Administrative Team

List of 11 items.

• Ken Aldridge

  Head of School 
  B.A., College of Wooster
  M.C.E., University of Pennsylvania
  At Friends since 2014
  kaldridge@wilmingtonfriends.org
  

   

  Before being appointed Head of School, Ken began his career at Wilmington Friends as the Assistant Head for Academics and International Baccalaureate (IB) Coordinator.
  
  

  Ken earned a B. A. in Chemistry from the College of Wooster and a Masters of Chemistry Education from the University of Pennsylvania. He began his teaching career at George School, where he taught science in the International Baccalaureate Program, coached swimming and tennis, served as Assistant Dean of Students, and was awarded the Price Teaching Chair for Young Faculty. In 1996, Ken moved to Germantown Friends, where, prior to his administrative role as Middle School Principal, he headed the Science Department and received the American Chemical Society’s (Philadelphia Section) Excellence in Teaching Award.
  
  

  As an active Quaker, Ken serves as a trustee for the Kendal System and is a former trustee of Friends Council on Education. He is on the Board of the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS) and serves as a faculty member for the National Association of Independent School’s (NAIS) Aspiring Heads Fellowship program. Ken is also the former Chair of the Board for Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, an organization that “provides disadvantaged students from Philadelphia’s under-resourced schools with the education and supports they need to access higher education.” Ken and his wife, Cassandra, have three children; two are Friends graduates.

• William R. Baczkowski

  Associate Head for Finance and Operations 
  A.S., B.S., Widener University 
  At Friends since 1988
  bbaczkowski@wilmingtonfriends.org

   

  In 2013, Bill was one of six recipients from across the country of the Unsung Hero Award from the National Business Officers Association (NBOA), the  professional association for independent school business officers. From the NBOA web site: "This award is given to business officers who have made a significant difference in their schools. These business officers, in doing their job, exemplify a high standard of integrity, knowledge, and motivation to help their schools succeed. They are team players whose work supports faculty, staff, trustees, and administration. They are both excellent managers and true leaders. In order to be considered for this award, a business officer must have clearly demonstrated an effective mastery of his or her job. Yet more importantly, this individual must have made a significant difference to the school, its staff, and its students." Prior to coming to Wilmington Friends, Bill worked in the hospitality industry for eight years and was nominated for the Controller of the Year in 1987 when he was with AIRCOA, a multi-national hospitality management company. Bill has a B.S. from Widener University where he earned summa cum laude honors and received the Accounting Award for having the highest GPA in the major. Bill and his wife Tina are the parents of three WFS alums.

• Melissa Brown

  Director of Admissions and Financial Aid

  B.S. from Boston University

  At Friends since 2000

  mbrown@wilmingtonfriends.org

  
  Prior to being appointed Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Melissa has served as our Associate Director of Admissions and Financial Aid with a focus on lower school. Melissa and her husband, William, have three children, including one who is at WFS.

• Erica Childs

  Director of Equity, Justice, Community and Engagement

  B.S. University of Maryland Baltimore County

  Ph.D. University of California Los Angeles
  At Friends since 2016

  echilds@wilmingtonfriends.org

   

  Prior to her role as Director of Equity, Justice, Community and Engagement, Erica served as a mathematics teacher in the Upper School. Additionally she served as 9th and 10th grade clerk, member of the upper school diversity committee, faculty sponsor for the Black Student Union, and founder and coordinator of the READ Journal Clubs (Read and Educate ourselves on Anti-Racism and Diversity). Before joining WFS, she conducted statistical genetics research at Johns Hopkins University. Erica is originally from Abington, PA. She and her husband have two children, one of whom is a student at WFS.

• Susan Morovati Finizio ’87

  Director of Communications and Strategic Marketing
  B.S., Boston University
  M.B.A., University of Delaware
  At Friends 1999-2002
  2006-present
  sfinizio@wilmingtonfriends.org

   

  Susan originally joined the staff of Wilmington Friends in 1999 as Director of Communications. In 2002, she left the workforce to stay home with her children and work as a freelance graphic designer. She rejoined WFS in 2006 as Family Resource Coordinator and, in 2011, gained additional responsibilities as the School's Environmental Stewardship Coordinator. She was subsequently appointed Strategic Marketing Manager in the summer of 2013 and to her current role in the summer of 2017. Prior to joining Friends, Susan worked as Design Manager in the Marketing Department of Wilmington Trust Company. She recently joined the Board of Jewish Family Services (JFS). Susan and her husband, JC, are the parents of two Friends alums.

• Edward J. Gallagher III Ed.D.

