School Leadership

Kathleen Plunkett O'Connor P '20, '21, '22 is an attorney with AQR Capital Management. O'Connor graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich in 1989, received a B.A. from Georgetown University, and M.Sc. from the University College of London and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.

Mrs. O’Connor has served on the board of many civic and charitable organizations including: Judicial Selection for the State of Connecticut, Heterodox Academy, Malta House of Care, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Connecticut Energy Advisory Commission and Shatterproof.

Mrs. O'Connor and her husband, Kevin, have four children. Their three daughters, Erin '20, Mary '21 and Annie '22, attended Sacred Heart Greenwich. Their son, James, attends Rye Country Day School.

Lynne Newman P ’17 ’21 ’26 graduated from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and was a three-sport collegiate athlete. After Amherst, she worked in sports marketing developing sponsorships in Major League Baseball and with the US Soccer Federation on behalf of corporate sponsors. She was also a member of the NY Host Committee for the World Cup. Mrs. Newman then received her MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University where she was an FC Austin Scholar.  After receiving her MBA, she spent many years at Dove Consulting, a boutique management consulting firm in Boston, working on strategy and organizational development for multiple Fortune 500 companies. Mrs. Newman also led many of the firm's MBA and undergraduate recruiting programs.

Mrs. Newman and her husband, Brian, have been parents at Sacred Heart Greenwich since 2008. Their eldest daughter, Kendall ’17, graduated from Georgetown University, where Mrs. Newman serves on the Parent Leadership Council. Shay ’21 is in her second year at Georgetown, and Finley ’26 has been a student at Sacred Heart since pre-school. The Newman's son, Conor, also attends Georgetown.  Mrs. Newman has been a dedicated volunteer at Sacred Heart, with leadership roles such as the Lower School Parents’ Association Representative, Chair of The Fund for Sacred Heart, and Chair of the Senior Class Gift Committee.

Mrs. Newman is a dual citizen of Ireland and the US and has lived abroad with her family in multiple countries including China, Russia, Spain, Ireland and Canada.

Sandie O’Connor is a recognized financial industry expert and thought leader with a career spanning more than 30 years. She has deep capital markets, and risk management expertise as well as experience building global businesses. O’Connor retired as the Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer for JPMorgan Chase where she set the firm’s comprehensive regulatory strategy and led engagement with G-20 policy makers. Prior to this role, O’Connor held several leadership positions at the firm including Global Treasurer and head of Prime Services.  O’Connor was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and Chair of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation Investment Committee. Throughout her career, she has been a champion of diversity and inclusion initiatives. American Banker named her one of the most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance multiple times. 

O’Connor has also served on several public/private teams to support the integrity and efficiency of capital markets including as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board’s Alternative Reference Rates Committee and is a former member of the Treasury Markets Practices Group sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of NY.

Currently, O’Connor is a Board Director for Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK), Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX), a global manufacturing company and Ripple Labs, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise blockchain solutions for global payments. She is Chair of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater NY. She is an Advisory Board member for PlanetFirst Partners, and a Trustee of Sacred Heart Greenwich. She also serves on the FDIC Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee and is a member of the Economic Club of NY and the Women’s Forum of NY.

O’Connor received a B.S. in Finance and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business where she was a University Scholar and graduated with honors.

Ryan P. Sfreddo is President of Red Stone Equity Partners where he is responsible for leading the firm’s affordable housing tax credit syndication business, focusing on acquisitions, investor relations and portfolio management; he is also a member of the firm’s executive and investment committees.  Prior to being named President in January 2020, Ryan served as Managing Director of Investor Relations where he oversaw the marketing and distribution of the firm’s tax credit investment products. Prior to joining Red Stone in 2011, Ryan was a Managing Director of Centerline Capital Group (f/k/a Related Capital Company) where he oversaw its tax credit fund management business and was also responsible for the acquisition of multifamily properties financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits and/or Historic Tax Credits. 

Ryan is a current board member of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, the Boston College Alumni Association.  He is a past board member of Manursing Island Club.   

 Ryan is a graduate of Boston College with a Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, with concentrations in both Finance and Pre-Medical studies. He and his wife, Jennifer, have lived in Rye, New York since 2004. They have four children, including two daughters who currently attend Sacred Heart Greenwich; Payton '24 and Morgan '25.

For the last 20 years, Michael has dedicated his career to Sacred Heart education. His deep commitment to Sacred Heart's mission is palpable, and he possesses a range and depth of leadership experience in areas that are essential to our vision for the future, including philanthropy, community and stakeholder engagement, admissions, and financial aid.

