Jessica chamberlin, President
Jess joined the Friends Board in 2020. She is passionate about giving back to the school system that provided so much for her. Jess grew up in Marblehead and proudly attended Marblehead Public Schools grades K-12. She currently resides in town with her husband Nat and their three young children, who all attend Marblehead Schools.
She graduated from Colby College and in her pre-mom life worked in Human Resources, most recently at Fidelity Investments. She currently serves on the Board of Marblehead Girls Youth Lacrosse and the Executive Board of the Brown School PTO. She is also a member of the Mary Gately Scholarship committee, which provides tutoring and extracurricular opportunities for underprivileged students in town.
Nora Connerty, vice president
Nora Connerty is the National Account Manager for T. Rowe Price’s Retirement Advisor Relations team. Prior to joining T. Rowe Price in 2024, Nora spent years working at Allspring Global Investments (formerly Wells Fargo Asset Management) managing the relationships with the firm’s largest consultants and recordkeepers within the Defined Contribution team. Prior to Wells Fargo, Nora spent over a decade at AllianceBernstein Investments working within the firm’s Subadvisory and Retirement division. She began her investment industry career in 2005 at Northwestern Mutual. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and business marketing from Sacred Heart University. In addition to joining Friends of Marblehead Public Schools in 2021, she is an active member of Women in Pensions Network, The Junior League of Boston and on the Board of the Marblehead Mother’s Coop. She served on the board for The Marblehead Mother’s Coop for over five years. She was the Co-President of Merry Mixers in 2019, a non-profit organization committed to raising funds for MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical Center. A native New Yorker, Nora and her husband Chris moved to Marblehead in 2015. They have four children; Grace, Chapman, Claire and Mary Katherine who all attend Marblehead Schools.
kacie rowland
Kacie joined the Friends Board in 2019 as Treasurer. She is an accountant and an enrolled agent at a CPA firm in Salem where she works closely with many clients and small businesses. Kacie lives in Marblehead with her husband, Grant and three young daughters, Chloe, Elise and Quinn who all attend Marblehead schools. She grew up in Lynnfield and graduated from Providence College with a degree in Finance.
hannah commoss
Hannah Commoss is an institutional portfolio manager at Strategic Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser and a Fidelity Investments company. Before joining Fidelity in her current role in 2019, Ms. Commoss was a partner at Spruceview Capital Partners, which provided comprehensive outsourced chief investment officer services, as well as wholly customized solutions, to institutional clients in the U.S. and abroad. Previously, she was deputy chief investment officer and director of strategic initiatives at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board, whose responsibility was for the oversight and investment of $70+ billion in defined benefit assets for the Commonwealth. Prior to that, Ms. Commoss was at HarbourVest Partners, a global private market investment firm.
Ms. Commoss earned her bachelor of arts degree in economics, cum laude, from Northeastern University, and her masters of business administration degree from Suffolk University. In addition to her capacity with Friends of Marblehead Public Schools, she is the Co-Chair of the Greater Boston Food Bank’s Women Fighting Hunger, she is a Sustaining member and former President of the Junior League of Boston, she is a member of The Vincent Club, she is a Wish Granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and is on the Board of Advisors for the Punto Urban Art Museum.
Bit Coppola, treasurer
Elizabeth (Bit) Coppola just joined the board in the fall of 2023. She grew up in Marblehead along with her husband Dave. They have 3 kids: Dennis and Molly, who attend Brown and Village, and James, who will become a kindergartener at Brown next fall. Bit has been a board member of the Brown School PTO for the past 3 years where she co-chairs the enrichment committee. She is passionate about giving back to our Marblehead community, specifically with outreach to our public schools. In their free time, Bit and family love to spend as much time as they can outdoors, whether it’s on the water, tennis court, skiing or anything in between.
Bit studied Art History at Rollins College and even spent 5 months abroad in Florence, Italy. While she was living there, she discovered a passion for cooking and upon graduating from Rollins, she went to culinary school at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Cambridge, MA. She then started her own business and became a private health food chef and caterer for nearly 10 years. Currently, she is home with all 3 kids running around between everyone numerous activities.
Tracy Darrin
Tracy has lived in Marblehead since 2011. She and her husband, Will, chose Marblehead as a place to raise their family based on the town’s coastal charm, its proximity to family, and its strong sense of community. As a mom of three children in the Marblehead public school system, Tracy cares deeply about the education and enrichment programs that Friends provides to the community. Tracy is excited to join the grants committee and help further enrich the education offered by Marblehead Public Schools.
Tracy attended Boston College for her undergrad and later returned for her MBA. She is currently an Insurance Executive at GE and is responsible for providing risk management and insurance expertise to GE’s businesses on a global basis. In her free time, Tracy enjoys skiing with her family, traveling, playing tennis, and coaching youth soccer.
jen dulac
Jen moved to Marblehead in 2009 with her husband Andy and their three daughters. Her girls now attend Glover School, Village School, and MVMS. Jen is a graduate of Bowdoin College and co-founder of Trim Design Co., a local interior design studio. Before moving to Marblehead, Jen taught middle school language arts and social studies for ten years, mainly overseas at Singapore American School and the American School in Japan. This is her first year on the Friends board, and she looks forward to working with the grants committee to further enrich the education offered by Marblehead Public Schools.
