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Diana Block '91
President
Trustee since 2016
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Diana Block served as executive Vice President at Block Communications Inc. for seven years before leaving that role in 2022 to focus on serving on its board, as well as the boards of several subsidiaries. She has also worked at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as president and co-publisher, and at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business as an associate professor of business communications. She has served on the boards of the Greater Toledo Community Foundation, the Toledo Opera, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Pennsylvania Economy League, and the Allegheny Country United Way. Diana holds a BA in English from Yale University, an MA in English from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.
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Dr. Amanda Bryant-Friedrich
Vice President
Trustee since 2015
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Amanda is the mother of two MVCDS students, Klaus '20 and Cornelia '29. She is the Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Toledo/Medical Center. Amanda is also the Director of International Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention. She was an Intensive Independent Study advisor and was a member of the search committee for the Head of Middle School position.
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Vallie Bowman-English
Vice President
Trustee since 2017
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Vallie Bowman-English received her Law Degree from the Ohio Northern University College of Law in 1995. She is married to Common Pleas Court Judge Ian English, and they have one son.
Vallie is a past president and current member of the Ohio Association of Municipal / County Court Clerks. Vallie was elected Clerk of the Toledo Municipal Court in November of 2003. As Clerk, she has used technology to make the office more efficient and better serve the public. She is also the Chair of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Vallie became the first minority President of the Toledo Bar Association in its 138-year history. She is the past Chair of the Susan G. Komen of NW Ohio Grants Peer Review Panel and a current member of the board. She is the Chair of the Lucas County Democratic Party’s Central Committee and has been appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court‘s Judicial Family Network Advisory Board.
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Andy Weiner
Treasurer
Trustee since 2017
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A current parent of three Maumee Valley students, Andy is an Associate Vice President with Morgan Stanley. Before moving to Toledo in 2008, he spent 32 years in New England, where he met his wife, Sarah, originally from Toledo. Andy graduated from St. Andrews School, Barrington, RI, and from Unity College in Maine. He subsequently provided consulting services to the commercial banking and lending industry before discovering his passion for working with individual people and families. Andy also serves as Chairman of the Board at Sunset Retirement Communities, a local non-profit, and is the Chair of the Investment Committee.
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Areka Foster, PC, ATR
Secretary
Trustee since 2013
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A current parent at Maumee Valley, Areka is a licensed clinical counselor and registered art therapist at The Victory Center, Polly Fox Academy, and in the private practice. She is the co-founder of Growing 2 Give Garden, a non-profit that grows and donates fresh produce to area food banks and soup kitchens. She holds two Masters degrees, one in Guidance and Counseling (BGSU), and the other in Art Therapy and Counseling (Ursuline College).
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Alan Bannister
Trustee since 2019
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Alan is the parent of Cranston Bannister '26. He is the Commissioner of Community Engagement for the City of Toledo. Alan earned a B.A. in Public Administration from Kentucky State University. He is a lifelong Toledoan and serves on the Toledo Fair Housing Board, the United Way of Greater Toledo African American Leadership Council, and is the President of his Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. graduate Chapter of Toledo.
His wife Patekka is the Commissioner of Plant Operations for the City of Toledo.
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Christa Dewire
Trustee since 2023
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Christa Dewire has more than 30 years of experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC"), and has served clients in the banking and higher education sectors wherein she has had primary responsibility for leadership of multi-disciplined and multi-national audit engagement teams. She also serves as PwC's MidCentral Banking & Capital Markets Team Leader, where she is responsible for driving the firm's strategic priorities and leading the banking and capital markets teams across the Midwest and central regions of the United States.
Ms. Dewire is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is a Certified Public Accountant in Ohio and New York. She received her bachelor of science degree in accounting (Summa Cum Laude) from Miami University. She and husband Tony live in Toledo and have two children at Maumee Valley Country Day School.
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Lex Hultquist
Maumee Valley Parent Association
Member since 2022
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Lex is a passionate entrepreneur, marketing technology specialist, and analytics wizard. He founded
HQdigital in 2014 to help businesses discover how to systematically and predictably grow revenue through marketing and sales optimization and technology adoption.
He and wife Meghan are parents of Elle '31.
Lex attended Denison University from 2005-2009, where he earned his B.A. in economics and was a standout cross-country and track athlete.
