Board of Directors
Mrs. Lander Cooney: TTS Board President
Mr. Walter Hannah: Vice President
Mrs. Jenny Beeler: Treasurer
Dr. Genevieve Chabot, Ed.D: Secretary
Mr. Rick Alexander: Board Member
Mrs. Marsha Gaspari: Board Member
Mrs. Julie Mansisidor: Board Member
Mr. Terri Murphy: Board Member
Ms. Lander Cooney, Board President
Bozeman, Montana
Lander earned a M.S. in Science Education from Montana State University in Bozeman and a B.A. in Biology from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. Her love for the intertwined subjects of environment, culture, and science has led her to teach in outdoor classrooms around the world. Her favorite part about working at the Traveling School was watching students grow through their participation in small community life. It teaches them the values of personal responsibility, tolerance and communication, which when extended into the global classroom, gives students awareness about sustainability and their roles within global ecology.
The sense of inquiry Lander has always enjoyed about teaching and learning with students while traveling often caused her to ask questions about disparities in health, wealth, and education around the world. This led her to her current profession, managing a community health center in rural Montana where she works on eliminating those disparities that exist in our own communities. At home in Bozeman, Lander spends her free time skiing, playing in the rivers, and romping in the mountains with her dog Yaku.
Mr. Walter Hannah, Vice President
Concord, North Carolina
Walter is the owner of Lomax Tile in western North Carolina. Aside from being an accomplished and professional business owner, he is a strong supporter of The Traveling School. Walter’s daughter attended two semesters with TTS and he and his wife, Susan, have been on several TTS Fundraising Trips. Walter is best known for telling everyone and anyone about the unique opportunities available with TTS – including persuading a prospective parent to enroll her daughter while aboard a ferry in the Milford Sound on the South Island of New Zealand. Walter also supports the Tom Ross Memorial Scholarship Fund established in his father’s memory.
Mrs. Jenny Beeler, Treasurer
Menlo Park, California
Jenny Beeler lives in the Bay Area and is the mother of Jane and Mary - both eager future Traveling School students! Her ties to TTS are long. After consulting to Gennifre Hartman during the business planning stages of the school, she joined the TTS Board before TTS's first trip to Africa. She only wishes the Traveling School was around a long, long time ago when she was in high school! Instead, she volunteered for two summers during high school with Amigos de las Americas, building latrines in The Dominican Republic and delivering toothbrushes and dental hygiene education to rural youth in Costa Rica. In college, she studied abroad in Spain and later returned to Costa Rica to teach college Spanish to students studying abroad there. Her desire to see the world endures and outside of leisure travel, she visits TTS programs every chance she gets. She is committed to educational programs that encourage students to step outside the box, both literally and figuratively, and thinks there is no better program for achieving both of those goals than TTS! Jenny holds a BA in Spanish Literature from the University of Kansas, an MA in Education from Stanford University, and an MBA with a focus on Public Management from Stanford University. She has worked in IT Consulting, Investment Banking and Executive Education.
Dr. Genevieve Chabot, Ed.D, Secretary
Bozeman, Montana
Chabot came to Bozeman in 1997 to earn her undergraduate degree in elementary education, then went on to earn a Master's in science education at MSU. She worked for The Traveling School in Africa, South America and New Zealand from 2003-2006. She has her doctorate in curriculum and instruction through Montana State University, and works as a consultant for the Central Asia Institute. The Central Asia Institute's mission is to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since its inception in 1996, the non-profit has built nearly 75 schools that have educated more than 25,000 students in those countries. In addition to building schools, the CAI also provides ongoing teacher training programs and student scholarships, establishes libraries and provides temporary education in regions where natural disasters or crises have occurred. Chabot and her husband, Doug Chabot, live in a house in Bozeman with a wonderful garden.
Rick Alexander, Board Member
Bozeman, Montana
Bio coming soon.
Mrs. Marsha Gaspari, Board Member
Charlotte, North Carolina
Mrs. Julie Mansisidor, TTS Board Member
Roseville, California
Julie Mansisidor is a publications consultant in Roseville, CA, specializing in technical editing. She didn’t have the opportunity to travel as a student, so she enjoys the chance to help provide the life-changing experience The Traveling School offers to girls, especially scholarship students. She is active at the elementary school her two children attend, including serving on the Site Council, helping in the classroom and participating in PTC activities. She and her husband, Chris Ewers, are active bike commuters and enjoy taking their kids and dog hiking, kayaking and camping.
Mrs. Terri Murphy, Board Member
Bozeman, Montana
Terri is the mother of Mikaela, who attended one semester with The Traveling School in New Zealand and Katie, who attended TTS 14 in Africa. Terri has a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and worked as the founder and Executive Director of a Bozeman non-profit early childhood school. Now working as an accountant, Terri has been instrumental in volunteering time and resources for fundraising events and alumni relations. An avid advocate for student scholarships and non-profit opportunities.