  Assistant Head of School for Academics & and International Baccalaureate (IB) Coordinator.B.A., Temple University

  Ed.M., Holy Family University

  Ed.D., University of Pennsylvania 

  At Friends since 2022
  egallagher@wilmingtonfriends.org
  
  Ed began his teaching career in 2004 at Girard College as an Upper School Social Studies teacher. A proud graduate of Girard, Ed worked in several roles over his decade-plus years of service to his alma mater, including Elementary School teacher, Academic Coordinator, Upper School Dean of Students. He also coached varsity soccer and softball.  In 2010 Ed earned his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Holy Family University and was recently awarded the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award from HFU.  
  
  

  “My Deeds Must Be My Life” is the credo of Stephen Girard, the Founder of Girard College, and Ed’s dedication to service has been at the forefront of all of his personal and professional endeavors, especially his beloved Alumni Associations of Temple, HFU, the University of Pennsylvania, and of course Girard.  

  In 2014, while pursuing his doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, Ed accepted a position as the Head of Middle School at AIM Academy, where he more recently served as the Interim Head of School from 2020 until joining Friends in July of this year.  Ed’s wife, Rachel, and son, Edward IV, recently moved to the Wilmington area and are beyond excited to join the Wilmington Friends community.

• Jonathan Huxtable

  Head of Middle School
  B.A., Haverford College
  Ed.M., Harvard University Graduate School of Education
  At Friends 1993-2002
  2012-present
  jhuxtable@wilmingtonfriends.org
  
  Jonathan Huxtable, an active Quaker, became Head of Middle School at Friends in July 2012 and returned to his role as varsity baseball head coach in 2018; he had previously served the school as a teacher and coach from 1993-2002, and as Middle School Dean for Students from 1999-2002. After serving for two years as Director of Development for the Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center (MD), Jon became the founding head of Friends School of Harford (MD), where over an eight-year tenure, he led the school's expansion from a single grade to a vibrant K-8 program. Jon is a former Trustee with Kendal-Crosslands Continuing Care Retirement Communities, served on the Board of the Maryland Center for Character Education, the United Way of Central Maryland, as a member of the Heads Support and Evaluation Committee at Friends School of Mullica Hill, and as a member of the Harvard Club of Delaware Education Scholarship Committee. Jon met his late wife, Christine, a Friends School of Baltimore alum, at WFS in 1997. Their youngest is a current WFS student and their oldest a recent WFS graduate. In 2021, Jon married WFS alum, Kelly Bush Huxtable ’87, whose oldest daughter is also a recent WFS grad and youngest is in high school.

• Chad O'Kane

  Director of Development
  B.A., James Madison University
  M.A., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  At Friends since 2012
  cjokane@wilmingtonfriends.org

   

  Before being appointed as Director of Development, Chad served as Director of Capital & Endowment Giving at Friends, working to enrich the School's major gifts and planned giving programs. Chad is a member of AFP (Association of Fund Raising Professionals), and was honored with the AFP-Brandywine Chapter's 2013 "Rising Star Award" for his development work at Friends. in addition to his work at Friends, Chad serves on the education committee of the NAACP Main Line Branch.  He and his wife, Laura, have two children.

• Julie Rodowsky

  Head of Lower School
  B.A., University of Maryland, College Park
  M.EE, Wilmington University
  At Friends since 2002
  jrodowsky@wilmingtonfriends.org

   

  Julie began her career at Wilmington Friends in 2002 as an associate teacher in kindergarten.  Since that time, she has taught second grade, first grade and served as the Assistant Head of Lower School.  She taught preschool and pre-kindergarten children in North Wilmington prior to coming to Friends.  Before moving to the area in the early 1990s, Julie was the Director of Admissions and Public Relations at a girls' high school in her native Baltimore. She and her husband are parents to three children, two of whom graduated from Wilmington Friends. 

• Megan Walters

  Administrative Assistant to the Head of School
  At Friends since 2021
  mwalters@wilmingtonfriends.org

   

  Megan came to Friends after working for several years in administrative assistant positions in different types of educational institutions. Most recently she worked in a research center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prior to that, she worked in a language school and university in San Diego, California. Megan earned a BA from Point Loma Nazarene University.

• Rebecca Zug

  Head of Upper School
  B.A., Harvard College
  M.Ed., Harvard University Graduate School of Education
  At Friends since 2010
  rzug@wilmingtonfriends.org

   

  Rebecca came to Wilmington from Sidwell Friends School, where she served as Assistant Principal and Upper School Dean of Students. Prior to Sidwell, Rebecca taught at Colegio Internacional de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela; Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut; the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York; and the George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where she taught in the International Baccalaureate program. At Harvard, Rebecca was awarded a Pforzheimer Fellowship for her commitment to public service.  She is also a graduate of the Joseph Klingenstein Summer Institute for independent school educators at Columbia University and is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Rebecca served on the Friends Council on Education board from 2012-2020, completed the Friends Council Leadership Institute program, and teaches a workshop on Division Leadership each summer for Independent School Management. She is an active Quaker and a graduate of Westtown School. Rebecca and her husband Jim are the parents of one current WFS student and one WFS alum.