2026 CAIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
10:45 AM – 11 AM | Registration | ||
11 AM – 12 PM | CAIS Welcome Trust is the foundation for effective school governance—yet it’s often the first casualty when schools navigate change. Whether facing growth mandates, strategic shifts, or leading diverse communities, the Board-Head relationship determines success or struggle. This interactive session helps you create the conditions where boards and heads are aligned, expectations are clear and shared, and good governance is complemented by trusting relationships. | ||
12 PM – 1 PM | Lunch | ||
Concurrent Sessions | |||
1 PM – 1:50 PM | In the Middle By Design: The Board Chair’s Unique Leadership Role The Board Chair occupies a unique leadership position in an independent school. The Chair does not run the school and does not act independently on behalf of the Board. Instead, the Chair leads the work of the Board, serves as the primary governance partner to the Head of School, and helps create the conditions and boundaries for effective fiduciary leadership. | Off the Record: A Heads’ Panel on Board Partnership Diana Owen || Head of School, Pine Point School
| Effective Communications in Times of Change A strategic approach to communications during any change process – a head transition, strategic planning process, implementation of any major new school initiative – can provide your community with reassuring certainty when navigating the ambiguity that comes with even an exciting change. The trustees’ role itself is often hazy in these moments and proactively anticipating questions can be the first step towards implementing a successful new initiative. This session will provide case studies and practical tools to support community connection when change is in the air. |
2 PM – 2:50 PM | Engaged Committees: Stronger Boards Effective Boards build their success atop a strong foundation. This session focuses on a few essential pillars for effective boards: Building a trustee pipeline – effective recruitment and orientation, board handbooks, committees charters and reports, meeting agendas, and succession planning. Join us as we discuss these cornerstones of effective board governance. | Investigations: Best Practices for Independent Schools Zachary Schurin || Chair of School Law practice, Pullman & Comley, LLC Independent schools face unique challenges when allegations of misconduct arise—whether involving student safety, employee behavior, Title IX concerns, or policy violations. This program by Zachary Schurin, chair of the School Law practice at Pullman & Comley, LLC, will offer a practical framework for planning and executing thorough, defensible investigations. Participants will learn how early decisions about scope, independence, and communication affect parent and community trust, board liability, accreditation standing, and the overall outcome. | Introduction to Independent School Finance
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2:50 PM – 3:15 PM | Coffee & Networking | ||
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM | General Session: Taking It Back to Your Board You’ve spent the day gaining insights and tools for building trust and navigating change together—but what happens when you return to your full board? This closing session helps you synthesize today’s learning and develop practical strategies for engaging board members who weren’t in the room. We’ll explore how to create shared language, introduce new frameworks, and build momentum for stronger Board-Head partnership across your entire governance team. | ||
4:15 PM – 6 PM | Close and Break | ||
6 PM – 7 PM | Dinner for Heads of Schools | ||
8 AM – 9 AM | Breakfast | |||
8:45 – 9 AM | Registration | |||
9 AM – 10 AM | General Session: How We Show Up: Five Leadership Practices for Building Trust in Schools
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10 AM – 10:30 AM | Coffee with Corporate Guests | |||
Concurrent Sessions | ||||
10:30 AM – 11:20 AM | Building Psychological Safety – The Foundation for Change in Schools
| From Onboarding to On-Going: Supporting New Faculty through Transition
| Legislative & Regulatory Updates for K-12 School Leaders
| The Quiet Drift: Today’s Learning Profiles and the Expertise They Require
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11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Keynote: How to Speak Up When It Matters
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12:30 PM – 1:30 PM | Lunch (including Lunch for Educators of Color) | |||
1:30 PM – 1:50 PM | Coffee and Dessert with Corporate Guests | |||
Concurrent Sessions | ||||
1:50 PM – 2:40 PM | Leading from the Middle: Influence, Trust, and Accountability Without Formal Authority
| Student Health Accommodations:
| Defining Your Dollars: Building the Proper Reserves from Within
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2:45 PM – 3:30 PM | General Session: A Perspective on Education from the Connecticut Commissioner of Education | |||
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM |
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7:30 AM – 8:30 AM |
Breakfast |
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8:30 AM – 9:00 AM |
Registration |
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Concurrent Sessions |
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9:00 – 9:50 AM |
The AI Co-Pilot for School Operations & Finance: How Gemini Notebook Can Assist Step into an interactive exploration of NotebookLM tailored specifically for school operations and finance leaders. Through live demonstrations, we will showcase how source-grounded AI can streamline administrative workloads, enhance decision-making, and unlock new possibilities for your school’s workflows. Come ready to discover what’s possible and leave with inspiration for your own builds. |
Navigating the Digital Frontier: Governing Technology, AI and Cyber Risk in Private Education
