Governance

Ms. Nguyen has been a member of the GSA community since 2006. Her roles have included parent to two students (Eve ’17 and Mimi ’19), trustee, Chair of the Head of School Search Committee and now Board of Trustees Chair. Over the last 18 years she has built cherished relationships with faculty, staff, and GSA families. As the Board Chair, she is honored to be back on the GSA team and working with the committed and talented professionals in the community.

Professionally and in her volunteer experiences, the majority of Rachel’s time has been spent in business development for products, programming, and experiences. At the core of her work, Ms. Nguyen enjoys bringing people together to accomplish a common goal, whether that be launching a new product or designing an event to celebrate an emerging artist. Much of her work revolves around design in one of its many forms: graphic, program, product, experiential, fashion, etc.

Originally from the Midwest, Rachel attended Michigan State University and earned an MBA at Washington University in St. Louis. Her family loves the Windy City and they return to Chicago often to spend time with family and friends. Here in Austin, she is fortunate to be surrounded by her Nguyen family, which has been her support network for the last 30 years.

Kelley T. Glover is an educator with 29 years of experience in educational leadership and music education. She earned her Ph.D. in School Improvement from Texas State and music education degrees from Howard University and the Eastman School of Music. Her research interests focus on understanding cultural somatics (body-informed leadership that disrupts White body supremacy) in relation to promoting diversity, inclusion, belonging, and equity initiatives on college campuses and secondary schools.

Dr. Glover is the creator of an ear-training cartoon and game app called “U BETTER Sing!” Her company also mentored youth interested in having careers in the arts. “U BETTER Sing!” was featured on the PBS show “Blackademics,” where she discussed how culturally hegemonic practices affect music education and students from marginalized backgrounds. Her company’s products were also sent overseas to work with young Nigerian girls affected by the Boko Haram crisis in an initiative to educate and heal students through music. She is happily married and enjoys cooking, sleeping, exploring new restaurants, going for long walks, and binge-watching old episodes of “Columbo” because he ALWAYS gets his man…or woman!

 

Leana Layton is the Corporate Controller for RetailMeNot, Inc. She also currently serves on her company’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. Leana is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas. She has over 20 years of experience working in the Accounting and Finance industry.  She’s held multiple roles throughout her career which has primarily been in the high tech industry.  She received a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ms. Stuardi is an entrepreneurial executive with 25 years of experience transforming bold new ideas into market-ready products. Her expertise spans marketing and sales leadership, product design and development, brand management, and early-stage finance. She earned her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and her MFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television. She applies a unique blend of analytical, technical and creative horsepower to build brands that capture the imagination and improve everyday life. 

Ms. Stuardi currently supports the Austin startup community as an Executive in Residence at the Austin Technology Incubator at the University of Texas, where she also teaches a course on entrepreneurship. She frequently works as a growth executive and advisor to new technology companies, several of which have been recognized as the most innovative or fastest-growing in their sectors. More recently she has begun supporting Austin’s growing food and beverage sector as an angel investor and mentor. 

Ms. Stuardi and her family love to travel (52 national parks and counting!), and she has extensive experience living and working abroad – from Barcelona to Milan to Amsterdam. She speaks fluent English and Italian, as well as rusty but passable Spanish, though she remains in perpetual envy of her polyglot husband, Giulio. Together, they the proud parents of GSA alumnae Matilde and current 7^th grader Bea, as well as strong advocates for the GSA’s mission and incredible community. She is excited to further support the GSA as a member of the Board.