ASF is governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees elected by members of The American School Foundation. Members are elected for three-year terms and may be reelected for subsequent three-year terms.

 

The Board of Trustees holds the school in trust and is responsible for ensuring that the school continues to fulfill the mission adopted by the Board. Through its standing committees, the Board develops and oversees the school's strategic plan, maintains the financial health of the institution, seeks current and long-term philanthropic support, ensures that the physical campus is adequate to support the mission, monitors the progress and success of the educational program and sees to it that the Board follows accepted best practices of non-profit institutional governance.

 

Ten of the members must be U.S. citizens. The majority of current members are parents of students enrolled in ASF. Others are parents of former students and still others are alumni or friends of the school.

Ernesto González Garfias (Board of Trustees Chair)

Leonardo Franco Schlesinger (First Vice-Chair of the Board)

Mark Matthew McCoy Macdonald '89 (Second Vice-Chair of the Board)

F. Antonio Pacheco Lippert '90 (Financial Advisor)

Lynnette Rivera Pesquera '90 (Board Secretary)

César Buenrostro Moreno '85

Gail E. Capdepon Gibford

Ricardo Ganem Castro '83

Patricio Gutiérrez Tommasi

Frances Elizabeth Ward Patton de Huttanus

Carl E. Koller Lucio '88

Juan Francisco Serrano Kacz '79

Paulina Renata Silva Castellanos '89

Andrew Kenneth Sherr

Michelle Troice Martin '01

Mary Elise attended Trinity University in San Antonio for her undergraduate studies, Texas State University for a Master's degree in Public History, and the University of North Texas for a Master's degree in Educational Leadership. In graduate school, Mary Elise studied the impact of experiential learning opportunities on public lands and local historical sites. Before becoming a teacher, Mary Elise worked for the U.S. National Park Service in the field of outdoor education. This experience shapes the way she views educational programming and student-centered learning. She is excited to work with teachers, students, and families to make learning come alive - both inside and outside the classroom. Mary Elise brings experience in project-based learning, building systems for student support, and strategic planning to ASF. She is moving to Mexico City with her husband, Ben Klumpp, and their almost one-year-old daughter, Leona.

Jordan’s educational experience began in his home state of Wisconsin, where he studied at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse. He majored in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood. After he graduated, Jordan moved to Las Vegas and taught second grade at John C. Vanderburg. After visiting Mexico during vacation, Jordan applied to ASF and began his career in Mexico in 2007 as a third grade teacher. Jordan also held the position of dean of students.

Jordan also holds a Master’s degree in Science in Multidisciplinary Studies from State University of New York, College at Buffalo, NY and a Master’s of Education in International Administration from Endicott College, Beverly Massachusetts, MA.

Erin Trautman was born in Virginia, but due to her father’s job with Ford Motor Company, moved around the U.S. and abroad for most of her life. After finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood from Ohio University, she moved to Chicago to begin her career. Following teaching in Chicago Public Schools for two years, Erin began working on her first Master’s degree at DePaul University in Reading and Learning Disabilities. After graduating in 1997, she moved to Mexico and began her career at ASF as a resource teacher within the Services for Academic Success department. Following some time off to begin her family in 1999, she returned in 2008 as the reading specialist and interventionist for the Early Childhood Center. During this time, she studied another Master's of Education in International Administration from Endicott College. After serving for seven years as the interventionist in the ECC, she was hired as a Lower School Dean of Students, where she worked for three years. She is currently Head of the ECC. Erin has been a Foundation member for twelve years and is a proud parent of two ASF Upper School students. 

Jeff Whittard has a degree from the University of Waterloo with a specialization in Environmental Studies with Honors in co-op Geography and a second bachelor’s degree in education from Queen’s University. He also received his Master of Education, Theory and Policies from the University of Toronto while he worked at Royal St. George's College in Toronto, Ontario as a teacher, mentor, and coach and was appointed Foundation Year Coordinator.

In recent years, he has received a Diploma in Independent School Leadership from Canadian Accredited Independent Schools, and his Principal's Qualification (Independent School Focus) from York University. 

After the birth of their first child in 2006, Jeff and his wife Jennifer decided to move their family closer to home in the Niagara Peninsula, where he joined the faculty at Hillfield Strathallan College located in Hamilton, Ontario.

He has served as a classroom teacher, a Department Chair, and as Instructional Chair for Social Sciences and Humanities. Recently, he has served with the Academic Innovation and Instructional Team and the Educational Technology Team, creating continuity and vertical alignment between the middle and upper schools in terms of curriculum, program planning, and strategic direction.  

Jeff is excited to share his vision for education with the students, educators, and parents of ASF as he joins our community with his wife Jennifer, his son and daughter.

Alejandra holds a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations from the Tec de Monterrey, a Master's Degree in Education from the Instituto.

 

Villanueva (part of Universidad Complutense de Madrid). She also has a certificate in Fundraising by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Tec de Monterrey. She was part of the team that developed a Fundraising Certificate with official recognition by CONOCER and SEP. 

 

She has more than 16 years of experience in Fundraising and Development offices, working mainly in the field of education. She has been in charge of the Advancement Office in different institutions such as Colegio Monteverde, Universidad Panamericana and Universidad ORT. She has also worked as a consultant in Fundraising and Strategic planning for many national and international NGOs.

Sloane Starke came to the Admission Office in 2021 with 14 years of experience at ASF, working in the Institutional Advancement and Communications Offices prior to joining the Upper School as a faculty member in the English department. Prior to arriving in Mexico and joining ASF in 2007, Sloane worked in journalism in Missouri, Indiana, and Oregon as a newscast producer. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Sloane holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in international politics and two master's degrees, from University of Missouri (journalism) and SUNY Buffalo (interdisciplinary studies). She and her husband have two children at ASF.

With more than 15 years of experience in corporate communications, external and internal strategies, public relations, digital marketing, social media, crisis management and social responsibility, Roberto has collaborated for international companies such as Pernod Ricard, Bayer, Pfizer, Marsh & McLennan and recently, serving as Corporate Communications Senior Manager at Amazon.

 

Roberto earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications from Universidad Iberoamericana and a postgraduate Marketing Diploma from Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM). 

An educator by vocation, Elisa Penela has more than 20 years of experience in private and public schools in Mexico, at the elementary, secondary and university levels. She has also worked at companies like Telmex and Procter & Gamble. She holds a master’s degree in school administration from the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and has participated in continuing education in human resources.

José Luis has a degree as a computer engineer from Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara and a master's degree in administration from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; a certification in ITIL® Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management. His work experience has been mainly focused on the management of IT areas in organizations in different markets including companies like Stericycle, El Universal, GMAC RFC, Ticketmaster and Alimentos Del Fuerte.

José Luis is an architect from the UNAM, has a certification as Project Management Professional and a LEED AP accreditation, and has extensive experience in the management and operation of large-scale design and construction projects.

He has worked in companies specialized in Project Management such as Parsons, CBRE and Coldwell Banker, and in design offices specialized in Educational Infrastructure.

Homero Figueroa joined the school in 2019 after a career in the corporate world. Over the last 21 years, he has held direction positions in companies like Grupo Salinas, Cash Converters and most recently at CIE. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Escuela Bancaria y Comercial and a MBA from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.