Harley’s Approach to College Counseling
“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.
Each and every year, students at The Harley School participate in HAC Athletics, and their success continues to be impressive, both as students and athletes. Our athletic program is an integral part of Harley, teaching student-athletes invaluable lessons about teamwork, time management, persistence, and competition. Our program allows them to develop physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally as they represent their school on and off the field. They grow, mature, and work hard to be the best teammate they can, while creating lifelong memories with teammates who often remain friends for life. 
Our Upper School is filled with formal and informal opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. Whether following passions or learning new skills, student-driven opportunities take many shapes.
Unlike this class, death is not an elective. Although it is one of two universal human experiences, our culture often ignores, denies, or misconstrues the true nature of death and dying. What happens when we bear witness to this natural process in the cycle of life and develop our ability to be fully present with others when they need us more than ever? It has the potential to change us deeply and fundamentally while shining a brilliant light on the path of our own lives.
This program utilizes environmentally-focused approaches to education and hands-on learning in order to foster the next generation of leaders through a lens of sustainability and problem-solving.
At Harley, our students learn how to evaluate social systems in order to identify complex problems in society through a lens of social justice. They take a hands-on approach to working for a fair, equitable society by researching, exploring and evaluating different perspectives, and offering solutions—both theoretical and practical.
Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. 
Meet Our Board of Trustees
Dedicated, Thoughtful Leadership
Harley trustees demonstrate a passion for the School and have a deep understanding of Harley’s mission and vision. Our Board of trustees is responsible for governance and fiduciary oversight of the School. We are proud to have a dynamic group of exceptional community leaders who have such a diversity of experience and backgrounds.
Officers
PRESIDENT: Edward “Ted” Townsend ’98, P ’32, P ’33 is an attorney and partner at Harter Secrest & Emery. In that capacity, he advises hospitals, health care providers, pharmacies, federally qualified health centers, and other health care facilities and organizations in all aspects of operational, compliance, and governance matters. A 1998 graduate of Harley, Ted went on to earn his BA from Trinity College and his JD from Syracuse University College of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Syracuse Law Review. Ted serves on the Board of the Bivona Child Advocacy Center. Also a member of a long-standing Harley family, Ted’s father, Jim Townsend ’61 is a former Harley Board President, and his mother Anne Townsend is a former Development Coordinator. Ted’s sister Sarah Townsend Mulbury ’01 is a Harley alumna.Ted has continued his involvement as an alum of the school, acting as a Class Agent for the class of 1998, helping coordinate Reunions and other class gatherings. Ted’s wife, Jenn, currently serves on the Development Committee. Ted and Jenn are parents of Georgia Townsend ’33 and Henry Townsend ’32.
VICE PRESIDENT: Abby Stern Bennett ’99 is an alum and current Harley parent. She has experience in corporate and non-profit settings, including finance, investing, and philanthropy. Abby holds both a BA and MA in Economics.
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT: Allis “Allie” D’Amanda Sacks ’03, P ’35 Allie D’Amanda Sacks has cultivated over 16 years of expertise in the financial services industry. Allie is Senior Commercial Real Estate Relationship Manager at ESL, responsible for a portfolio of the most complex loan and deposit relationships with major commercial real estate business in the Greater Rochester Community. After obtaining her bacherlor’s degree from Bucknell University, Allie embarked on her financial services career at M&T Bank where her journey has taken her to various locations, including Baltimore MD and the Hudson Valley, prior to moving back to Rochester with her young family in 2017.
Allie is a member of a long-standing Harley family. Among the Harley graduates in her family are her grandparents, Mrs. Allis VanVoorhis D’Amanda ’49 and Louis D’Amanda ’47; her parents, Mr. John F. D’Amanda ’75 and Ms. Kathy Durfee D’Amanda ’76; and her siblings, James L. D’Amanda ’05 and Louis D’Amanda III ’09. Allie and her husband Evan are proud parents of son Jake Sacks and daughter Emma Lou Sacks ’35.
TREASURER: Brian Scudder, P’19 is the General Manager and CEO of the Pittsford Federal Credit Union. He earned his BA in Management Information Systems from RIT and his MBA from the University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business. Brian is an Executive Council Member of the Credit Union Association of NY’s Rochester Chapter and President of the Pittsford Community Library Foundation. Brian, and his wife Kelly, Harley Lower School Librarian, wholeheartedly enjoyed supporting their daughter Audrey as she experienced all Harley has to offer, from Nursery Yellow through Graduation. Audrey has since graduated from Vanderbilt University (’23) with a dual major in Psychology and Math and is now pursuing a PhD in Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut.
SECRETARY: Shelby Nelson, P’22, Ph.D., is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Mosaic Microsystems. A semiconductor device physicist with broad industrial research experience, she has worked at AT&T Bell Labs, IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Xerox Corporation, and Kodak Research Labs. She has also worked in academia, as the Clare Booth Luce Assistant (and then Associate) Professor of Physics at Colby College. She has authored over 40 refereed journal articles and holds over 65 patents.
Shelby earned her B.A. with highest honors in Physics and Mathematics from Smith College, and her Masters and Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University. Shelby and her husband Lewis Rothberg, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Rochester, are the parents of Charles Rothberg ’20 (attended Harley from Nursery through Grade 2) and current Harley student Vivian Rothberg ’22.
Trustees
Jeffrey Alexis, P ’20, P ’23, P ’27 is a cardiologist who cares for patients with heart failure, as well as patients who have received heart transplants, artificial hearts, and left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). His research on LVADs is aimed at improving outcomes for patients with mechanical circulatory assist devices. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology.
