About

Governance

The Kew-Forest Board of Trustees is the sole governing body of the school.  The Board is self-perpetuating and elects its own new trustees. Board meetings are closed to others, although the Board does occasionally invite guests to attend portions of particular meetings. 

The Board of Trustees works closely with the Head of School, who is charged in the bylaws as being “the chief administrator of the School” and is “in direct charge of the management and operation of the School.”  The Head works closely with the Board in developing long-range plans and keeps the Board fully apprised of current school operations through regular and comprehensive reports.  The Head is an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees, without voting rights. 

There are a variety of ways in which input from faculty, students, parents, and alumni can reach the Board. Foremost among these are via the Head of School, the Parents Association, the Alumni Council, and the Board’s "Standing Committees."

Standing Committees

List of 5 items.

  • The Development Committee

    The Development Committee works alongside the Director of Institutional Advancement in planning and implementing all fund-raising programs for the school (including the Ad Summum Fund, the annual Spring Benefit, and the Capital Gift).

  • The Marketing and Communications Committee (MCC)

    The Marketing and Communications Committee partners with the Head of School, Institutional Advancement Director and Admissions Director to ensure effective, relevant and consistent branding of the Kew-Forest School across all channels, external and internal, consistent with the school’s mission. The committee also ensures adequate funding of marketing initiatives to meet enrollment goals.

  • The Finance Committee

    The Board's Finance Committee works alongside the Business Manager and is responsible for monitoring the school’s investments, setting tuition and fees, creating the general operating budget, and assessing the budget on a monthly basis.

  • The Buildings & Grounds Committee

    The B&G committee works with the Director of Buildings & Grounds in overseeing, maintaining, and improving the school’s facilities and grounds in all areas, and in ensuring student/staff safety and security on campus.

  • The Committee on Trustees

    The Committe on Trustees is responsible for identifying and nominating new trustees and officers of the corporation, reviewing the bylaws on a regular basis, and organizing the Head of School evaluation and the Trustee self-evaluation process.

2017 - 2018 Board of Trustees

Gregory Matalon ‘91
Chair Board of Trustees

Chris D’Amato
Vice Chair

Ellen Honig ’86
Secretary

Herbert (Herb) M. Chain ‘70
Treasurer

Jacqueline Velez
Buildings and Grounds Chair

Dee Arabian
Marketing and Communications Chair

Lauren Stransky ’79

Robert Lin

Shereen Beydoun ’81

Heather Butts ‘90

Jonathan Gordon ’90

Robert Shearman

George Tsiatis ‘00

Slawek Wanta

The Kew-Forest School

119-17 Union Turnpike
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 268-4667
The oldest independent school in the borough of Queens, The Kew-Forest School is an independent co-educational, college preparatory school for students in Preschool through Grade 12.