supply management. He sold the company in 2004 for nearly half a billion dollars. He also started an early-stage venture capital firm, Meakem Becker Venture Capital (MBVC), which invested in and sold several significant tech companies. In 2012, Glen took his interest and passion for preserving family videos and started Forever, Inc. offering a permanent cloud-based home for organizing and storing generations of memories. He continues to work as Forever’s CEO.

Earlier in his career, Glen worked for Kraft-General Foods and General Electric’s Corporate Business Development Group. Due to his pioneering work and inventions, he holds eight U.S. patents. He has also served as a trustee for Carnegie Mellon University, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Urban League of Pittsburgh, and the Extra Mile Education Foundation.

Glen was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and served as a platoon leader in the First Gulf War. He earned a BA in economics, history, and government from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in business administration from Robert Morris University and the Anti-Defamation League’s National American Heritage Award, and he holds the World Economic Forum’s Global Technology Pioneer designation. He and his wife, Diane, are long-time Sewickley residents with three daughters and two sons: Katelin ‘10, Grace ‘13, Claire ‘18, Henry ‘19, and Matthew ‘21.
Stephanie Menzock
Bio
Stephanie has been part of the Sewickley Academy community since 2006. She has three daughters, all of whom started at SA in Kindergarten: Autumn '19, Brooke '22, and Bella '27.

Stephanie has performed various Home & School volunteer roles at Sewickley Academy, including Vice President, Lower School Representative, and Logo Wear Founder and Chair. She also served on the Above & Beyond Committee, By-laws Committee, and Clothesline Sale Committee. Stephanie also participated in the Envision SA 2024 Conference. She is currently the Home & School Association President.

Stephanie's professional background is in human resources, payroll, and office management. She has worked for various companies in the Pittsburgh area, including Affiliated Building Services, ARC-Allegheny, and Three Rivers Recycling.
Kevin Park
Bio
Kevin is Vice President with Park Corporation, a privately owned family business involved in heavy manufacturing for steel and defense industries, the purchase and sale of used mining equipment, commercial and industrial real estate development, and private equity investments.

After graduating from Sewickley Academy, Kevin furthered his education at Princeton University and The University of Chicago Law School.

Kevin’s wife, Marguerite, is also a graduate of Sewickley Academy’s class of 1995. The couple has three children: Olivia ‘22, Andrew, and Cecily ‘29. Kevin has been serving as a trustee since 2015.
Ryan Purpura
Bio
Ryan is a partner in the Pittsburgh Office of the international law firm t Reed Smith, LLP. He represents oil and gas companies, private equity and hedge funds, and other financial institutions in mergers and acquisitions, project finance and development, and other transactions related to the energy industry. A recognized practitioner across the United States, Ryan also frequently lectures on topics related to oil and gas and has served as an adjunct professor teaching energy law at Duquesne University's School of Law.

He has served as in-house counsel to two publicly traded natural gas companies, where he advised on a range of commercial and operations issues, including acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, oil and gas marketing arrangements, land acquisition and development, employment matters, and litigation. Ryan currently serves as outside general counsel to several E&P and midstream companies, advising them on all aspects of their operations.

In addition to his board service at Sewickley Academy, Ryan is an advisory board member for Pennsylvania State University’s energy land management program and the Institute for Energy Law. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation. As an active member of his community, Ryan co-founded and provided legal oversight to Operation Troop Appreciation, a Pittsburgh nonprofit corporation supporting U.S. military personnel overseas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Penn State and a dual Juris/Master of business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ryan and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children at the Academy: Lauren ‘28, Caroline ‘29, and Matthew ‘33.
Ashvin Ragoowansi
Bio
Board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons, Ashvin has worked with Heritage Valley Health System for nearly 30 years and has been the Director of Neurosciences since 2018. He specializes in providing surgical treatment for conditions affecting the nervous system, such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. Ashvin has also held faculty appointments in Pittsburgh at the CaroMont Regional Medical Center, Drexel College of Medicine branch at Allegheny General Hospital, and at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Ashvin earned a bachelor’s degree in science at Johns Hopkins University then pursued his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh. He completed a neurosurgical residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He has been a Sewickley Academy board member since 2011.

Ashvin lives in Sewickley with his wife, Beth, and their six children: Olivia ‘14, Evan ‘16, Kieran ‘19, Aidan ‘21, Ashton ‘23, and Ava.
Peter Schramm
Bio
Pete is passionate about bringing people together. He is an entrepreneur, engineer, motivator, TED speaker, author, and experienced leader who grew up working on his family’s farm in Butler, PA.

As an Academy student, Pete was active on the basketball and track teams, participated in many clubs, and enjoyed pottery and stone carving. He went on to study mechanical engineering earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Catholic University in Washington, DC, where he continued to play basketball and track and kickstarted a golf team.

