Community

PA & Board

FCS Parent Association (PA)

The Parent Association (PA) provides support to FCS and the FCS community. All FCS parents are members of the PA, which cultivates community-building through activities and provides a forum for sharing information on issues that affect our children. Meetings are held once a month in the evening. They can be held online or at the school.

2024-25 Officers:
Erin Dozier, Co-Clerk
Katie Geffken, Co-Clerk
Sara Young, Recording Clerk
Jeremiah Schatt, Treasurer
 
Andrea Hill and Martine-Pascale Gaujean are PA Representatives to the Board of Trustees.   

PA Board General Email: fcspa1@friendscommunityschool.org

FCS Board of Trustees

The FCS Board of Trustees consists of members of local Quaker Meetings, parents, friends of the school, and a faculty member. The Board is responsible for hiring the Head of School, major policies, financial sustainability, and developing the school’s Strategic Plan. Members of the FCS Board of Trustees serve a three-year term.

Interim Clerk of the Board, E. Brooke Carroll:
boardclerk@friendscommunityschool.org 

Treasurer of the Board, Cherokee Dunkley:


Our 2024-25 Board of Trustees (click on each name for a bio): 

List of 7 items.

  • Dave Ahl

    Dave Ahl is a parent of an FCS Lower School student. He is a Strategic Solutions Senior Manager at Yahoo where he works in digital advertising and software development. Dave has an MBA from Georgetown University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He attended 1-12 grade at Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, PA, and is deeply committed to Quaker education. Dave is a member of Plumstead Friends Meeting in Doylestown, PA.

  • Karen Armstrong

    Karen is an education researcher committed to identifying best practices to improve educational outcomes for students of color and students in poverty. She is a member of the Cambridge Friends Meeting, but now considers Adelphi Friends Meeting her spiritual community. She was drawn to Quakerism after witnessing time and time again how Quakers integrate their faith into social action. Karen is currently working at the U.S Department of Education in the data unit of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Her role is to support the analysis, use, and dissemination of data to inform data-driven decisions for educators and policymakers. She has a Masters in Public Policy from Duke University and a Doctorate from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

  • Berna Artis

    Berna is an educational leader and an advocate. She has several years of experience in Quaker education. Berna has a strong passion for diversity and equity in education and actively advocates in this arena in her role as the President of the District of Columbia Association for the Education of Young Children (DCAEYC). Berna has served on various boards and committees on program quality improvement, professional development, and education policy. She loves books, the beach, and the company of friends and colleagues. Berna lives in Maryland with her son and her husband. She has a B.A. in Teaching English As a Second Language (TESL) and an M.A. in Early Childhood Education.

  • E. Brooke Carroll, Interim Clerk

    Brooke is a lifelong Quaker and is a member of Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting. She is the former head of an independent school and currently works as a consultant and coach supporting small independent schools in governance and leadership. Brooke is a graduate of Bates College in Maine and has a doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

  • Cherokee Dunkley, Treasurer

    Cherokee joined the FCS community in 2015 and is a parent to one alumnus and one current student. As an FCS parent, he has volunteered as the PA co-treasurer and served on a couple of board committees. Cherokee is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan. Cherokee works at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.


  • Jade Eaton

    Jade's history with FCS is a long one. All three of her adult children attended FCS for part of their elementary schooling in the 1990's.  She served on the FCS Board for more than 10 years in the late 90's and early 2000's and was Clerk for much of that time, including the period when FCS purchased the land for and began building  the present facility. Jade is a retired U.S. Justice Department lawyer and an active member of Adelphi Friends Meeting. She lives down the road in Greenbelt.  

  • Alex Jadin, Recording Secretary

    Alex is a parent to two current FCS students. He is a Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Alex previously served on the board of School for Friends, taught at San Francisco Friends School and Brooklyn Friends School, and worked in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting camping program. He is a member of Friends of Meeting Washington, and is a member of the Corporation of Haverford College. Alex has a J.D. from U.C. Berkeley, an M.A. in philosophy from The New School for Social Research, and a B.A. from Haverford College.

