Our Board

Rob Bruce joined the board in 2019.

Melissa Coleman, an emeritus member and past Board chair, began serving on the Board of Trustees in 2008, chairing the Audit and Risk committee. She currently leads Geoscience, Exploration and Technology for ConocoPhillips, and is active in promoting women’s professional development opportunities in the energy industries. She also supports community outreach efforts to develop an early appreciation for science. Melissa was a Post Oak parent since 2003, and has two daughters who graduated from Post Oak Middle School in 2011 and 2016. 

The Post Oak School has reinforced my children's love of learning, something I value highly, and expect they will carry this with them and benefit throughout their lives. It is an honor to be able to support the school in any way, and serving on the Board of Trustees is a great opportunity to demonstrate support to this great educational environment.

Rick Evans began serving on the Board in 2018.

TJ Farnsworth began serving on the Board in 2022.

Adam Forman, an emeritus member, began serving on the Board of Trustees in 2008, and has been a Post Oak parent since 2004. He is a deputy general counsel at Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. He and his wife have two boys, one in in Middle School and the other in High School at Post Oak.

My wife and I love this school and the qualities that it develops in children. I believe it is extremely rare to find an educational institution like Post Oak that consistently produces interested and independent young people. I am grateful to be a part of the Post Oak community.

Melanie Gray, an emeritus member, was elected to  the Board of Trustees in  1999. She served for seven years on the Board of Trustees, and has been a Post Oak parent since 1991. She practiced law for almost 40 years, specializing in complex commercial and bankruptcy cases. She has also served on the boards of Syracuse University, Syracuse University College of Law, Greater Houston Community Foundation, Performing Arts Houston, Legacy Community Health Services Endowment, and the local and national boards of Girls Inc. All three of Melanie's children graduated from Post Oak's Middle School.

This school deserves substantial credit for the outstanding character I believe my children have. I want to be sure this jewel is available to Houston families for generations to come.

Vean Gregg joined the Board of Trustees in 2014 and is serving as the current Board chair through completion of the 2020–2021 school year. He and his wife, Jessica, live in Houston and have two daughters in high school, Carly and Josey, who have attended The Post Oak School since Primary.

Vean is managing partner of Local Capital Partners where he collaborates with private companies that have strategic or tactical opportunities to invest capital and create value. Previously, he has 18 years of experience with J.P. Morgan Securities, most recently as Managing Director and Group Head, North American Oil and Gas Investment Banking where he completed M&A and capital raising projects with public and private companies across the energy sector. Prior to banking, he has three years of international experience in strategic planning with Bellezza Club International, a manufacturing and merchandise trading company in Tokyo, Japan, working on business development projects in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Since 2014, Vean has been on the board at Approach Resources Inc., a publicly traded independent exploration and production company, where he serves as lead independent director, chairman of the Compensation Committee and as a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee. Besides The Post Oak School, he also serves on the boards of The Woods Project and The Center for Houston’s Future.

Vean has a MIM from Thunderbird—The American Graduate School of International Management and a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bob Harvey is an emeritus member who began serving on the Board of Trustees in 2002. He and his wife, Vicki, were Post Oak parents from 1993 through 2008. Bob is the President and CEO at Greater Houston Partnership.

Maura Joyce came to Post Oak in 2016 after serving as head of school at Montessori in Redlands (California) for 16 years. She holds AMI diplomas at both the Primary (3–6) and Elementary (6–12) levels, a master's degree in education from Loyola College, and a bachelor's degree from Boston College. Maura has ten years of classroom teaching experience at the elementary and adolescent levels. She has been a featured presenter for both AMI/USA and NAMTA and has also lectured at various Montessori schools and training centers around the country and has been an examiner for AMI. Maura served on the Board of the Montessori Administrators Association for eight years. She completed a three-year term (2020-2023) as a member of the ISAS Standards Committee, serving as Chair from March 2022 through June 2023, and has accepted a role on the ISAS Board through 2026. A native of New York, Maura came to Houston with her husband, Roberto, and son, Francesco, a Post Oak alum who currently attends Texas Christian University in Forth Worth. 

Susanna Kartye began serving on the Board in 2022.

Lloyd Kirchner is an Officer at Zachry Group. Since 2014, Lloyd has held various executive positions in Engineering, Operations, Business Development, Safety and Quality. 

Formerly, Lloyd served as President and CEO of Commonwealth Engineering and Construction, where he also held executive positions in Operations, Sales, Marketing and Commercial Management. Lloyd joined Zachry Group through the acquisition of Commonwealth. Prior to Commonwealth, he was a founding employee of Capstone Turbine Corporation and held various executive positions in Engineering, Supply Management, Manufacturing and Product Development. Lloyd started his career with Amoco Corporation working in all three business units: Exploration & Production, Refining, and Chemicals. 

