Board of Directors

The Island School Board of Directors

Meet our Board of Directors, who work to ensure the best is done for students and all who come to The Island School.

Alessandra Holowesko

Alessandra Holowesko

Chairwoman of the Board

Alessandra Holowesko

Alessandra is the past board president of the Lyford Cay Foundation and also past Chairman of the Lyford Cay International School Board of Directors. She was a founding force in the establishment of the FOCUS project, an academic summer enrichment program in Nassau for underserved families. She has four children – and is happily married to Stephen.
Chris Maxey

Chris Maxey

President of the Board

Chris Maxey

Chris founded The Island School in 1999 while serving as a residential house master and teacher in the Interdisciplinary department at Lawrenceville School. After graduating with a BA in history from Yale University, Chris served six years as an officer in the US Navy SEAL community. While at Lawrenceville he received a Joukowsky Fellowship and holds an M.A. degree in Marine Studies from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.
Stephen Murray

Stephen Murray

Vice President of the Board

Stephen Murray

Stephen is in his third year as Head Master of the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey after ten years as Headmaster of University School in Cleveland, OH. He began his career at Deerfield Academy, where he taught, coached, and worked in the administration. He has served on a number of boards, including the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives, Citizens’ Academy Charter School, and Greenwich Academy. Steve and his wife Sarah have five children, including son James, who attended Island School in the fall of 2011 and returned in 2015 to work at CEI for a spring semester.
Dr. Francesca Forrestal

Dr. Francesca Forrestal

Secretary of the Board

Dr. Francesca Forrestal

Francesca is a post-doctoral associate at the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami and has a Ph.D in Marine Biology and Fisheries and an MSc. in Marine Affairs and Policy. She attended The Island School in Fall 1999 and returned to work as a SCUBA instructor in Fall 2001. She served on the Cape Eleuthera Foundation Board from 2004 until she joined the CEIS board in 2012. Francesca lives in Miami with her husband Ian.
Dr. Téemar Carey

Téemar Carey

Board Member

Téemar Carey

Dr. Téemar Carey is a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Carey earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Louisiana State University in 2007, and then went on to serve as a high school teacher in her home country, The Bahamas, for four years before pursuing her career in dentistry. Some of her academic interests are interprofessional education and game-based learning in medical/dental education, while her clinical interests include contemporary operative caries management and expanding care to vulnerable child populations. Dr. Carey is a graduate of The Island School Semester in Spring 2002 and is currently a Pediatric Dentist in Nassau, The Bahamas. She has a diverse array of experiences that revolve around two themes, education and child welfare. She has served in both childhood and adult education, at the junior high school, senior high school, graduate, and post-doctoral medical and dental education levels, for over a decade. While her clinical specialty is pediatric dentistry, she advocates to ensure the well-being of the whole child.
Ed Fields

Ed Fields

Board Member

Ed Fields

Mr. Fields served as Senior Vice President of Retail Services and Public Affairs for Atlantis from 1998-2020 and continues to serve as General Manager of Ocean Club Residences and Marina. He is the Principal of EF consulting with clients such as Atlantis, Lyford Cay Club and Global Ports Holdings. A well-known radio host with a diverse background, he serves as Director of the Bahamas Airport Authority, Catholic Board of Education and Downtown Nassau Partnership. Mr. Fields is the Founder and Chairman of the non-partisan, non-profit organization ‘We the People’. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Government from St. John’s University in Minnesota and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Georgia.
David Green

David Green

Board Member

David Green

David is the founder of Archipelago Equities, a real estate and small business venture firm based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. David has been involved in a variety of businesses, including real estate development, automotive, sports, marketing and specialty food importation. His involvement in The Bahamas and The Island School spans over 20 years, serving as Managing Director of the Cape Eleuthera Resort. David and his wife Rae have two children, Jacq (S04) and Alec (S11), who “grew up” at the Cape. In 2014, David and Rae founded Sandford House Treatment Addiction Centres providing residential and outpatient services in Grand Rapids historic Heritage Hill district.

Stephen Holowesko

Stephen Holowesko

Board Member

Stephen Holowesko

Stephen and his wife Alessandra have four kids and three dogs and live in Nassau, The Bahamas. His family has roots in Eleuthera, stretching back to the early 1700′s. Stephen is a graduate of Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmouth, RI, and from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. His career stops include teaching English in Japan, Television Tokyo’s Washington, DC bureau, and Goldman Sachs, in New York and London. Stephen is currently a partner at a Nassau-based hedge fund. He and his sister co-founded the Ride for Hope Bahamas, a cancer-related charity in The Bahamas.
Dr. Jerome Lightbourne

Dr. Jerome Lightbourne

Board Member

Dr. Jerome Lightbourne

Jerome Lightbourne is a Pediatric Cardiologist who returned home to The Bahamas in 1995 and serves as the country’s only Board Certified Pediatric Cardiologist with responsibility for public and private patients. He is a consultant physician of the Public Hospitals Authority and Doctors Hospital where he is department chair of pediatrics. He is trustee of the Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation and a past president of the Bahamas Heart Association. He sits on the board of the Nazareth Centre for Children. He is the founding and current chairman of the Bahamas Antidoping Commission. He is founder and managing director of the Children’s Heart Centre (1995) and Pediatrics Specialists of the Bahamas (2000), with a satellite office in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera. He is married to Natasha nee Chea and they have 3 daughters: Teisha, Alicia and Adrienne, all avid competitive swimmers who have represented The Bahamas at many international swimming competitions including the World Championships.
David Miller

David Miller

Board Member

David Miller

Johann Scheidt

Johann Scheidt

Board Member

Johann Scheidt

David Verdier

David Verdier

Board Member

David Verdier

David and his wife Beverly have sent daughter Renee (S03) and son Travis (S05) to The Island School Semester program. Dave is a doctor of ophthalmology in private practice in Grand Rapids, MI. He is a member of several medical associations and serves in an advisory capacity to many community-based organizations including the East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation, Macatawa Park Cottagers Association, and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Mark Hatch

Mark Hatch

Board Member

Mark Hatch

George Giannos

George Giannos

Board Member

George Giannos

Viana Gardiner

Viana Gardiner

Board Member

Viana Gardiner