Dr. Alexis earned his M.D. from Harvard University in 1992. He was an intern and resident from 1992-1995 at the Massachusetts General Hospital and completed his cardiology fellowship in 1998 at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He served on the faculty of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine from 1998-2003 and joined the faculty of the University of Rochester in 2003 as Assistant Professor of Medicine.
Jeffrey has been very active as a parent at Harley, taking a leadership role in the planning and execution of Harley’s MLK “Day On” and serving on the Horizons advisory board. His wife, Dr. Christine Hay, who specializes in infectious diseases at Strong Memorial Hospital, is a member of Harley’s Health Advisory Board and has volunteered for Harley’s test-to-return mass Covid-19 testing days. Jeffrey and Christine are parents of Harley alumnus Andrew Alexis ’20 and current Harley students, Catherine Alexis ’23, and Sarah Alexis ’27.
Matt Budd ’96 is an administrator and the Director of Community Action at The Berkeley Carroll School. Matt attended Harley through Middle School (gr.8) and later came back to teach grade 4. While teaching at Harley, Matt earned his Master’s in Social Work from University at Buffalo. After Harley, Matt moved to Brooklyn, NY, and taught grade 5 at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School (ECFS), a world-class progressive prep school with 1,700 students. Matt found himself excited about helping his students explore the concepts of community action and social justice. ECFS created a service-learning coordinator position for him, and he was drawn to Berkeley Carroll’s new cross-divisional role, in which he has had the opportunity to work with students, faculty, and families to foster healthy, equitable, and sustainable community partnerships through the lens of community engagement. Matt lives in Brooklyn with his wife Kim Sahler Budd ’97 and their three children. He rides his bike to work every morning.
Charlene Berry, P’31 is a master beekeeper and co-owner of Northcoast Apiary, LLC. She works with local nonprofits and schools to educate and mentor on the importance of native pollinators and honeybees. Charlene graduated Summa Cum Laude from Fordham University with a B.A. in History and recently completed her Master of Beekeeping at Cornell University. Charlene is passionate and committed to the Harley School’s mission and culture of civic engagement, philanthropy, and pursuit of continuous improvement. Charlene resides in Fairport, New York with her daughter Evelyn ’31.
Lee Gartley ’82 has over 25 years of professional experience leading technology and analytics companies that provide fundraising solutions to the non-profit sector. He is currently an advisor and member of the leadership teams at ROI Solutions and Network for Good. Previously, he served as President of Target Software and Target Analysis Group which were acquired by Blackbaud, where he subsequently served as President of its Analytics Division. In addition, Lee is currently Chairman of the Board of Segterra, a healthcare analytics company based in Boston and previously worked as a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group. Lee has a BA from Bowdoin College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Lee has three children and lives in Sunapee, NH with his wife in a small neighborhood with a surprising number of Harley connections.
Dena Levy, Ph.D., P’24 is an Associate Professor in Political Science at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. She writes on Congress, women and politics, minorities in Congress and electoral politics. She is the former Associate Dean of the College of The Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at SUNY Brockport. Dena served as the Department Chair of the Department of Political Science & International Studies for a total of 9 years. She is a former department faculty senator, and in that capacity served as Chair of the College Senate Curriculum Committee and was a member of the Senate Executive Committee. She is co-author of Hillary Clinton: A Biography and has published in a variety of journals in the discipline. Dena received her PhD from the University of Iowa, her MA in Public Policy from Georgetown University, and her B.A. in Government-Public Policy from Pomona College.
At Harley, Dena has been the chair of the Enrollment and Marketing Committee since 2020. Dena and her husband, Mark Goldstein, have one daughter Isabel ‘24 who has been at Harley since she was 3 years old
Jennifer Schwartzott, P’26 is an attorney, and a partner at Bond, Schoeneck, & King, PLLC. Jen has more than 20 years of experience counseling clients facing significant litigation exposure and also serves as outside general counsel for multiple private and municipal entities, including more than a dozen school districts. She is experienced in representing hospitals, physicians, nurses, physician’s assistants and other medical providers in medical malpractice lawsuits, professional discipline matters and other commercial disputes. Above all, Jen is a trusted advisor who assists clients to manage risk and achieve their desired outcomes. Earlier in her career, Jen taught legal writing as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. She attended the University of Maryland School of Law receiving her J.D. with honors, 2001, and Ithaca College receiving her B.A., magna cum laude, 1998. Prior to joining the Board, Jen served on the Harley By-Laws Review Committee. Jen joined the Board in 2020, and has served on the Executive Committee as Secretary since 2021. She and her husband, Marvin, have two children, Mary ’26 and Max.
Alan Winchester, P’25, P’27 is a partner with the Harris Beach, PLLC law firm and leads the firm’s cybersecurity and electronic discovery practice groups. Alan is also the Chief Development Officer at Caetra.io, and is the creator of its CyMetric software. This company is owned by his firm and offers automated compliance for various cybersecurity regulations and standards. Alan earned his BS degree in computer science and philosophy from Trinity College and his JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Alan and his wife, Dr. Larissa Temple, Chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital, volunteered their time and talent this past year helping Harley plan, organize, and execute the large test-to-return Covid-19 testing days. They are active supporters of the Wilmot Cancer Center, Memorial Art Gallery, and the Rochester Boys & Girls Club. Alan and Larissa are parents of Henry Winchester ’27 and Katherine Winchester ’25.
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