Board of Trustees
Andrew A. Kutt, President of the Board of Trustees, Executive Director
Andrew Kutt is the founder and Executive Director of the Oneness-Family School in Chevy Chase, MD. As head of the School, he is the President of the Board of Trustees.
In the fall of 1988, Andrew opened this Montessori-inspired school with a vision of incorporating peace education and conflict resolution into the curriculum in order to foster a new generation of leaders to become meaningful contributors to the society of the 21st century by expanding their consciousness, realizing their potential, and coming to feel and understand that the world is one family.
In order to achieve this vision, Andrew has relied upon his extensive experience in education. While in graduate school, Andrew taught French to undergraduates as a graduate assistant, and during the summers he taught English as a second language at Tufts University in Boston. After completing two years of the comparative literature program, Andrew decided to make a change in his path and pursue a career in education. He withdrew from the comparative literature program in order to obtain his Montessori credentials for the 6-9 and the 9-12 age levels while working closely with renowned Montessori educators.
Andrew’s world travels and experiences have also greatly enhanced the international aspect of the school. While enrolled at Assumption College, Andrew spent his junior year abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France, where he received the William Marion Miller Prize at his university for his accomplishments in French. After graduation, Andrew traveled back to Europe where he spent the next two years living mainly in Germany. During this time Andrew studied the German language and literature, while working a variety of jobs which exposed him to the culture including teaching English, translating, working on an archeological dig, and even working as an assembly line worker at the Mercedes Benz factory.
Today, Andrew is able to boast a unique, international and progressive Montessori School offering curriculum programs in conflict resolution, positive discipline, values instruction, world religions, multicultural studies, self-discovery, multiple intelligences, and school traditions and festivals. In addition to publishing many articles, Andrew has authored and co-authored several books. Andrew brings his experience and stories with him as he conducts workshops for both teachers and parents on a wide variety of educational topics across the country. Andrew also founded Free Radicals, a vision of a world of harmony, sharing, and equality among all members of the human family, in order to share his musical and poetic creativity.
Patricia Dubin
From 1974 to 2006, Patricia Dubin helped GEICO grow from a relatively unknown auto insurer to its current position as one of most well-known brands in the insurance industry. As Creative Director of GEICO Marketing, she continually pushed the company to break new ground in its advertising. As GEICO grew, she became a "gate keeper" of the brand and never lost sight of the customer's needs: quality car insurance at a fair price.
While her work at GEICO is well known by most Americans who watch television advertising, Pat’s reputation is also distinguished by her courage and accomplishments as a young woman pioneering in the media field in the sixties and seventies and her commitment to social change and equality for women and minorities.
In addition to her marketing expertise and experience, Pat has a strong interest in education. Both her children attended Montessori school, an experience that she considers to have been extremely valuable. Based on her firsthand understanding of the effectiveness of the Montessori approach and her desire to continue to make a difference in the world after retiring from GEICO, Pat is excited to join the Oneness-Family School community. She brings marketing expertise, an understanding of how to build a strong “brand,” and a passion for social justice, creativity and a better world.
Pat has a strong interest in the arts and is always open to new things. Pat currently lives in Arlington, VA.
Benny Nordahl
Benny Nordahl grew up in a small village in the south of Sweden. He majored in Science in High School. He was drafted to the Swedish army where he served a year as a Sergeant in an artillery-engineering unit. Thereafter he earned a “Civilekonom” degree in Marketing at the prestigious Swedish University of Lund. He moved to the US in 1987.
Benny has extensive experience in publishing, new business development and direct marking from his experiences as a senior leader at companies such as Time Life, Reader's Digest and International Masters Publishers. His experience covers all media and channels. Benny has worked in many countries on five continents and has started new companies in the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Australia, Japan and Taiwan. In the US he has been based in Los Angeles, CA, Stamford, CT, New York, NY, Fairfax, VA and most recently, Purcellville, VA.