Lex is a well-known expert and enthusiast on emerging technology who has been featured on PBS, CBS, and at industry events throughout the nation.
Lex was a HubSpot Champion User in 2018, which recognized the top users of the platform worldwide. He was also an Inbound 2018 speaker.
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Dr. Raj Kattar
Trustee since 2020
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Doctor Raj Kattar was born in India and raised in Wisconsin. He moved to Toledo in 1998 and joined the cardiology group of physicians which today is called Promedica Physicians Cardiology. He was Chief of Staff at St Luke Hospital from 2014-2016 and is currently President of the Promedica Heart institute, overseeing the cardiology service line for the entire system. Raj and his wife of 30 years Rajitha have two sons that graduated as “lifers” from MV, Nihal ‘13, and Sahil ‘18. Raj is a talented singer and an avid fan of sports and music.
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Adam Levine
Trustee since 2022
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Adam M. Levine, the Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director of the Toledo Museum of Art and a scholar of ancient art, is a transformative leader with a deep conviction that art inspires and museums are change agents. Levine is the 10th director of TMA since its distinguished founding in 1901.
Prior to embarking on his directorship at TMA in 2020, Mr. Levine was the George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs director and chief executive officer of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. Under his leadership at the Cummer Museum, Levine oversaw numerous strategic initiatives, including the reconstruction of its historic gardens, expansion of its educational offerings and the implementation of innovative membership and audience development programs with dramatic gains in visitorship.
Levine originally joined TMA in 2012 as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, a two-year post-doctoral program designed to prepare the next generation of museum leaders, and went on to increasingly senior management roles at the museum, ultimately serving as deputy director and curator of ancient art. During his six-year tenure at TMA, Levine curated a diverse range of exhibitions, advanced the Museum’s first campus master plan and shared oversight of TMA’s $16 million budget and 250 employees.
Levine graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College, where he majored in anthropology, art history, and mathematics & social science. He continued his studies as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he earned his master’s degree with distinction and D.Phil. in the history of art. He publishes widely and is a frequent presenter on topics ranging from ancient art and interpretive strategies, to museum and management practices.
Combining his interests in mathematics and art, in 2009 he co-founded Art Research Technologies, a dataand research company that was purchased in 2016 by a London-based finance company. He has founded or advised several other start-ups, including the Center of Visual Expertise at the Toledo Museum of Art. Levine has consulted widely for museums, universities, art market business, and think tanks.
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Clifford (Cliff) Oberlin, III
Trustee sine 2021
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A third-generation member of the Oberlin family to lead a broker/dealer, Cliff Oberlin is Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Oberlin Financial International, a Broker/Dealer, and Oberlin Wealth Partners, a Registered Investment Advisor serving the ultra-affluent with an office in Miami and an Operations Center in Ohio. Cliff was also Founder, President, and CEO of NRP Financial, Inc., a broker/dealer and registered investment adviser founded in 2000. NRP Financial and NRP Advisors grew to over 450 Registered Representatives, 150 offices, and over $50 million in revenue prior to being acquired by LPL Financial in December 2010. NRP was a two-time INC 500 company, ranking #2 on the list in 2009.
Mr. Oberlin has over 35 years of experience in broker/dealer management. He formerly served as President and CEO of MFI Investments, the Oberlin family’s first broker/dealer. MFI was named an Inc. 500 company for three successive years and grew to 90 offices and 275 registered representatives prior to being purchased by a multi-billion dollar bank holding company in 1995 and renamed Sky Investments.
Mr. Oberlin is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). Cliff earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and graduated from the three-year Owner/President Management Program at the Graduate School of Business Administration at Harvard University.
He was a member of the FINRA Membership Committee, served as Vice-Chairman of The Securities Industry/Regulatory Council on Continuing Education, and was the Chairman of the Firm Element Committee. Mr. Oberlin has served on the FINRA District 8 Business Conduct Committee and was Chairman of the FINRA District 8 Business Conduct Nominating Committee. He is a past Chairman of the International Association for Financial Planning (now FSI) Broker/Dealer Division. He is currently a member and past Chair of the YPO Miami | Fort Lauderdale Gold Chapter, Vice-Chair of the YPO International Financial Services Network, and Chair of the YPO Family Office Network. Cliff holds various securities licenses, including FINRA Series 7, 24, 4, 53, 63, and 65. He is a Trustee of the Bryan Area Foundation and the Cliff Oberlin Foundation.