From 2000-2014, Michael served in several roles at Sacred Heart Greenwich, including twelve years as Assistant Head of School. During his time in Greenwich, Michael led a capital campaign that raised $21 million, chaired the Education to Mission and Curriculum Committees, established a diversity committee, coached athletic teams all three seasons, and helped with the farming program during Summer Outreach. In 2015, Michael became interim Head at Schools of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. He soon after accepted the role as Head of School at the Network's Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he led the community from 2016-2022.

Emily Bailey Berry is Co-Founder & President for GGBAILEY, LLC and Co-Owner, Head of Sales & Director of New Business for RACEMARK International, a certified tier-one global OEM supplier of automobile floor mats and interiors. Ms. Bailey manages all OEM Sales and Aftermarket activities for GGBAILEY including direct to consumer and B2B sales channels for Amazon, Carmax, Home Depot and Walmart. She is also Founder & CEO of BAILEY BERRY, LLC a lifestyle brand with distribution online, in department stores, hotels, private clubs, and boutiques. Ms. Bailey serves on the Sacred Heart Greenwich Board of Trustees, as well as on the board of the Double H Ranch, a Paul Newman SeriousFun Camp for seriously ill children. 

Maureen Mara Brown graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich in 1982. She went on to graduate from Boston College in 1986 with a BS in human development. She then completed her Masters of Education at Fordham University.

Maureen has served on the Greenwich-Maplehurst Alumnae Board of Sacred Heart Greenwich for the past five years. Maureen was instrumental in developing the Global Day of Service and is excited to continue and grow this event annually. An enthusiast of the traditions of Sacred Heart and a staunch supporter of the five Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education, Maureen is honored and excited about her role on the Board of Trustees.

In addition to her volunteer efforts at Sacred Heart, Maureen has extensive volunteer experience in schools, hospital settings and more.

Some highlights include the fact that Maureen helped place over 30 children into Boys Hope Girls Hope residences and ultimately see them through as the first children in their families to graduate from high school and go on to college in her role as the program chair of the Detroit chapter of Boys Hope Girls Hope. Maureen also served on the national Board of Boys Hope Girls Hope for three years. Since returning to the NY-Metro area, Maureen has worked with the Child Development Department at Blythedale Hospital, coordinating events for families and patients.

Maureen has also served on many of the school parental boards. She was the Parents Association President of Kingswood Middle School, the Booster Club President at Cranbrook Kingswood and the Auction Chair of the Kaleidoscope School-wide Fundraiser Dinner. She went on to form the Booster Club at the Academy of Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills where she was also asked to be the President. 

Maureen and her husband Doug have five children. While living in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan for 20 years, two of their daughters attended the Academy of Sacred Heart. After moving back to Greenwich, CT in 2014, her youngest child, Lily, graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich in 2019. Maureen is an avid golfer who played for the Boston College Women’s Golf Team. She worked on the PGA tour with CBS Sports for a few years right out of college.

Sandra Caruso currently serves on Sacred Heart’s Buildings & Ground Committee and as the Upper School Teacher Appreciation Coordinator for the Parents’ Association. In her family’s nine years at Sacred Heart, she has held numerous leadership roles on the Parents’ Association Board along with chairing major fundraising events like the Summer Outreach Golf & Tennis Outing and the 2013 Benefit. 

Mrs. Caruso, a graduate of New York University with a BA in political science and a JD from New York Law School, and her husband Michael have three daughters: Sofia ’18, Emma ’20 and Vivi ’23. 

Imma De Stefanis, RSCJ, Ph.D. is a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart and currently serves on the leadership team for the United States-Canada Province. She earned her doctorate in Applied Developmental Psychology from Boston College and spent several years in higher education administration with a dual appointment in the department of psychology. She is the co-founder of SHERPA Consulting which provides nonprofit organizations with such services as strategic and sustainability planning, leadership training, and Board development. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, the Sacred Heart University in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A native of Houston, Texas, Jan Dunn entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1969. She attended Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Houston, and graduated from Maryville College in St. Louis, Missouri. She received her master’s degree in English from St. Louis University and a master’s in Administration from the University of Houston. 

Sr. Dunn has served the Network of Sacred Heart Schools since 1969. She has been an English teacher and dean of students at three Sacred Heart schools, the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana; Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans; and Villa Duchesne in St. Louis. She served as headmistress of Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Omaha, Nebraska and of Duchesne Academy in Houston, Texas. 

Jan Dunn, RSCJ has served as the interim executive director for the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. 

Sister Dunn teaches a course in creative writing at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, in New Orleans, where she is the chair of the Bicentennial Committee and moderator of the Children of Mary. In 2016, she served at Schools of the Sacred Heart, in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, where she was a member of the Formation to Mission Committee, a position she earlier held at Convent of the Sacred Heart, 91st Street, in New York City. 

