Welcome, New Trustees

After earning her degrees, including a bachelor’s from Denison University and a master’s from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Karla Aghajanian spent over 20 years leading academic and cultural institutions through strategic and master planning. She currently owns and curates Roam, LLC, an online home goods shop. She has been actively involved in the Bryn Mawr community for 12 years and the Parents' Association for the past 5 years. She has served on the Parents' Association Executive Board since 2021 and is currently serving a 2-year term as President.  Karla and her husband, Jeff Brookes, are the parents of Violet '26.

Eric D. Brotman is Chief Executive Officer of BFG Financial Advisors. He began his financial planning practice in 1994 and founded Brotman Financial Group in 2003, which later became BFG Financial Advisors. He and his team focus on supporting families and individuals by providing comprehensive financial planning services.

Eric graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and has served extensively on various boards including as the Chairman of the University Advancement Committee at Stevenson University, as well as the Advisory Board for Females in Finance. In addition to BFG Financial Advisors, Eric founded Brotman Consulting Group, LLC, which works with other financial advising firms to amplify their practices and create influence, and Brotman Media Group, LLC which focuses on creating and distributing educational resources to help spread financial literacy throughout the community. Eric and his wife, Meredith, are the parents of Brooke ’28.

 

Elizabeth is a Baltimore native and member of the Bryn Mawr Class of 1993.  Following her graduation from Bryn Mawr, she attended Yale University receiving her B.A. and a Master's Degree in public health from Boston University.  She is currently pursuing coursework in interior design and serves on the Boards of Trustees of the Baltimore Museum of Art and Baltimore Center Stage.

Elizabeth has served Bryn Mawr in a variety of roles, including Alumnae Board member, Parents’ Association Executive Board member, and member of the all-school Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. Elizabeth and her husband, David, are the parents of Sascha ’26 and Tysie ’31, who have attended Bryn Mawr since Little School.

Jasmine Shah is an Architect and Associate Principal at Ayers Saint Gross, with 18 years of experience in the industry. She has expertise working with higher education institutions and a specialty in student housing and student life facilities. She has also done extensive work with the U.S. Department of State while at EYP, Inc. in Washington, DC. Jasmine is active in The American Institute of Architects (AIA), as a member of the local AIA Baltimore Equity Committee. Since 2020, Jasmine has also provided training to small, local, minority-owned, woman-owned and/or disadvantaged Baltimore-based businesses in the design and construction industries, through Ayers Saint Gross’s partnership with the Johns Hopkins University’s BLocal  BUILD College Program. 

Jasmine received her Bachelor’s of Science from University of Maryland, College Park in architecture. She has served on the Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Bryn Mawr Board of Trustees since 2020, the Parents’ Association as Pre-K Class Parent in 2020-2021, and is a member of the BMS APIDA Parent Affinity Group. Jasmine and her husband, Apaar Singh, are the parents of Mirin ’34.

Emmy is a partner, associate portfolio manager of the Mid-Cap Growth strategy, and equity research analyst at Brown Advisory. Prior to joining the firm, Emmy worked in equity research at Morgan Stanley in New York.  She is a 2007 graduate of The Bryn Mawr School and a 2011 graduate of Washington and Lee University, where she earned a degree in philosophy. She is a Board Member and Treasurer of the CFA Society Baltimore and is on the Women United Executive Council of the United Way of Central Maryland. She has also served on the Alumnae Board of Bryn Mawr.  Emmy is the President of the Washington and Lee Alumni Baltimore Chapter.  

 

Emmy has a long family history of Bryn Mawr alumane, including her mother Ann ’78, grandmother Cha ’49 and great grandmother Helen ’23, as well as numerous aunts and cousins. Emmy and her husband, Mark, are the parents of Little School student Mackey.

 

Katie Walsh, an eight-year veteran of the Middle School English Department, earned her bachelor's from St. Mary's College of Maryland and master's degrees from St. John's College.  Having worked at two local independent schools in Baltimore prior to coming to Bryn Mawr, Katie is known for her immense care for children in all their complexity.  Her classroom is a bright, welcoming and creative place where students engage with literature in a multitude of ways (art, writing, music, drama, discussion). Katie has served as a Chief Advisor, English Department Coordinator, taught history, served on the Community and Culture Committee and Professional Development Committee. She is the 2017 recipient of the Millicent Carey McIntosh Chair in the Humanities for her excellence in teaching. Katie currently teaches English and serves as a 7th grade Advisor.

 

 

Smith Wright joins the Slate of Officers as Vice Chair this year and was named Chair-Elect at the September 2022 meeting of the Board of Trustees. Smith-Wright is a doctoral student in the Ph.D. program at The Johns Hopkins University researching and providing advanced practice nursing care to persons living with sickle cell disease. Rhonda holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree in nursing from Johns Hopkins University.  

 

As a public health nurse, she served as a clinical instructor for Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland Schools of Nursing, where she supported the professional learning of graduate nursing students in community settings.  Prior to her nursing career and while living in Naples, Italy for two years, she successfully led our nation’s U.S. Naval Hospital to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Blue H award for excellence in health promotion activities. Other professional interests include health equity, structural stigma, and hematology.  

  

Rhonda volunteers with Baltimore-area high school students as a Co-Director of Gilman-based exposure program, GBALI.  Her involvement with Bryn Mawr includes fulfilling the role of Community, Equity, and Inclusion Chair (2021-2022), serving on the Board of Trustees since 2019, membership on the Alumnae Association from 2003-2006 and 2016-2019, Parents Association class parent (2015-2016), and Admissions tour guide for Lower School.  

 

Her partner, Durke, is a cybersecurity engineer. They have two children, Ava-Noelle ’27 and Malakai, Gilman ’30.