Board of Trustees

Robert W. Gray
Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Bob Gray has served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees since October 2005.  Bob’s wife, Susanne volunteered extensively before he became the Chair of the Board.  She was instrumental in forming the first Board of Trustees in 2003, and assisted in establishing governance standards guided by the National Association of Independent School (NAIS).  Bob is a graduate from Purdue University, and is a seasoned management consulting executive with over twenty years experience in developing pragmatic strategies and teams for corporate success.  He started his term on the Board by guiding the Administration of the school to articulate a Mission Statement, vision statement, and a short and long-term strategic plan.  He set about implementing the plans immediately.  He is the catalyst behind the dynamic, but responsible growth of the school.  His dogged determination in finding a permanent campus was the most crucial factor in facilitating a future for Swift School.  Bob and Susanne came to the school for Marshall, their son who was enrolled for four years.   

Tom Flanigan
Development Committee Chair
Tom Flanigan has served on the Board since summer 2006.  He was elected Vice Chair at the May 20, 2008 Board meeting, effective July 1.  Tom has served since his election to the board as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee. Tom is Senior Vice President of M. D. Hodges, the Real Estate Investment Management arm of ING Clarion.  He and his wife, Gail have one son Michael, and one daughter Tess, who both attend Swift School.

Laura Green
Secretary, Development Committee
Laura is a consultant with Computer Task Group, Inc., a technology firm operating in North America and Western Europe. Prior to her work with CTG, Laura held executive positions with national insurance companies and served as Corporate General Counsel for Insurance Management Solutions Group, based in St. Petersburg, Florida. She is a cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo with a B.A. in Psychology and J.D. from its law school. She is licensed to practice in New York and Florida.

Linda Kelley
Education Committee Chair
Linda Kelley has worked with children who have learning disabilities and with their families for over twenty-five years. This has taken the form of teaching, providing individual remediation, and assessing students’ learning profiles.  Linda taught at the Wardlaw School of the Atlanta Speech School for fifteen years, and she is currently working as a school psychologist at Our Lady of the Assumption School. She has served on the board of directors for the Learning Disability Association of Georgia (LDAG), and on the Executive Board of the Georgia Association of School Psychologists (GASP).  She oversaw the execution of the Goizueta Grant ($300,000), which focused on prevention, identification, and remediation of early reading failure at Holy Redeemer School in Alpharetta.  She is honored to be serving on the Board of Trustees of Swift School.

John Kittle
Personnel Committee Chair
John Kittle was elected to the Board of Trustees on February 19, 2008.  He is a graduate of DePauw University with an MBA from Indiana University.  John’s professional experience and expertise is in the orchestration of Sales Teams and Sales Operations on regional, national and/or international platforms.  He has over sixteen years of experience in expanding market shares and elevating product visibility.  John is employed by Bristol Myers Squibb as Region Business Director.  He and his wife, Kelly, reside in Alpharetta.  They have a son named Ethan, who attends Swift School, and they also have a daughter named Elizabeth. 

Christine McGinnis
Admissions Committee Chair
Dr. Christine McGinnis is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice located in Historic Roswell. Dr. McGinnis received a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Georgia School of Professional Psychology.  She completed internships at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Ridgeview Institute, and North West Georgia Regional Hospital. Christine’s specialty is that of assisting children and families in the diagnosis and understanding of various learning disorders.  She provides comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations for preschool and school-age children that serve to measure the risk of Dyslexia as well as other learning difference.  Dr. McGinnis and her husband, Garrard, live in Roswell and have one daughter.  She has offered her valuable expertise and service to the Board since June 2006.

Richard Phillips
Vice Chair
Dr. Richard Phillips joined the Board in June 2006, and chairs the Education Committee.  He is the Chairman and Professor in the Department of Risk Management and Insurance in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, and holder of the Bruce A. Palmer Professorship.  He is also a research associate in the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research at Georgia State and a Fellow of the Wharton Financial Institutions Center.  Dr. Phillips has acted as consultant to a number of leading insurance organizations as well as the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton Administration.  He attended University of Minnesota for his undergraduate work and Wharton for his MS/PhD.  Richard and his wife, Kelly originally came to Swift School for their daughter Megan, who attended two years and then transitioned to another school.  Their youngest child, Caitlin also attended Swift School.  They also have a son named Matthew. 

Laura Ries
Laura Ries is an internally recognized expert on marketing and branding strategy. After graduating from Northwestern University in the top 2% of her class, she worked at TBWA Advertising before partnering with her father and Positioning pioneer Al Ries in 1994. Together they founded Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. Laura is also the co-author of several bestselling books including: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR, and War in the Boardroom. Her son Conrad attends the Swift School. As part of the “On the House” team, Laura donated her services for the rebranding Swift effort in 2009. Laura was elected to the board in May 2010.

Don Sutton
Buildings & Grounds Committee
Don Sutton has been on the Board since its inception in 2003.  He is a long-time resident of Marietta and the proprietor of Old Mill Cabinetry, Inc.  Don and his wife, Fran came to know Gail Swift, the school’s founder, when she tutored their dyslexic daughter, Anna in elementary school. Don and Bob Gray were solely responsible for the location of the school today.  Don also single-handedly led the efforts to reconfigure the existing office space in order to meet all code requirements for an elementary school.  He accomplished this between the closing date of June 30 and the opening of school on September 5, 2006.  He has been a tireless advocate for the school.

Peter Williams
Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair
Peter Williams joined the Board in March 2008 and was elected Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee, effective July 1, 2008.  He and his wife, Susan have one son, Greyson who attended Swift School.  Peter is Finance Director at The Coca Cola Company in Atlanta.