The VFES Board of Trustees (“Board”) is accountable for governance of the organization. Members oversee and shape VFES policies and hold fiduciary responsibility for the long-term well-being of the organization. The Board’s fiduciary duties ensure the effective management of the financial, physical and other assets of VFES, balancing the needs of current and future generations of students.

The Board is also responsible for the establishment and perpetuation of strong leadership and planning for the organization. VFES’s Executive Director is directly accountable to the Board, which sets and monitors annual objectives for her/him. They also work in collaboration with the VFES Leadership Team to establish long-term strategies for VFES and its programs.

The VFES Board draws Trustees from a wide range of education, medical, business, and non-profit areas for the skills required to fulfill its governance duties. Each Trustee participates in regular board meetings and serves on or leads one or more committees.

Committees Under the Board of Trustees:

• Executive Committee
• Development Committee
• Trustee Committee
• Finance Committee
• Strategic Planning Committee
• VFES Trustees embrace the VFES mission, contribute ongoing time and effort in support of the Board’s work, and directly support the development and fundraising efforts of VFES.

VFES Board of Trustees
Members are presented in alphabetical order.

Dr. Constance Bompadre
Dr. Constance Bompadre has spent her entire career in education. Connie was a teacher, coach, principal, Director of Education and eventually an Assistant Superintendent. During her time in the Marple Newtown School District, Dr. Bompadre oversaw curriculum, pupil services, professional development, district safety and building level administration. Having completed 35 years in this field, Connie retired in June of 2021. She credits West Chester University (WCU) with instilling in her a passion for teaching. Mentors along the way lead her to administration. It was an honor to prepare students for the life ahead of them.

Dr. Bompadre believes in giving back to the profession. She has taught at the graduate level preparing teachers to become administrators. She was a member of Women in Leadership and Service (WILS) through the WCU foundation. WILS provided grants to female students to further their education. Through WILS, Dr. Bompadre participated in college events to promote education as a career. Currently, Dr. Bompadre is on the board of Read2Dream. This organization provides books to youngster and promotes reading through hosting literacy events in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. While living in the borough of West Chester, Connie spent 15 years as a trustee of the West Chester Public Library.
Dr. Bompadre was born and raised in Chester County and now resides in Thornton, Pennsylvania. She enjoys reading, golfing, spending time with family and relaxing on the beach.

Mr. Mark C. Heller
Mr. Heller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was educated locally at Cardinal Dougherty High School and then on to Phila. College of Textile and Science (previously named Textile, now Jefferson University).  He earned his BS in business and management and was a scholarship baseball player for all 4 undergraduate years.  He was captain his last two years and worked locally with Big Brothers and Sisters as a volunteer as well as worked during his summers at several local camps run by the Archdioceses of Philadelphia, which focused on under-privileged youth or at-risk youth.

Mr. Heller is the Director of Sales for the Commercial Paper division of Novolex.  He is responsible for leadership of the sales team and numerous large regional and national accounts.  He has over 31 years of experience in the foodservice packaging arena with 25 of those years as a manager, leader and mentor.

Prior to joining Novolex in 2015, he held various leadership positions at several large, private packaging organizations.  He has completed numerous management and leadership courses throughout his career.

Mr. Heller is the proud father of three children, Nicholas, Jackson and Finlay.  He has coached and mentored young athletes in his local community for 24+ years and is currently coaching a local 14U basketball team.  He is an active supporter of his local community and church and happily married to his wife, Jennifer. 

Mr. William E. Hennessey, Chair
Mr. Hennessey was born in Phoenixville and is a life-long Chester County, PA resident. Mr. Hennessey, a CPA, graduated from Villanova University with a BS in Accounting. Mr. Hennessey is a corporate consultant focusing on technical accounting areas. He has over 30 years in financial management of public and private equity-backed corporations. Prior to his consulting career, Mr. Hennessey served as VP and Corporate Controller for Keystone Foods, Graham Packaging Company and John Maneely Company. He began his career as an auditor with Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC).

Mr. Hennessey’s daughter, Maura, is a graduate of The Vanguard School and the Vanguard Transition Center.

Mr. Matthew Hildenbrand
Mr. Hildenbrand spent 29 years in the technology sector as an executive at multiple software, consulting and managed service organizations - most notably Vertex, Frontline Education, and TEKsystems.  Well experienced in technology strategy, innovation, and operations, his efforts assisted four organizations in successful business and digital transformations leading to acquisitions and Nasdaq IPOs.

Having been supported by many on his journey, Mr. Hildenbrand is passionate about helping others and currently advises multiple non-profit organizations that focus on supporting youth through special education and enrichment programs, including music and the arts.  In addition, he advises multiple software startups, mentors younger executives, and consults with investment firms focused on acquiring and integrating technology companies.  

Mr. Hildenbrand earned his BA in Mass Media and Communications from Widener University and did his graduate studies at Temple University. Born in Abington and a lifelong Pennsylvania resident, he currently resides in Montgomery County with his wife, Deborah. When not traveling with Deborah, he spends his free time as an avid runner and guitar player.

Mr. Gerald K. Jones
Gerald Jones is president and founding partner of Union Core America LLC, a venture capital and investment advisory business.  Mr. Jones is also a founding principal of Broadway Properties, Inc., an affordable housing development firm. Prior to the founding of Broadway Properties, he held vice president and director roles with First USA Bank, BlackRock Financial Management, Verizon Communication and Meridian Bancorp. He has directed various financial and operational areas during his career, developing a broad array of experience and knowledge in strategic planning, accounting, finance, business modeling, information systems and project management.