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The Cost of Doing Nothing: Rethinking Your School’s Employee Benefits Strategy Rising healthcare costs don’t have to dictate your school’s benefits strategy. This session will explore proactive, creative approaches independent schools can take to get ahead of increasing costs, uncover savings opportunities, and build a more sustainable benefits program. We’ll examine innovative funding strategies, pharmacy solutions, plan design, and other opportunities that can help schools take greater control of their healthcare spend while continuing to provide meaningful benefits to employees. |
9:50 AM – 10:15 AM |
Coffee Reception with Corporate Guests |
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Concurrent Sessions |
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10:20 AM – 11:10 AM |
Building Community in the Business Office and Beyond School culture is kept not only in classrooms but at the business office counter, in every reply, reimbursement, and budget conversation. Former teacher turned CFOO Kelly Garnes shows finance and operations leaders how to build trust without loosening a single control. |
Cross Insurance |
Product Demos |
11:15 AM – 12:05 PM |
Multi-Year Financial Modeling: Benefits and Pitfalls Boards and leadership need instant answers on where a school stands financially and where it is headed, but the focus on bottom-line numbers may be without the context behind them. Dashboards, benchmarking, and multi-year financial models can support strategic priorities such as enrollment goals, tuition levels, plant renewal (PRRSM), a balanced budget net of depreciation, and debt capacity. But these tools are only as good as their data and assumptions, and only as useful as the end-user’s depth of understanding and awareness of how a school operates. This session explores the art and science of building a financial model, the importance of educating end-users, working collaboratively, and how a non-numerical lens can validate assumptions and scenarios. The goal is to position your school to be financially sustainable while staying true to its mission, its people, and the constituents it serves. |
Before the Sirens: Prepare Today for a Safer Tomorrow
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Vision |
12:05 PM – 12:45 PM |
Lunch & Purchasing Consortium Information Tables |
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12:45 PM – 1:15 PM |
Coffee & Dessert Reception with Corporate Guests |
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1:15 PM – 2:25 PM |
General Session: Dollars and Sense: The Affordability Landscape for Independent Schools The tuition and financial aid landscape is ever evolving within independent schools. Tuition growth rates, financial aid investment, and parent behaviors around paying tuition have all seen important shifts into a new normal. In this session, explore the price and discounting trajectories independent schools are on, nationally and statewide, and how the characteristics of families in the aid pool are changing. Gain insights and ideas on the steps schools are taking to reimagine what’s possible. |
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2:30 PM – 4:00 PM |
MEP Meeting and Exhibitor Breakdown |
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Richard Bernero is Chief Financial Officer at Sacred Heart Greenwich, a PreK–12 independent school. He leads its finance and operations teams and is overseeing construction of the school’s new STEM building. He has more than 35 years of experience advising schools and nonprofits on strategic planning, enrollment, finance and fundraising. Before Sacred Heart, he was CFO of Metropolitan Montessori School and began his career at JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. He serves on the CAIS Business Affairs Commission and the board of the CISHP Health Insurance Consortium, and he speaks often at CAIS, NBOA and NYSAIS conferences. 
“I love schools,” Rick Branson says. He has spent his entire career in them, public, charter, international, and independent alike. He has taught everything from fifth grade through university, including eight years as a professor, though most of his classroom time was in high school English (AP and IB) and social studies. Along the way he has coached sports, advised student publications and student government, and directed plays. He and his wife, Sarah, have followed their careers from Oregon to Michigan (twice), Brazil, Japan, Maryland, and now Connecticut. Home, they’ve found, is wherever they are together. Rick currently serves on the board of ICAISA and previously served on the board of NBOA. He is a certified executive coach and non-profit board consultant. Rick joined CAIS as Executive Director in 2019, still chasing the same curiosity that has shaped his whole career: “I embrace change, so I’m enamored with the curiosity that leads to innovation and, ultimately, how a school learns.”
Lauren F. Castagnola is a marketing and communications leader with two decades of experience in independent schools and higher education. She currently serves as Associate Vice Presidentfor Marketing & Communications at Fairfield College Preparatory School, a Jesuit, Catholic high school for young men in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Before joining Fairfield Prep, Lauren served as Senior Director of Strategic Advancement Communications at Yale Law School, directing communications for the Office of Alumni Engagement and Development. Previously, as Director of Communications and Advancement Project Strategy at the University of New Haven, she provided communications support to the Vice President of Advancement and the President. Lauren also spent much of her career at Westover School, most recently as Chief of Staff and Director of Communications and Community Relations. She has also held strategy and advancement roles at Cheney & Company, the UConn Foundation, and Quinnipiac University.
