Board of Trustees

Blake's Board of Trustees is charged with ensuring Blake's long-term strength, growth and vitality. The board provides fiduciary, strategic and generative leadership and helps steward the mission and values of the school into the future. The board works closely with the Head of School. See Board of Trustees qualifications.

As committed stewards of The Blake School’s mission, the Blake Board of Trustees cares deeply about curiosity, kindness, inclusivity and resilience. The purpose of Blake’s board is to advance and amplify the school’s mission, values and commitment to pluralism. Community voices are key to fulfilling this purpose.

Blake's Board of Trustees for the 2026-27 School Year

Mosi Bennett, Chair, is a partner and senior consulting cardiologist specializing in heart failure and transplantation at the Minneapolis Heart Institute. Before joining the group in 2013, he trained in cardiovascular medicine and advanced heart failure at the Cleveland Clinic. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, received a B.A. and B.A.S. from the University of Pennsylvania, and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Neil Bizily is a member of the alternative asset team at Securian Asset Management. His past roles include positions in high yield and leveraged loans with Thrivent Asset Management, private equity with Madison Dearborn Partners and investment banking with Deutsche Bank. He previously served on the board of advisors for Arete Academy, an independent school supporting students who learn differently. He holds a B.A. in economics from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Kelsey Peyton Feriancek is a wealth management professional at the Carlson Family Office, where she advises individuals and multi-generational families on their financial, investment and philanthropic priorities. She brings nearly two decades of experience in the family office and wealth management space, including eight years at multi-family offices serving high net-worth clients. She served as treasurer of Blake’s Parent Association for four years and is also actively involved in a family foundation, supporting strategic philanthropy and grantmaking initiatives. Kelsey holds a B.A. from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Samuel (“Sam”) Gale ’03 is a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he focuses on 20th century U.S. history, African-American history and sports history. He is also a director and treasurer of the Gale Family Foundation. He earned a B.A. from Occidental College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Philip Hsia, Secretary, is president of global travel insurance at Tokio Marine HCC, where he has P&L responsibility and all key functions including e-commerce, products, underwriting, technology, operations, claims and regulatory compliance. His past experience includes multinational business unit leadership and strategy positions at American Express, AIG and Wells Fargo. He serves on the board of directors for Compass Pro Bono Twin Cities and the Cornell Fencing Association. He earned a B.S. and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.

Katie Goldstein '04, has worked with low income and special-needs children as a social worker. At Blake, she serves on both the Alumni Board and Parent Association Executive Committee. Katie received an M.A. in social work from the University of St. Thomas and a B.A. from Macalester College.

Tom Heffelfinger ’66 is an attorney at Best & Flanagan, where he investigates, prosecutes and defends white collar criminal misconduct and violent crime. He has served as an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Minnesota and has twice been the presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorney for the State of Minnesota. His career has focused on issues facing indigenous communities. During his service as U.S. Attorney from 2001 to 2006, he chaired the U.S. Department of Justice’s Native American Issues Subcommittee, developing and implementing public safety policies. Tom was named Attorney of the Year in 2011 by Minnesota Lawyer. He earned a B.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Laura Monn Ginsburg is partner and principal of Apparatus, a public affairs organization she co-founded in 2016 after spending a decade in corporate marketing at software companies. Apparatus is a General Benefit Corporation that works to advance social justice and equity and environmental sustainability. She serves as board chair for the National Council of Jewish Women, Inc. and on the board of directors for the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. She earned a B.A. from Carleton College.

Todd Noteboom, Treasurer, is a partner and trial lawyer with Stinson LLP, where he has practiced for more than 30 years and leads the firm’s national class action defense and governmental litigation practices. In addition to serving on Stinson’s executive committee and board of directors, he serves on boards for the Minnesota Business Partnership, Guthrie Theater and Children’s Theatre Company. He has a B.A. from St. Olaf College and a J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law.

