Faculty & Staff

As director of advancement, Newell works with donors on capital, annual and planned gifts that will help Westminster achieve its current and strategic priorities. Over the years, he has served in the Advancement Office in a variety of roles, often traveling around the country to meet with parents, alumni and friends of the school. Prior to his faculty appointment, Newell worked in Boston’s financial district. A member of Westminster’s Class of 1999 as a boarding student from Littleton, Colo., he served as junior prefect and president of the John Hay Society.

In his free time, Newell enjoys fly-fishing on the Farmington River. He also likes spending time in the Adirondacks and traveling. Newell lives on campus in Stretch House with his wife, Helena; daughter, Belle; son, Mac; and their dog, Nellie.

As director of advancement services at Westminster, Kyle manages the Raiser’s Edge NXT database to drive better data decisions and enhance fundraising efforts. He is an accomplished fundraising database administrator with experience in independent schools, live theatre and visual art. His specialties include Raiser’s Edge NXT (fundraising), Omatic (data integration) and advancement operations. 

 

Kyle lives in New Britain with his wife Claire. His hobbies include golfing, running and skiing and he is a member of the Hartford Stage board of directors.

Ashley currently serves as the associate director of stewardship at Westminster, where she develops and implements programs that strengthen donor relations and provide meaningful recognition of philanthropic support. A 2016 graduate of The Gunnery (now The Frederick Gunn School), Ashley worked in advancement for four years at her alma mater and continues to serve the Washington, Connecticut community as Town Treasurer and as a board member of the Swanson Family Foundation. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychological sciences from the University of Connecticut. Ashley lives in New Preston with her fiancé Dominic, and enjoys traveling, baking, and spending time with family and friends.

Jenn travels across the country to connect with members of the Westminster community, meet with members of the Thring Society and talk to individuals who are interested in supporting the priorities of Westminster School. She has extensive experience in annual giving and advancement operations after spending 10 years in the Institutional Advancement Office at the University of Hartford. In January 2021, Jenn was appointed to the board of directors of the Charitable Gift Planners of Connecticut. In 2022, she became a certified specialist in planned giving and in 2023 she was awarded the Rising Star Award from the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners.


Jenn lives in Canton, Conn., with her husband, Peter, and their children, Dylan, Sam and Avery. She enjoys cooking and taking care of her yard.

Katherine oversees the development and execution of annual giving programs. She designs and implements strategies for enhancing restricted and unrestricted giving for Westminster, while expanding the rate of alumni participation.

 

Katherine has held a number of roles in independent schools and higher education. She spent five years at Miss Porter’s School, where she taught Spanish, worked in admissions and coached soccer. She then spent two years as a development officer at Wesleyan University and one year at Westover School as their director of admission. 

 

Katherine holds a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College as well as a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College. She lives on the Avon Old Farms campus with her husband, Brian, and two sons, Cameron and Charlie.

Katie has a deep commitment to educational equity and is thrilled to join the Horizons at Westminster community. After graduating from Holy Cross, she worked as an AmeriCorps teacher at Covenant Preparatory School, a tuition-free middle school for boys from under-resourced communities in Hartford. She also served as the director of admissions, high school placement, and graduate support where she was fortunate enough to be introduced to the Westminster community. After Covenant Prep, Katie served as the assistant dean of students and residential life at Marianapolis Preparatory School, where she also coached girls’ varsity lacrosse and served as the head of the senior boys’ residence hall. She later returned to Covenant Prep as the director of development and community relations, where she was able to work closely with the Horizons at Westminster team. 

Katie lives in Collinsville with her husband Wyeth and her dog Jersey. 

After graduating from Westminster in 1996, Joe attended Loyola University in Baltimore, Md., where he was a four-year member of the lacrosse program as a long stick midfielder and defenseman. During his time at Loyola, Joe competed in the NCAA tournament all four years, reaching the Final Four in 1998. Joe also served as co-captain, earned the Unsung Hero Award and was named Honorable Mention All-American in 2000.

 

After graduating from Loyola in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, Joe served on active duty in the U. S. Marine Corps from 2000 to 2004 and was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He joined the Selected Marine Corps Reserve in 2008, taking part in Shared Accord in 2010 and Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012. Joe currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves.

 

At Westminster, Joe was a three-sport varsity athlete playing soccer, ice hockey and lacrosse. In addition to earning Defensive Player of the Year and All-American honors for lacrosse in 1996, he served as captain for all three teams his senior year.

 

Prior to Westminster, Joe worked in employee benefits sales and client management, most recently with Elevance Health Inc. He has also served as the Scotch Plains Fanwood Lacrosse Club Middle School Boys’ Coach since 2011 and has been a member of the board since 2014.

 

In addition to his responsibilities as head coach of the Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse program, Joe will work in the advancement office as Director of Alumni Engagement and Giving. Joe is married to the former Bethany Noel Tracey ’96. They have four children, Catherine ’23, Luke ’27, Gabriel and Tess.