Board of Trustees
HFS News & Special EventsBiographical Sketch of Board Members
Annette Blum joined the Board of Harford Friends School in 2010. She is a lifelong resident of Harford County and a member of Deer Creek Friends Meeting. She attended Harford Day School, St. Timothy’s School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Southern Illinois University in 1979. She has done additional coursework in medieval history and education and is currently pursuing a second Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies at Towson University.
Annette has represented the Alumni Association on the Harford Day School Board of Trustees, has served on several of its Long Range Planning committees, and has been a member of the HDS Parent Association. She has volunteered as a docent at the Walters Art Museum and has also volunteered at Sheppard Pratt Hospital. Annette’s special interests include museums, travel, sailing and taking pictures.
Annette and her husband, Michael, live in Bel Air. Their family includes their children Julia, David, Robby, and Laura and son-in-law, Andy Chang. Through her children, who are graduates of various secondary schools, Annette brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in diverse educational settings to the Board. Those schools include public and private, boarding, day, single sex, and co-ed. Two of her children attended Westtown School, a Friends boarding and day K-12 school near Westchester, Pa. where Annette saw Quaker education in action.
Annette’s commitment as a member of the Board is based on her belief that “A Quaker education can bring out the best in each child touched by it. I am very excited to be able to see a new school grow, and feel that now is the right time to get behind Harford Friends School.”
Nina Cerasoli, a resident of Jarrettsville, MD, joined the Board of Harford Friends School in 2010. Nina met her husband, Doug, when both were students at Westtown Friends School in Pennsylvania. They are the parents of three children; Becca, a student at Friends School of Baltimore, Mark, who attends North Harford Middle School and Max, a second grader at Jarrettsville Elementary school.
A graduate of Virginia Tech, Nina holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. She was formerly employed as an account manager for a small family financial company specializing in portfolio accounting and performance reporting for pension funds and private trusts. She is currently a stay-at-home Mom actively volunteering at each of her children’s schools. She served as Clerk of the Home and School Association of Harford Friends School for the 2008-2009 school year. Her special interests include reading and tennis.
“I attended Westtown School as a four year boarder while my family was stationed in the Ivory Coast, West Africa, for my father’s job with the Agency for International Development,” she commented. “My experiences there have had a lasting positive impact on my life. I was very excited when we learned that a Quaker education was available in Harford County and sought it out for our daughter. We could not have been more pleased with Becca’s experience at HFS. Not only did HFS provide an academically stimulating environment, it truly embodied the belief that each person of the community is valuable and has something to contribute. I know that our daughter carries her memories of HFS close to her heart and uses what she learned there on a daily basis. I am excited to help Harford Friends School grow and reach more families.”
William Harlan is a founding member of the Harford Friends School Board of Trustees, and served as Chairman for five years. Bill has a degree in agriculture economics from the University of Maryland. Upon graduation in 1963, he went to work for the US Census Bureau as a survey statistician. He retired from Federal Service in 1994 after 31 years. Since 1983, Bill, together with his wife, Judy, operated Belvedere Farm, the Harlan family farm in Fallston.
Bill is a lifelong member of Little Falls Friends Meeting in Fallston, where he serves as Clerk of the Meeting. He has served as Vice Chair of the Board for Friends School of Baltimore and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Deer Creek Scenic River Commission.
Bill believes that as the demographics of Harford County have changed over the past 20 years, there is an increased need for a variety of educational choices for students and parents. A school based on the tenets of Friends (Quaker) beliefs offers an excellent alternative.
Harriett earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Delaware, which at that time was the School of Home Economics, with a major in Child Development(early childhood education). After graduation she married Richard Holloway and moved from her hometown of Milford, Delaware to Darlington where she became part of the farming community and where she and Richard continue to reside today. She briefly taught special education in the Harford County Public School system, then became a substitute teacher when her children entered school.
She was a field enumerator with the MD Dept. of Agriculture’s Ag Statistics Service followed by 15 years as secretary-treasurer of the Harford County Farm Bureau. Harriett is an active volunteer and treasurer of Harford Memorial Hospital’s Volunteer Auxiliary. She has been a member of Deer Creek Friends Meeting since the mid-60′s and serves on various committees.
Harriett and Richard have three grown children and two grandsons who all live in Darlington. Their children are involved with the farm operation, Rick full time and Karen and Jeff part time. Her delight now is enjoying part time care of her two grandsons, Carson and Chase, and spending a lot of quality time with her family.