Lloyd received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. He currently serves as a Board Member for The Post Oak School in Houston, the Baylor College of Medicine, and Mercury Chamber Orchestra. Previously, he was elected to the Executive Board of the Engineering and Construction Contracting (ECC) Association for 10 years, where he served in various leadership roles, including Board Chair. 

Lloyd is an avid automotive and boating enthusiast who enjoys competing in athletic endurance events. 

Judy Le is CEO of TakeRoot, LLC, a leadership and team development company. She also teaches at Rice University’s Glasscock School and the American Leadership Forum. She serves on the board of Girls, Inc. of Greater Houston, EMERGE Fellowship, and on the advisory boards of the Young Center and Asia Society. Judy earned her master’s degree at The University of Texas and her bachelor’s degree at Rice University. Don and Judy have two kids at Post Oak and one adopted son in college. She enjoys gathering people in her kitchen, embarrassing her kids with bad puns, and snuggling with her charismatic dog Harvey (otherwise known as “Mom’s favorite child”).

“Post Oak is special in its approach to developing the whole child. In so much of my work, I see the biggest struggle people have is not in increasing knowledge, but in inter and intrapersonal development. I love how my kids are accountable to how they show up in community. I am grateful for how the school values independence, collaboration, and service.”

Gabriel Loperena joined the board in 2019.

Pat Mitchell, an emeritus trustee, joined the Post Oak Board in  1999. She served for six years with two years as board chair. As an emeritus trustee, Pat has chaired the head support and evaluation committee, and assisted in research to assess learning agility of Montessori students. Pat has a B.A. from Rosement College, an M.A. in Organization Development from Antioch University, and executive education certificates from Harvard Business School. She retired from her position as senior vice president of Texas Medical Center in 2013, and currently serves on the board of a medical center institution, the San Jose Clinic. Pat’s daughter graduated from the Post Oak Middle School in 1997 and completed her B.S. at Austin College and M.S. at Stanford University in computer science. Her daughter is currently pursuing a Master’s in Divinity.  

I joined the Board after Sara graduated; I felt it was a way to give back to The Post Oak School. We had received so much from the school, and I wanted to be sure Post Oak would be here to serve many future generations.

Jennifer Norten joined the Post Oak Community in 2004 when her family relocated from North Carolina to Houston for her husband’s employment at MD Anderson. Her daughter, Megan, attended Post Oak through 8th grade, and Emily was a “lifer”, starting in primary and graduating from the high school in 2020. Jennifer will be eternally grateful for the Post Oak Community.  It was here that she found a warm group of intelligent and like-minded friends in a new city.  While the girls were enrolled, Jennifer was active in the school serving as a room parent, volunteering through POPA and utilizing her musical/theater talents to help launch and direct the Post Oak children’s opera experience.  Professionally, Jennifer completed her Bachelor’s in Psychology at Northwestern University and Ph.D. at UNC, Chapel Hill.  She has worked in hospital settings, university counseling and private practice as a clinical psychologist.  Jennifer is acutely aware of the pressures facing modern families and children, particularly with the lingering impact of the pandemic.  She is honored to join the board and bring her expertise in mental health to help guide the community in strategic decision making that incorporates consideration of the whole person.

Oscar Parada began serving on the Board in 2022.

Damon Putman currently serves as a Managing Director and Senior Investment Analyst covering public and private companies in both the traditional and transition energy sectors at Silver Point Finance, the private capital solutions arm of Silver Point Capital, L.P.  Prior to Silver Point, in 2013 he co-founded the energy investment team at Angelo Gordon serving as Managing Director and member of the energy investment committee.  Before joining Angelo Gordon, Damon was CFO of Torch Energy Advisors, a private energy company with investments in the upstream, midstream, and renewable energy sectors, and served as a member of its executive committee.  Early in his career he worked in energy investment and commercial banking.  Throughout his career, Damon has held board positions across several public and private energy companies.  Damon and his wife, an alumna of the school and former POPA chair, have two children at Post Oak.  Damon holds a B.B.A. degree in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.  