Sr. Dunn has written a biography of Ursula McAghon, RSCJ and is presently writing the life of Catherine Collins, RSCJ who started the Network. She also wrote a book for children about St. Philippine Duchesne, entitled Under the Pear Tree.

Biography forthcoming.

Paula S. Gruner, RSCJ is a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart with a ministry in higher education and professional experience in both finance and education. 

She has been a member of the Board of Trustees at Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri since 2003, where she is a member of the Audit and Finance Committee. Sr. Gruner has also served on the Boards of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles, MO, and the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans. Currently, Sr. Gruner is serving as the Canonical Treasurer of the Antilles Province (Puerto Rico, Haiti and Cuba) of the Society of the Sacred Heart. 

Prior to her current ministry, Sr. Gruner served as the business manager for Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, NY from 2016-2020. She served as assistant to the Provincial Bursar for the Society of the Sacred Heart’s Uganda-Kenya Province from 2010-2013. Before that, Sr. Gruner served for 11 years as assistant treasurer and accounting manager for the Society of the Sacred Heart’s U.S. Province (1997-2008). She has held a number of other positions with Sacred Heart Schools, including Josephinum High School in Chicago, Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, and Doane Stuart School in Albany. 

A graduate of Capital University in Bexley, Ohio, she went on to receive a master of divinity degree from the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio. In 1995, she received a master of business administration with a concentration in management accounting from DePaul University in Chicago. She joined the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1980.

Karen Finneran Hamilton P ’19 ’22 ’27 graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance. She received her MBA from the Yale School of Management. Mrs. Hamilton went on to work for Coach, Inc. and Prada in business development before deciding to stay home with her children full-time.

Mrs. Hamilton and her husband, Tom, have three daughters: Catherine ’19, Anne ’22 and Mary Grace ’27. Their son, Tommy, attends Fordham Preparatory School. She and her husband have been very involved in the Sacred Heart Greenwich community since their eldest daughter started at the school in 2006. Mrs. Hamilton has served as either a class parent or on the Parents’ Association Board each year. She has also served on several fundraising committees and worked with The Fund for Sacred Heart on annual giving. Mr. Hamilton also served on the “Framing Our Future” capital campaign steering committee.

In addition to her involvement at Sacred Heart, Mrs. Hamilton also devotes her time to the CureFA Foundation, which she co-founded with her husband, to help find treatments for their daughter Anne, who has a rare disease.

Carmen Edelweise Hughes is the Founder and CEO of Edelweise Consulting, which partners with companies of all sizes to create and implement effective DEI strategies and training sessions with measurable success. Hughes formerly worked at JPMorganChase for 20 years where she successfully navigated her career from a back-office operations role to her dream job on the trading floor in fixed income sales. Carmen received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University’s School of Business and is a Cornell University Certified Diversity Practitioner.

As an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credentialed by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), Carmen is able to connect with her clients and move them forward to success - however, they define it for themselves. 

Carmen is active in her community and serves on four Boards: Gabrielle’s Wings, Sacred Heart Greenwich, United Way of Western Connecticut, and Waterside School. She loves to travel with her husband and three kids, play golf, and is an avid runner. To date, she has completed two marathons and many half marathons.
 

Thomas D. Lehrman P ’22 is Managing Partner of Teamworthy Ventures, a seed and early growth stage venture investment firm focused on finding and helping great teams build mission-oriented software and software-enabled services companies. Mr. Lehrman is the Co-Founder and former Co-Chief Executive Officer of Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) and has been involved as a board member of numerous early and growth stage ventures. Mr. Lehrman previously served in government as a Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security and as the Director of the Office of WMD Terrorism at the U.S. Department of State, and also as a member of the professional staff on the President’s WMD Commission. Earlier in his career, he worked as a financial analyst at Tiger Management.

Mr. Lehrman has served as a board member of several educational institutions including KIPP NYC Public Charter Schools, Achievement First Public Charter Schools, The Montfort Academy, The Buckley School (NYC), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History, and he was a co-founder and trustee of Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School, the first public charter school in Brooklyn. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Mr. Lehrman graduated with a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from Yale University, where he served as a teaching assistant to Professor John Lewis Gaddis in the Department of History, and his writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, as well as several law and policy journals.

Mr. Lehrman and his wife, Mara, have five children. Their daughter Isabel '22 is an Upper School student and their daughter Caroline will be joining Sacred Heart Greenwich for the 2019-2020 school year in kindergarten. Their sons, Peter, James, and Lawrence, attend the Brunswick School.

Alexandra Leah Lewis is an anesthesiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Lewis graduated Sacred Heart Greenwich in 2001 and received her degree in the History of Science and History of Medicine from Yale University. She later pursued her master’s in International Health Policy and Health Economics at the London School of Economics, and later gained admission to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. After medical school, she went on to complete her residency in anesthesiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and subsequently finished a fellowship in thoracic anesthesia at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Lewis is now pursuing an MBA at Columbia Business School. 

