PA Executive Board

Meet the PA Executive Board

Melissa Friedman, President

My name is Melissa Friedman and I am thrilled to be serving as this year’s PA President. My husband Jesse and I have two sons, Eli and Zach.  Eli is in Cluster D and Zach is in 3rd Grade at PS59. This is Eli’s sixth year at Churchill (yikes - time is flying!) and we have had an incredible experience here. The school has nurtured Eli and allowed him to thrive. It has been absolutely wonderful to see his confidence grow.  It’s also been very meaningful to be surrounded by other parents and families that share similar challenges. 
 
In past years, I have served as a Class Parent, Elementary Division Representative and on the Benefit Committee.  I look forward to this new role and having the opportunity to meet new families and help foster the sense of community that contributes to making Churchill such a special school. I am very excited to create fun opportunities for parents and families to get together and connect.

Alexis Godley, Secretary

My name is Alexis Godley and I am the proud mom of a sweet fourth grader, Vivi El Hadj, and have served in various capacities as a class parent, new family ambassador and fundraising volunteer since joining the school in 2017. I am thrilled to be a part of the Churchill Parents Association as I am passionate about strengthening its platform and look forward to growing deeper roots within the parent community.

I am a devoted real estate advisor with the Juracich | Godley Team at Corcoran and serve both New York City and the East End. I adore the outdoors and am an avid skier and equestrian. In our free time you can most often find me and Vivi at Hedgewood Farms on the North Fork of Long Island with our beloved horse, Renaissance.

Jill Kaiser, Lower School Representative

My name is Jill Kaiser and I am the mom of Nolan Weiss who is in 4th grade this year. Nolan started at Churchill in Kindergarten and we are incredibly grateful for the wonderful teachers, staff and community at Churchill. I have loved getting to know many of you through my role with the Churchill Parents Association. I am also a mom to twin girls, Holly and Cora, who are in the 2nd grade at Sacred Heart.
 
I work at Deloitte in the US Strategy group. In my free time, I enjoy pilates, biking, reading, rooting for the Buffalo Bills and spending time with my kids at the beach. Looking forward to a great year and many opportunities for us to connect as a Churchill community.

David Downey, Treasurer

Hello, my name is David Downey. I am excited for the opportunity to give back to the Churchill community, that has helped our family for years. Suzanne, my wife, and I, are blessed with three wonderful kids; Jacquelyn 10th grade, Cyril 8th grade, and Genevieve 4th grade. Genevieve has been at Churchill since K, and Jacquelyn just started this year.

Like you all, we have seen the Churchill environment and way of teaching work wonders for Genevieve, and even Jacquelyn (in just a couple of weeks). I’m looking forward to meeting you all and having a wonderful school year.

Earlier this year, I celebrated my 11th year anniversary at RBC Capital Markets in Finance. I was previously at Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley before. Crazy how fast time goes by!

In my spare time, I coach basketball for several teams (had about three hundred games over the last four years), and co-run Manhattan’s biggest CYO basketball program.