PENN CHARTER - Key Persons
Ari Baker is originally from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. She earned her BA in theater arts and history as well as her MA in teaching in secondary social studies education from the University of Pittsburgh. While she started in theater as a performer, she is particularly fond of administration and theatrical lighting. She has participated in performing arts of all forms, including choirs, bands, orchestras, plays, musicals and dance. Ari enjoys spending time with her family, playing guitar and painting. She has served as the administrative assistant of Society Hill Playhouse as well as the production manager of Hedgerow Theatre. Ari is chair of the Performing Arts Department and the Kurtz Center manager.
After graduating from Pennsylvania State University in 1991, Diona spent nine years as the executive director of a placement and recruiting firm. Diona joined Penn Charter's College Counseling team in 2001 and since then has been instrumental in bringing the latest technology and resources to the office; she also serves as Penn Charter's AP coordinator and liaison to the NCAA Eligibility Center. Committed to professional development, Diona is a member of several local and national college counseling organizations and regularly participates in professional conferences and presents on college admissions panels. She is also a proud Penn Charter parent (P '18, P '25, P '27).
Eric J. Furda, a 1987 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, served as Penn's dean of admissions from 2008 through 2020. While a student at Penn he was a four-year letterman on the varsity lightweight football team and was captain his senior year. Eric has served as a higher education leader for nearly three decades, including the position of executive director of admissions at Columbia University in the City of New York from 1995 until 2004. He was appointed as the inaugural vice president for alumni relations at Columbia University, a position he held from 2004 through 2008. Eric earned a master's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. Over his career, he has served on or led committees for the Ivy League and the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE). He held various positions on the board of The Common Application, including chair of the board. Eric was also a member of the scholarship selection committee for The Lenfest Foundation, supporting students from rural counties in Pennsylvania. Eric co-hosts a monthly show on college selection, The Process, on SIRIUSXM Radio; co-taught a Couresera MOOC, How to Apply to College; and is the co-author of a recently released book for families on the college process, The College Conversation. Eric received the A. Philip Randolph Award for Diversity and Inclusion from student leadership at Penn. He is also a proud Penn Charter parent (P '26, P '29).
Eva Kay Noone has a BA in theater with a dance minor from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music and an MA in Theater from Villanova University. A faculty member since 1994, Eva Kay teaches Costume Design, Documentary Film and various other theater electives in the Upper School while also directing productions for both the middle and upper divisions. Eva Kay is a member of Actor's Equity and has appeared in the national tours of Can-Can and My One and Only as well as at the Helen Hayes Awards at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. In addition to her multiple regional and summer stock performance credits, Eva Kay's choreography has been seen at the Shenandoah Summer Music Theater, Mill Mountain Theater, Susquehanna University, Villanova University, Rockwell Productions and the Walnut Street Theater School. She is the vice president of the board of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet Society and frequently designs costumes and headpieces for the ballet company.
The newest member of Penn Charter's college counseling team is a returning member of the team: Janet Kobosky spent the 2020-21 school year as an interim college counselor at Penn Charter and brings a wealth of experience to her position. She began her career in education as a high school teacher in the Pittsburgh public schools, followed by twelve years in higher education, during which time she served as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Franklin & Marshall College and a Regional Director of Admission as well as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania. Between 1997 to 2019, Janet directed the college counseling programs at Kent Place School in Summit, NJ and The Shipley School, in Bryn Mawr, PA where she also served as Senior Class Dean. In the fall of 2022, she worked as an interim college counselor at The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, PA. Janet has been an active member of professional organizations, a featured presenter on the national, state and regional level, and was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Association of College Admission Counselors (PACAC). She spent five years as the Dean of Faculty and Curriculum for the PACAC Summer Institute on College Admission. An honors graduate of Chatham College, Janet earned a Master's Degree in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. A former resident of East Falls, Janet is delighted to return to the Penn Charter Community.
An experienced professional in higher education, Jody graduated from Cornell University in 1994, where she studied human development, concentrating in cognitive development, and rowed varsity crew. She began her admissions career working for Marist College and her alma mater. She also worked in alumni relations at Swarthmore College and interned at the University of Pennsylvania in athletics. After earning her master of education in higher education planning, policy and leadership from the College of William and Mary in 1999, Jody spent eight years working in admissions at Bryn Mawr College, most notably serving as the director of admissions for five years. Jody's knowledge of a broad array of campuses and competitive admissions enables her to give families expert advice, having had firsthand experience with the Ivy League, state colleges, liberal arts colleges and women's colleges. Jody is an active member of the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS) where she serves on the board. She enjoys writing about the college search process and has contributed blogs to various websites including ACCISnet, AdmitHub, CollegeAdmissionBook, and The Choice Blog, New York Times. She is also a proud Penn Charter parent (P '23, P '25).
Karen Warren Coleman became the eighth head of school on July 1, 2023. She is the the first woman to lead Penn Charter.
