Board of Directors
Executive Board
Jerry Papazian, House 1971-72, President
Jerry Papazian began his career as a House Page, serving from 1971 to 1972. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Pediatric Therapy Network. He has served as Managing Director of Fountainhead Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm he founded in 2002, which specializes in helping entrepreneurs start and grow new businesses. Jerry began his career as a corporate securities attorney with Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, followed by service as Vice President in the investment banking division at Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. and subsequently as President and Chief Operating Officer of a publicly traded technology company. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from USC in 1977 with a degree in Economics and received his JD and MBA from UCLA in 1981, where he was a member of the law review. Jerry served as president of the University of Southern California Alumni Association from 1995 to 1996, and as a member of the USC Board of Trustees from 1994 to 1999. He is Chairman of the Armenian Film Foundation and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pomegranate Foundation, the Los Angeles Sports Council, and the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Beth Ambrose, House 1990-91, First Vice President and Treasurer
Originally from Pittsburgh, Beth now lives on Capitol Hill, not far from where she lived as a House Page in 1990-1991. Beth currently works in the Government Relations department of the National Association of Home Builders, where she helps direct the legislative priorities of the residential construction industry. Previously, Beth worked at Honeywell and briefly at the White House during the Clinton Administration. Since 2008, Beth has served as Vice President of the Capitol Page Alumni Association.
Peter Darby, House 1983, Second Vice President
Peter served as a United States House Cloakroom Page, appointed by Henry Hyde (R-IL), in 1983 and was present to see the last senior class to graduate from the Capitol Page School. Peter is originally from Wheaton, IL and has an undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design. Peter was the president of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association New England Chapter for over 15 years and recipient of the Virginia Tech Chapter Officer of the Year Award. Peter also served on the National Board of Directors for the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and installed as a lifetime member of the Virginia Tech Gateway Society and Ut Prosim Society. Peter is currently active with the Harvard Club of Dallas and the Jose Lluís Sert Council at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Peter is an architect based in Dallas, Texas and providing senior management and leadership guidance on projects nationally with transportation and commercial development, including urban mixed-use projects, airport/transportation oriented developments and commercial office design. Peter specializes in several areas including physical security design for airport, federal and corporate facilities and mixed use development that interface with multiple types of transportation modes and urban infrastructure components. Peter is actively involved at the local level, addressing urban design and transportation challenges in and around Dallas through several different organizations including the Greater Dallas Planning Council and Dallas American Institute of Architects.
Peter is chair of the US Capitol Page Alumni Association’s Events Committee and leads the planning of Homecoming and the regional alumni events and activities across the US. Peter is married to Michele who is an attorney and serves as legal counsel for Fidelity Investments and both love to travel and enjoy entertaining with many friends, colleagues and family both at home and when traveling.
Michael Esposito, Senate 1984, Secretary
Michael Esposito is co-founder of 3B Independent Publishers, following a 28-year career as an award-winning journalist with the Chicago Tribune. With 3B, he puts to use his skills developed as a writer, editor, and designer for nearly every section of the newspaper, as well as his final, production-planning role for the Chicago Tribune Media Group’s 39 Chicagoland area newspapers. Mike has won awards for both headline writing and page design, and contributed as an editor to four Pulitzer Prize-winning reports. An avid sailor, he crewed aboard the Santa Cruz 70-class sailboat, Nitemare, in winning the 2002 Queen’s Cup. Mike served as a Senate page in 1984, appointed by Senator Charles Percy.