List of 7 items.

  • Gabriel Morden-Snipper

    Gabriel Morden-Snipper is an Instructional Coach at McKinley Tech High School, a D.C. public school. He grew up attending Adelphi Friends Meeting and was also a camper and staff member in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting camping program. He began his career as a teacher at Mary McDowell Friends School in Brooklyn, NY. Gabriel holds an M.A. in Adolescent Mathematics Education from Hunter College and a B.A. in Politics from Oberlin College.

  • Patience Peabody, Vice Clerk

    Patience (she/her) is an FCS parent of a brave and adventurous first grader! A native Washingtonian with 20 years of experience leading and supporting organizations through strategic realignments, internal transformations, program and external affairs innovations, and governance evolutions, Patience is the Executive Director of a private family foundation that supports family engagement, K-3 literacy, and the arts. Patience’s life’s work is to disrupt intergenerational cycles of poverty for marginalized people and she believes that poverty alleviation is possible in our lifetime with a focus on cross-sector collaboration and an unwavering commitment to equity and justice by design. She is a graduate of Hampton and Georgetown Universities and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Connect with her on LinkedIn @patiencebpeabody.

  • Chris Randle

    Chris Randle is a US Policy Director at Meta where he helps manage government relations with Congress, and advises the company on antitrust and homeland security policy matters, and federal investigations. Prior to Meta, he worked in leadership, committee and personal offices on Capitol Hill. In the House of Representatives, he was Legislative Director and Chief Counsel to Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and Intellectual Property and Civil Rights Counsel to Representative Karen Bass. In the Senate, he was Judiciary Committee staff for Senator Dianne Feinstein, and aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Chris earned his JD and BA from Howard University in Washington DC, and lives in Hyattsville, Maryland with his wife and two daughters.

  • Neal M. Brown, Ex-Officio

    Neal joined FCS as Interim Head of School in the summer of 2023. Previously, Neal served as Interim Lower School Director for Creative Minds International Public Charter School in Washington, DC. Prior to his time at Creative Minds, he held the role of Interim Head of School for two years at Lansdowne Friends School in Pennsylvania. For 12 years, from 2008-2020, Neal served as Head of School at Green Acres School in North Bethesda. Neal is a committed progressive educator with nearly 35 years of educational experience, including in Quaker schools. He has served as a classroom teacher, consultant/coach, assistant head and head of school, and member of a board of trustees. Outside of school, Neal enjoys spending time with his family, 15-year-old Cockapoo, Stanley, and two cats, Sherlock and Watson!

  • Mark Evans, Faculty Representative

    Mark has been a member of the FCS community for over 29 years. During this time he has held a variety of positions, including Physical Education Teacher, Director of Extended Day, Assistant Director of Summer Camp, and Facilities Manager. Mark enjoys presenting a wide variety of experiences for his students, from movement and dance to initiative games, to team games and sports. Mark has an extensive background in outdoor education and is an avid camper and hiker. He also enjoys water activities.

  • Martine-Pascale Gaujean, PA Representative

    Martine-Pascale Gaujean serves as a PA representative.

  • Andrea Hill, PA Representative

    Andrea Hill is a dedicated Friends Community School (FCS) community member. For two years, she served as a Parents' Association Co-Clerk. She is also a seasoned human resources professional, currently serving as the Director of HR and People Operations for a national non-profit organization. A proud Maryland native, Andrea's roots run deep in the community. She attended Prince George's County Public Schools and earned her undergraduate degree from Towson University. Andrea's connection to FCS is personal; she and her husband are the parents of a middle schooler and have been an active part of the school community for the past seven years. 

Located in College Park, MD, Friends Community School is a progressive Quaker K-8 day school, founded on the belief that every child is a valued member of our community. We offer a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage.
Friends Community School
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100