Karen Walsh has served on the board of The Montessori School for 10 years, actually extending her term as Board Chair into the current school year to see the school through the COVID disruption. Karen and her husband, Jay Lipschutz, came to TMS in 2007 as new parents enrolling their son, Sean, in Children’s House. As Karen tells the story, she met Sue Zaharchuk on her admissions tour of the school and was “sold” on the spot by Sue’s enthusiasm and testimony to the value of TMS education. Karen and Jay decided that this was the education she wanted for their son. And the rest is history.... Sean graduated from 6th grade in 2016!
Karen joined the Board of Trustees 2010 while it was under the leadership of Lucinda Duncalfe. Within five years of joining the board Karen was elected Chair by her trustee colleagues, serving until this year - three years after her son graduated fromTMS! This kind of passion for Montessori and loyalty to TMS is rare and needs to be recognized and celebrated by the community. Karen’s service as trustee and chair initially focused on the strategic role of the Board and governance of the school. Karen worked with the board, in its fiduciary role to identify “Four Pillars” that must be monitored by the Board to ensure the sustainability of The Montessori School; Financial, Program, Environmental and Community.
In 2015, Karen led the successful modernization of the school building. She called upon a personal colleague with experience in the construction area to join the TMS board and oversee the project, driving it to an on-time, on-budget completion. This project transformed a tired, traditional school building into a model Montessori environment.
Through her personal stewardship, Karen has contributed significantly to the financial health of TMS and her enthusiastic support has strengthened the fabric of our community. Karen’s contributions by the numbers: