Governance
The Girls’ School of Austin is governed by a Board of Trustees that has long-term vision, strong fiscal acumen and is well-grounded in “best” practices for outstanding private schools. The board actively supports and maintains the School’s mission, values and vision and accepts ultimate responsibility for the School’s legal well-being and financial and administrative strength and advancement.
Three standing committees oversee the affairs of the School:
- The Committee on Trustees plays a vital role by ensuring that there are enough qualified board members on the team, nurturing relationships with potential board members, and providing orientation and training to board members.
- Chair: Sarah Orman
- The Finance Committee drives financial excellence through budgeting, development of financial controls, record-keeping, bookkeeping, and finance.
- Chair: Leanna Layton
- The primary role of the development committee is to advise the Board and staff of the school on all matters pertaining to fund development and to oversee and coordinate the ongoing fund development efforts of the school.
- Chair: Susan Hewlitt
Rachel Nguyen
Chair
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.
David Ciacchini
Trustee
Sarah Orman
Trustee
Sarah Orman is a writer and school attorney. A native of Austin, Sarah received her B.A. in Russian Studies from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and a Master’s Degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Wisconsin. Then she suddenly got practical and enrolled in law school at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, where she worked for two years as an attorney for public schools in the Bay Area before moving back to Texas with her husband and son. As a staff attorney and legal editor for the Texas Association of School Boards, Sarah has provided legal advice and training for public school officials across the state of Texas since 2013. She is also a co-author of the 10th edition of The Educator’s Guide to Texas School Law (UT Press, 2022). Sarah’s daughter, Aryn, attends 7th grade at GSA.
Kelly Mahmoud
Treasurer
Susan Hewlitt
Development Chair
With over 20 years of experience in fundraising and advocacy, Susan has made significant contributions to Austin’s community. Her dedication to healthcare philanthropy has led her to her current role at Dell Children’s Foundation, where she continues to prioritize serving everyone in the pediatric ecosystem.
She lives in central Austin with her husband Reid and 17-year-old daughter, Cicily, who attends Stephen F. Austin High School and is a 2020 graduate of the Girls’ School of Austin.
Susan and her family enjoy all of the great things Austin has to offer including ACL festival, Ladybird Lake and tacos. Susan is originally from Kansas City, stands by KC BBQ, attended Iowa State University for her undergraduate degree and received a Masters in Heathcare Transformation from the University of Texas, Dell Medical School in partnership with the McCombs School of Business.
Harini Ramunajam
Trustee
Lisa Stuardi
Trustee
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 7th 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.