Board Members
Katherine Alesse Abbott, House 2001-02
Kate Abbott was inspired to pursue international development after learning more about the field as a U.S. Congressional Page. Kate subsequently accrued global experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America working within organizations ranging from large multinationals to small non-governmental nonprofits. Prior to becoming a consultant, Kate earned a position as a Junior Professional Associate at The World Bank Group where she performed fraud and corruption investigations for the Bank’s projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Passionate about building and strengthening communities, Kate has served in leadership roles with the Junior League of Washington and as secretary on the board of directors for Waterfront Academy, a new bilingual (Spanish/English) Montessori school in Southwest DC. A supporter of the arts, Kate previously managed the front of house operations at the Folger Shakespeare Library, and currently manages the usher staff at the Kennedy Center’s Family Theater. Mrs. Abbott is a first-generation college graduate earning a degree magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in economics. Her academic pursuits included an academic year at the prestigious Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico; summer programs at the National Autonomous University in Mexico City, and at Beijing Foreign Studies University in Beijing, China. Born and raised in the Buffalo-Niagara region in New York, she resides with her husband, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Jeff Clark, Senate 1967-69
Jeff Clark is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider. He maintains a private practice called Towards Healing as a Psychotherapist, and also serves as the Administrative Assistant to the President of AgriLogic Insurances, Inc. After serving as a Senate page and graduating from Capitol Page School in 1969, Jeff received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Salisbury State University in 1974, and later received his Bachelor of Science Social Work (1993) and Master of Science in Social Work (1994) from the University of Texas at Arlington. Jeff is a member of the Texas Regional Advisory Board of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and is a Member of the Tarrant County Sexual Abuse Advisory Council. He is an accomplished pilot and flight instructor and has served numerous stints in the U. S. Navy, U. S. Army, and the Army National Guard in the states of Maryland, Arkansas, and Texas.
Janay Eyo, Senate 2010
Janay Eyo hails from Alexandria, Virginia and served as a Senate Page to Sen. Mark Warner in Spring 2010. Currently, she serves in the Biden-Harris Administration as a Policy Advisor for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and was recently selected by the White House as a 2024 Emerging Leader. Prior to GSA, she was the Director of Financial Policy for Chamber of Progress, a tech policy industry coalition. An accountant by trade, Janay pivoted into public policy after volunteering as a tax preparer for underserved communities in the greater Washington, DC area. Janay’s passion for financial literacy and banking accessibility led to positions in the Provost’s Office at Howard University and in the U.S. House of Representatives, working on education and financial services policy for Rep. Joyce Beatty and the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. Janay is a proud Hokie, graduating with bachelors degrees in Economics and History from Virginia Tech. She is currently studying Science, Technology and Innovation Policy in the Graduate School of Public Policy at University of Maryland. Janay resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and enjoys spending her free time with cherished friends and family.
Kelly Shea Hitchcock, House 2001
Kelly S. Hitchcock joined the Investment Company Institute (ICI) in September 2017 as Director, Financial Services Policy. Prior to joining ICI, Ms. Hitchcock worked for the House Appropriations Committee, serving as a member of the senior staff on the Financial Services and General Government subcommittee. Over the course of 11 years with the Committee, she helped to analyze Federal budget requests to Congress and craft annual appropriations legislation. Ms. Hitchcock earned an undergraduate degree from The George Washington University; additionally, she holds a Master of Arts in Public Administration from American University. She was a Senior Fellow of the Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership in the 113th Congress and a House Page during the 107th Congress.
Dave Lenox, House 1974
Dave is the Managing Partner of Valtas Group. At Valtas, Dave’s focus is on providing clients the best resources available while working to achieve equity and inclusion for all in the non-profit sector. Dave is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit, change management, and organization design and management fields. Skilled in International Relations, Inclusive Governance models, Organizational Development, Social Media, and Training. Over the course of his career, Dave spent over 35 years serving in leadership roles at Special Olympics; President and CEO of Special Olympics Washington (SOWA), Vice President for Leadership Development and Education at Special Olympics Inc. in Washington, DC., Executive Director for Special Olympics West Virginia, and CEO for Special Olympics North Carolina. He has a BS in Special Education from Missouri State University and a Master of Science degree in Business Organization and Design from Capella University. Dave has two children. His son Maxwell is a 2016 graduate and former Captain of the Men’s Basketball team at the United States Military Academy at West Point; and his daughter Erin keeps him in check, so he doesn’t embarrass her – further.