Kevin Constantine is a principal at CLA providing seamless services to nonprofit organizations. He has more than 10 years of experience within the industry and provides accounting and assurance services to nonprofit organizations, with a focus on educational institutions. Kevin has a depth of nonprofit industry knowledge, which includes working closely with his clients to provide practical guidance on investment and endowment accounting, including alternative investments, and financial statement presentation and reporting. He is actively involved in all aspects of his engagements, including planning, fieldwork, review and board meetings. Kevin seeks to identify and communicate industry best practices, present opportunities for improvement, and provide insight into future accounting and auditing standards.
Jason Craige Harris is a thought leader, strategist, and storyteller who helps leaders and some of the sharpest minds in the country solve hard problems. When organizations and communities are stuck, polarized, or quietly unraveling, Jason is often the person called in to help steady the room, fix what’s broken, and help people talk to each other again.
Trained in ethics, psychology, and systems thinking, he blends science with real life—using humor, deep listening, and storytelling to help people navigate conflict, repair relationships, and make decisions under pressure. A researcher, mediator, restorative practitioner, Jason studies how stress, power, and fear hijack our conversations—and how curiosity, dignity, courage, and spiritual practice can bring us back. A Pollyanna speaker, he brings big ideas down to earth, helping people see that leadership isn’t about being the loudest or the smartest—it’s about being human, especially when it’s hardest. Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.
Jen Crowe is a Managing Director in the Retirement Solutions organization and is one of the leaders of the cross-functional SECURE Act readiness team at TIAA. She has spent the past several years consulting on legislative changes and their impact to TIAA clients. As a Solutions Architect, she provides subject matter expertise on TIAA’s institutional product portfolio with a focus on Enhanced Recordkeeping Services, including Sole Recordkeeping and Multi-Vendor Coordinator services. Jen joined TIAA in 1999 and has held a variety of roles in the Retirement Solutions organization. Jen has a B.A. in Spanish and Economics from Temple University. 
Elisa Del Valle is an experienced educator and leader for over two decades with a career spanning higher education as well as middle and high school settings. Her work is informed by over a decade of experience serving boards in a governance capacity to reflect a deep understanding of educational systems and a passion for continuous improvement, leadership development, and thoughtful governance in service of mission-driven organizations. Connect with Elisa on LinkedIn.
Bethany Di Napoli is Executive Director of the Independent School Chairpersons Association (ISCA), a national organization dedicated to strengthening independent schools by strengthening Board Chair leadership. Since 2017, she has led ISCA’s governance programming and resources, working with Board Chairs and governance leaders across the country to advance effective board leadership and strong Chair–Head partnerships. Bethany brings nearly two decades of nonprofit governance experience, including six years as Board Chair of St. Michael’s Country Day School in Newport, RI and 15 years as a trustee and Vice Chair of Newport Contemporary Ballet. She is a BoardSource Certified Nonprofit Board Consultant. Connect with Bethany on LinkedIn.
Julie Faulstich has over thirty years experience in independent school leadership; including as former head of school at the Westover School and former Assistant Head at the Walnut Hill School for the arts. She now brings her expertise in change management, communications and governance to her work with Stony Creek Strategy as an executive coach and strategic planning facilitator. She is also a governance consultant with the Middle States Association and a strategic partner to the International Coalition of Girls Schools. Connect with Julie on LinkedIn.
Kelly Garnes started her career teaching history and English in Newark, New Jersey. She loved the classroom. But she kept noticing something: the schools she worked in were held together by people whose work nobody saw. The person managing the budget. The person keeping the building safe. The person making sure teachers could teach and students could learn. She decided to become that person.
She moved from the classroom into school administration, then left her administrator role for Columbia Business School, where she earned her MBA, and built her financial foundation at Citibank. Then she brought that training back to schools, first as COO of Ascend Public Charter Schools, a $101M organization spanning 15 schools, and now as CFOO of Gill St. Bernard’s School, where she oversees a $135M financial portfolio and a 208-acre campus. She also holds an Ed.M. from Harvard and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.
Today she teaches nonprofit finance at the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University, serves on the board of the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE), and runs The Garnes Institute, her consulting and speaking practice. She previously served as Board Treasurer of the National Business Officers Association. She also founded Black History for Kids because some missions are personal.