Currently Benny holds the position as President of Greetings Direct North America. GDNA is a subsidiary of the British Flying Brands group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Benny is married to Jane, with whom he is working to found a Montessori school in Virginia.
Jane’s brother is an old friend of Andrew and introduced them to him. Andrew is a senior advisor to the Springdale Montessori Project.
Among Benny’s interests are working out at the gym, running, reading, sailing and riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Peter Novick
Peter Novick's daughter, Megi, entered Oneness-Family School in its second year of existence and Peter has stayed involved with the school ever since.
Peter participated in early strategic planning sessions, volunteered to create the school’s first student database system, attended school events, and provided some financial support through The Novick Family Foundation. Over this time, he has maintained both a professional relationship and friendship with Andrew Kutt.
Peter holds a BA in English/Philosophy from University of Binghamton (NY). In the 1970s, he attended a graduate program for progressive education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and received high school teaching certification.
In the 1980s, Peter embarked on a new career path. He received his BS in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1983, he joined Deltek Systems in its infancy as one of the two original designers of this popular large-scale accounting and project management software. He continued to serve as senior systems analyst and head of data modeling.
Peter left Deltek in 1997 in order to pursue philanthropic, educational, and business interests.
Immediately afterwards, Peter created the Novick Family Foundation and joined several philanthropic associations. This gave him the opportunity to attend countless seminars over the years on world development, grant-giving and philanthropy. He developed relationships with many local non-profits and consultants, and has volunteered his services to several of these organizations.
From 1999-2005, he created and managed the “Smart Card Project,” an international member database with photo ids, smart cards, card readers, and a multi-language website (volunteer position, with dozens of staff worldwide).
In 1999, Peter became co-owner of Benham Protective Services and two smaller companies, both based in Florida. He remains actively involved in these businesses.
Peter has always gravitated towards opportunities offering the challenge to “create something good out of nothing”, whether it’s a business or charitable venture.
He has a life-long passion for “learning how to live” – how to transform lives so that they are fulfilled on all levels (intellectual, financial, health, relationships, spiritual). He has had the chance to practice this with his three daughters, his 35-year meditation practice, Landmark Education, and many other groups. With a friend, he is currently taking an online course “The Awakening of Joy,” and he recently finished the book: “Geography of Bliss”.
Peter lives in Bethesda, MD with his partner Nancy, a high school teacher and education journalist. They share a passion for education, sports/fitness, natural foods, and their children.
Katherine F. Ebner (Advisor/Organizational Consultant)
Katherine Ebner, founder and president of The Nebo Company, is a leading business strategist, change leader and coach. Formerly Dean of Commons at Middlebury College and a senior officer at an international strategy consulting firm, Katherine brings more than two decades of front-line experience as a decision maker in high-performance organizations to her creative work with individuals, teams and organizations. Katherine is a parent of a current student Wynne, who is in the Peace Academy.
Katherine’s practical approach and highly-developed intuition mean that clients feel the benefit of her insight and substantial experience – the perspective of someone who has led major organizational and cultural change initiatives and who understands not only the challenges, but also the best practices of leadership work. She enjoys working with leaders who want to make a difference through their leadership and in their lives.
Katherine is a member of the faculty at Georgetown University’s Leadership Coaching Program and is a thought leader in the areas of organizational development and leadership coaching. A long-time leader of Women in Technology’s Mentor-Protégé Program, she has a strong history of working with organizations to establish mentoring as a core value, supported by creative and distinctive mentoring programs. Katherine also has created an innovative model for working with professionals to help them improve their work/life balance, delegation, prioritization and self-mastery. Called “Coaching for Leverage,” this approach addresses the common struggle with work/life balance by providing a new way to manage responsibilities, set boundaries and establish a sustainable and effective method of leadership.
Katherine is committed to working toward global peace and a sustainable future for people and the earth. She is a member of Peace x Peace, an international organization dedicated to connecting circles of women around the world for the purpose of improving the status of women and building a sustainable model for peace.
