Leading the Way: People Who Make Millbrook, Millbrook

Leading the Way:

People Who Make Millbrook, Millbrook

Here, we shine a spotlight on some of our alumni and parents who give their time, their heart, and their experience in service to Millbrook. Their contributions and service to our school help us bring our mission to life.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES NEWS

THANK YOU TO OUR DEPARTING BOARD MEMBER

Spotlight on Service: NICOLE (NIKKI) SHEETZ FRITH, P ’18

Nikki, mother of Sam Iacavazzi '18, has served Millbrook with enthusiasm and true dedication. She joined the board in 2018 and was a member of the School Life Committee and an advocate for the Trevor Zoo and its programs. She contributed substantially to capital fundraising efforts, believing in Millbrook's momentum and mission to prepare students for college and lives of meaning and consequence.

Happily, Nikki will continue to serve on our Trevor Zoo Committee where her insight is greatly valued. We wish her great success as the first female chair of the board of trustees of Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart.

“Nikki’s energy is infectious, and she is a great partner in all aspects of Millbrook. We are thrilled she will continue to be involved with the Trevor Zoo and it’s exciting future.”

- Headmaster Jonathan Downs ’98

Spotlight on Service: ALUMNA KATHRYN SEIDENSTEIN ’94

Kathryn Seidenstein ’94 credits Millbrook with much of who she is today, and it is people like Kathryn who help make Millbrook what it is today.

A mid-pandemic job change yielded some downtime, and Kathryn made the most of it with travel that included volunteer work on Millbrook’s campus. While there is an undeniable appeal to escaping New York City’s summer swelter for the Hudson Valley, for Kathryn it was no vacation. “During the pandemic, I suddenly had this extra time, and I felt like I could do something helpful and productive,” said Kathryn. Late last spring, she contacted Robert Anthony ’65 and Headmaster Drew Casertano and, when they took her up on her offer to help where needed, she soon had her work cut out for her.

A zooie as a student and now a zooie for life, Kathryn began her spring session on campus at the Mill and the Trevor Zoo, assisting with events and large visitor groups and feeding and caring for the animals. She also worked with Millbrook Archivist Dan Cohen ’86 to organize and structure the school archives that are housed in the Flagler Memorial Library.

“A lot of the passions I have now—giving back, connecting with people, caring for those who cannot care for themselves—were fostered at Millbrook. I feel very connected to Millbrook because of what it gave me, and those connections are still so strong,” Kathryn said. “I hope that Millbrook continues to turn out kids that do good and make an impact on their communities.”

Now, as a managing director in human resources at Blackstone, Kathryn credits her time at Millbrook with the principles she finds critical to success: consciousness, caring, and community. Two of Kathryn’s strongest connections in the community are with Bill Hardy, who retired in 2020, and Reverend Cam Hardy. They both supported her during her time at the school helping build her confidence in her academic, personal, and athletic abilities; Kathryn left Millbrook as an honor roll student with a real sense of self.

Volunteering for Millbrook is not new for Kathryn. She is a longtime class agent and would “do anything for Millbrook.” We thank her for exemplary service to the school and to students past, present, and future.

Steven with Nell Burdis ’10

Spotlight on Service: STEVEN LEWIS ’04

As part of a group of alumni in frequent contact with headmaster Jonathan Downs ’98 and DEI co-directors Prince Botchway and Reverend Cam Hardy, Steven Lewis ’04 has also made regular visits to campus to connect with current Black and Latinx students. He has never arrived empty-handed! With J’nelle Agee ’06, Steven curated and distributed gift bags for students of color intended to help them feel heard and connected. The bags included health and beauty products from Black-owned businesses, spices and seasonings to personalize their dining experience, and face masks from his own 1AND1 product line.

Steven’s commitment of time and energy has included making himself accessible to current Black and Latinx Millbrook students as a resource

and thoughtful listener. His willingness to engage with faculty and students alike has contributed to what he characterizes as a “night and day difference in racial awareness on campus.” Along with J’nelle and Xavier Van Meerbeek ’06, Steven has been part of an ongoing dialog with Millbrook faculty. “Millbrook has looked to us for support and ideas for change,” said Steven, “and for the school to listen and use what we had to say was very refreshing and encouraging.”

Millbrook was a transformative experience for Steven, and he credits the lessons and values gleaned from his time on campus for the inspiration to give back. As a media and marketing entrepreneur, Steven recalls a Millbrook elective he took his VIth form year with Jim Heffernan. “I got the itch to be an entrepreneur from his class. The fact that he was a successful businessman who came to Millbrook to teach made a huge impression, and I learned more real-life business skills in his class than in any other place.” Steven also lives by words he often heard from Michael Fuller, his Millbrook basketball and lacrosse coach: character is who you are when no one is watching.

Steven also credits Millbrook with instilling in him the self-confidence to speak and interact with anyone. “I made friends from Japan, Ghana, the West Coast, the South, all over,” he said, “and other people’s lives were, and still are, fascinating to me.” Striving for greater diversity and inclusiveness at Millbrook benefits everyone and is self-perpetuating. By making himself available to current Black and Latinx Millbrook students, Steven is working to create the kind of environment that helped him be comfortable in his skin in any situation, for the betterment of the school and the benefit of the students.