Meet Our Board of Trustees

Melissa Bilash is the Founder and Head of School at The Grayson School. She is a state-wide and nationally-recognized expert on educational practice and policy and has made it her life’s work that there should be no upper limit to what extraordinary children can learn.

As a federally-trained educational advocate, Ms. Bilash has received special Congressional recognition for her work, and has co-authored chapters in both the University of Denver Perspectives in Gifted Education: Legal Issues (Vol. 7), and the latest National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) Guide to State Policies in Gifted Education. For nearly two decades, she successfully gained access for countless families to meet the needs of their gifted children through her private advocacy practice, Advocacy & Consulting for Education (ACFE).

Ms. Bilash serves on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS), as an Advisory Board Member for Gifted Research and Outreach (GRO), and as Co-Chair of the NAGC Special Interest Group for the Profoundly Gifted. She has been honored twice by the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education (PAGE) for her work in the field, and is proud to be a sought after speaker at national and international forums for gifted children, including the World Conference for Gifted and Talented Children, NAGC, Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) SPARK and SPLASH programs.

Ms. Bilash is guided by her view that any gifted child with dreams and visions for their future deserves to be taught something new every day, to have their questions answered, and to let their academic needs drive the scope of what they are being taught.

Jill Dougherty is Head of School at Stratford Friends School in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Stratford Friends is a co-educational Quaker independent school for students in grades K-8 with language-based learning differences; the school focuses on the unique gifts and needs of each student to foster strong, independent learners. Grayson’s Board of Trustees especially values her experience with many facets of private school leadership and students who learn differently as well as her student-focused teaching philosophy. Previously, Jill was Head of Upper School at The Woodlynde School, a college preparatory K-12 school which specializes in teaching students with learning differences. Prior to that, she was a Reading Specialist at Springfield High School in Springfield, PA, and taught reading in the Southeast Delaware County School District in Sharon Hill, PA.

A graduate of the Principal Certification Program at Cabrini College, Jill earned a B.S. degree in Communication Disorders from The Pennsylvania State University and also holds a M.A. degree in Reading with a Reading Specialist Certification from Bloomsburg University. She is a recipient of a Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award, referred to as “the Oscars of learning” — not an accolade for “lifetime achievement” or the proverbial gold watch at the exit door, these unrestricted awards recognize early- to mid-career education professionals for their already impressive achievements and, more significantly, for the promise of what they will accomplish in the future. As a school leader, reading specialist, and parent of a gifted learner, Jill has always advocated for unique learners and has championed their successes in the classroom.

Barbara Hafner is a Grayson parent and a past president of the Grayson Parent Association (GPA). She has over 25 years of community service and non-profit experience including Special Olympics, organizing the Feed the Homeless initiative, and many years as an ESL tutor via the Learning English through Intergenerational Friendship Program (LEIF).

Her volunteer work has also included membership and Board roles in the Junior League of Philadelphia, of which she remains a Sustaining Member after more than 15 years. Barbara has served on the Temple University Alumni Association (TUAA) Strategic Planning Committee as well as Director at Large of the TUAA Board. She also served several years on the Community Education Alliance of West Philadelphia (CEAWP) Executive Board, where she was Chair of the Fundraising Committee for two years.

Barbara holds a B.A. degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from Temple University. She has worked in a variety of educational and private sector settings throughout her career, including as Lead Graphic Designer of the School of Continuing Education at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and working as the Global Project Coordinator for the executive team at Right Management. She currently resides on the Main Line with her husband and son, continues her volunteer efforts with the GPA, and serves on both the Diversity Committee and Strategic Planning Committee of Grayson’s Board of Trustees.

Tiffani Hurst is the parent of a former Grayson student. She has been a lawyer for 27 years and specializes in capital habeas, special education, and discrimination law. Although Tiffani began as a corporate attorney for the large firm of Schatz, Schatz, Ribicoff and Kotkin focusing on corporate formations, shareholder agreements, and securities, she ultimately left corporate life to dedicate her legal career to the public sector, primarily litigating capital habeas cases as a Federal Defender in the United States Courts.

She taught Diversity and the Law, Family Law, Employment Law, and Civil Litigation as an Adjunct Professor at Elms College. She also taught African American History; Racial Perspectives in Literature; Race, Religion, and Culture; and Sexual Harassment workshops as an Adjunct Professor at Springfield College. Finally, Tiffani has provided presentations on effective writing for various organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She is admitted to practice law in the state courts of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Illinois, as well as in federal courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court.

Tiffani is a graduate of Wellesley College, where she double majored in Political Science and Black Studies with an English concentration. She earned an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from Springfield College, which awarded her degree summa cum laude. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where she had the honor of being a student in President Obama’s Racism & the Law class and was appointed to the Dean’s Task Force to Monitor Community Policing. Tiffani began her legal career as a Research Assistant for the Honorable Judge Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, and also clerked at the prestigious civil firm of Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen.

