Following their spring 2023 board meeting on campus, the trustees of St. Andrew’s School have shared their plans for board leadership in the coming years. 

At the end of the 2023-24 academic year, the current chair of the board of trustees, Scott Sipprelle ’81 P’08, has expressed his intention to end his board service after 23 years, and after eight years as chair. Scott has been elected by the board as its chair for the 2023-24 year. In view of Scott’s plan to step down at the conclusion of that year, the board has decided to appoint Richard Vaughan ’88 P’24,’27 as vice-chair and chair-elect for the 2023-24 year, indicating that the board intends to select Richard as its chair to succeed Scott for the 2024-25 year. 

Kellie Doucette ’88, P’18,’18,’21 is vice-chair elect for the 2023-24 year, signaling the board’s intention to appoint her as vice-chair in 2024-25. Kellie will continue to serve as chair of the board’s Advancement Committee in the 2023-24 year. 

In practice and by precedent, the board has selected new chairs who have leadership experience on the board and who also have the trust and confidence of their fellow board members. Richard fulfills these requirements, and his appointment will maintain leadership continuity in the school’s governance. Richard is also perfectly positioned to work closely, supportively, and collaboratively with Head of School Joy McGrath ’92, who is still relatively early in her headship. Kellie and Richard are the most experienced members of the board’s leadership team, having served for years as committee chairs and in other crucial roles.
 
Other officers selected at the spring meeting are Monica Matouk ’84, P’18,’21,’23 as board secretary for 2023-24 and Kate Simpson ’96 as treasurer for 2023-24. In addition, Michael Atalay ’84, P’17,’19,’23 will serve as chair of the Education Committee and Kate Simpson ’96 will serve as Finance and Audit Committee chair in the 2023-24 year. 

Chair Scott Sipprelle said of the transition, “St. Andrew’s board has been characterized over the years by steady leadership and predictable transitions in leadership, and this transition bears those hallmarks by design. Richard Vaughan, as board treasurer, as chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, as a member of our Head of School Search Committee, and in multiple other key roles, has become deeply involved in the governance of the school and has shown his commitment and dedication to St. Andrew’s. No one understands the school’s finances, its endowment, and its governance better. The success of the school and its wellbeing in the future are very close to his heart and I am thrilled that he will succeed me in serving the school as board chair. The school is in a wonderful position at this time, and its future could not be in better hands.” 

Richard Vaughan expressed his enthusiasm for this new role, saying, “I am honored to continue my service to St. Andrew’s as the board’s intended chair after Scott steps down. His work as chair has set the pattern for board and alumni leadership for the rest of us to follow. I love the school, which has made such a difference in my life and in my children’s lives. I look forward to working with Kellie Doucette as vice-chair and the rest of the board officers and chairs to help Joy and the faculty to create the St. Andrew’s that will serve the students of the future as well as it has served all of us.”

Head of School Joy McGrath ’92 offered her whole-hearted support for the board transitions, saying, “I have been so fortunate to benefit from Scott’s mentorship and leadership of the board during the early years of my headship. I will always be grateful to him for his vision and support during this time. I could not be more delighted with the board’s choice of Richard to lead us into the future. His passion for the school, his wisdom, and his deep knowledge of the school’s finances, facilities, and people make him the perfect partner in the important work before us.”

Departing the board at the end of this school year will be L. Heather Mitchell ’92, Henry Ridgely ’67, Laurisa Schutt P’18,’23, and Andrea Sin P’16, ’17. “The school is all the better and stronger because of the dedicated service of these trustees, and their wise presence will be missed,” noted Scott. At the spring meeting, the trustees provided each departing trustee with a citation to commemorate their contributions to St. Andrew’s, as well as pens made from trees that stood guard on the Main Drive for the entirety of the school's history. 

