Board of Trustees

Steve Berman

Steve Berman, a native of Los Angeles, attended UCLA and then California State Northridge. Steve has worked in the music industry since the age of 17 and now serves as President, Marketing and Sales, of Interscope Geffen A&M. Steve is married to Frances Berman. Together, they have two daughters, a 3rd grader at Village and an 8th grade alum who now attends Windward School. Steve and Frances are very active in the community, supporting their temple and church as well as local charities, including Cedar Sinai’s Pink Party and L.A. Family Housing. They are also active members of the National MS Society and Seeds of Peace. Steve joined the Board in 2006.

Lani Fauvre

Lani Fauvre received a BA degree from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She spent her career as a retail executive developing new business and marketing strategies for several children's and youth companies including Gymboree, Esprit and etoys.com. Lani and her husband, Brad, reside in Pacific Palisades and have two children, a daughter in 6th grade at Village School and a son who graduated from Village and is now in 8th grade at Brentwood School. The Fauvres are involved with several charitable organizations, including Homeboy Industries. Lani has been an active member of the Village School community serving on several VSPA committees and the Strategic Planning committee. She joined the Board in 2009 and chairs the Marketing Committee.

David Freitag

David grew up in the Los Angeles area and graduated from University of Southern California with a BS degree in Business in 1984. He resides in Pacific Palisades with his wife, April (a past president of the Village School Parent Association), and their two daughters, one in 4th grade at Village and one who graduated from Village and now attends 7th grade at Brentwood. David is an Executive Vice President/Principal and the Branch Manager for the Los Angeles office of DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services, one of the oldest industrial commercial real estate companies in Southern California. He is recognized as one of the top commercial brokers in the Los Angeles region and is an active volunteer for the City of Hope. At Village, David has served on the Marketing Committee, as chair of the 2010 Strategic Planning Committee and has served on the Finance and Facilities Committees. David is now Board Chair. He became a Trustee in 2008.

Thomas Gilder

Tom received a BA in Political Science from UC Santa Barbara, and an MS in Educational Administration from Pepperdine University. He has been Windward's Head of School since 1986. Tom joined Windward's faculty in 1982 to teach and serve as Assistant Head of School. Prior to 1986, he served as the West Coast Coordinator of John Hopkins University's CTY Program (Center for the Advancement of Academically Talented Youth). He currently serves on several professional boards. Tom and his wife, Lori, have two children who attended Village School. Their son is now a senior at UCSB; their daughter is a freshman at Elan University. Tom joined the Village Board in 2003.

Carolyn Jordan

Carolyn was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended UCLA, earning her BA magna cum laude, in 1983 and her JD in 1986. She is a partner of the law firm Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard & Shapiro, LLP, working in the transactional areas of practice and has been featured as a “California Super Lawyer”. She has been an involved member of the Village School community, having served in a number of leadership roles within the Village School Parent Association, including as its President for two years. Ms. Jordan and her husband, Daniel, have two children, both of whom graduated from Village School and are now attending Brentwood School. Carolyn serves as Chair of the Committee on Trustees. She has served on the Board since 2007.

Robert Ketterer

Robert Ketterer graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a BA in International Relations. He resides in Pacific Palisades, along with his two daughters, one a senior at Lawrenceville School and the other a sophomore at Brentwood School, and his son, a 7th grader at Brentwood, all of whom graduated from Village School. When not attending his children ’s sporting events or picking them up from sleepovers or practices, Robert is actively involved in the community, most recently with the Village Green Committee, Palisades-Malibu YMCA, as well as the advisory board at Santa Monica Shelter (SAMOSHEL). Robert retured as a Trustee to Village School in 2010. During his previous tenure as a trustee, Robert chaired the 2005 Strategic Plan as well as the Facilities Committee.

Nora Malone

Nora is the Head of School at Village School.

Mark Milstein

Mark was born and raised in Los Angeles. He received his undergraduate degree from UCLA in 1987 and his law degree from the University of San Diego in 1991. Mark is the managing partner of Milstein, Adelman & Kreger, LLP, a complex litigation firm located in Santa Monica. Mark and his wife Angela are long-time residents of Pacific Palisades, with four children at Village School. Mark has served on the boards of Kehillat Israel synagogue, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, Consumer Attorneys of California and Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles. Angela has also been very active in supporting many community and charitable organizations, including the VSPA, Kehillat Israel, Everychild Foundation, Women Helping Youth, and American Jewish World Service. This is Mark's second year on the Board and he previously served on the Strategic Planning Committee.

