Board of Trustees

VAN KATZMAN is the co-founder of Ascent Law Partners, LLP and Ascent Investments, LLC, advising technology start-ups and other businesses on their life-cycle decisions from inception to exit. He currently serves on the UPrep Strategic Plan design team at UPrep, and he teaches an Intensive course at UPrep on Entrepreneurship. Van is also a member of the Board of Trustees of UCDS. He graduated from Yale University with a degree in History, earned his law degree from the University of Virginia, and holds a Master’s in Environmental Policy from George Washington University. Van is the vice president of UPrep’s Board of Trustees. He and his wife Wendy have a son, Jack, who graduated from UPrep in 2017 and a daughter, Carly ‘25.

As Chief Operating Officer, JULI COOK oversees NBBJ’s global operations across 12 offices and manages the firm’s administrative, financial, legal, information technology and human resources functions. Cook is widely credited with introducing innovative new business models across a range of professional services and creative industries. Prior to joining NBBJ, she served as executive vice president of Corbis Images managing media products & global operations. Prior to her role at Corbis, she was vice president of product management at Washington Mutual, where she was responsible for developing new products and services for retail bank customers, and also held management roles at Deloitte Consulting and Sotheby’s. Juli holds a BA in Art History and a BFA in Painting from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County, where she serves on the Executive Committee, and previously served on the Board of Directors for Artist Trust, and Artist Trust’s Executive and Finance Committees. Juli and her husband, Andy, have two children – Max ‘26 and Zander ‘28.

ELIZABETH (LIFFY) FRANKLIN’s career has spanned both the private and public sectors. She was Vice President of Product Management at Wall Data, where she also held leadership roles in marketing and service sales. Prior to Wall Data she had marketing roles and was a systems analyst at Digital Systems. She was Chief of Staff to the Chancellor at Indiana University/Purdue University Fort Wayne and for five years led the largest community arts festival in the state. Liffy has served on the Boards of the Seattle Public Library Foundation and non-profit affordable housing developer, Common Ground. Recently, she has been an active member of the University Prep Parent Council. She chairs UPrep’s Trusteeship & Governance Committee and sits on the Executive Committee. Liffy received her B.A. from Duke University and her M.B.A. from Indiana University. Liffy and her wife, Jennifer Cast, have twin sons, Will and Carter Cast ’23.

MICHELLE J GOLDBERG is a venture investor and board member for both startups and established public companies.  As a partner at Ignition since 2000 she invested in consumer and enterprise software technology companies.  She is now a Venture Partner at SoGal Ventures investing in how the next generation works, plays and stays healthy.  Michelle has sat on public, private, and not for profit boards and has expertise in audit, risk management, activism, ESG and M&A.  Michelle has been a public board member for Legg Mason, Taubman and Plum Creek, all of which completed M&A transactions.  Michelle is a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and is an advocate and fundraiser for women in tech. Michelle was awarded a Master’s degree from Harvard University, and holds an undergraduate degree from Columbia University.  Michelle is chair of the Investment committee at UPrep and a member of the Finance Committee.  

Jarrad Harford is the Paul Pigott-PACCAR Professor of Finance and Chair of the Finance and Business Economics Department at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. He grew up in Pennsylvania, earned his B.S. from Penn State and his Ph.D. in Finance at the University of Rochester. Jarrad currently serves as a Managing Editor of the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. He and his co-authors are working on the 6th Edition of their textbook, Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. Jarrad was a long-serving member of the University Child Development Center (UCDS) Finance Committee and a member of the UCDS Board of Trustees for six years. He and his wife, Katrina Strand, are the parents of Evan ’24 and Cole ’25.

NINEVAH LOWERY worked in the computer software industry for 15 years as a technology consultant, sales engineer, and marketing communications leader. Taking time off to care for her children as a stay-home mom, she has been a consistent school volunteer, having served in various parent leadership roles. During this time, she has also held numerous executive board seats and served on regional and national committees in member-based community organizations. She is committed to excellence and approaches her work with passion. Ninevah holds a BS from The University of Alabama, with a major in Management Information Systems, and an MBA from University of Detroit Mercy. She and her husband Bryant have two children, Bryant, II ’24 and Neva-Nataia ‘26.

SCOTLAND NASH, EdD has worked in education and education support services for over 20 years. She has had the role of high school social studies teacher, education director, instructional leader, adjunct professor, and consultant in the Chicago area and in Seattle.  Currently, as the Director of Education for the ADL PNW region, she works with schools, districts, and their community to learn about identity and diversity, to practice anti-bias strategies for communication, and act as allies for social justice.   She earned her undergraduate degree from Bucknell University, her master’s degree from Northwestern University, and her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Seattle University. At UPrep, she currently serves as a parent ambassador.  She has also participated in planning UPrep Together, served as co-chair of the parent education committee and participated in the Next Generation Learning committee.  Scotland, and her husband Christian Schofield, are parents of Aidan ’24 and Oliver ’28.

Ursula Phelan is the president of the UPrep Parent Guardian Association, where she previously served five years as past exec, treasurer, and grade level parent representative. She also co-chaired the Puma Fund for two years and has served as co-chair for UPrep’s Open House. Ursula is from Ireland and received her B.S. in computer science and psychology from University College Dublin. Her professional career started in Ireland, where she was project manager at IBM. With her move to Seattle, Ursula consulted with both public and private companies with full responsibility for sales and delivery. She managed software development consulting teams for Microsoft, Boeing, and other Pacific Northwest companies. She retired after the birth of her first child. She and her husband, Fergal, are the parents of Ciaran ’22 and Fiachra ’24.

Danielle Ruthfield is a strategic financial advisor to individuals, families, and companies in transition. Previously, she was a marriage and family therapist and the head of Northwest Family Therapy, served in leadership and development roles at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, and was a program manager at Amazon. Danielle has also served as the chair of the Board of Trustees of The Evergreen School. While serving on this Board, she helped deliver a successful $20M capital campaign as the chair of the Development Committee. She is a fellow in the Wexner Heritage Program, a worldwide Jewish leadership initiative. She has a BA from University of Puget Sound and master’s degrees from Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University. Danielle her husband. Scott, and two daughters Mica and Nava ’25 live in Shoreline.

Blake Titcomb ’09 graduated from University of Puget Sound in 2013 with a B.S. in Geology and minor in Economics. Blake served as President of the UPrep Alumni Board for four years and currently sits on a Foundation for their Sustainable Forests & Communities Initiative Committee and Financial Committee. Blake is a Senior Account Manager at PitchBook, a financial software company. While he and his wife, Brittany, do not have any little Pumas, they are very fond of their German shepherd, Maya.

MANDIRA VIRMANI is a former Group Program Manager at Microsoft, and is currently managing partner at CVG Partners, where she drives business development and manages consulting projects for the company. She serves on the board of the Seattle Art Museum, where she is also a docent, chair of its Diwali Ball, and provides strategic leadership for South Asian art, programming and community engagement. She is on the Development Committee for Sunaayy, a school for children of the slums in Delhi, India. At UPrep, she has served on Parent Council, and on the #WeAreUPrep Committee. She currently serves on Advancement, Building, and Next Generation Learning Committees as well as on the Technology Advisory Board. Mandira and her husband Ajay are parents of Malvika ’19 and Siona ’22.