During the spring 2023 meeting, the board also elected the following four new trustees, all of whom will join the board in the fall of 2023:

Commander Sarah Abbott ’99 is a 2003 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, where she received a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering. Following commissioning, she attended Stanford University, where she worked as a research assistant in the Global Positioning System Laboratory and earned a master’s in aeronautics and astronautics in 2005. CDR Abbott was designated a naval aviator in August of 2007 and selected to fly F/A-18s. After flight school, she received orders to the “Flying Eagles” of VFA-122 at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California for F/A-18E/F Superhornet training.  

CDR Abbott has over 1900 hours in 31 different aircraft over 300 arrested landings. Her personal awards include a Meritorious Service Medal, two Strike/Flight Air Medals, two Navy Commendation Medals, and various campaign and unit awards. 
 
CDR Abbott resides in St Mary’s County, Maryland, with her husband, CDR Bryce “Pawnshop” Abbott, and their two children. She currently serves as a F/A-18E/F deputy program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command. 

Anne W. Hance ’94 is senior vice president and general counsel for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, a company of more than 6,000 employees serving more than 3.4 million members in Tennessee and across the country. In this role, she provides legal counsel to the company’s executive team and board of directors. She also leads the legal division, overseeing teams responsible for legal affairs, privacy, subrogation, and corporate governance.

Anne is a member of the board of directors of the American Health Law Association (AHLA). She previously contributed to and held leadership positions in AHLA’s Plans, Payors, and Managed Care Practice Group. She has frequently presented and authored articles on managed care, health care reform, and legislative and regulatory developments affecting the health care industry.

She received her Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University and her Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Anne comes from a family of St. Andreans, including her father, Charles (“Sandy”) Hance ’61, uncle Bob Hance ’60, sister Elizabeth (“Beccy”) Hance Iossa ’91, and brother Charles (“Whitt”) Hance ’99. Anne’s mother, Nancy Hance, served as a parent representative to the board of trustees while Anne was enrolled at St. Andrew’s.  

“I’m so glad to have the opportunity to serve St. Andrew’s and its students and to support and contribute to the school’s mission of ‘Faith and Learning,’” Anne said.

Henry McVey P’25 is the head of the Global Macro, Balance Sheet and Risk Team at the investment firm KKR. Henry also serves as chief investment officer for the firm’s balance sheet and oversees firmwide market risk and derivatives & liability management. As part of his role, he sits on KKR’s Balance Sheet Committee. Prior to joining KKR, Henry was a managing director, lead portfolio manager, and head of global macro and asset allocation at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Earlier in his career he was a portfolio manager at Fortress Investment Group and chief U.S. investment strategist for Morgan Stanley. 

He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Henry is a long-time supporter of the TEAK Fellowship—a non-profit program that provides connects talented students from low-income families in New York City with educational opportunities—and has served as co-head of its board of trustees for five years. He also heads GBR Gives Back within KKR, an organization set up to provide pro-bono macro and asset allocation assistance to small to medium size non-profits. 

Henry is also a member of the Pritzker Foundation Investment Committee, a board member of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, a member of the national advisory board for the Jefferson Scholarship at the University of Virginia as well as a member of the Jefferson Scholars Fellows Selection Committee, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Henry also serves as a member of the Financial Sector Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Henry and his wife Laura are parents to Hank and Nelle ’25.  

Christian Wilson ’01 is currently an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and assistant attending physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Prior to joining Columbia in 2021, Dr. Wilson worked as a hospitalist for Apogee Physicians, a private hospitalist group. Dr. Wilson also worked in management consulting for The Boston Consulting Group after residency. Prior to medical school, Dr. Wilson worked in finance, first in investment banking for Bank of America and then at Konanda Pharma Partners, a pharma-focused start-up private equity fund.

Dr. Wilson completed residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Campus after earning his MD at Columbia Medical School and his MBA at Columbia Business School, where he served as a peer advisor and mentor. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in computer science and mathematics from Amherst College.

Dr. Wilson is one of three siblings who graduated from St. Andrew’s, along with his sister Morgan ’02 and brother Damon ’04. He also serves on the board of the John F. Kennedy Behavioral Health Center. He currently resides in New York, New York.