Manual "Manolo" Sánchez is a director at Fannie Mae (FNM), Stewart Information Systems (STC) and BECU after having served as chair & CEO of BBVA Compass for 10 years.  At Rice University’s Jones School of Business, he teaches disruption in financial services with a focus on crypto currencies and blockchain.  Manolo is an advisor to several fintech and blockchain start ups.
His banking career at BBVA, spanned over 27 years, with positions in the US, Mexico, France and Spain, and executive roles in risk management, real estate, correspondent, corporate and investment banking.  
Manolo has served as a director of OnDeck Capital (ONDK purchased by Enova in October 2020), BanCoppel Mexico, the American Bankers Association, the Institute of International Bankers, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Financial Services Roundtable and BITS (the technology policy division of FSR).  He is currently a trustee at the Center for Houston’s Future.
Manolo has volunteered extensively in the communities where he has worked, with a focus on education, health, and the arts.  He is an emeritus trustee and past chair of the Post Oak Montessori School board, as well as a director of Good Reason Houston, KIPP Texas, Brighter Bites and Texas Children’s Hospital.  He is a past director of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Symphony. 
A graduate of Yale University, Manolo earned master’s degrees in international relations from the London School of Economics and in advanced European economics from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. 
A native of Murcia, Spain, Manolo first came to the US as high school exchange student. In addition to English and Spanish, he speaks French, German and Arabic. A naturalized US citizen, Manolo and his wife Daniela are the parents of three teenagers at Post Oak School, where they have been schooled for over a decade.

What my wife and I love about The Post Oak School and the Montessori model is their holistic approach on children's education. We see how teachers live by that vision and we are grateful that they focus on the many facets of the children's development.

Troy Thacker began serving on the Board in 2022.

Whitney Walsh joined the Post Oak community in 2005 when her oldest daughter joined the Young Child Community.  Her two sons followed in 2007 and 2011.  Years later, she has fully engaged in the school through volunteering as POPA Dinner Co-Chairman, Annual Fund Class Captain, Starstruck Gala Chairman (2014) and POPA Co-Chairman (2015-2017).  Whitney joined the Post Oak Board in 2017 as the Chairman of the Development Committee. She is currently serving as Board Chair through 2025.  Whitney is from Houston, attended The Kinkaid School before graduating from Duchesne Academy in 1992.  She earned a BA in Organizational Communication with a minor in Spanish from The University of Oklahoma. She worked in Public Relations for Neiman Marcus and in Development for Rice University before becoming a full-time community volunteer.  Whitney has been very active in The Junior League of Houston and The Woods Project; she currently serves on the KIPP Texas Houston Advisory Board and the Glasscock School of Continuing Education at Rice University.  Whitney and her husband, Marc, are proud parents to Sutton (Post Oak Class of 2022, attending Rice University), Andy (Post Oak Class of 2023, attending The University of Oklahoma) and Quinn (8th grader at Post Oak). 

Alison Wong is a trial consultant with Salmons Consulting. She has published articles on gender in the courtroom, the use of juror psychology in jury selection, and patent litigation in the Eastern District of Texas. Alison and her husband have two children at Post Oak and she is also an alumna of the school, having attended through Elementary. She went on to attend St. John's School, Southwestern University, where she received a BA in psychology and sociology, and then The University of Texas School of Law, where she earned her JD. She served as co-chair of the Post Oak Parents Association (POPA) before joining the Board in 2016.

Jordan and Christi are proud Post Oak parents and passionate about the school’s positive impact on its students and community. Jordan is also Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at ChampionX, a global leader in chemistry solutions, artificial lift systems, and highly engineered equipment and technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas safely, efficiently, and sustainably around the world.  Before joining ChampionX, Jordan spent nearly 14 years at GE, where he served in HR leadership roles in multiple divisions while based in the U.S., Turkey, Italy, and the U.K. Jordan began his Human Resources career at Rotorex International and later progressed into leadership roles at Graham Packaging Company and Monsanto. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in industrial relations (MSIR) from West Virginia University, where he now serves on the university’s John Chambers College of Business & Economics MSIR Advisory Council and leads an annual practicum with its graduate students.

Alan and Anita Ying and their three children joined the Post Oak community in 2008.  Alan joined the Board and was involved in the creation of the Museum District Campus and the transition from John Long (prior Head of School) to Maura Joyce.  Sydney ('20) and Emory ('22) graduated from The Post Oak High School to attend Rice University and Haverford College, respectively.  Cooper graduated from middle school in ‘22.  Alan served three terms as a Trustee and is currently an Emeritus member of the Board.  Alan has been Chairman, CEO, Director, and investor of various businesses for over 20 years, and is on the Board of KIPP Houston.  Anita is a physician executive at MD Anderson Cancer Center.  Anita’s family is native to Houston; Alan is from Cleveland, OH, and got here as soon as he could.