Board of Directors
The Board is committed to helping University School of the Lowcountry to grow and flourish and be successful over the long term. As stated by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), “The board is the guardian of the school’s mission. It is the board’s responsibility to ensure that the mission is relevant and vital to the community it serves and to monitor the success of the school in fulfilling its mission.”
Governing Board
Jennifer Boyle
Jennifer grew up in Spartanburg, SC and attended The University of the South in Sewanee, TN graduating with a BS in math in 1992. She fell in love with the Lowcountry after doing a summer internship there; she still works for the same company! Her husband Stephen heard about USL at work and kept his eye on it until their boys were old enough to attend. Their sons cherish their middle school years at USL and remain close to the friends (and teachers) they met, even though many go to different schools and some are even in different cities now. Jennifer was excited to join the board to be able to give back a little to a school that made such an impact in her family’s lives.
Tanya Staubes
Tanya grew up in Columbia and attended Clemson University. After graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law, she worked as a prosecutor for the city of Charleston before being appointed as an associate municipal court judge for the town of Mount Pleasant. She was also an adjunct instructor for the College of Charleston. She previously served three terms on the board of directors for the Junior League of Charleston and served as the chair of the Girl Scouts East Cooper Service Unit 650. She lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband and youngest child; her two older children are in college.
Amy Frain
Amy is a proud native New Orleanian and a licensed clinical social worker. She earned her BA in English with a secondary education certification as well as a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland, where she met her husband, Bryan. They have been married since 1993. Her greatest accomplishments are her three children, all of whom attended USL. Kate, her firstborn, was its very first student! Amy has been involved with USL since its inception. Amy is deeply devoted to USL and is grateful for the way it helped shape her children into the curious, confident, warm, respectful young adults, citizens of the world, students, siblings, and friends that they are today.
Chad Eustis, MD
A native of Nashville, Chad attended Vanderbilt University for BA and MD degrees and surgical residency. After graduating, Chad and his family lived on a farm and worked in rural Kentucky until moving to Mt. Pleasant in 2010. He has been an adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky Medical School and the Medical University of South Carolina and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Oak Tree Hospital and Mount Pleasant Hospital. Chad also sits on the Board of Directors of Predisan, healthcare organizaton in Honduras that he has served as a volunteer surgeon on annual mission trips since 2007. Grateful for the excellent experience of his sons at USL, Chad is pleased to give back to this fantastic organization. As Chad's oldest son said after his shadow day, "It's not really a school: it is more of learning place."
Jonnie Furmanchik
Bio forthcoming
Mary Johnston
Lisa Hand, MD
Lisa grew up in the Virgin Islands but has been in the Carolinas for higher education. She received her medical degree from East Carolina University and completed a residency in psychiatry followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina. She was director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division at MUSC before opening her private practice in psychiatry in 2000. Lisa chose USL for her daughter, Sarah, because of its unique focus on impacting the emotional and academic growth of each student. In support of that mission, She joined the USL Board and enjoys the opportunity to contribute to helping the USL community thrive. Lisa lives on Seabrook Island with her husband and their many pets.
Gisele Woodward
Born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Gisele attended Babson College in Boston, where she majored in accounting. She went on to earn a master’s in social work at Boston College, after which she worked as the director for the Council on Aging in Stoughton, Massachusetts. In 2006, she and her family moved to the Lowcountry. Their youngest son started in third grade and graduated from USL in 2021; he was one of the first two students to join the Ten Years Society at USL. Their oldest daughter attended USL from eighth to twelfth grade.
Gisele and her husband, Mark, strongly believe that USL has helped their children be inquisitive, independent, and passionate. Embracing USL’s philosophy that “the world is their classroom,” their children travel extensively.
Board of Visitors
The Board of Visitors is an advisory (non-governing) body, and its members have all had direct experience with University School of the Lowcountry students and can speak first-hand about USL and its program. BOV members share the story of University School and help our students stay connected with developments, opportunities, careers, etc. in the world beyond our campus. The group is richly diverse, and USL benefits greatly from each member's unique insight and the group's collective wisdom.
Quinn Burke , Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist, Digital Promise & Adjunct Professor, Department of Teacher Education, University of San Francisco
Heather Coll
Empowering Entrepreneurs at Ceterus, Talent Development at Charleston Digital Corridor, Former Counselor and Job Shadow Coordinator at USL
Sterling deVries
Director of Education, Charleston Gaillard Center
Dana Bowen Edwards
Parent Advocate, former Special Education Teacher, Moultrie
Middle School
Janice Key, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics, Division Director of Adolescent Medicine, and the Boeing Center for Children's Wellness' Director of School and Community-based Programs at MUSC
David Leggett
Lawyer in the S.C. Attorney's General Office - Graduate USC School of Law, Carolina Scholar, Graduate - South Carolina Honors College, USL Mentor
Talim Lessane
Director, Upward Bound and Pre-College Programs, College of Charleston
Megan Nordoff
Head of School, Montessori School of Mount Pleasant
Sheila Powell
Executive Director, St. James South Santee Senior & Community Center, Awendaw Town Council Member (since 2009)
Stephen Schabel, Jr.
Director of Education, Center for Birds of Prey
Rev. Dr. William Swinton, Jr.
Pastor, Ebenezer AME Church
Friends of University School
Friends of the School provide support and guidance to University School.
J. Scott Ballenger
Director, Appellate Litigation Clinic, University of Virginia Law School
Charlottesville, VA
Antitrust and Competition / Appellate Law
Latham & Watkins
Washington, D.C.
Robert C. (Tres) Heffron III
Software Architect
Portland, ME
Rachel Kronick Rothbart
Assistant Director, Career Services, Gould School of Law
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
