Board of Directors
Grace Zakim, Board Member since 2021, President
Grace and her husband, Josh, are longtime Back Bay residents and have a son, Leo, in Blue Room. Grace is a former fundraiser turned executive recruiter at the national search firm Isaacson, Miller. Outside of work and parenting, she has been an active board member and volunteer with several Boston-based non-profits supporting health equity and social justice.
Eric Wolkoff, Board Member since 2019, President Emeritus
Eric and his wife Dara live in the South End with their son Wesley (JWS Alum) and their daughter Evelyn (Blue Room). Eric is a proud JWS alum. He is a trial lawyer at Quinn Emanuel in Boston with a focus on general business and securities litigation
Kate Dineen, Board Member since 2021, President Elect
Kate is thrilled to join the JWS Board after serving as a class parent in the Yellow Room. Kate has worked in the public, non-profit, and media sectors, and currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the Boston-based non-profit A Better City. She holds a Masters in City Planning from MIT and B.A. in English from Williams College. Kate lives with her family in the South End.
Candice Corvetti, Board Member since 2021, Treasurer
Candice and her husband Steve live in the South End with their three children – Jo (JWS Alum), Claire (Blue Room) and Sy (Green Room). This is their family’s fourth year as part of this incredible JWS community. Candice works in finance and loves biking (PMC!), spending time in the Adirondacks and enjoying her husband’s gardening.
Katie Kameswaran, Board Member since 2022, Clerk
Katie and her husband Niranjan live in the South End with their son Andrew (Blue Room). They are excited to start their third year as part of the close-knit JWS community. Katie is a California native who lived in NYC prior to moving to Boston. Katie works in marketing at Tea Forte and has over 15 years of beverage marketing experience spanning luxury wine to Starbucks and Pepsi.
Matt Farmer, Board Member since 2021
Matt and his wife, Carolyn, live in the South End with their three children, and have been part of the JWS community since 2018. Matt is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Virginia School of Law, and currently serves as in-house counsel at a biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge.
Amanda Goodman, Board Member since 2021
Amanda is mom to Beata , Madeline, and Natalie and lives in the South End with her husband Campe. She is a Kindergarten teacher at the Park School and has been in the field of early childhood education for over fifteen years. Amanda’s daughter Natalie attended JWS and her favorite part of school was her teachers!
Cristin Heacock, Board Member since 2022
Cristin and her husband, Barrett, live in South Boston with their two daughters, Madeleine (age 7) and Saraphina (age 3). Madeleine, now a first grader at Dexter Southfield, began her academic journey in the Red Room in 2018. Like her big sister, Saraphina began her educational journey in the Red Room and is continuing on to the Green Room this fall. Cristin has served as a JWS Class Parent for 3 non-consecutive years, helping to build community among families. Cristin is a graduate of Villanova University and Boston College and in a previous life was a CPA and worked in financial reporting.
Kyle Karp, Board Member since 2023
Kyle and her husband, Doug, live in the South End with their two children Briar (Blue Room) and Morgan (Yellow Room). Kyle has spent her professional career in various roles within the retail world and is currently working for the family business, White Elephant Resorts managing retail. Kyle has been an active member of the Philanthropic Board of advisors for Boston Children’s Hospital since 2018.
Ben Levy, Board Member since 2017
Ben and his wife, Eden, live in the Back Bay with their two children, a JWS Alum and a Green Room student. Ben has spent his professional career in finance and joined the JWS Board in 2017.
John Nelson, Board Member since 2023
John and his wife, Jill, live in Beacon Hill with their daughter Lily (Red Room). This is their daughter’s first year at JWS and they are excited to join the JWS community. John works in finance and enjoys travel, exploring Boston’s parks and playgrounds, and regular trips to Dunkin’ with his family.
Anna Noon, Board Member since 2022
Anna and her husband, Matt, live in the South End with their daughter Olivia (Blue Room) and are looking forward to their first year with the JWS community! Anna is a graduate of NYU and the Fordham University School of Law. Anna practiced law in the debt finance groups at Cahill Gordon in New York and Goodwin Procter in Boston; and has taken a step back to focus on her growing family. In her spare time, Anna likes to travel, eat delicious food, and see live music.
Christina Pardy, Board Member since 2023
Christina and her husband, Alex, live in Back Bay with their daughters Campbell and Harriet. Campbell started at JWS in the Red Room and the Pardy’s look forward to sending Harriet in a few years! Christina is the Founder and CEO of the Boston-based knitwear brand, Sh*t That I Knit. She grew up in Weston and moved home to Boston after attending Skidmore College. After being a class parent last year, Christina is thrilled to join the JWS Board!
Joleen Weissert, Board Member since 2022
Joleen Weissert has been a member of the JWS community since 2011. She has three boys, Lucas (14), Tomás (12) and Matías (5) all of whom have attended JWS. She is a General Pediatrician who practices at Boston Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center. This year she celebrated her 15th year anniversary at Children’s Hospital. She is married to Iván Werning, an Economics Professor at MIT and they have lived in Boston’s Back Bay since 2002. When not chasing kids around her home or around the office she enjoys running, cycling, boating and traveling.
Carolyn Wintner, Board Member since 2022
Carolyn and her husband live in the South End with their three children – two JWS alumni and their youngest entering the Green Room. This is her family’s sixth consecutive year in the JWS community, and they all could not be happier with the wonderful teachers and family community. Carolyn works in finance and in her spare time enjoys exploring the outdoors with her family and cycling.
Ex Officio Members
Mary Beth Sweeney, Director
Mary Beth joined the John Winthrop School community in 2018. From 2005-2015 Mary Beth was the director of early childhood programs at Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. There she founded Sea School Preschool, the nation’s first licensed preschool in an Aquarium. After moving to Boston in 2015, Mary Beth worked as a director in traditional childcare and at an early childhood start-up. Mary Beth is a board member of Julie’s Family Learning Center in South Boston.
Nikki Kelly, Assistant Director
Nikki joined the John Winthrop School community as a co-op through Northeastern University in 2015. She has since held several positions at JWS including teacher assistant, toddler extended day teacher, preschool teacher (in the Green Room), and now assistant director. Nikki graduated from Tufts University in 2018 with a master’s degree in Child Study and Human Development. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying new restaurants, and attending spin and kickboxing classes.
Olivia Bogan, Co-Teacher
Olivia is thrilled to be back at JWS as a teacher in the Green Room! Olivia first came to JWS in 2019 as a co-op student in the Yellow Room and later returned in 2020 as the toddler extended day teacher. Throughout her time in the JWS community, Olivia completed degrees at Northeastern University and Boston University, and is grateful to have returned to the school that inspired her love of teaching. Outside of school, Olivia enjoys singing with a Boston-based choir, Chorus pro Musica, and exploring new restaurants in Boston!