Barry Mersky, House 1968
In 1962, Barry Mersky DDS age 12, first went to Capitol Hill to walk the halls. He went with a friend to collect autographs from Senators and Members of Congress. He collected many autographs, and may have been one of the first people to welcome a newly elected Donald Rumsfeld to Washington DC. In December 1962 having just moved into his new office, a 30-year old Rumsfeld invited the twelve year-olds to sit down amongst the many moving boxes for a half-hour casual chat. This meeting so impressed Barry, that in order to spend more time on the Hill, he sought to become a House page. He became a page in August 1964 at the age of 14, and that year worked for both the House Democratic pages and House Republicans. In schoolyear 1964-65, there were very few 9th graders, with the Freshman class having as few as two people when Congress was between sessions. From 1964 – 1968 he worked as both the House Democratic page overseer and House Republican overseer. He was able to remain a page for four years because he had several Members as sponsors, including Otto Passman (D-LA), John Kluczynski (D-IL), and Richard Bolling (D-MO) – his longest sponsor. He graduated from Page School in the Class of 1968. He attended Emory University in Atlanta GA for one year, and then transferred to George Washington University (Washington DC) where he received a B.A. with a major in Philosophy. He then attended Georgetown Dental School where he received his DDS degree with the Class of 1977. He was a solo dental practitioner in suburban Bethesda and Wheaton Maryland for 38 years until retirement in 2016. In the 1980’s while practicing dentistry, he invented and began work on the Tooth Phone System. It is a wireless microphone system worn inside the mouth that transmits micro-vibrations which are created by voice and breath sounds and are transduced to/from the bone conduction pathway. This effort was supported through competitively awarded grants from both the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. He is considered a world-leading expert on dental bone conduction sound, has authored several papers on this topic, and been awarded U.S. and foreign patents for this technology. He lives happily in retirement in Maryland with his wife and companion of 25 years, Elizabeth Iribe Trexler. They support cutting edge technologies in Computer Science at the University of Maryland through endowed Chairs at the University. They enjoy travel to their second home in the Bay area of California, where they visit kids and grandchildren, as well as travelling the East Coast roads in their Airstream.
Karla Raettig, Senate 1987
Karla Raettig grew up in Missoula, Montana and served as a U.S. Senate Page in 1986-1987. She currently lives in Southwest Washington, D.C. and serves as Vice President and Executive Director at the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund. Karla also served as Executive Director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Maryland’s leading environmental political organization, for nearly 8 years. From 2008-2011, Karla served as the Program Director for NWF’s Mississippi River Delta restoration program, where she led NWF’s efforts to pass the RESTORE Act. Prior to joining NWF, Karla practiced environmental law at the Environmental Integrity Project, the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, and at the Seattle office of Earthjustice. Karla has an LL.M in environmental and natural resources law from Tulane University Law School and a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon.
Shelley Thomas, House 1989-90
Shelley Thomas served in the House with the U. S. House Page School class of 1989-1990; in addition to her service on the Alumni Board, she is also contributes as her school year’s 1989-90 Class Whip. Following her Page experience in Washington, Shelley returned to Capitol Hill for one summer to work in the U. S. Army Senate Liaison office. A graduate of Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Shelley worked for 25 years in various support and compliance positions. She is now happily retired and living in York, Pennsylvania, with her husband. Shelley’s hobbies include hanging with the grandkids, RV-ing, and following both DC United soccer and UConn basketball.
Sean E. Tucker, House 1984
Dr. Sean E. Tucker currently serves as the Internal Controls Manager in the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration John Glenn Research Center. Prior to joining NASA, Tucker worked as a full-time Senior Investigator for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He graduated from the first class of the Cleveland Federal Executive Board’s Cleveland Federal Community Leadership Institute and has served twice as a Loaned Executive to the Combined Federal Campaign. Dr. Tucker holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from The George Washington University’s School of Business and Public Management located in Washington DC. He earned his undergraduate degree in Government and Political Science from Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio), graduating with numerous honors. Notably, Dr. Tucker is a Truman Scholar; as such, he had the opportunity to work as an Assistant to a British Member of Parliament in the House of Commons while studying British Literature. Dr. Tucker is a graduate of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Executive Leadership Program. Furthermore, he is an ordained minister, having graduated from Ashland Theological Seminary with a master’s degree and doctorate in theology. Dr. Tucker considers himself a boxing historian and also enjoys reading, writing, water sports, and hiking.
John Wahlig, Senate 2019
John Wahlig is a software engineer in New York City. Originally from coastal Maine, he served as a Senate Page in the spring of 2019. John is a 2024 graduate of Yale University, where he studied Computer Science & Economics, and worked as a research assistant in a lab focused on artificial intelligence algorithms. In his spare time, John enjoys sailing and boating, never missing an opportunity to get out on the water no matter what time of year or where he is.