Harriett agreed to become a Trustee for HFS because she believes in the Quaker values and the Quaker approach to education and life which challenge the mind and nourish the Spirit in preparing students for their life experiences.
Colette earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and a Masters of Education degree in Educational Psychology from Marquette University. She worked as a school psychologist in Wisconsin and then as a psychologist in the Developmental Disabilities Service System in Los Angeles, California. Soon after Colette earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Southern California, she and her husband started their family She moved in 1992 to Harford County with her husband, a long-time Harford County resident and their two daughters.
Since then she has worked as a school psychologist for Harford County Public Schools. As a clinical developmental psychologist, she is also co-owner, with her clinical psychologist husband of Courtland Psychological Services, in which they provide therapy, consultation, and assessment to children, adolescents, and adults. Colette volunteers as Director of Religious Education for the Unitarian Universalists of Fallston. She also serves on the Advisory Board for Connections Beyond Sight and Sound, a University of Maryland Program that provides support to children and families with dual sensory impairments.
Colette was interested in becoming a Harford Friends School Trustee because of her belief in the school’s commitment to education that emphasizes social conscience, tolerance, and a cooperative search for knowledge. Colette wanted to be a part of making this unique educational opportunity available to our community.
Bill Kelly, a lifelong resident of Harford County, grew up in Darlington, lived in Fallston for many years, and has resided in Bel Air since 2005. Having received a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Baltimore, he is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner. Mr. Kelly is a Managing Member of the Kelly Financial Group, LLC, an accounting, tax and financial planning firm located in Bel Air.
Bill is married to the former Lois Kissinger, and they have one daughter, Audra. She and her husband, David Porter are the parents of Luke and Will.
Bill agreed to become a HFS Trustee after listening to Jonathan Huxtable explain the worthy goals and aspirations of the dedicated people involved. Bill felt it was something that he would enjoy being a part of, and he and his wife are at a time in their lives when they want to give something back to the community that has been good to them.
Lois Kelly, a Harford County native, grew up in Bel air, and after a long sojourn in Fallston, has returned to live in her hometown. She is married to William S. Kelly, and they are the parents of one daughter and the grandparents of two grandsons.
Lois was for many years the Business Manager for a large retail beverage business. She now operates her own accounting business that specializes in developing business plans for all types of small business and non-profit organizations. In addition, she is owner of an interior design business that services both residential and commercial clients.
Lois and her husband, Bill, love traveling, outdoor activities, and spending time with their daughter, son-in-law and grandsons as well as with close friends and relatives. She agreed to become a trustee at Harford Friends School because she believes in the values and benefits the school’s approach to education offers its students. She adds, “Harford Friends School offers a unique educational opportunity that I wish every child could experience. Each individual lucky enough to attend will leave with a remarkable foundation that will serve each graduate for the rest of his/her life. This is what drew me to participate.”
Ms. O’Neill is a lifelong resident of Harford County. She continues a rich heritage of community service in Harford County which reaches back to participation by her ancestors in the american Revolutionary War; the Civil War; her great-grandfather John A. Robinson – attorney general of the State of Maryland; her grandfather Howard S. O’Neill – real estate and tax attorney in Bel Air and Maryland State Senator; her father, John H. O’Neill – farmer, entrepreneur, county commissioner/councilman. She is the second-generation owner of O’Neill Enterprises, which provides real estate sales, management, and consultation services, as well as auction, appraisal, and accounting services. Having apprenticed with her father, John H. O’Neill (1920 to 2002) since 1980, Aimee is a Licensed Real Estate Broker, General Certified Appraiser, Auctioneer and Accountant. She is a member of National and Maryland Associations of Realtors, and Auctioneers; the Maryland Society of Acountants, as well as comptroller of the Maryland Association of Appraisers Board of Directors and Co-Chairman of that organization’s Education and Scholarship Committees.
Aimee lives in Norrisville with her husband, Jim Torre, and sons, Jimmy IV and Tim. She received her education at St. Margaret’s Parochial School, Bel Air High School and Harford Community College.