Jeff Levinson currently serves as CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Jeffrey Levinson, LLC., a fashion accessories business. Previously, Jeff served as Managing Principal of Spring House Advisors, a boutique consultancy that advises small- and medium-sized firms on strategic growth initiatives and capital raising. Before Spring House, he led the Clean Energy corporate finance and Project Finance practices at Janney Montgomery Scott.

Prior to Janney, Jeff led marketing efforts for Jaguar Car’s $1.2 billion North American market and served in the Marketing Leadership Program at Ford Motor Company. He began his career as a Site Geologist at Roy F. Weston, now Weston Solutions.

Jeff holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an M.M.P. from the College of Marine Studies at the University of Delaware, and an M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He is a parent of three gifted children in Philadelphia-area public schools, where he and his wife have worked closely with school administrators to secure additional programming for their children.

Having recently retired from Bryn Mawr Trust Company, Al brings the invaluable experience of a 40-year career in financial services. He has also been a guiding force in the Philadelphia not-for-profit sector for over three decades, from serving as a Trustee for various local charities to being an active participant in Radnor Township.

Al has served on the Grayson board since 2019, notably with the Finance and Real Estate Committees. An accomplished runner, Al's marathons have taken him across the country, though he equally enjoys local races. Al also enjoys cooking, antiquing, and spending time with his family, including his wife Heather and their four children and five grandchildren. Al is an alumnus of Pennsylvania State University, holding a bachelor's degree in engineering, and earned his MBA from the University of Colorado.

Jennifer Nance, Esq. is a Founding Trustee at The Grayson School, and has spent most of her professional career advocating for the rights of special education and gifted education students and their families.

Ms. Nance earned her J.D. from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and holds an undergraduate B.A. degree in English from Hendrix College. Ms. Nance has also presented nationally on gifted education, including at the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) Annual Convention and the Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) Annual Conference. Her recent work includes co-authoring a chapter on legal issues in gifted education in the University of Denver’s Perspectives in Gifted Education: Legal Issues (Vol. 7), as well as a chapter in NAGC’s Guide to State Policies in Gifted Education (2nd ed.). In her prior work with AmeriCorps, she supervised and trained members delivering after-school services and civics-based curriculum to more than 600 students across 16 different schools in the Philadelphia area.

Ms. Nance is privileged to have served in various roles at Grayson, including In-House Counsel, Director of Admissions, and Founding Co-Director. Her leadership and experience across functions is instrumental in developing the organizational processes that enable continued growth and development of our school.

Erica is CEO/COO of Compact Membrane Systems (CMS), on a mission to save the planet through technology to capture and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, avert global warming, and transform industry into a long term sustainable enterprise. She is responsible for shifting the culture, mindset, and operations from a domestic science-driven R&D lab to a globally-active, commercially successful organization.

Today, CMS is characterized by robust in-house manufacturing capabilities, continued IP generation, and delivery and support of solutions at scale to the multinational industry titans that are our customers and strategic partners.

Prior to CMS, Erica spent 13 years at McKinsey & Co., serving pharmaceutical and medical clients on product launch, portfolio optimization, operations, brand management, acquisition, and stakeholder management. At McKinsey, Erica led several global change initiatives, including a worldwide effort to recruit, retain, promote, and elect McKinsey’s most talented women. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and earned her B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.

Erica is the proud parent of two Grayson students.

Karen Noonan is a manager in the accounting and assurance practice area at Morris J. Cohen & Co., with over 25 years of experience in the accounting field. She provides accounting, audit, and tax services for small to mid-size clients.

Karen works with the Key Contact Program at the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), a program at the non-profit organization with the mission of building and maintaining strong relationships with members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and communicating the PICPA’s position on issues of importance to the accounting profession.

An active volunteer in her community, Karen has worked as a team captain for Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, in addition to volunteering with the Girl Scouts of America. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and PICPA. Karen holds a B.S. in Accounting from Villanova University.

Nita Seelinger retired in March 2016 after 21 years at DuPont and intends to apply her industry experiences to advancing high-potential youth. Since joining DuPont in 1995, she held various executive-level positions and successfully led teams in developing and implementing corporate programs and strategic initiatives, including DuPont’s acquisition of Pioneer, one of the world’s largest seed companies. Nita held positions in DuPont’s Agriculture & Nutrition and Electronics & Communications businesses as well as in Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions prior to becoming Chief of Staff to the CEO of DuPont. In this role, she directed activities in the office of the CEO and was responsible for planning and managing executive decision-making processes, in addition to acting as a proxy for the CEO for many initiatives and interactions with DuPont leaders.