Gerald has served on various education-focused nonprofit boards, including the board of trustees for Community College of Philadelphia, the Walden School (Media, Pennsylvania), the Cost Containment Committee of Brandywine School District (Wilmington, Delaware), and various charter schools. He also has been a board member of various USA Track & Field-related organizations. Mr. Jones is a native of Philadelphia and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Drexel University.

Ms. Amy Laursen
Amy Laursen is a Principal and head of the Retail Brokerage Operations at The Vanguard Group. In this capacity, she oversees and supports the back-office broker-dealer including cash management, trade operations, asset servicing, and lending solutions. Amy has been with Vanguard for 14 years serving in a number of leadership capacities including supporting individual high net worth investors, leading the Retail division’s process excellence program, and leading the Retail division’s service recovery teams. Prior to joining Vanguard, Amy worked as a management consultant at Accenture in the financial services practice line, working in both the US and Germany.

Amy earned an MBA from Saint Joseph’s Haub School of Business and a BS in mathematics from The Pennsylvania State University. Amy serves on the SIFMA Private Client Committee and is a graduate of the SIFMA Securities Industry Institute at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Amy is also the proud mother of three daughters.

Ms. Victoria Moschella, Vice Chair
Victoria Moschella currently serves as Associate General Counsel for the Medical Business of TE Connectivity. TE Connectivity’s purpose is to create a safer, sustainable, productive and connected world by advancing the future of transportation, making factories and homes smarter, enabling global communications networks, and revolutionizing medical technology through the connector and sensor products that it designs and manufactures in conjunction with its customers. TE has over 77,000 employees worldwide and has been the recipient of numerous awards. Forbes ranked TE as number 4 on its list of top companies changing the world, and TE has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 8 years in a row.

As the head of Legal for the Medical business, Victoria serves as a member of the Leadership Team where she is responsible for the management of all legal issues and activities that relate to the business, some of which include contract management, compliance and risk management. Prior to assuming the role as legal lead for the Medical Business, Victoria served as Assistant General Counsel for both the TE Channel Business Unit and the Corporate Marketing and Communications function. From 2016-2019, Victoria also served as Chief Litigation Counsel for TE.

Victoria has spent her entire 20+ year legal career as in-house counsel. Prior to joining TE, Victoria served as Senior Counsel, Strategic Sourcing and Real Estate at Tyco International.  Her previous experience was at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, where she held several legal positions, including Counsel for BMS’s Medical Device business, ConvaTec. 

Victoria has a J.D. from Temple University School of Law and an M.B.A., and a Masters in International Management from the University of Maryland.  Victoria is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Georgia.

Victoria has had a relationship with VFES since 2017, where she has helped the organization to receive grant funding from TE, and by hosting students at TE as part of VFES’s VIP Program. Victoria currently serves as Vice Chair to the Board of Trustees, Chair of the Trustee Committee and Co-Chair of the Campaign Development Committee.

Mr. Patrick Noonan
Patrick is the Senior Manager of Financial Operations for PECO Energy Co. In his role, he is responsible for strategic and financial leadership to the operations of the business and is responsible for the oversight of the financial systems. Patrick has been with PECO for over 10 years in various roles providing strategic initiatives, system implementations and financial management. Prior to joining PECO, he worked for a regional accounting firm serving in the audit department. He earned his BS in Accounting from Villanova University and holds his CPA (Certified Public Accountant) license in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and fellow of the LEADERSHIP Philadelphia program.

Patrick was born and raised in Delaware County and currently resides in Phoenixville with his wife, Karen, their two sons and daughter. He enjoys running, golfing and spending time with his family.

Ms. Dawn Pataki
Dawn Pataki is an executive in Human Resources, and currently serves as Vice President of People and Culture at Zelis, a heathcare payments firm in Bedminster, NJ.  Dawn has 30 years of experience in Human Resources.  The majority of this experience was with fortune 500 companies, including the Campbell Soup Company and Merck and Company.  Prior to her employment at Zelis, Dawn held an executive leadership role at Vanguard Investments.  Dawn’s work in human capital strategies includes leadership development, succession planning, organizational design, talent attraction and talent engagement.

Early in Dawn’s career, she spent four years starting the human resources department for the private, non-profit organization, Archway Programs in Atco, NJ.  Her experience with this organization drives her passion for working with children and adults with special needs.
Dawn spent a number of years as a co-chair of the non-profit Methacton Post Prom organization, keeping students safe, drug and alcohol-free on one of the most dangerous nights of the year in the life of a teenager.

Dawn has a BA in English from Douglass College and an MS in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University.  She and her husband Dave reside in Worcester, PA, have three adult children and two rescue dogs.  

Ms. Kristen Waterfield
Kristen Waterfield is Founder and CEO of The Malvern School. Along with co-founder, Joe Scandone, Waterfield opened the first Malvern School in 1998 with a philosophy to deliver a high-quality educational program for children between the ages of 6 weeks and 8 years.

With a strong emphasis on early childhood education, The Malvern School’s degreed teachers focus on the physical, emotional and cognitive growth of the child. Waterfield’s approach to the curriculum is unique in the sense of providing educators at her schools with the creative freedom to customize lesson plans based on the teachers' experiences and teaching philosophies. All curriculum at The Malvern School are designed to meet or exceed the standards established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the nation’s largest early childhood accrediting organization.

Waterfield started her career as a preschool and second grade teacher, and quickly advanced her career at another childcare provider as a center Director, Franchise Consultant and Director of Corporate Operations. She has dedicated her career to providing children with superior quality, and excellent education and care from only experienced and passionate teachers. As a Malvern School parent, Waterfield had the opportunity to experience the loving and nurturing environment that she created for other families.

Kristen holds a Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education and Child Development from Wilkes University. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees at Valley Forge Educational Services and is actively involved in Unite for HER. She resides in West Chester, PA with her three children.