Governance
EAB is an international school that operates as a non-profit organization and is overseen by a dedicated group of volunteers known as the Board of Directors. If you're interested in learning more about the governance of our non-profit school, including our governing documents, the role of the board of directors, and the individual volunteers who serve on the board, you've come to the right place.
With a rich history of 63 years in teaching and learning, EAB takes pride in its vibrant community. We hold our school, faculty, staff, and students in high regard. Although we do not intervene in day-to-day operations, our unwavering commitment lies in consistently striving for excellence in all aspects of our board governance practices. We aim to create a world-class environment for teaching and learning not only for the present but for the coming decades and beyond.
About the School Board
- What does the Board do?
- How is the Board organized and its members selected?
- How does EAB achieve an effective board?
- Who interacts with the Board?
What does the Board do?
The board's responsibilities include embracing and upholding EAB's mission, vision, and strategic direction, as well as safeguarding the organization's long-term sustainability and financial well-being. They are responsible for the hiring, support, and evaluation of the Head of School.
The Board carries out its work through the following committees: finance, facilities, governance, and audit. In addition, the Board utilizes ad hoc task forces to focus on specific concerns or initiatives related to school governance.
In terms of time commitment, Board members typically participate in 10 monthly board meetings per school year in addition to participating in one of aforementioned committees. In addition, they engage in two two-day retreats annually. On average, Board members contribute 15-25 volunteer hours per month.
How is the Board organized and its members selected?
In accordance with the EAB bylaws, the Board is composed of at least seven and at most eleven voting members. The Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the United States of America in Brasília, or his or her duly authorized representative, is automatically a non-voting member of the Board of Directors. At least 50 percent of the Board must be citizens of the United States of America. Two members must be Brazilian citizens. The remaining members are chosen to reflect the diversity of the EAB community. With the exception of the United States of America, no more than two members may be of the same nationality. At least half of all Board members will be EAB current parents.
The Board of Directors is a self-perpetuating board. Each year, the Governance Committee submits a list of suggested and rank ordered candidates to fill vacated spots. Board members will vote and appoint new members after hearing the Governance Committee’s recommendations. The Governance Committee, drawing as widely as possible from the community, collects nominations with an aim to achieve a Board that reflects the goal of cultivating citizenship and valuing diversity by ensuring that the Board of Directors represents diversity of gender, ethnic background, nationality, and professional background.
Individual members serve on the Board for a period of two years. Members may be reinvited by the existing Board no more than three times, for a period of two years for each re-election. The term limit established is eight years. Board Members strive to stagger terms such that approximately one-quarter of the board will rotate every year. Terms will begin and end at the end of the school year, on the date of the annual General Assembly of the Association.
How does EAB achieve an effective board?
The school board actively seeks individuals who embody the essential qualities necessary for effective board membership, including:
- Long-term perspective and fiduciary responsibility: Board members should possess the ability to consider the school's long-term goals and act in its best interests.
- Absence of personal agenda: It is important for board members to prioritize the school's objectives over personal interests or agendas.
- High ethical standards: Upholding a strong sense of ethics and integrity is crucial for board members in maintaining trust and accountability.
- Teamwork and collaboration: Board members should be adept at working collaboratively as part of a team, valuing diverse perspectives and fostering a positive group dynamic.
- Dedication to the mission, vision, and strategic direction: A strong commitment to the school's mission, vision, and strategic goals is essential for effective board members.
- Effective communication skills: Board members should possess good communication skills, both in expressing their ideas and actively listening to others.
- Sensitivity to the diverse community: Recognizing and understanding the needs and concerns of EAB's diverse community is important when engaging in board activities.
These attributes collectively contribute to the overall effectiveness and success of the school board.
Who interacts with the Board?
Meet EAB's Board of Directors
David Bergknut
Board President
David Wallensteen Bergknut is from Sweden. He studied at Uppsala University in Sweden. His professional background is within Human Resource Management. He has worked for many different types of organizations, among them The Red Cross / Red Crecent movement in Sweden and Switzerland, Tetra Pak, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Karolinska University Hospital and Swedish embassies. The family has lived in Ethiopia, and this is the second time in Brazil and Brasilia. The family consists of two teenagers at EAB, a wife working at the Swedish Embassy in Brasilia and one adopted Brazilian street dog.
