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, attend 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. During her time at Dove, 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, is now a student at Georgetown University, where Mrs. Newman serves on the Parent Leadership Council. Shay ’21 started at Sacred Heart in the third grade and Finley ’26 has been a student since pre-school. The Newman's son, Conor, attends King School. 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, balance sheet and risk management expertise as well as experience building global businesses. O’Connor recently 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 regarding evolving regulation. Prior to this role, O’Connor held several senior leadership positions at the firm including Global Treasurer and head of Prime Services. O’Connor served on multiple firm-wide governance committees including Risk and Capital. She 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 and sponsor 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 serves on a Task Force on Financial Stability, and on advisory committees for the Office of Financial Research and FDIC Systemic Resolution. She is a Director of Terex Corporation (NYSE:TEX), a global manufacturing company and is the current Chair of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater NY. She is a Trustee of Sacred Heart Greenwich, serves on its Investment Committee and co-chairs the One Heart committee. She 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 a Principal and Managing Director of Investor Relations for Red Stone Equity Partners, where he is responsible for the marketing and distribution of the firm's tax credit investment funds.  He is also a member of the firm’s executive and investment committees.  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, and the Church of the Resurrection Catholic Youth Organization (CYO).  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.

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 Heat 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. 

Erinn Laragh Denson is a graduate of the Class of 1985 and has actively supported the School for many years, first as a student volunteer and then later as an alumna and parent. 

She entered Sacred Heart Greenwich as an eighth-grader in 1980 after her family moved here from Toronto, Canada. In 1989, she graduated from Providence College, where she met her husband, John. They are the parents of two daughters and a son. Elizabeth graduated from Sacred Heart in the Class of 2015 and Emma attends our Middle School. Their son, Peyton, attends Fairfield College Preparatory School. 

Mrs. Denson began her professional career in development and membership at The Paley Center for Media in New York City. She then spent many years working in early childhood education. 

In 2012, she was elected to the board of the Greenwich-Maplehurst Alumnae Association and in 2014 was named treasurer. In this capacity, she serves on the School’s Institutional Advancement Committee and is co-chair of the Parents of Alumnae Committee. She has been active as a class parent for both her daughters’ grades. She served as co-chair of the Father-Daughter Dinner Dance. Her leadership extends to the Annual Giving campaign, where she served on the class committees. 

Mrs. Denson’s connections to Sacred Heart are numerous. Her father served as a trustee of Sacred Heart Greenwich (1983-84) and her sister, Darcie Laragh, is a graduate of the Class of 1988. Mrs. Denson’s grandmother graduated from the Sacred Heart School of Montreal in 1924.

Michael R. Denvir is a partner at The Jordan Company, a New York based middle-market private equity firm. Mike joined the firm in 1998 and is a member of the firm’s Partnership Board and Executive Committee.  Mike sits on the board of several companies managed by The Jordan Company.

Mike is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. While at Notre Dame, Mike was a member of the football team where he earned two monogram letters.

Mike lives in Rye with his wife and four children. His wife Nikki was a “lifer” at the Academy of Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills) and his mother graduated from Barat College in Lake Forest.  Mike and Nikki have two daughters at Sacred Heart, Kathleen ’26 and Rose ’29, and two sons, Luke and Emmett.

Christine Di Capua is the proud mother of four children, John, Jr., Julia, Christopher and Jennifer ’23. Married to her high school sweetheart, John, for 30 years, she resides in Armonk, New York, where she is a member of St. Patrick’s Parish and the Walking with Purpose Bible Studies Program for Women.

A graduate of Long Island University with a degree in political science, she was class Valedictorian and subsequently worked as a paralegal before taking time off to raise her family.

Mrs. Di Capua remains committed to empowering all young people to become educated and vital members of the community. To that end, she has volunteered in Girls Scouts of America, Boy Scouts of America and Sacred Heart’s Saturday Outreach program for middle school students and has taught CCD.  She has also supported literacy programs in area elementary schools.  

A member of Sacred Heart’s Education to Mission Committee as well as the Institutional Advancement Committee, Mrs. Di Capua has served as Class Parent and Middle School New Parent Hospitality Coordinator, chaired Come Home for Christmas and will be the Heart to Heart Coordinator in 2019, in addition to her Board of Trustee role.