Everything she does on stage comes from the same place: a belief that the people who keep organizations running deserve to be seen, heard, and valued. She built her frameworks because nobody handed them to her. Now she hands them to you. Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.
Tom Healy is a SVP, Director of Operations with Marshall + Sterling Employee Benefits, Inc. (MSEB). Tom joined MSEB in 2016 after 27 years with The Guardian Life Insurance Company where he was the Regional Group Manager for the Albany, NY area. Over the course of his time with MSEB, Tom manages MSEB carrier relationships, contributes to the continuous development of MSEB’s medical alternative funding capabilities, and he leads the team’s data analytics capabilities.
Tom has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from U.Mass/Dartmouth, and in early in 2019, Tom completed the curriculum to earn the Certified Self-Funding Specialist (CSFS) designation issued by The Health Care Administrators Association (HCAA). Tom currently resides in Clifton Park, NY with his wife Ann Marie.
Bridget Johnson is the founder & CEO of The Deans’ Roundtable, the national professional community for student life leaders and has spent more than two decades inside independent day and boarding schools. A former Dean of Students at Milton Academy, she has also led at Prep for Prep and served on the board of Concord Academy. In 2012 she founded The Deans’ Roundtable, which now supports schools through leadership coaching, “The Table” podcast, and an evidence-based K-12 student life assessment. Bridget holds a Master of Science in Restorative Practices from the IIRP and a BSBA from Georgetown University. She helps schools build student life systems that hold care and accountability together, guided by a principle at the heart of her work: connection before correction. 
Eva Lee serves as Managing Director at TIAA, and leads the organization’s Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) offer. She helps clients in the nonprofit, education, government, and healthcare market segments define their MEP strategy and narrative. Eva also manages the team responsible for the onboarding, development, distribution, and maintenance of MEPs while collaborating with TIAA’s service delivery team and third-party administrators and consultants. She often serves as a front-line product expert for the TIAA community. Eva has 22 years of experience in the financial industry and has been with TIAA since 2002. She has been in her current role since 2016. Prior to her current position, Eva was the Consultant Relations Director for the small- and mid-market segment and has also served as a Relationship Manager at TIAA. Eva earned a B.S. from College of New Rochelle. She holds FINRA Series 6, 63 and 26 registrations in addition to maintaining licenses in life and health in the state of North Carolina. 
Adam K. Man has spent three decades in independent schools, including sixteen years as Head of School at The Forman School, which serves students with language-based learning disabilities and ADHD. He now co-directs Magister Placement, working with schools across the country on the learning support structures & programs, staffing, faculty training, and admissions practices that determine whether neurodiverse students thrive. Connect with Adam on LinkedIn.
Lloyd Mitchell is Strategic Educational Leader & Technology Director with over 15 years of experience driving
institutional growth through innovation, operational excellence, and collaborative leadership. Dedicated to fostering a culture of empowerment by bridging the gap between advanced
technical systems and high-impact pedagogical practices, Lloyd is the Director of Operations and Finance at St. Thomas’s Day School. Prior to joining St. Thomas’s Day, he served as Director of Operations and IT at Unquowa School. Connect with Lloyd on LinkedIn.
Mark Mitchell is vice president for access and affordability at NAIS, overseeing projects and research on tuition pricing, financial aid policy, demographics, and socio-economic diversity. He contributes to the NAIS Strategy Lab Team, aiding schools in strategic innovation. Previously, he worked in financial aid at Northwestern University, Lake Forest College, and Access Group, Inc. An alumnus and past trustee of Moorestown Friends School, he is a trustee of Lowell School, The Bishop’s School, and NBOA. A former board member with the National Partnership for Educational Access and the Enrollment Management Association (now E3n), Mark earned a BS in communication studies from Northwestern University. 
Dave Nowacki is a manager with the CLA cybersecurity team, a part of the National Digital group. He has more than 22 years of combined experience in cybersecurity, IT controls, enterprise risk management, internal audit, and management consulting. He has worked with government entities, higher education, financial services, and various other private businesses in setting strategies, reviewing, and assessing operations, governance and enterprise risk management practices, project and program management practices; information security programs, and identifying process improvement opportunities.