Throughout her career, Lewis has completed research on mental health economics and presented her research findings at international conferences in Verona, Italy and Barcelona, Spain. At the end of her master’s program, she was invited to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland where she worked with world leaders shaping global health policy.

In her spare time, Lewis enjoys traveling, playing squash, cooking, yoga and meditation. She also spends a significant portion of her time giving back to the community. She is frequently invited as a motivational speaker for young women and pre-medical students across the country and remains active in the Yale community and is a member of the Doctor’s Ministry at Grace Baptist Church. 
 

Chris Marangi is Co-CIO, Value & Portfolio Manager at GAMCO Investors, Inc where he has worked since 2003. GAMCO Investors, Inc. is a pioneer in value equity. He manages the Gabelli Value 25 Fund, the Gabelli Asset Fund, the Gabelli ESG Fund, and Gabelli Media Mogul. Marangi has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg television and radio and has been quoted extensively in publications including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Barrons, and Bloomberg. 

Chris serves as Chair on the Investment Committee of Sacred Heart Greenwich. Chris holds a BA from Williams College and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business. Chris and his wife, Siobhan Toohey, live in Harrison with their daughters, Catriona ’22, Francesca ’24, Moira ’25, and Antonia “AJ” ’34.  

Peter A. Marshall P’22 is a managing director of the Risk Strategies Corporation, which is the nineteenth largest insurance brokerage in the United States. In the 118 year-old DeWitt Stern section of the firm, Mr. Marshall heads the company’s national practice serving motion pictures, television, and new media for their cyber, security and production risks covering 60-80 films and hundreds of hours of television produced globally per year. 

Prior to relocating to New York from Los Angeles and joining DeWitt Stern in 2005, Mr. Marshall held senior production executive titles at Lionsgate Films and Trimark Pictures Television, and produced both television and film projects prior to and after those positions. 

He attended Yale University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He earned an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama, and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. 

As the father of Alexandra ’22, he has been an active parent volunteer. He has served on the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart Greenwich for the past two years, and he is delighted to deepen his commitment to the School with his service as a member of the Board of Trustees, commencing as of July 1, 2017. 

Mr. Marshall and his daughter regularly volunteer in their community, providing service at at the Ronald McDonald House, in Valhalla, N.Y. In addition, he continues to stay active as a Yale alumnus and guides the Yale Club of New York City and the Yale Water Polo Association. He is active in the Phelps Association of New Haven, CT.

Kevin McCooey is a Managing Director and Financial Advisor at J.P. Morgan Securities where he is responsible for wealth management services for high-net-worth individuals, corporate executives, and institutions. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Securities in 2015, he spent over 15 years as an Investment Representative, first at Lehman Brothers Private Investment Management and later at Barclays. From 1998-1999, Kevin worked at The Griswold Company, an independent brokerage firm on the NYSE, founded by his family. 

Kevin serves on the Buildings and Grounds Committee at Sacred Heart Greenwich. He also serves on the Board of the Resurrection School Foundation. Kevin holds a BA from Georgetown University. Kevin and his wife, Jennifer, live in Rye with their two children, Erin ’28 and Kevin.

Margot Dolce Sturz is an Executive Director and Head of Talent Acquisition for Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management division.  She has been with the Firm for nine years and is responsible for leading the strategy for hiring all roles across campus and experienced hires for WM’s Home Office as well as Branch Management, Service, Risk, and Support Staff for the Field. 

Margot entered Sacred Heart in sixth grade and graduated in 1999. She loved playing on the field hockey and lacrosse teams and captained both her senior year. Margot then went onto Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and graduated with a B.S. in Marketing in 2003. She is currently the president of the board of the Greenwich-Maplehurst Alumnae Association, joining the board in 2020 and serving as Vice President in 2021.

Margot is 5^th generation at Sacred Heart and comes from a long line of alumni from the Finnegan, Mulqueen, Carr, Dolce, Nix and Heffernan families. Margot’s mom, Nora Finnegan Dolce served on the board of trustees for 6 years in the 1990s. Margot and her husband Christian live in Rye, NY, and have three children; their daughter Coco (12) and sons CJ (9) and Teddy (6).

Jennie Stone is deeply engaged in the life of Sacred Heart Greenwich, having served as the Parents’ Association Vice President since 2019 and as an Education to Mission committee member 2020-2022. 

Jennie earned a BA at Bucknell University and a Masters in Childhood Education at Adelphi University. Jennie and her husband, Kevin, live in Riverside with their children, Henry, Sophia ’31, and Dean.