Mrs. Di Capua enjoys boating, hiking, entertaining, and traveling. She is devoted to her family and, together with her husband, carries on family traditions through specialty cooking and winemaking.

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 is employed by Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, New York as the business manager. 

Sr. Gruner 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.
 

Kate Lavin ’98 is a managing director at Hall Capital Partners LLC and a member of the firm's portfolio management practice in New York City. She is responsible for developing investment strategy and constructing, monitoring and rebalancing client investment portfolios. 

Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Ms. Lavin was a vice president in the private equity group at Fortress Investment Group, where she focused primarily on transportation and infrastructure investments. Previously, Ms. Lavin was a senior analyst in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in San Francisco. She started her career as an analyst in Morgan Stanley's Public Finance Department in New York. She is a board member of the non-profit Summer Search in New York City. 

At Sacred Heart Greenwich, she serves on the Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee. 

Ms. Lavin entered Sacred Heart Greenwich in first grade and graduated in 1998. She graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in Political Economy and from Harvard University Business School with an M.B.A. 

Her sisters, Margaret ’00 and Jane ’08, graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich and her mother is an alumna of Sacred Heart 91st Street.

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. 
 

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.

Margot Navins is vice president and charitable planning consultant for Fidelity Charitable^®, an independent public charity. She is responsible for building awareness of Fidelity Charitable’s donor-advised fund program and sharing ways to incorporate charitable giving strategies into clients' overall financial and wealth management plans. She is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP).

In addition to her previous roles at Fidelity Charitable as regional vice president and charitable planning associate, Mrs. Navins was a client relations associate with Windward Investment Management in Boston.

Mrs. Navins entered Sacred Heart in sixth grade and graduated in 2002. She graduated from Trinity College with a B.A. in Political Science and captained both the varsity field hockey and squash teams.

Mrs. Navins is the current president of the board of the Greenwich-Maplehurst Alumnae Association. She joined the board in 2015, serving as treasurer in 2017.

Mrs. Navins and her husband, Lee were married at Sacred Heart and have two children. Their son Casey is 3 and daughter Claire is 1. Her father coaches squash and golf at Sacred Heart and her mother attended Sacred Heart as well.

Barbara Quinn, RSCJ is associate director of spiritual formation at the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) of Boston College. She has served in this position since February 2011. 

Sister Quinn coordinates all aspects of spiritual formation at STM, facilitating the Spiritual Formation for Ministry seminar and other spiritual formation programs. She serves on the Formation to Mission Committee and the Advancement Committee.

A member of the Society of the Sacred Heart, Sister Quinn joined Boston College from the University of San Diego, where she was the founding director of the Center for Christian Spirituality. She has previously served in a variety of ministerial roles as formation director, campus minister, pastoral associate and religious educator. She has also served as a trustee at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, in Lake Forest, Illinois, and The Schools of the Sacred Heart, in San Francisco. 

Sister Quinn earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Rosemont College, in Rosemont, PA, a Master of Divinity degree from Weston Jesuit School of Theology, in Cambridge, MA, and a Doctor of Ministry from the Catholic Theological Union, in Chicago.

Helen Servick, P’22 ’25, is the founder of Blink, a staging and design firm for Fairfield and Westchester counties. Prior to entering the design and real estate community, Helen received her BA from Huron College, University of Western Ontario. She became involved in many renovation and build projects, which inspired her to take her love of design and architecture to build her own business.

Helen and her husband have 3 children, 2 daughters at Sacred Heart and a son at Brunswick. She is a keen champion for single sex education, having graduated from the independent, all-girls school, Havergal College, in Toronto. She supports the importance that lends itself to empowering young women during their formative academic years. 

Over the years, Helen has participated as a class parent, class rep for the annual fund, on the 2019 Benefit committee, Co-Chaired Come Home for Christmas, Moms Night Out and supported many admissions’ events. Being a resident of Greenwich for over 20 years has offered Helen opportunities to participate in many volunteer positions; both through her children’s schools, community outreach and clubs; including chairing the social committee at Stanwich Club, working on Go Wild to benefit the Greenwich Land Trust, raising funds for Kids in Crisis, and Neighbor-to-Neighbor.