Tracy Musacchio
Board Vice-President
Tracy Musacchio is a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State and is currently service as the Deputy General Services Officer at the U.S Embassy. Her previous State Department assignments have been in Luanda, Angola; Manila, the Philippines; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Tracy’s husband, Cesar, is from Sao Paulo. They have two children, a daughter who is in the Lower School and a son who will attend EAB beginning next year. Tracy is originally from the suburbs of Chicago and studied Egyptology at Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania. In her spare time, Tracy is an avid knitter and sewist.
Catherine Hamlin
Board Secretary
Ms. Catherine Hamlin is the Environment Office Director in USAID/Brazil. A career Foreign Service Officer with 20 years of experience working in international development, she oversees a $29 million annual budget environment portfolio in Brazil that supports innovative solutions to advance biodiversity conservation, safeguard the rights of traditional communities, and build a sustainable, standing forest economy in the Brazilian Amazon. Prior to Brazil, she led food security and good governance programs in West Africa and the Philippines, including support for electoral and constitutional strengthening in Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Her career has included support for democracy and governance programming in El Salvador and Washington, DC with USAID, as well as serving five years in Angola. In Angola, she first managed monitoring and evaluation of agricultural cooperative and finance development activities in the field and then managed a range of projects with USAID/Angola that spanned workforce development, environment, and economic growth programs. She helped structure public-private alliances with Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Coca-Cola, as well as loan portfolio guarantees with the Angolan financial sector.
Born and raised between Knoxville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia, Ms. Hamlin holds a B.A. in Sociology from James Madison University and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Ohio University. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and some French. Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Hamlin worked in social services (Native American boarding school in South Dakota, 4-H program in Georgia, Center for Immigrants and Refugees in Phoenix, Arizona) and environment and natural resource management (revegetation management in Grand Canyon National Park, wildlife biology technician in Klamath National Forest, ecotourism guide in Costa Rica and Manaus, Brazil).
Anna More
Board Treasurer
Anna More is a professor of literature whose research focuses on Latin American cultural and social relations. She currently teaches at the Universidade de Brasília and previously was a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Anna is originally from Providence, Rhode Island, but grew up in Washington D.C. She holds a B.A. in History and Literature (Harvard University) and a Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literature (UC Berkeley). She is the mother of Clarice (Class of 2024) and Olivia (grade 7) at EAB. Anna has a strong interest in the pathways from K-12 to higher education and in debates on the humanities as a tool for global understanding.
João Victor Mokdissi
João Victor Mokdissi was born and raised in Brasília and attended the American School of Brasília from preschool to high school graduation. As a student at EAB, João Victor was involved in student government, Model United Nations, the Entrepreneurship Club, Knowledge Bowl, the National Honor Society, and volleyball. João Victor currently works at Grupo Carlton, a real estate investment company. Prior to that, he lived in New York City and worked in J.P. Morgan’s Investment Banking Division doing mergers and acquisitions. João Victor has a Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
David Bargueño
David Bargueño is a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, currently serving as the “climate guy” (and Deputy Counselor for Environment, Science, Technology, and Health affairs) at U.S. Mission Brazil. His previous assignments include Afghanistan, Pakistan, South Africa, and Brazil (São Paulo). In Washington DC, he worked in the office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Food Security. David earned degrees from Princeton (Bachelor’s) and Yale (Master’s). An avid runner, he lives in Brasilia with his husband, son, and two Rhodesian Ridgeback hounds.
Manuel Wally
Dr. Manuel Wally has over 15 years of professional experience in civil society, democratic accountability, and elections in over 50 countries across six continents. Wally has authored methodological studies for the European Union (EU) Parliament and other EU institutions, and he has served as the lead author of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance handbook on International Obligations for Elections.
Wally’s professional experience includes drafting election provisions in constitutions; election and political party legislation and regulations; drafting and conducting comparative analysis of constitutional and legal frameworks for elections; and providing technical electoral assistance in project formulation, evaluation, and execution.
Wally has been engaged by a wide range of democracy and governance organizations, including the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the African Union, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Democracy Reporting International, The Carter Center, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, the United Nations (UN) Development Programme, UN Women, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, the Max Planck Foundation, and the Venice Commission. Wally is fluent in six languages and holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of London and a master’s degree and doctorate in social sciences from the University of Salzburg.
