The Calhoun Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of seven new Trustees and one new Honorary Trustee beginning July 2023. The new Trustees include current Calhoun parents, an alum, and five members who are joining us from the Metropolitan Montessori School (MMS) and will be continuing at Calhoun next year. 

Calhoun’s new Trustees are:

Andrea Hsu

Andrea Hsu and her husband Leo Clark are the parents of Zoe Clark (7th grade) who joined Calhoun in kindergarten. They live in Tribeca with Zoe and her twin Lily. 

Born in London, England, Andrea has lived in New York City since 1995 after graduating from Yale University with a BA in ethics, politics, and economics. Andrea also received an MBA in finance from Columbia University. She began her career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, after which she transitioned to roles in strategic planning and corporate development for consumer-facing firms such as Ziff-Davis, Starwood Hotels and Scholastic Corporation.

Andrea is presently parenting full time. She is an active volunteer at her twins’ schools and most recently co-chaired the Calhoun Benefit in 2023 and 2022. In addition, she was a founding board member of Columbia Children’s Health for a decade, and currently serves as treasurer for her college class. Andrea’s favorite activities involve planning and production; in the home sphere this translates to cooking, knitting, gardening, and traveling with her family.

Fred Wang

Fred Wang is co-founder and partner at Hudson Cove Capital Management, a credit-focused investment manager since 2009. Previously, Fred worked at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and was most recently a portfolio manager in its principal investments group.

Prior to Merrill Lynch, Fred worked at Goldman Sachs from 2000 to 2006 in the Investment Management Division and more recently in the principal investing arm within the Fixed Income Division. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Fred worked at Deutsche Bank and Banker’s Trust from 1998 to 2000. Fred started his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Fred received a BS in operations research from Columbia University in 1995. Fred served previously as a board member of the Columbia Engineering Alumni Association, and is a current board member of the Engineering Development Council at Columbia. Fred is also a current Trustee on the MMS Board. Fred and his wife Kelly have three children. The oldest son graduated from MMS in 2021 and is currently at The Hackley School, and the two younger sons are currently at MMS in 1st and 5th grade.

Courtney Wolff

Courtney Wolff and her husband Eric have two sons, Owen (2nd grade), who started Calhoun in the 4’s, and Jude (kindergarten), who started in the 3’s. They have lived on the Upper West Side for many years.

Courtney has a BA in creative writing from Oberlin College and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. She has taught writing at Juilliard, The New School, College of Staten Island, and with the Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop. Courtney is the author of three novels (published under the name Courtney Elizabeth Mauk). Currently, she is working on her first children’s book, a middle grade novel inspired by her son Owen’s love of fashion.

Since joining the Calhoun community, Courtney has been an active member of the Parents Association. For the past two years, she has served as the co-vice president of the Lower School–Early Childhood division. In 2022, she volunteered for the Benefit as the auction co-chair, and this year she is the communications co-chair for the Carnival. Perhaps her proudest PA accomplishment so far has been the creation of the Calhoun Writers Network. Courtney volunteered to organize author readings for the 2022 Book Fair, and while doing so, she realized what an untapped resource Calhoun parent authors have been. She created the network as a way for Calhoun parent and alumni writers to support each other and work together to create events for the community. In the works for next year is a weeklong build-up to the Book Fair with readings, writing workshops and perhaps even a dance party—stay tuned.

Courtney has trained as a birth doula and is passionate about birth advocacy. She is an avid reader and enjoys practicing yoga, baking vegan treats, and exploring the city.

Andrew Merelis

Andrew Merelis lives in Pelham Gardens, Bronx with his wife Natalie and two children who have been attending Metropolitan Montessori School since the fall of 2018. Theo is going into 5th grade at Big Calhoun, and Izzy is attending 3rd grade in the MMS@Calhoun track in the fall.

Andrew earned a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ film & television production program, during which he started his video production company, Merelis Productions, Inc. Merelis Productions has grown from just Andrew to currently employing over 20 freelance videographers and video editors who create custom videos and record and/or livestream over 250 performances and stage events each school year. (Andrew was a “video kid” from a very young age… his Bar-Mitzvah theme was “Merelis Productions” – literally.) Even though Andrew comes to Calhoun via Metropolitan Montessori School, he has had the privilege of knowing and working with Calhoun for over twenty years through his company.

Prior to having children and living in the Bronx, Natalie and Andrew lived in a co-op apartment in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn (a wonderful neighborhood), where Andrew volunteered to join the board of directors of his 70-unit apartment building, quickly becoming president of the board and spearheading four years of major building and community improvements. These ranged from replacement of the building’s primary boiler, to improving communications with the resident shareholders, to redesigning and upgrading the interior of the public spaces within the building. One of Andrew’s favorite experiences was getting to be a tour guide on the Circle Line boats that circumnavigated Manhattan for four summers, which gave him the opportunity to express his ongoing passion for New York City, its people and its history to an international audience. Andrew always gets a thrill from riding the New York City subway system and mass transit in general, and has been known to sneak into a community board or MTA board meeting on occasion, just for fun. Andrew also has a passion for progressive education as an outgrowth of his own public school experience growing up in Roslyn, NY, and his summer arts camp experience at Bucks’ Rock in New Milford, CT, where he became an improvisation and sketch comedy counselor and teacher. Andrew also enjoys biking throughout NYC, enjoying the cuisines of the world that are amazingly all just a subway ride away, and slowly introducing his children to all the opportunities the world has to offer.