Diana Owen is in her thirteenth year as Head of School at Pine Point School (PreK–9th grade), a community she has been privileged to serve since 2001. Over more than two decades at Pine Point, her experience has touched nearly every corner of school life, including serving as Math Department Chair, Director of Studies, Director of Secondary School Placement, and Head of Middle School, before her current role. This long-standing history shapes her approach to leadership and board partnership. Diana holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of California, an M.A.T. from Connecticut College, and an Ed.M. in Independent School Leadership from the Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Michael Randel works with leaders and their teams as they move through Change and Growth with Calm and Confidence. Over the last 30 years, across more than twenty countries, Michael has worked with hundreds of leaders committed to making an impact.
The RCA Seasons of Growth™ framework guides Michael’s approach to supporting leaders as they prepare for and move through change. As a result, they are more confident in navigating the dynamics of change in social and organizational systems.
Grounded in Gestalt approaches to leadership and organizational development, Michael works from his base in Washington D.C. with clients from education, health, financial services, life sciences, and other sectors. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.
Ian Rumsey is a mathematics teacher and New Faculty Coordinator, as well as the Dr. Katherine G. Windsor Teaching Chair, at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT. He is in his seventh year at Porter’s and his third year in the coordinator role. Prior to working at Porter’s Ian was the mathematics department chair at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to working at Porter’s, Ian is an instructional mentor and coach for the CAIS New England New Teachers Seminar.
Dr. Sunita Sah is the National bestselling author of DEFY, an award-winning professor at Cornell University and an expert in organizational psychology. She leads groundbreaking research on influence, authority, trust, compliance, and defiance. A trained physician, she practiced medicine in the United Kingdom and worked as a management consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. She currently teaches executives, leaders, and students in healthcare and business. Dr. Sah is a sought-after international speaker and consultant, an advisor to government agencies, former Commissioner of the National Commission on Forensic Science, and a 2026 Thinkers50 Radar honoree. Her multidisciplinary research and analyses have been widely published in leading academic journals and media entities including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harvard Business Review, and Scientific American. Connect with Sunita on LinkedIn.
Zachary D. Schurin is an attorney with Pullman & Comley LLC. Mr. Schurin represents private and charter schools, boards of education, municipalities, businesses, individuals, non-profit organizations, in a wide array of labor, employment and education law matters. Mr. Schurin is a former Chair of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section and is Secretary of the Steering Committee of the Connecticut Labor and Employment Relations Association. His written work has been published in Connecticut Lawyer magazine, The Connecticut Law Tribune, The Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal, The CABE Journal and Pullman & Comley’s Working Together and Education Law Notes blogs.
Chief Chris Soffayer is an accomplished law enforcement and security professional with extensive experience coordinating tactical operations for major venues and high-profile events. As SWAT Control Chief for the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council, he serves as a field supervisor for events at Gillette Stadium, including NFL games, international soccer matches, and major concerts. He has also served on tactical planning committees for the Boston Marathon, the Army–Navy Game, and championship celebrations involving the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, and Boston Bruins. Throughout his career, Chief Soffayer has protected senior government officials, dignitaries, corporate executives, professional athletes, and internationally recognized performers. He is also a lead instructor and field supervisor with Synergy Solutions, where he has delivered active-threat response, emergency preparedness, and mass-evacuation training to more than 10,000 law enforcement officers, educators, public safety professionals, and civilians.
Sheena Tracy is a Regional Sales Manager with Marshall+Sterling Employee Benefits (MSEB). She joined MSEB in March 2026 after nine years with Risk Strategies, now Brown & Brown, and 15 years as Vice President of Gerard B. Tracy Associates, a family owned and operated brokerage firm. In her role with MSEB, Sheena helps organizations build strategic and sustainable benefits programs that support their employees and their families, with a focus on long-term planning, proactive strategies and strong analytics. Sheena specializes in the education sector, partnering with colleges, universities and private schools on funding strategies and data-driven decision making so they can offer benefits programs that are both financially sustainable and competitive in attracting and retaining talent. Sheena has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Bentley University. She currently resides in Fairfield, CT.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Single Day:
$275 per day, per person
Discounted registration:
$200 per day, per person if 4+ people from one school register or
$240 per day, per person if you register for all three days.
Optional add-on:
$100 Heads of Schools dinner
If your school plans to register four or more attendees on any given day, please select the discounted 4+ rate for that day.
Please note: registration fee does not include accommodations, which can be booked separately using a discounted CAIS room code at Water’s Edge.
If you are a sponsor or exhibitor, please do not use this registration form. Confirmed sponsors and exhibitors will receive a separate registration form via email. Attendee Registration is only open to employees and trustees at independent schools. Please email Christina Dixcy at c_dixcy@caisct.org with any questions.
