The Willow School Board of Trustees

Gretchen Johnson Biedron, Founder and Chair

Gretchen has taught at the Pennington School in New Jersey and at the Charles Armstrong School in Belmont, California. She has also worked as a private tutor, specializing in language and learning disabilities. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American literature from Brown University, and a Master of Science in communication sciences and disorders from the Institute of Health Professions at Massachusetts General Hospital. Prior to enrolling at Brown, she attended Far Hills Country Day School in Far Hills, New Jersey, The Peck School in Morristown, New Jersey, and The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Joseph Avellino

Joseph Avellino is a graduate of the New York City and New Jersey public schools. He earned undergraduate (Seaton Hall University, B.S. 1983) and graduate (Pace University, MBA 1985, M.S. 1988) degrees with focus in finance, economics, and investment management. From 1984-1994, he helped to grow his family’s hedge fund Avellino and Bienes. He went on to found, manage and sell businesses in diverse industries from home building to communications and software, most notably, Optuf Software. With the birth of his first son, Mr. Avellino sold his business to focus his time and energy on his family. In 2002 Avellino founded Capital Metrics, through which he provides investment banking and merger and acquisition consulting services for middle market companies which have strategic ties to large scale enterprises. Avellino resides in Morris County with his wife, Amy Jane (A.J.) Agnew Avellino, and his two sons, Noble, age 3-1/2 and Sterling, age 2-1/2.

Dorothy Dillon

Dorrie has spent many years as an educator in New Jersey. She was a teacher at Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone, and subsequently a teacher at Kent Place School in Summit. For seven years she served as head of the upper school at Kent Place, and for one year as head of school. She has served on the Kent Place Board of Trustees, the Far Hills Country Day School Board of Trustees, and the Peapack-Gladstone town council. She has been actively involved in committees of the National Association of Independent Schools and has served as a member of the SAT committee of the College Board. She also served as volunteer director of development at the Somerset Hills YMCA. She is a graduate of Vassar College and holds a Master of Education degree from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

David Donovan

David Donovan is the Dean of Admissions at Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey, where he teaches European history and philosophy, sits on the Administrative, Academic and Judiciary Councils, and serves as a College Guidance Advisor and as a member of the School Security Task Force and the School Accreditation Planning Team. Dr. Donovan holds degrees from Brown University and Columbia University and his M.Phil and Ph.D are from the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies at Drew University in European intellectual history where he held the Callihan, Caspersen and Weaver Fellowships. Dr. Donovan, recognized as an “Outstanding Educator” by both the University of Chicago and the University of California, has been the recipient of both research and study grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council for Basic Education, and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Most recently, Dr. Donovan was honored nationally by the E.E. Ford Foundation and the National Association of Independent Schools as an Emerging School Leader in 2004 and was granted the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s “Award of Honor” for his contribution to New Jersey state athletics in 2004. Dr. Donovan is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Roothbert Fund in New York City and is currently a Trustee for the Shepherds of Youth in Florham Park—institutions that support educational outreach and development initiatives. He is a former Adjunct Professor at Kean University, member of the National Association of Scholars, and author of the literary study Spiritual Selfhood and the Modern Idea (Xlibris Press, 2004). David lives in Chester, New Jersey with his wife, Sheila, and five children.

Charlotte Escaravage

Charlotte attended Far Hills Country Day School and Princeton University. At Princeton, her major field of study was art history. Charlotte and her husband Phillip are the parents of three young children, two of whom attend The Willow School.

Reid Hausmann

Reid has had an extensive career in education. He taught at The Columbus School for Girls and The Columbus Academy in Columbus, Ohio and the Daycroft School in Greenwich, Connecticut. A long-time resident of New Jersey, he has served on the Board of Far Hills Country Day School and has been an adjunct professor at Raritan Valley Community College. Reid holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Principia College and a Master of Arts degree in English from Ohio State University. He has owned an educational consulting and tutoring business for the past ten years.

Gretchen Johnson, Vice Chair

Gretchen has served on numerous boards of trustees in New Jersey, including Matheny School and Hospital (as chair from 1989 to 1994), Far Hills Country Day School, Pingry School, and Peck School. She served as national chairperson for the 75th anniversary campaign of Douglass College, as a member of the Board of Overseers of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and as a member of the Institute for Women’s Leadership. Gretchen is a graduate of Douglass College at Rutgers.

Eugene Kalkin

Eugene received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and economics from the University of Vermont in 1950. He conducted his graduate studies at Bernard Baruch School of Business at City College of New York. He received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Vermont in 1998 and the UVM distinguished service award in 1990. He is president of Kalkin & Company and founder of Linens 'n Things. Among his numerous volunteer roles, Eugene has served as a trustee for the University of Vermont and has served on the Board of Advisors for the School of Natural Resources and the Business School at UVM. He is married to Joan Kalkin. They have two children, Adam and Nancy, and five grandchildren.

Steve Rubenstein

Steve Rubenstein is President of Rubenstein Properties of Little Falls, NJ. His 40-year career in real estate has been centered on purchasing and rehabilitating degraded factories and warehouses and putting them back into use. Having attended University of Vermont, class of 1961, Steve continues to be interested in institutions dedicated to environmental stewardship, and he continues to be involved in his alma mater by being a charter of member of the Board of Advisors of the University of Vermont's School of Natural Resources. Having joined the Board of The Willow School in 2004, Steve lives with his wife Beverly in New Vernon, NJ.

Paula Runnells

Paula is certified as an elementary school teacher, an elementary school principal, and a guidance counselor. She has served as a guidance counselor at the high school level in Massachusetts. She holds a master of arts degree in elementary and secondary education from Cornell University, and she has taken coursework toward a doctoral degree at the University of Virginia.

Jean Scott

Jean was a Marshall Scholar at Cambridge University in England, where she received a degree in linguistics. She started her career in pediatric nursing, then pursued a degree in law and practiced international litigation in Illinois and Washington, DC. She has also served as professor of law at Washington University.

R. Scott Thompson

Scott is employed as an attorney with the firm of Lowenstein Sandler in Roseland, New Jersey.  Scott is a graduate of Princeton University and Rutgers University School of Law.  He and his wife, Anne, have two children both of whom attend The Willow School.