Tiffanie Claude-Onwuachi

Tiffanie Claude and her husband Udoma Onwuachi are the parents of Kenzo Onwuachi (rising 1st grader) who started at MMS in the 3’s program. The family lives in Harlem and enjoys the local dining and social activities.

Tiffanie is currently the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Scholastic Inc., where she partners to champion an inclusive environment by integrating inclusion practices into all aspects of the organization. Her life’s mission is to lead with excellence by empowering and motivating a culture of excellence. She is passionate about inspiring individuals she works with to be architects of change.

She holds a BA in journalism from Delaware State University and an MA from the New York Institute of Technology. During the family's first year at MMS, Tiffanie quickly became an active volunteer, first as a classroom parent with the Parents Association. She later joined the benefit committee as a chair and also led smaller successful school-wide community building events. In her personal time, she enjoys live music, traveling and spending time with family.

Zoë A. Vlachos

Zoë A. Vlachos and her husband, Ho-Young Yang, are the parents of Alexander Ely Vlachos Yang, a current 5th grader at MMS. Alexander started at MMS in the 3’s in the 2015-2016 school year and will attend Calhoun’s Middle School this fall. A native New Yorker who grew up on the Upper West Side, Zoë attended MMS from kindergarten through 6th grade as did her brother, Dimitri. After graduating from MMS, Zoë attended Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School and The Bronx High School of Science.

Zoë is co-founder and partner at Adalta Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm in New York. Prior to starting at Adalta in 2016, Zoë served as the chief compliance officer at investment advisory firm Beck, Mack & Oliver LLC from 2009. Prior thereto, Zoë was a principal of Austin Investment Management, Inc., where she held a number of positions during her tenure starting in 2006. Zoë spent seven years with Credit Suisse in New York and London, where she became a vice president in investment banking prior to earning her MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in 2002. She earned her AB in political science at Bryn Mawr College in 1993 and has also worked as a management consultant to the financial services and other industries.

At MMS, Zoë served as a room parent and on the MMS Fund Committee prior to joining the MMS Board of Trustees in the 2018-2019 school year. Zoe is currently a member of the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Head of School Support Committee, and served on the Strategic Planning Committee during the 2019-2020 school year. Zoe served on the President’s Advisory Council at Bryn Mawr College from 2014 to 2017 and has served on the Gala Committee for HANAC Inc., a New York City based multifaceted social services organization (including serving as co-chair in 2014), and the Gala Committee for The American Associates of the Saint Catherine Foundation, which supports conservation work at Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Desert.

Thomas Vitiello

Thomas Vitiello and his wife, Marialuisa Garito-Vitiello, are the parents of Nia (6th grade) and Giovanna (4th grade), who started at MMS in 2014 when Nia joined the Primary program. They live on the Upper West Side and parent a golden doodle, Bella.

Thomas has over 35 years of experience in financial management, real estate, non-profit leadership, and philanthropy. He is currently a senior VP and director of business development for BOS Development LLC. Previously, he was the founding member and CEO of VIT Futures Inc, where he managed the trading of precious metal assets for major financial institutions and was a member of the Board of Governors of the COMEX exchange. Mr. Vitiello co-founded Aurum Options Strategies, a fund specializing in the gold futures market, and served on the board of Alliance Media, a public company, for over a decade. 

His philanthropic work is highlighted by his long service as a member of the NYMEX Charitable Foundation, which evaluated, recommended and invested all charitable contributions on behalf of exchange members. He established and ran the East Harlem Little League, its first chartered league in 50 years, and has served on a number of non-profit boards, including The Homeland Foundation and PSI (The Psychotherapy Spiritual Institute). Thomas is a graduate of NYU's Stern School of Business with a BS in finance, and an alum of the Rockefeller TPW program. Tom has been a member of the Metropolitan Montessori School Board of Trustees since 2018 and has served the audit, the facilities task force, and chaired the trustee committee.
Thomas enjoys running, biking, skiing, cinema, and spending time with family and friends.

Alison Max Rothschild '85, Honorary Trustee

Alison Max Rothschild ‘85 is a Calhoun lifer. Since the age of three, Alison has spent only four years away from Calhoun, getting her undergraduate degree at Skidmore College. She returned in 1989, starting as an assistant teacher in the Lower School while earning an MS in early childhood and elementary education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Alison then worked her way to head teacher, Assistant Lower School Director, Lower School Director, and most recently, Director of Lower School–Early Childhood.

Alison is a stepmother to two grown children, Adrian and Dylan Rothschild, and she and her husband, Michael Rothschild, are the proud parents of Madeleine Rothschild, Calhoun Class of 2031. In her time away from Calhoun, Alison enjoys spending time at the beach, entertaining friends and family, and keeping up with her busy daughter!

After 49 years in the Calhoun community, Alison is thrilled to continue giving to the community in this new role, and she looks forward to the next chapter of Calhoun’s exciting future.

Please join us in welcoming Andrea, Fred, Courtney, Andrew, Tiffanie, Zoë, Thomas and Alison.