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Click on the above organogram to view a larger version
- The Board is composed of five elected members (voting), four appointed members (voting) and two non-voting members (US Embassy Representative and the School Director
- US citizens must constitute a majority of voting members
- Elected Board members must be parents of AISJ
- Appointees and secondees do not have to be parents, provided there are no more than two non-parents on the Board at anytime
- Secondees serve one-year terms and may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms
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Jeff Nemeth, Vice Chair (Appointed Member)
June 2011 - May 2013 |
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Born in the United States, Jeff spent his childhood in Indiana, moved to Detroit as an adult and went to Asia in 1999 and to South Africa in 2010. He was educated in the United States doing his undergraduate and graduate work at Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business earning his MBA. He is the CEO of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa and is a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Automotive Manufacturers of South Africa. Jeff has been involved in school programs at the various international schools his children have attended coaching 15 sports teams over the years. As an AISJ board member Jeff is committed to seek ways to serve the community with enthusiasm to ensure the best possible learning environment for the children of our school. His recognition of the importance of stability and continuity, effective communication, and parental involvement has characterized his performance throughout his time on the Board. His hope is that the school can continue to retain the best teachers and attract the highest quality teacher when a new one is needed by giving constant attention to the morale and climate of the school as a necessity to attracting and retaining the highest quality and most caring people to work with our children. He brings a commitment to keeping best practices in independent governance practices before the Board. He is a member of the finance committee. Jeff is married to Nancy, a PA board member, and their three children, Declan, Coleman and Blake are currently enrolled in grades three, nine and eleven respectively. |
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Christine Asiko (Elected Board Member)
June 2012 - May 2015
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Born in Kenya Christine was raised in Nairobi moved to England in 2001 and South Africa in 2010. Christine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a post graduate qualification in teaching learners with Specific Learning Difficulties. She is currently the CEO and Founder of Strive International a UK based charity. Strive International aims to build awareness of DYSLEXIA in Africa and support discussion to increase the number of learners with specific learning difficulties succeeding in education. It also addresses issues that transform the perception and delivery of education and in so doing prevent the marginalization of students. As a Board member Christine brings a diverse educational perspective on strategy which she has acquired through her international career in Education. Christine is also committed to seek ways to integrate the diverse community that AISJ is to support the growth of students and faculty. She sits on the Governance Committee with particular focus on Board Communication. Christine is married to William and has two children at AISJ. Shani and Hawi are in Grade nine and grade five respectively. |
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Anne Sheerin (Seconded to serve)
April 2012 - March 2013
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Carolynn Pettit (Elected Board Member)
June 2012 - May 2015
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Carolynn is in the second year of a two year elected term. She is Chair of the Board’s Governance Committee, a member of the Facilities Committee and has served on the Policy Committee in 2010. Carolynn was also a member of the International Schools Group of Saudi Arabia Board for two years and sat on the Finance and Facilities Committee of that Board. She graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering and enjoyed a 20 year career in petrochemical process design and project management. Although born and raised in the USA, Carolynn and her husband have lived and worked outside the USA for the past 25 years in South Africa, Cyprus, Canada, Thailand, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia with half of that time being in South Africa. They enrolled their two daughters in AISJ in August 2004 in Kindergarten and Grade 2. Claire and Anna are now in Grades 7 and 9 and will both graduate from AISJ! Carolynn is proud to serve on AISJ’s School Board because she is passionate about the school’s vision and mission and the incredibly diverse student body who are the essence of AISJ. |
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Roberto Mercade, Board Chair (Appointed Board Member)
March 2012 - 2014
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Roberto is the General Manager for Coca-Cola South Africa. Prior to this he was the General Manager for Venezuela and Caribbean and has been with Coca-Cola for 20 years. Roberto is an Industrial Engineer from The Georgia Institute of Technology in the US.
Roberto was the Board Chair for two years and board member for three at ECA, the American School in Caracas, Venezuela.
Appointed in March 2012 to complete the remainder of Michael Judin's 3 year term. |
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Kathryn (Kate) Pongonis (Appointed Board Member)
June 2012 - May 2013
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Kathryn (Kate) Pongonis is a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Department of State. She joined the State Department in 1999 and has served as a Political Officer in overseas postings in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Beijing, China; Chengdu, China; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has had one domestic posting in Washington, D.C, in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. She is currently serving is the Deputy Political Counselor in Pretoria, South Africa. Prior to joining the State Department, Ms. Pongonis was a Hispanic Outreach attorney with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society in Atlanta, Georgia. She served as an Agricultural Extension Volunteer in the Peace Corps in Ecuador till 1994. Ms. Pongonis has JD from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and was a fellow in that law school’s Urban Morgan Institute of Human Rights. Her undergraduate degrees are in Spanish and Economics from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Kate is married to David Foster, also with the State Department. Children Grace Foster and Luke Foster, are in grades 4 and 6, respectively, in the Pretoria campus. Kate chose to serve on the Board because of the belief she has positive contributions to make to the long term strategic planning of the school.
Appointed in June 2012 to complete the 2nd year of Fred Glick's 3 year term. Fred resigned in May 2012 due to international re-posting. The position will be up for re-election in April 2013. |
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James (Jim) Deiotte, Treasurer (Appointed Board Member)
August 2012 - May 2015
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Appointed in August 2012 to complete the remainder of Scott Krogg's term. Scott was appointed in May 2012 but resigned in July 2012 due to an international reposting. |
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Tracy Craven, Secretary (Elected Board Member)
June 2012 - May 2015 |
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Tracy, together with her husband Paul and two sons, Joby and Tom (grades 7 and 9) moved to Johannesburg in January 2011.
Tracy was born and educated in the UK. She qualified as a lawyer in 1989 and until moving to South Africa practised as a Child Care specialist representing children in complex court proceedings.
Tracy served on the Parent Association until being elected to the Board in May 2012. Tracy is committed to helping the Board communicate and engage with the whole school community. Tracy’s hope is that the school can continue to develop and strive to meet the needs of all its students and provide them with the best possible education. |
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| Dale Lawton, US Embassy Representative (Non voting Member) |
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| Andy Page-Smith, School Director |
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Andy Page - Smith was born in Britain and emigrated to Tasmania, Australia as a child. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Australia teaching all levels K-12. Before entering international education he worked as a consultant in literacy development and as an associate professor of education. He earned his doctorate degree from the University of Sarasota, Florida, with research on “Mentoring in Cross-Cultural Contexts”. This is his eighteenth year overseas – having held leadership positions in Kuwait, Vietnam, Qatar and Hong Kong, as well as serving on the NESA Board and President of ACAMIS for four years. In August 2010 he took up his current appointment as Director of the American School of Johannesburg. He also currently serves on the Board of Academy of International School Heads as well as working as an adjunct professor for Lehigh University. He has particular interest in leadership, governance, and teaching and learning.
He is married with a thirteen year-old daughter adopted from Vietnam. |
