News Detail
RE board welcomes new chair, trustees
Ransom Everglades welcomed a new chair and four trustees on July 1 to its 2018-19 governing board. Andrew L. Ansin '81 succeeds Rudy Prio Touzet '76 as chair of the board, as new trustees David Duckenfield, Jonathan Fitzpatrick, Wendy Holman and Kinga Lampert replace the departing Ghislain Gouraige, Kerin McCarthy Fredman, David McWilliams and Jonathan Kislak. The departing members were recognized and thanked for their contributions during the final board meeting of 2017-18.
Ansin stepped in after serving two years as vice chair under Prio Touzet. Jeff Hicks becames the new vice chair.
"Andy Ansin '81 has shown his dedication to his alma mater in so many ways; I cannot wait to work with him as chair of the board," Head of School Penny Townsend said in July. "I'm also pleased to welcome four talented and accomplished new trustees. All have huge shoes to fill; former board chair Rudy Prio Touzet and our departing board members have made monumental contributions. We are grateful to so many community leaders for sharing their gifts with Ransom Everglades."
Ansin, who joined the board in 2010, was heavily involved in the design of a new bronze Raider statue that was commissioned by his family and unveiled during a rededication of the Ansin Aquatic Center in April. A water polo state champion as an RE student, Ansin attended Brown University and earned two bachelor's degrees. After he joined Sunbeam Properties, founded and developed by his father Ed Ansin and grandfather Sidney Ansin, and has overseen the management of five million square feet of space as vice president. He is an accomplished spearfisherman who has held world records in the sport. He is married to Tatsiana and they have four children, including new Raider Sophie Ansin '25.
Prio Touzet was honored as the 2018 Founder's Award recipient and gave the 2018 Commencement address. Prio Touzet oversaw the purchase of the La Brisa property in June 2016 and the launch last fall of REinventing Excellence: The Campaign for Ransom Everglades. Prio Touzet will remain on the board. Ghouraige takes his leave after serving for 18 years; Kislak after 15; McCarthy Fredman, 11; McWilliams six; and Rubell, three.
Duckenfield, president and partner of Balsera Communications, previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. He also worked for Yahoo! and NBA Latin America. Duckenfield studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., before earning his bachelor's degree at Dartmouth College and master's at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He and wife Claudia Lopez Duckenfield are the parents of Santiago Duckenfield-Lopez ’22 and Diego Duckenfield-Lopez ’20.
Jonathan Fitzpatrick, president and chief executive officer of Driven Brands, joined the company in 2012 after successful tenures at Burger King, where he held a variety of senior executive positions, and Texas Digital Systems, where he was president and chief operating officer. Born in Dublin, he holds bachelor's and graduate degrees from the University College Dublin. He and wife Liz are parents of Jack Fitzpatrick '20 and Lucy Fitzpatrick '23.
Wendy Holman is chief executive officer and co-founder of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on pediatric orphan and infectious diseases. Prior to joining Ridgeback, she worked a ZBI Equities, a multi-billion dollar public equity investment fund and its parent company, Ziff Brothers Investments. Holman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and serves on the board of overseers for the Penn Libraries. She and husband Wayne have four children.
Kinga Lampert has served since 2012 as co-chair of the board of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Sylvester Cancer Center. She is co-founder of the Institute of International Education New Leaders Group, which promotes mutual understanding of the United States and other nations. Lampert was born in Warsaw, Poland, and grew up in Paris where she graduated from Universite Paris X Nanterre with a master's in business law. Before moving to Miami in 2012, she served as in-house counsel at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Bank. She and husband Eddie are parents of Nicholas Lampert ’21 and Nina Lampert ’22.
Middle School
2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 250 6850
Upper School
3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.