The New School Board of Directors
2018-2019
When The New School transitioned to nonprofit status, The New School Board was created. This Board plays a role in the strategic planning of the school. They look to the future and consider the big picture to ensure we are able to evolve and grow to continually meet the needs of our students.
The Board is made up of members of The New School community, including Headmaster Emeritus John Potter and Head of School Steve Roushakes.
A Note from the Board Chair
Our family has called The New School “home” for the past 10 years. We are fortunate to have had both our children attend the school from Elementary through High School. Highlights for us include an emphasis on ownership, self motivation, and hands on learning with a collaborative teacher-student learning environment. As a parent, knowing that my children were looking forward to school each and every day provided the reassurance that The New School was not just a school, but a safe and exciting place to be. Both of my children have developed long lasting friendships with teachers and students that have continued beyond graduation. My children developed into confident young adults, and approached their next steps with a strong sense of self and excitement about their future. The New School curriculum
and teacher-student ratio gave my children the opportunity to explore areas of interest and find their strengths, challenge themselves, and grow each year. To continue to
support and maintain my connection with The New School Community, I am volunteering as a member of the Board.
Carol Traynor
Chair, New School Board of Directors
Alumni Parent, Classes of 2017 and 2019
2018-2019 New School Board Members
Carol Traynor – Board Chair
Carol Traynor is the parent of NSNVA alumni Ian Ko (2017) and Hayley Ko (2019). Carol graduated from Kean University with a B.S. in Chemistry, and earned her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University. Carol is
currently a Client Executive at VMware.
John Daus
John Daus is currently the founder of Property Improvement Enterprises, bringing together a unique combination of technical marketing expertise to real estate redevelopment. He volunteers his time on The New School Board of Directors since two of his sons attended the school. He is intellectually curious with a deep understanding of real estate reconstruction and software technologies. Prior to Property Improvement Enterprises, John Daus did a 13-year stint with Microsoft. His career includes helping start new business units in multinationals and growing early stage companies in manufacturing, residential services and software sectors. John has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering degree from Virginia Tech and he continues his learning by studying online courses and reading voraciously.
Sara Abdel-Rahim
Sara Abdel Rahim is an Associate Director of Development at Georgetown University Law Center (GULC). Prior to joining GULC, she was the Development and Projects Director at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), where she worked to support projects, raise funds, and expand partnerships for the institute. Prior to joining TIMEP, Ms. Abdel Rahim conducted research in Khartoum on the Sudanese women’s movement and in Cairo on mothers’ perceptions of female circumcision. Ms. Abdel Rahim holds an M.A. in Near and Middle Eastern studies with a focus on gender in the Middle East from the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London, and a B.A. in international studies and anthropology from Johns Hopkins University. She is a New School alum from the class of 2008.
Steve Roushakes – Head of School
Steve Roushakes is honored to serve as the Head of School at The New School. He joined The New School faculty in 2001 as a humanities teacher, teaching English, world studies and social studies, and acted as the High School Director and Assistant Head of School from 2010-2018. Prior to The New School, Steve worked as a facilitator, trainer, and technical writer for several government agencies, including the State Department, General Services Administration, and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Steve earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from The College of William and Mary and a Master’s degree in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.
John Potter – Headmaster Emeritus
John Potter founded The New School in 1989 after co-founding and running the Somerset School in Washington, DC for many years. Born and raised in Cornwall, England, John earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Nottingham and a Master’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of Maryland. On his way to earning a doctorate at the University of California, John took a teaching job in an elementary classroom and fell in love with education. The stubborn British transplant soon decided he needed to start his own school so he could do things his way. In starting The New School, John’s mantra was “love and freedom,” and his philosophy of education was far removed from the rigid, top-down schooling he had gotten in England.