In addition to her membership on the Harford Friends School Board of Trustees, serving as Treasurer and clerk of the finance committee, Aimee is involved in a wide array of public service organizations in Harford County. She is one of the founding members of the Susquehannock Environmental Center and Edwin Booth Theater. Her active support and memberships include: Co-chairman of the Harford County Farm Fair Board of Directors; Jerusalem Lutheran Church Council; former member of Harford County Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board; Liriodendron Foundation; Harford County Historical Society, Harford Land Trust, Steppingstone Museum, Tudor Hall Preservation Society, Harford County 4-H Programs, PTSA, SARC, Anna’s House, Harford United Charities, the ARC, FCCAU, Harford SPCA, and the Harford County Chamber of Commerce.
James Pickard, a Harford County transplant from New England, joined the Harford Friends School Board of Trustees in 2004. Jim is a retired Harford county Public Schools teacher, with 33 years in the classroom. He taught at Edgewood High School, Edgewood Middle School, Joppatowne High School, Havre de Grace Middle School, and Bel Air High School. Jim was chosen to become a member of the Harford county Public Schools Educator Hall of Fame. He taught Humanities at Harford Friends School from 2006-2010, a position he truly enjoyed. In 2008, he was selected to receive an award of Teacher of the Year in Nonpublic Schools in Harford County. Jim attained his B.S. degree from Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, and a Masters in Education degree from the Johns Hopkins University. He also attained 20 credit hours beyond his Masters, mostly at Loyola and Millersville.
Jim and his wife Patricia, formerly a resident of Lancashire, England and County Wicklow, Ireland, presently live in Havre de Grace, after having lived in Darlington for many years. Jim has been an active member of Deer Creek Friends Meeting for most of his adult life. Between them, Jim and Pat have five grown children and seven grandchildren. Jim’s wife, the late Janine M. Pickard, was well known in Friends circles.
“Middle School is such a tumultuous time for most students,” he commented, “and they need and deserve committed teachers and administrators who attempt to view them as having a bit of God in them. This concept makes such an important difference in the teacher’s outlook on life and, because of it, an important difference in their students’ lives.”
Mary Ellen Saterlie, a lifelong member of Little Falls Friends Meeting, is a founding Board member of Harford Friends School and served as its first Chair. She is a retired Associate Superintendent of Instruction for the Baltimore County Schools. She is a graduate of Towson University and holds and Masters degree and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
She has served as chairman of the Boards of Friends School of Baltimore and of Broadmead Retirement Community and is currently a Vice Chairman of the Board of Sheppard Pratt Hospital. She has most recently served as acting director of the Graduate Program in Education at Goucher College and has been an Instructor in the Masters Programs at Johns Hopkins University and the College of Notre Dame. She has also been an Instructor in the Doctoral Program at the University of Maryland
She has chaired a number of studies including published reports on Values Education in the Public Schools, Racial and Cultural Concerns in Baltimore County, and Housing Issues and Racial Relations.
She is past President of the Maryland Center for Character Education and of the Woman’s Club of the Johns Hopkins University. She and her husband, William Saterlie are the parents of one daughter and the grandparents of a grandson and granddaughter.
Bobbie is a founding member of the Harford Friends School Board of Trustees. She is a retired teacher of the hearing impaired, having most recently served in the Harford County Public Schools for twelve years as an itinerant hearing therapist. Before that she taught in programs for the deaf in New York City, Baltimore City, and Madison, Wisconsin. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and received her Masters from Columbia Teachers College.
Bobbie has six children and seven grandchildren, whose families are scattered up and down the East Coast except for one son who remains in Wisconsin. Her three younger children graduated from Friends School of Baltimore and she has long appreciated the advantages of Quaker education.
She is a member of Little Falls Friends Meeting, having transferred from Stony Run after moving to Harford County. In 2003 she joined the community at Broadmead, a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) founded as Quaker outreach and continues to appreciate the active caring and social concern among Friends.
In Memoriam
Judy Harlan was a founding member of the Harford Friends School Board of Trustees. She passed away in January 2008. She served on the Program and Personnel Committee and Lower School Task Force. She was a graduate of the University of Louisville with a degree in elementary education. She, with her husband Bill, operated Belvedere Farm in Fallston where they cultivated summer vegetables, field-grown cut flowers, pumpkins, hay and straw. In the fall she hosted education field trips for preschool and kindergarten groups.
Prior to moving to the Harlan family farm in 1982, Judy taught in public schools for 16 years in grades K-4 in Louisville, KY and Alexandria, VA. She was a member of the Board of Directors both for the Harford County Agricultural Advisory Board and the Harford County Agriculture Marketing Cooperative.
While an advocate for public education, she also felt that a community should have a wide range of education choices. She believed Harford Friends School offers this opportunity.