Rodney Overcash is an investment director at Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies. Before joining the foundation in 2012, he was director of credit and inflation strategies for the North Carolina Retirement System and director of research at Marquette Associates. He serves on the board at Conservation Minnesota, a nonprofit focused on advancing solutions to Minnesota’s most pressing environmental challenges. He holds a B.A. in economics and international studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Will Parke is a retina surgeon and partner at Retina Consultants of Minnesota, where he also serves as the director of the vitreoretinal surgery fellowship. He has previously served as president of the Minnesota Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. He received an A.B. from Princeton University and an M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine before completing residency and fellowship training at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami.

Lisa Saul Paylor is the national medical director and Chief Medical Officer of women’s health for UnitedHealthcare. She holds board and advisory roles in health care, the arts, education, and women’s leadership, as well as a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.D. from the University of California, San Diego and an M.B.A. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Mindy Rechelbacher, Parent Association Liaison to the Board is a finance professional with career experience at Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Disney Interactive and Twentieth Century Fox. She spent five years in Japan, where she worked at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Asia Pacific, studied Japanese and enhanced her cultural business proficiency. In addition to her corporate work, Mindy served for six years in leadership roles with the Blake Parent Association (PA) including as PA chair; as a board member for USA for UNFPA, Global Minnesota; and as a board member for a family foundation. She holds a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and an M.B.A. from the Manoa Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii.

Art Rodriguez is vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at Carleton College. Prior to joining Carleton, he was dean of admissions and student financial services at Vassar College. He serves on the board of directors of the Common App. He received a B.A. from Carleton College and an M.A. from Harvard University.

Nedda Noori Salehi '02, Chair Elect, is a corporate attorney with a focus on startup businesses and venture investors. She operates her own practice, delivering legal advice to startups, venture firms and other angel or strategic investors. Prior to this, Nedda was associate general counsel at ServiceTitan, Inc., counsel at Lowenstein Sander LLP and practiced with GV (formerly Google Ventures), Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati P.C. and Olson Zaltman Associates. Nedda also serves on Blake’s Alumni Board. She received a B.S. from George Washington University and a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.

Geetu Sharma is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of 95 Impact Partners, LLC, as well as the founder and investment manager of AlphasFuture, LLC. In these roles, she provides investment solutions and services to individuals, family offices and foundations. Previously she has worked at Pictet Asset Management in Switzerland, with Credit Suisse and Standard & Poor’s in the U.K. and with the ICICI Bank Group in India. Geetu earned a bachelor's degree in commerce from Delhi University, completed a graduate program in finance at the Management Development Institute in India, and earned an M.B.A. from the London Business School.

Matt Sznewajs is managing director and co-head of services and industrials investment banking at Piper Sandler. He is experienced in investment banking services, mergers, acquisitions, private equity placements and public equity offerings. Prior to Piper, he worked as a principal at ShoreView, Nomura Securities and Ernst & Young. He received a B.A. in accounting and finance from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Chris Torino, President, joined Blake as Head of School in 2026. From 2021 to 2026 he served as assistant head of school at Episcopal Academy near Philadelphia. His more than 30 years of experience in independent schools includes leadership positions such as dean of faculty at Collegiate School, Head of School at Cushing Academy and dean of faculty at the Taft School. His career began with teaching and coaching roles at Gould Academy and as a founding faculty member at Sage Hill School. He holds an M.Ed. in school leadership from Harvard University, an M.A. in English from the University of Louisville and a B.A. in English from Amherst College.

Hema Viswanathan is in-house senior intellectual property counsel at Sherwin-Williams. Prior to Sherwin-Williams, she was supervising attorney at the University of Minnesota Law School, patent counsel at Valspar, patent attorney at Merchant & Gould and a research fellow at the University of Michigan. She is a board member for the Minnesota Center for Book Arts and the University of Minnesota Law School alumni board. She received a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Kansas State University.

Conway Yung ’02 has worked in banking and financial services throughout his twenty-year career. His past roles include positions at Wells Fargo in structured notes origination and interest rate derivative sales. He has held capital markets roles with Santander Consumer USA originating asset backed securities. Conway holds a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in finance from Carnegie Mellon University.