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is a graduate of Xavier University (Ohio), where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at the University of Louisville. Julie is a Registered Nurse with over 18 years of experience, ranging from adult Intensive Care Units in Level I trauma centers to caring for our most precious assets as a school nurse in the southern Maryland school district. Julie is a proud military spouse to a military service member, but most importantly, she prides herself as the mother of five bright and amazing children who all attend EAB and span all three school levels.
As a registered nurse, Julie has dedicated her career to caring for and supporting those in need. She is an advocate and voice for her patients, especially those who may feel overlooked and often underrepresented. As a school nurse, Julie had the unique perspective of being placed inside schools and seeing the challenges that educators and administrators often experienced in providing stellar education to their students. Additionally, she understood the perspective of a parent, with all the questions and concerns associated with wanting their child to have the best education possible. This outlook encouraged her to volunteer, put her knowledge and skills to use, and strive for a school environment of not only optimal learning but also a community where everyone feels welcome and their excellence is showcased. Julie has served as a member of the PTO stateside, as well as a PTO board member internationally, and is currently entering her second term as a member of the EAB Board of Directors this school year.
In her free time, Julie loves to spend quality time with her family and friends. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and watching movies during ‘family fun movie nights’.
Aruna Hintze
Aruna Radhakrishna is a public health and project management professional with broad experience in research, writing and editing in the health and social sciences. She has worked in university, NGO and local organizational settings in the US and abroad, focusing on issues of women’s health, trafficking of women and children, child abuse and neglect, and refugee and immigrant communities. She is currently starting her own business advising and coaching women on midlife health issues. Aruna was trained at Duke University’s Center for Integrative Medicine as an integrative health coach, and has Bachelor’s (Journalism/Sociology) and Master’s (Development Support Communication) degrees from the University of Iowa. She was born in India, raised in the US state of Illinois, and has lived in Latin America for the past 20 years. She currently lives in Brasilia with her Peruvian husband and two children who are in middle and highschool. Aruna loves nature, traveling, dancing and eating really good food!
Michael Kelly
Michael Kelly is a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State and assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia since July 2024. Since 2002, he has worked at U.S. embassies and consulates in Ankara, Turkey; Tijuana, Mexico; Mexico City; Vancouver, Canada; Rome, Italy; Hyderabad, India, and Ottawa, Canada, in administrative, logistics, and consular roles. Michael has also held various positions at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., focusing on both policy and management. He is married to a fellow Foreign Service Officer, and they have three children, two of whom attend EAB. He is a graduate of St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY.
Board Meetings and Committees
Board Minutes
Board Committees
Facilities Committee
The responsibilities of the Facilities Committee encompass policy-making and strategic planning related to the school's physical assets. This includes overseeing the construction, maintenance, and security of the school's facilities, as well as ensuring the safety of faculty, staff, and students. The committee also plays a vital role in developing a comprehensive long-term master plan for the efficient utilization and preservation of physical assets and resources.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee collaborates with the administration to develop the annual operating and capital budgets, as well as a long-range financial plan. This committee is responsible for closely monitoring all financial activities in greater detail compared to the board as a whole. Additionally, the Finance Committee plays a key role in establishing financial policies and presents relevant matters, along with regular financial reports, to the board for approval and informational purposes. Furthermore, the Finance Committee provides oversight for the investment advisory committee.
Audit Committee
The purpose of the Audit Committee is to assist the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities for the financial reporting process, the system of internal control, risk assessment and mitigation strategies, internal and external audit functions and compliance matters. Its responsibilities include reviewing and recommending approval of EAB’s annual audited financial statements to the Board. In addition, it is responsible every three years for evaluating and recommending an external auditor to the Board.
Governance Committee
The Governance Committee is responsible for the institutional stability of the Board. The Governance Committee manages the process for recruitment and selection of new Board candidates seeking to ensure that, to the extent practical, prospective candidates reflect the diversity of the EAB community. The committee coordinates and supports orientation to incoming Board members. It identifies and disseminates opportunities for professional development opportunities for Board members. This includes coordinating with the Head of School and Board President on internal and external retreats. The committee reviews and updates the Board Policy Manual and governance-related documents (i.e., policies). In addition, the committee coordinates on the evaluations of the Board of Directors.