Prior to joining DuPont, Nita was a leader in the computer industry and held Sales & Services Management and Executive Account Management positions within Digital Equipment Corporation (now part of Hewlett-Packard). She holds B.S. and M.B.A degrees from the University of Maryland. She is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Nita aspires to leverage her experience, skills and insights to mentor and advocate for high-potential youth. She is committed to a holistic (academic, emotional, and social) approach to developing leadership behavior and skills among such students, particularly critical thinking and problem solving through collaboration with others.

Joe Sun is an executive-level leader in higher education who has worked in settings across the globe. He is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Arcadia University. Previously, Joe was Vice Rector (Provost) of Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan, where he remains an Adjunct Associate Professor of Sociology, and remotely co-directs the Poverty Action Lab, which he co-founded. Joe served as Global Director of Master’s Programs in Organizational Leadership for an international NGO, overseeing delivery of distance education degree programs in nearly 20 low-income countries.

Joe has held multiple leadership appointments at University of Pennsylvania, most recently as Vice Dean at Penn’s Engineering School, where he retired after 31 years of service. His career at Penn also included serving as Academic Director of the Undergraduate Division at the Wharton School, Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dean of Residential Life, and Director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center. His work has resulted in establishing many programs and initiatives that promote student learning and development, enhance campus life, support students of color, promote a multicultural campus climate, advance K-16 education, establish links and collaborations with Philadelphia’s diverse communities, and enable global learning experiences. He has designed and/or taught classes on international development, technology policy and development, Asian-American studies, multiculturalism, modern China and Chinese development, and leadership studies. He is a champion of service learning/civic engagement pedagogy.

Joseph (Joe) Wells is a seasoned executive and educator with a unique blend of experience spanning higher education, corporate strategy, entrepreneurship, and governance. He is energized by Grayson’s mission and eager to contribute to its continued growth as a Trustee.

Currently serving as Director of Masters Programs at Morgan State University’s School of Business, he has designed and launched data-driven graduate programs and led Morgan’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, supporting hundreds of entrepreneurs. His earlier career includes leadership roles in business development and finance at CSL Behring, GSK, and several consulting ventures, giving him a strong foundation in strategic planning, operations, and innovation.

Joe brings deep board governance experience, having served on the Council of Trustees at Cheyney University, a Pennsylvania state-appointed role through which he led institutional turnaround efforts. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in restoring the university’s accreditation and financial stability while advancing strategic partnerships and development infrastructure. With a personal and professional passion for applied learning, innovation, and student engagement, especially in STEM, He lives in the Philadelphia area and brings an influential regional network, particularly within life sciences, higher education, and independent school communities.

Christopher (Chris) Williams offers a blend of disciplined leadership, nonprofit governance expertise, and philanthropic bandwidth well-suited for a transformative board role at Grayson. He brings strategic clarity, a collaborative spirit, and deep commitment to advancing educational impact at scale.

Currently serving as Partner and Executive Managing Director at ApexOne Investment Partners, Chris is a seasoned executive and board leader whose four decades of experience span complex real estate investment, national housing strategy, corporate governance, and nonprofit foundation leadership. His career reflects deep commitment to mission-driven work and a proven ability to lead organizations through growth, risk, and long-term sustainability.

Chris's experience managing cross-functional executive teams and large-scale budgets provides a sophisticated lens for Grayson’s long-term planning and financial oversight. In addition to his corporate leadership, Chris brings extensive nonprofit leadership to Grayson. As President of the Balfour Beatty Communities Foundation, he led a mission-driven organization supporting military families through scholarships and community programming, raising more than eight hundred thousand dollars annually and awarding millions in educational support over his tenure. His depth of experience leading a national foundation and his ability to steward complex mission-driven organizations position him as a Trustee who can strengthen Grayson’s fundraising strategy, governance model, and institutional resilience.

Allison P. Wilson-Maher is a Grayson parent and vice president, real estate, design and construction at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, also known as Penn Medicine. She leads a diverse team that provides excellent real estate-related services in a healthcare setting. The team sources, renovates, builds, and manages Penn Medicine’s 13-million-square-foot real estate platform throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, including design and construction of inpatient and outpatient facilities, all real estate transactions, and property management in the administrative and ambulatory portfolios.

Allison previously served in various leadership positions on the board of directors for the Healthcare Leadership Network of Delaware Valley, and she received the organization’s 2015 Administrative Achievement Award. She served as ACHE’s Regent for Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey for three years. She is a frequent speaker both locally and regionally on a variety of healthcare topics, ranging from strategy and planning to development and asset value, and is a licensed real estate salesperson in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Allison holds a M.B.A. degree in Real Estate from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. She graduated summa cum laude, first honor graduate, with highest honors from The University of Georgia, where she received her B.A. degree in Journalism. She is board certified in healthcare management as an ACHE Fellow.