TOVA Kaplan
Tova joined the Friends Board in 2021 as a member of the PR & Marketing committee. Tova has spent her career in Marketing, working on the agency side for clients such as New Balance, L.L.Bean and Carnival Cruise Lines. Tova currently works for Fidelity in their marketing department. Tova is from New England and has lived in Marblehead since 2018 with her husband, Matt, and their two children, Seymour and Ellis, who attend Glover School and Children's Workshop. Tova enjoys giving back to Marblehead - especially in the educational sector where she believes the impact reaches far into the community
Scott Marcus
Scott joined the Friends Board in 2022. Both he and his wife grew up in Marblehead and proudly attended public schools from K-12. They moved back to Marblehead in 2012 and have 2 girls, ages 9 and 7. Scott attended Trinity College in Hartford, CT and graduated with a BA in Economics and Political Science. For the past 15 years he’s worked in the FinTech space running sales and Go-To-Market Strategy for multiple startups. He also runs an LLC that invests in early stage growth companies and real estate among other investments. Outside of work he is involved with the Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination, the Boston Chapter of Big Brother/Big Sister, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, Trinity College Alumni Association and volunteers his time coaching Marblehead Youth Soccer, Softball and Lacrosse.
Samantha Nelson
Samantha joined the Friends Board in 2022. She and her husband have two children at Brown Elementary and one child at The Village School. A proud supporter of public education, she’s been actively involved with the Brown PTO for the last three years. Professionally, she’s been with Bain and McKinsey & Company in both Boston and Chicago offices and most recently, she worked as a marketing director with ANZ Bank (Australia New Zealand) in Auckland, NZ. She holds a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College in Norton, MA and a masters in marketing from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.
ALEX STARK
Alex Stark currently runs program management and operations for Wayfair’s customer experience teams, the teams that work on Wayfair.com and the app. Alex’s career has focused on operational and delivery efficiencies for large corporations in various sectors from media to tech, including international start ups. She began her career in 2006 at Nickeleodeon, running their brand and internal/external events. She holds a BFA from NYU.
In addition to joining Friends of Marblehead Public Schools in 2021, she is passionate about art education, and supports local art schools and art nonprofits in various capacities. A native Marbleheader, Alex and her husband Randolph moved to Marblehead from New York in 2015 with their two children, Henry and Colette, who both attend Marblehead Schools.
Haley Scimone
Haley Scimone is a dedicated Marblehead resident and top Realtor with Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. She lives in town with her husband, Branden and their three boys: Nico, Rowan, and Santino. The oldest, Nico, just entered kindergarten at Brown Elementary School this Fall. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor's degree in marketing, Haley spent over 12 years working for iHeart Media (formerly Clear Channel Outdoor) before transitioning into real estate. With over eight years in the industry, Haley has seen firsthand how Marblehead’s excellent school system is a major draw for families. Her passion for education and community engagement extends beyond real estate, as she previously served on the JCC board, where she led successful fundraising efforts and is an ambassador for NorthEast Arc. Haley is excited to bring her experience to the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools to help support and strengthen the local education system, a cornerstone of the town’s vibrant community.
Kate TeTirick
Kate joined the Friends Board in 2021 as a member of the PR & Marketing committee. She has lived in Marblehead since 2018 with her husband, Jon, and their two children, Caroline and Hudson, who attend Glover School and Seaside Nursery School. Kate graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a BA in History & English and is a career Publicist who learned the ropes in New York City working on clients such as Veuve Cliquot, Banana Republic, Target, Nike, Reebok and Clif Bar. Most recently, Kate led Global Public Relations at New Balance. A native New Englander, Kate enjoys giving back to the community and currently serves on the Board of Marblehead Girls Youth Lacrosse and the Executive Board of the Glover School PTO.
Sean Waters
Sean joined the Friends Board in 2021 as a member of the PR & Marketing committee. He has lived in Marblehead since 2013 with his wife Jess and their three young children, TJ, Owen and Emma. Sean is a native New Englander, but attended college in the Midwest at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where he earned a BS in Management Information Systems. He has worked in a variety of roles and industries including healthcare, financial services and wealth management. Sean currently leads the customer experience for HeightZero, a turnkey digital asset management platform for investment advisors. In addition to his professional pursuits, Sean volunteers with several local organizations including EforAll in Lynn, Marblehead Youth Soccer and Marblehead Flag Football.
Davin Wedel
Davin joined the Friends Board in 2023 and serves on the Grants Committee. Davin moved to Marblehead from Boston in 2019 with his husband David and twin daughters Stella and Lucy. Davin grew up outside Chicago and spends a great deal of time and passion working to restore native prairie habitat at his Family’s Farm in rural Wisconsin.
An accomplished violinist from the age of five, Davin first came to Boston to study in a combined program at Tufts and the New England Conservatory. A life-long entrepreneur, he started a few different businesses while in college – including the one where he still works today some 30+ years later. Davin is an internationally-recognized expert in sexual health and wellness, leading the North American subsidiary of the largest condom manufacturer in the world and bringing the brands he has created to the world-wide market. His professional passions lie in product design and development, and integrating mission-based marketing into product lines.