Cliff Oberlin is co-author of “Building a High-End Financial Services Practice”© Bloomberg Press 2004.
The Oberlin Family has been at Maumee Valley Country Day School for 11 years. Max ’26 and Luke ’29.
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Reema Ridi
Trustee since 2020
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Reema Ridi is the mother of three students that attend MVCDS Sami ‘23 Rami ‘25 and Jenna ‘28. Reema grew up in the United Arab Emirates and graduated from Al Quds University majoring in information systems. In 2004, Reema moved to the United States after she married her husband Thameen Tim Ridi.
Before moving to the United States, she was employed by the first lady of the United Arab Emirates as an office secretary. Reema has been part of the MVCDS community for the past five years serving as Treasurer and Vice President of the Parents Association and a parent rep in middle school for the past three years. Currently, she is the President of the Parents Association.
Reema is very passionate about helping and volunteering. She has worked on the administrative staff of various schools and is very involved as a community member in the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo.
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Marc Savage
Trustee since 2023
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Marc Savage is the chief executive officer and founder of Emprise Technologies. He earned a bachelor of science degree in physics for Bowling Green State University and a master of science in physics from The University of Toledo. After completing his education, Mr. Savage taught math and science in the Fiji Islands as a Peace Corps volunteer. He then returned to Toledo to begin his professional technology career.
He and his wife, Kim Edwards, have four children attending Maumee Valley Country Day School.
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Nazarene Tubman
Trustee since 2022
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Nazarene Tubman is a first-generation Liberian-American. Due to the civil wars in Liberia, her family sought refuge in the United States where she grew up in Gaithersburg, Md.. She holds her degree in public policy analysis with a concentration in health policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Nazarene is a director of vaccine clinical development overseeing global zika, chikungunya, flu, and COVID/flu combination vaccine studies. Her global full-scope project management work has led to FDA approvals treating and/or preventing illnesses including hepatitis b, pediatric seasonal flu, major depressive disorder, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Her personal life has also followed this trajectory of dedication to positively affecting public health. Nazarene has spent time volunteering in Cape Town, South Africa, working with multiple organizations assisting persons living with HIV/AIDS. She volunteered at the Rocklands Clinic providing pre-testing counseling and with the Treatment Action Campaign providing training to the trainers and campaigning on access to care for those living with HIV.
Nazarene also worked to organize medical mission trips to Liberia, West Africa, to provide free health care in remote areas. Other highlights of her work include collecting and shipping medical supplies to Liberia during the Ebola crisis. She also serves her community locally as an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Links, Inc., and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Nazarene currently serves on the McLaren St. Luke’s Foundation Board and the Toledo Museum of Art’s Development Committee.
Her mother, former Superintendent of Maryland County, Liberia, and her late grandfather, Liberian President William VS Tubman, inspired Nazarene's dedication to public service and philanthropy. This lineage of public service continues with her 9-year-old daughter Leila who founded the non-profit Leila's Promise to empower and encourage youth voices in service.v
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Siyuan (Sy) Zhang ’10
Trustee since 2021
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Sy currently serves as the head of investor relationships at Balance Capital, a real estate private equity fund headquartered in Seattle, WA. At Balance, Sy works closely with fund investors and homebuyers to constantly meet their capital needs as well as property management and related duties. Before joining Balance, Sy accumulated four years of bilateral real estate work experience with commercial real estate developers in New York and a Chinese real estate developer in Beijing. Sy earned his BBA from the George Washington University with a concentration in Finance and Real Estate.
Sy resides in Beijing, China, where he is father to four-year-old George and husband to Emma.
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Ann Stranahan
Trustee Emerita
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Ann, a dedicated member of this community, served as President of the Board in the 1980s. She created and produced the documentary on Maumee Valley for Toledo Stories and wrote the school's 125 Year History. Ann is an author, poet, and humanitarian. She is a past parent, current grandparent, and strong advocate for Maumee Valley.
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Georgia Welles
Trustee Emerita
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Georgia is a community leader and has provided support for a large variety of non-profit organizations across the country, including Maumee Valley Country Day School. She has worn many hats for the school, including parent, grandparent, trustee, and president of the board. Georgia continues to mentor the administration of the school to ensure the longevity of Maumee Valley for generations to come.
