Meet Our Board Members

Alexa Seip and her husband Tom have been long-time friends of Wye River Upper School. Alexa has been the Chair of the Wye River Upper School Board for almost seven years. Alexa offers her experience as a current board member at The Darrow School, and brings a tremendous amount of knowledge, particularly with respect to best practices of governance for independent schools. As residents of Easton and active community supporters, she and her husband Tom are very appreciative of the Wye River model of educating bright high school students with learning differences. Outside of Wye River, Alexa is also engaged in helping the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center and supporting local food insecurity. We also benefit from her previous career experience as a commodities broker for Shearson Lehman and Charles Schwab. Alexa also serves on Wye River’s Finance Committee and Resource Development Committee.

Lori is a native of San Diego, CA, and has lived in Los Angeles, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Barcelona, New York, Durham, NC, and St. Michaels, MD. She earned an MBA from Erasmus Rotterdam School of Management and worked in business development and as a management consultant for over 25 years. Lori enjoys working in start-up operations where creating new products/programs and revenue streams are encouraged and mentoring non-profit organizations. She served on Wye River Upper Schools’ Strategic Planning Committee in 2018/2019 and on the recent WRUS Head of School Search Committee. She is most proud of founding The Shared Table, a partnership of churches where people of all colors would join together to break bread and discuss community issues. Lori is currently on the advisory board of the Talbot County Senior Centers and a trustee and EMT for the St. Michaels Volunteer Fire Department. She has also served on the board of Talbot Village Connections and the MRYC Foundation. She is the Executive Director of Temple B’nai Israel in Easton, MD where she recently produced a Contemporary Art Series featuring curators from the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, The Brooklyn Museum, and The Jewish Museum of New York. Lori, her wife, Kristen, and son Andrew are avid sailors and reside in St. Michaels, MD.

Senator Adelaide Eckardt serves in the Maryland Senate representing District 37, which includes parts of Dorchester, Caroline, Talbot, and Wicomico Counties. After serving 20 years in the Maryland House of Delegates, she was elected to the Senate in 2014. Prior to her public service, Addie spent 35 years as a full-time Psychiatric-Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist employed at the Eastern Shore Hospital Center and Upper Shore Community Help Center and also helped to start a nonprofit, Health Planning Agency. She also spent 6 years in School Health in Dorchester County. She has served on the following boards: Mid Shore Regional Council; Channel Marker Foundation Board; Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center; Sailwinds Inc., and Senator Eckardt also retains membership in the American Nurses Association and the Maryland Nurses Association District IV. Addie continues to work on boards that support unserved or underserved populations. She is also a part of Wye River Upper School’s Resource Development Committee.

Robyn received a B.A. from Howard University, a Masters of Educational Leadership from Kennesaw State University, and a Masters of Secondary Education from Ball State University. She is currently employed as the Director of the Naval Academy Primary School, where she also previously worked as a Special Education Lead Teacher. She has served as the Assistant Principal at a public middle school in North Carolina and in various teaching roles. Robyn currently resides in Annapolis with her husband and children.

Katie Theeke is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at For All Seasons Behavioral Health and Rape Crisis Center. Through her work, she works to raise the profile of the organization across the Eastern Shore and establish the agency as the top resource for mental health and victim services. Katie came to For All Seasons from Wye River Upper School, where she served as Director of Admissions and Communications for over 9 years, working closely with students, staff, and families to support the educational journey of bright students with learning differences. Katie holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Masters of Education from Johns Hopkins University. She lives in Easton with her two teenage children, Finnegan and Ember, and her husband, Adam. She is grateful for the vital work and the supportive individuals she has found in this community.

Patricia McGlannan is a Co-Founder of Wye River Upper School and the former Director of Business and Development. Her son was in the second graduating class in 2006. She is an active member of local Chambers of Commerce and women's networks and serves actively on the Queen Anne's County Chamber of Commerce Business Education Partnership.

Nikki Williams is the Director and Owner of Chesapeake Speech Therapy Services and provides care in many settings within Queen Anne's and surrounding counties including schools, hospitals, private practice, and other educational and clinical settings. Nikki received her Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University and holds a Master of Science in Communication Disorders from Northern Arizona University. She lives in Queenstown with her husband Jason, and their three children.

Clay Railey is the Executive Vice President and Provost for Teaching, Learning and Student Success at Prince George's Community College in Maryland. His professional background encompasses many areas including teaching, conflict resolution, museum studies, school administration, theology, and counseling. He has spent years in academia earning several degrees, teaching undergrads, and learning many languages. Most notably he obtained a Ph.D. in English from Vanderbilt University. Clay is particularly interested in supporting WRUS' Career Readiness Program.

Mr. Harry “Stoney” Duffey, III, and his wife Jij have been closely involved in supporting many schools and organizations throughout Queen Anne’s County. Stoney previously served on the board for Kent School. He serves on the Gunston board and was a past board chair. Stoney has close ties to the local 4H chapter with service and involvement for 40 years. Stoney assists Queen Anne’s County Park and is a past board chair. He gives back to his church as a volunteer for St. Paul’s vestry. Stony also is a member of Wye River’s Resource Development Committee.

Elizabeth is the Director of Advancement for The Country School in Easton, MD. She was the Founder and Executive Director of Page Turners: Girls Who Read to Achieve and taught with Teach for America in Charlotte, NC. She currently resides with her husband and son in Easton, MD. Elizabeth is the Chair of the Resource Development Committee at Wye River Upper School.

Patrick is a native of Talbot County and graduated from Easton High School before completing undergraduate degrees in Accounting and Economics at the University of Pittsburgh and earning his J.D. at the University of Baltimore School of Law. After law school, Fitzgerald completed additional coursework at the University of Baltimore, earning an LLM (Master of Laws) in Taxation and a Certificate in Estate Planning. He has practiced law in Easton since 2008, initially with Ewing, Dietz, Fountain & Kaludis, P.A. and then with the Law Office of Charles T. Capute LLC. Fitzgerald is engaged in the community and is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Easton, Maryland. He currently serves on the University of Maryland Memorial Hospital Foundation of Shore Regional Health Planned Giving Advisory Board and was the founding chair of the Talbot County Public Schools Education Foundation Advisory Board, where he remains an emeritus board member. He has also been involved in community theatre with the Avalon Foundation and is an active member of Saints Peter and Paul Parish. Fitzgerald lives in Easton with his wife, Lexa, daughter, Kathryn, and Labradoodle, Fozzie.