Pete began his professional career at Lockheed Martin where he held roles as proposal analyst, environmental sustainability engineer, supervisor, supplier quality, and manufacturing engineer. He led an effort to design and implement Florida’s largest solar carport in 2017. In 2018, Pete went to MTEQ (now QinetiQ), where he led a team of more than 100 engineers and scientists, along with a $30M+ portfolio of multiple programs, to build robots for the U.S. Army that “keep the good guys safe from far away.”

Pete is now growing his own business, Latitude, which is a software platform helping medium and large companies increase internal engagement to amplify retention to attract the talent they need. He also stays balanced and active playing basketball, hiking, cycling, doing farm work, and traveling the globe.
Rodney Smith
Bio
Currently CEO of Z(AEM) in Pittsburgh, Rodney began his career in Washington, DC, with Andersen Consulting, where he focused on IT and management solutions for Fortune 500 clients, primarily in telecommunications. In less than a decade, he had moved on to CFO of Krone Global (the Communications Segment of GenTek) in Denver, CO. He later served as president of several divisions within Thermo Fisher Scientific including four years leading their global Environmental & Process Instruments division from its headquarters located in Shanghai, China.

In addition to his work with AEM, a private-equity-backed roll-up focused on helping companies facing escalating environmental risks, Rodney is currently an independent director on the board of PharmaJet Inc., an advisory board member at the McGowan Institute within UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, and also works as a private investor.

Rodney attended Cornell University earning a bachelor’s degree in operations research and industrial engineering. He also achieved a Masters of Engineering from Cornell and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He now lives in Sewickley Heights with his wife, Kristene, and their two children, Kylie ‘20 and Garrett ‘23.
Joseph Zaluski
Bio
Having served Sewickley Academy from 1988 through 2005 as Head of Lower School, Assistant Head of School, and Interim Head of School, Joe has maintained his close ties with the Academy community and is excited to continue the relationship as a member of the Board of Trustees. In 1998, he was part of the strategic plan that resulted in building both the Early Childhood and Middle School buildings as well as renovating the Lower and Senior schools.

Joe began his career as a teacher and naturalist at an outdoor education center in Ohio before moving on to teach Grade 6 with The Miami Valley School, an independent PreK - Grade 12 school where he subsequently served as Head of Lower School for nine years before joining Sewickley Academy. From 2005 until his retirement in 2019, Joe was Head of School at the Gulf Stream School in Florida during which the school’s endowment grew 350% and enrollment grew nearly 20%, capped by an agreement with the town where the school is located. While in Florida, he also spent eight years on the Board of Trustees at the Benjamin School, an independent school with 1,100 students.

Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from the University of Dayton as well as a master’s degree in administration. He and his wife, Sally, have two children, Zachary ‘00 and Katelin ‘02. Joe and Sally live outside Columbus, Ohio, where Joe volunteers at The Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Trustees Emeriti

Nancy M. Bunce

Glenn A. Buterbaugh, M.D.

Ronald E. Gebhardt (deceased)
Margie Shields Gilfillan

Anne O. Jackson (deceased)
Kristen Hammel

Jeffrey Lenchner

Amy Marsh
Douglas B. McAdams

Nancy S. Means

Hugh W. Nevin, Jr.

Gregory Patrick, M.D.

Frank C. Schroeder, Jr. (deceased)
Amy (Simmons '80) Sebastian

Richard P. Simmons

William S. Hansen (deceased)

KPigman Profile Pic 11.10.13

It is a great pleasure to serve as the chair of the Board of Trustees, and to continue supporting Dr. Ashley Birtwell, now in her second year as Head of School. The Board is committed to working with her and the entire Sewickley Academy community to uphold our Mission and Core Values, as well as to help the school grow enrollment and resources for our students.

My journey with Sewickley Academy began in 1979 when my family returned to Pittsburgh and, after meeting with then-Head of School Jim Cavalier, we determined that I would benefit from the remarkable education offered by the school. That began my family’s involvement with the Academy, and I am now, along with my husband, Paul, a proud parent of an SA alumna. Our daughter thoroughly enjoyed 14 years at the Academy beginning with Pre-K, and having the opportunity to deliver remarks at her graduation ceremony and present her with her diploma will always be a highlight of my life. Her SA education ensured that she was thoroughly prepared for the college experience that followed.

The role of Board Chair is a responsibility and an honor. With the other members of the Board of Trustees, I look forward to a year of excellence across academics, athletics, and the arts at Sewickley Academy. We appreciate the commitment, positive participation, and generosity of the entire Sewickley Academy community, as you are vitally important to the continuing good health and growth of our school. Together, we will achieve our goal of giving our students the finest preparation and guidance for their futures.

~ Kate (Poppenberg '82) Pigman