It is an honor to be offered the opportunity to join Penn Charter at this moment in the school's storied history, when Penn Charter has been transformed along every dimension under Darryl Ford's leadership. In the coming years, I will embrace both leading and learning as I work with Penn Charter's extraordinary faculty and staff to center students in everything we do.
Karen Warren Coleman is a distinguished educator and education leader with 25 years of experience in elementary, secondary and higher education, and in both independent and public institutions. Trustees and members of our community who interacted with her during the search process were impressed with her accomplishments as well as her enthusiasm for working with young people, which she described as "an exceptional responsibility and extraordinary privilege."
"Karen has devoted her career to the care and growth of students," Jeffrey Reinhold, clerk of Penn Charter Trustees, said of her selection. "Karen's passion for students has been in evidence in all of her interactions with the Penn Charter community throughout this process. She is smart and serious, and she can talk on any topic. She also is warm, friendly and skilled at building relationships. I am thrilled that Karen will join the Penn Charter community."
In accepting the headship, Karen wrote: "It is an honor to be offered the opportunity to join Penn Charter at this moment in the school's storied history, when Penn Charter has been transformed along every dimension under Darryl Ford's leadership. In the coming years, I will embrace both leading and learning as I work with Penn Charter's extraordinary faculty and staff to center students in everything we do. I am especially excited to engage directly with students, and to learn from parents and caregivers, and the incredible OPC community, about the special qualities that make Penn Charter such a powerful contributor to students' lifelong journey. It will be enormously rewarding to learn about and immerse myself in Quaker values and practices as we support students in finding their purpose by drawing on the strength of Penn Charter's Quaker identity."
"Karen comes to Penn Charter with a demonstrated record of building and nurturing teams to support education and students," Darryl Ford said. "She is an extraordinary and inspirational leader for this moment at Penn Charter. I look forward to working with her through the head transition and supporting her success."
In a letter to the community, Trustees wrote that they, "are gratified that our national and comprehensive search for a new Head of School led us to an educator with experience and values that align with Penn Charter. In our interviews with Karen, we were struck by her love of students and abiding belief in their capacity for growth; her strategic focus and understanding of what it takes to lead a complex organization; and her humility in recognizing that diverse and consultative input makes for smarter decisions. Karen's joyful and enthusiastic embrace of our school and everything it stands for gives us confidence that she is the right leader to take Penn Charter into the future."
Most recently, Karen was head of the Hockaday School, a college preparatory day and boarding school for girls in Dallas, Texas. Prior to that, she served as vice president for campus and student life at the University of Chicago and previously held leadership positions at three other universities, including serving as associate dean of students at the University of California, Berkeley. Recognized for her expertise and published work, Karen is frequently sought as a presenter and panelist.
At Hockaday, Karen strengthened the school's profile across every significant measure. She led Hockaday's strategic planning process, which focused on curricular innovation, inclusion, the quality of the student experience, and financial sustainability. She also led a comprehensive research effort to identify the school's market strength, vulnerabilities and strategic opportunities. During her tenure, Hockaday achieved key enrollment metrics - an increase in admissions applications and increased selectivity - and record fundraising for the annual fund. Under her leadership, Hockaday launched the Institute for Social Impact, a program focused on PK-12 hands-on learning that addresses real-world issues and includes coursework focused on community impact.
Karen has a deep commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice that is reflected in both her professional career and research. Under her leadership, Hockaday's enrollment of students of color increased by nearly a third, while diversity on the school's board increased fourfold. As a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania, Karen conducted her dissertation research on Stories Seldom Told: Low Income, First-Generation African-American Male Students at Highly Selective Research Universities. Her master's thesis at the University of Vermont was titled Education as the Means to Freedom: A Critical Analysis of Oppression.
Karen graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a BA in psychology. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Karen and her husband, Andrew Coleman, are passionate travelers and enjoy the outdoors. Andy, after a career as an attorney and an e-commerce executive, has worked for almost 10 years as a professional photographer, traveling the globe, camera in hand, in search of amazing wildlife and landscapes; his images and stories have been featured with National Geographic and in other books and media.
Head of School Karen Warren Coleman is immersing herself in the history and traditions of the PC community.
Michael Brooks previously served as the director of athletics and men's basketball head coach at Cazenovia College in New York. From 2004 to 2010, Mike worked at the St. James School, a boarding school in Hagerstown, Maryland. At St. James, he served as director of athletics and boys varsity basketball head coach and also had stints as assistant dean of students and director of summer programs. Mike graduated from Cazenovia College with a degree in human services and is a member of the college's athletics hall of fame for men's basketball. After college, Mike earned his master's degree in sport management from SUNY Cortland State.
William Penn established a group he called "Overseers" to govern his school. Three centuries later, the board - known now as Trustees - is still responsible for the operation of Penn Charter.