2022-2023 Board
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Claire Oates
Chair - MLEF
After growing up OTP in Gwinnett County, Claire has been delighted to live in Candler Park for the last 8 years with her husband Adam and sons Sam (3rd grade - Mary Lin) and Dawson (Kindergarten - Mary Lin). She is Assistant General Counsel at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a national non-profit providing programs and services that support kids and teens in reaching their full potential. Claire graduated from Washington and Lee University, received her JD from the University of Georgia, and, prior to joining BGCA, spent many (many) hours as a litigator at King & Spalding. In her free time, she volunteers with Election Protection, travels with her family, and attempts yoga.
Emily Newton
Chair Elect - MLEF
Emily has lived in Candler Park for twelve years with her husband, Chris, and three children, Tye (10th Grade), Ford (2nd Grade, Mary Lin) and Isla (toddler, future Mary Lin student). She is a partner at King & Spalding LLP and focuses on high-stakes business cases, with an emphasis on handling class actions, antitrust matters, and fiduciary matters. Emily graduated Summa cum Laude from Duke University and received her JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with honors. Emily serves on the Atlanta Market Board of the March of Dimes and has chaired several special events for the organization. In her spare time, she enjoys music, reading, podcasts and interior design.
Kristy Perez
Secretary - MLEF
Kristy and her family moved to Lake Claire in 2017. She and her husband, Paco, have three daughters. Naomi is a rising 4th Grader. Gabriela is a rising 1st Grader. Alina is a pandemic baby, getting bigger by the day! Each afternoon, they can easily be found outside playing in the neighborhood or at the Lake Claire pool. Kristy's educational background is in human and health applications of radiation physics (i.e. Medical Physics). Her current role is the Vice President of Clinical for a small medical device company, CivaTech Oncology. She has worked at this company for over 10 years ushering 3 radioactive medical devices from benchtop through regulatory clearances and into clinical use. She has had roles in R&D, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality/Regulatory, and Clinical. Kristy volunteers as a mentor for Emory's Start:Me Accelerator and also serves on the Board and as Social Committee Chair for the Duke University Medical Physics Alumni Association. She has eclectic interests and in her free time loves to read, travel, invest in real estate, and trade the stock market.
Kelly Downs
Treasurer - MLEF
Kelly lives in Inman Park with her husband, Chris, and their daughter Ella (1st Grade at Mary Lin). Kelly is the Chief Operating Officer of Advisor Practice Management at Cresset, a wealth management firm who manages over $27 billion for families across the country. She grew up on West Virginia and moved to Atlanta in 2010 after spending a decade in San Francisco. Kelly enjoys volunteering to help the Mary Lin community and is excited to contribute further through her work with the Foundation. In her free time, you can find her hanging out with her family, walking through the neighborhood with their dog Toulie, or enjoying wine tasting at "VinoTeca."
Lynn Eaton
Grants - MLEF
Lynn Eaton is originally from Athens, Ga but has been a resident of Inman Park since 2007. She lives with her husband Andy, and their two daughters, Anne (3rdGrade) and Vera (1st Grade) on Hale Street. She attended University of Georgia before earning her NP degree at Georgia State University. Lynn is a Pediatric Neurological Nurse Practitioner for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and has worked for CHOA for over 14 years. Lynn loves working with children and is excited to improve educational experiences at Mary Lin Elementary.
Shari Golla
Trustee
Shari Golla is mom to Elise, a Mary Lin 1st Grader, and 3-year-old Ethan. She and her husband Mark have lived in Candler Park since 2007. Shari has been a Southwest flight attendant for over 20 years. Before becoming a mom, she lived a double life, flying on the weekends and protecting the Constitution as a public defender in the Alcovy Circuit on weekdays. Shari graduated from Agnes Scott with a BA in English, has an MBA from Kennesaw State, and a JD from Georgia State.
Matthew Cherry
Trustee
Matt is a long-time Atlantan living in Inman Park. His son Max is in fourth grade at Mary Lin. Matt works at architecture firm Lord Aeck Sargent specializing in Urban Design, Planning and Landscape Architecture. He enjoys working at a variety of scales from designing small pocket parks to planning entire neighborhoods. Recently he was one of the lead designers for Howard Middle School. In his spare time Matt loves playing guitar, running, gardening and woodworking.
Jeannie Yoo Beckett
Trustee
Jeannie and her husband Matt have a first grader and third grader in Mary Lin. Having recently retired from Homeland Security Investigations and moved back from Singapore, Jeannie is now providing consultational guidance to local law enforcement in the fields of anti-human trafficking, dark web and cryptocurrency/blockchain tracing. She is excited to help Mary Lin continue to be the amazing school we all love. When she's not hunting down bad guys, you can find her embracing her inner granny while knitting, crocheting and quilting.
Stacee Burton White
Trustee
Stacee and family moved to Candler Park from East Cobb in 2018. Stacee has three children, Austin (7th grade), Aiden (5th grade) and Abbie (1st grade). Stacee has a BA in Psychology from Spelman College, an MA in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a JD from the University of Georgia. Stacee currently is on sabbatical from her career as a senior HR professional. Previously, Stacee spent 12 years working for Google, Inc. as the HR lead for the Southeast and as the North American lead for Google's Data Center HR function. Before that, Stacee worked as an employment attorney for Fisher Phillips, LLP. Stacee and family love traveling and their favorite place to vacation is the Caribbean. This is Stacee's first year on the board and she is excited to serve.
Amanda Rhein
Past Chair
Amanda lives in Inman Park with her husband, David Adams, and daughter Della Adams who is in fourth grade at Mary Lin. Amanda is Executive Director of the Atlanta Land Trust, a non-profit committed to creating and preserving housing in Atlanta that will remain affordable in perpetuity. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, she graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and moved to Atlanta in 2002 to earn a Master of City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech. Amanda serves on several nonprofit boards including the Atlanta Preservation Center, Rebuilding Together Atlanta and the Urban Land Institute Atlanta District Council.
Sharyn Briscoe
Principal
Lynanne Brennan
Teacher Representative
Patricia Derrico
Go Team Representative
Deanne Uroic
PTA Representative