Jennifer Nordstrom

Jennifer grew up in Newport Beach and graduated from USC with a BA degree in English in 1991. She resides in Pacific Palisades with her husband, John, and their four children. Jennifer's two sons are presently in the 2nd and 4th grades at Village School and one of her daughters graduated Village School and is now in 8th grade at Harvard-Westlake. Her oldest daughter enjoys being home-schooled. Jennifer has been very involved at Village School, having chaired a number of different committees for the VSPA, including chairing the Large Fundraiser twice, and has also served on the Board's Development Committee since 2007. Jennifer's husband has also been very involved at Village School, having served on the Board's Facilities Committee for a number of years. Jennifer joined the Village Board in 2010.

Connie Robinson

Connie Robinson is a graduate of the University of Houston with a BBA degree in Accounting and Taxation. She is presently the VP of Financial Systems for Fox Television Stations Inc. In addition, Connie is active in the community supporting causes relating to childhood obesity and Sickle Cell Anemia. She serves on the Executive Board of the Jack and Jill of America – Los Angeles Chapter. Connie and her husband, Donny, are the parents of a Village School alum, who now attends 7th grade at Windward. For several years Connie has been an active member of the Committee on Diversity and Inclusivity which she chairs. She joined the Village Board in 2008.

Michael Rosen

Michael earned his BA, magna cum laude, from Tufts University, and MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts/Harvard). He and his wife, Linda (a past president of the Village School Parent Association) have a daughter in the 6th grade at Village School and a son who graduated from Village and now is in 8th grade at Harvard Westlake School. For more than 20 years Michael has worked as an institutional portfolio manager, investment strategist, trader and investment consultant. He has also been an Adjunct Professor at both Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine Universities. Michael currently serves as President of the Board of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and as a trustee at Kehillat Israel. Michael serves as Chair of the Village School Finance Committee. He became a Trustee in 2008.

Carole Schwartz

Carole began her professional career with the Atlanta office of Arthur Andersen in 1983. She remained with Arthur Andersen until 1990 when she joined the Tampa office of KPMG LLP where she later became the first female partner for the West Coast of Florida. Carole primarily practiced within the real estate industry; however she served as the Tax Partner on several Fortune 500 public companies during her career. She remained with KPMG LLP until her retirement from the partnership in 2002 upon her move to Denver with her husband Jeff. Carole has served as a board member or on the executive committee of many community organizations. Currently she is an active Board Member and past Chair of Strategic Planning for National Jewish Health in Denver, serves as a Trustee for Saint John’s Health Center, and serves on the Board of the Irene Dunne Guild of Saint John’s Health Center. Carole graduated from the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. She became a trustee in 2011.

Andy Starrels

Andy Starrels was born in Los Angeles and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Urban Geography from the University of California at Berkeley, and JD and Master of Regional Planning degrees from Cornell University. Andy trained as a lawyer, real estate developer and urban planner. He is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Casden Properties LLC, a pre-eminent developer of multifamily residential communities and urban mixed-use projects. Andy lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife, Dorinda, and their two children, both alumni of Village School who now attend Brentwood. He joined the Board in 2004 and has served for many years as its Secretary and as Chair of its Facilities Committee.

Craig Wadler

Craig graduated from Indiana University at Bloomington with a BS degree in 1992 and earned an MBA from Columbia University in 1996. He began his career in accounting at Price Waterhouse and then took a position as an Associate at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Up until a recent move to Credit Suisse as a managing director (regional management of the Americas), Craig worked as Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank. Craig and Cindy live in the Palisades and have two children who attend Village, a son in 6th grade and a daughter in 3rd grade. For the past two years, Craig has served as a member of the Finance Committee. Craig joined the Board in 2009.

Brian Weitman

Brian is a native of Los Angeles and graduated from the University of Southern California. Brian has been in the apparel industry for his entire career and owns and operates STC-QST which is a company that supplies garment construction items to major brands and retailers all over the world. Brian also has another business SSI Apparel, a high end garment manufacturing company that produces contemporary and designer product for high end premium brands based in Los Angeles. Brian is married to Amy Weitman and they have 2 children, Chloe who is a 7th grader at Windward and a recent Village School Alumni, and Zack who is a 2nd grader. Brian is the president of the Textile Association of Los Angeles, a board member of the California Fashion Association, and is on the advisory board for the Entrepreneur Program for the University of Southern California. Brian joined the board in 2011.

Neil Wertlieb

Neil is a partner at the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, where his practice focuses on business transactions, primarily acquisitions and finance, and advising boards of directors. He is also an Adjunct Professor at UCLA School of Law where he teaches a course on business transactions. Neil attended the University of California at Berkeley where he earned his BS degree at the business school and his JD degree at the law school. He is the former Chairman of both the California State Bar's Business Law Section and its Corporations Committee, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Los Angeles Arts Association. Neil and his wife, La Donna, have lived in Pacific Palisades for 13 years, and have two children at Village School,identical twins in 4th grade, and an alum who now attends 7th grade at Windward. Neil serves on the Finance Committee and joined the Village School Board in 2008.