Board of Directors

Jillian Copeland is a passionate advocate for inclusion and community, founder of The Diener School (2007) and Main Street Connect (2017). She has served on numerous boards, including The Diener School, Main Street Connect, The Arc of the US, CASA, and Makom, and has held leadership roles with the Maryland Inclusive Housing Organization, DDA Supported Living Advisory Committee, The Jewish Federation’s ICRA and Inclusion Task Forces, and Jubilee’s Housing Task Force. She currently serves on Montgomery County’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Commission (IDDC) and is a Leadership Montgomery Class of 2013 alum. Jillian’s work has been recognized with awards from Jewish Women International (2009), the Bender JCC (2016), Makom (2018), and Adapt of NYC (2020). In 2023, she was inducted into the Montgomery County Business Hall of Fame. Jillian and her husband, Scott, live in Rockville and are the proud parents of four sons, Danny(30), Jack (28), Nicol (26) and Ethan(24). Together, they recently launched the Epilepsies Action Network (EAN) to advance research, funding, and support for those living with epilepsy and this year, they will welcome their first Grandchild! 

President, Rubin Health Policy Consulting, LLC  Neleen Rubin is the proud parent of a two children, including a daughter who attended Diener for six wonderful years. Neleen joined the Diener Board in 2018 and was appointed as Board President in July of 2025. In her professional life, Neleen has worked in federal health care policy for almost 30 years. Neleen began her career in the federal government during the Clinton Administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). After leaving the executive branch, Neleen worked on Capitol Hill for nearly a decade, including as a Professional Staff Member for the Senate Finance Committee. In this staff role, she helped craft the landmark Affordable Care Act. In 2013, she established Rubin Health Policy Consulting, LLC and still leads the practice today. The firm assists health care clients in navigating the legislative, regulatory and policy development process. Neleen also serves as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Health Group at Alston&Bird. Neleen graduated from Colgate University with a B.A. and received a Masters in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Head of School Emeritus, The Bullis SchoolFormer Executive Director, The Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW) For more than a half a century, Dick Jung has had a distinguished education career, starting as a high school English teacher and Department Chair, then education policy researcher, followed by a 30+ career leading independent and charter schools, and most recently creating a pioneering multi-media biography of a prominent education leader at Stanford University, Michael Kirst: An Uncommon Academic. As Head of the Bullis School in a Maryland suburb of D.C. for 11 years, Dick helped the school nearly double its enrollment and raised nearly $25 million. During his tenure, the school became one of the most sought-after independent schools in the nation’s capital. Later, as the Principal of the SEED Public Charter School in Southeast D.C., the country’s first urban public college-prep boarding school, Dick helped establish the school’s first college counseling program. As the founder and senior partner of Education Access Strategies (EAS) specializing in executive searches and related services for independent schools, he assisted more than 60 schools and non-profits in finding heads of school, filling other leadership positions, and upgrading their Boards and fund-raising work. As the…

CEO Northrise Energy Rodney has more than 35 years of experience in the global energy and financial industries. He is Founder and CEO of Northrise Energy, a privately-held energy and technology advisory firm. Previously Rodney served as Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank (SC) and Standard Chartered Securities N.A. Inc., in charge of wholesale banking for its largest energy clients in North and South America. Prior to SC, he was a Partner at PFC Energy, one of the industry’s leading advisory groups, and before PFC he was with the Bank of Canada in Ottawa. He has published papers and presented on the global energy industry, and on energy taxation.  Rodney holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, a Masters degree in Economics from Queen’s University at Kingston Canada, and a Bachelors degree in Economics (cum laude) from the University of Alberta.

President/COO, CWCapital James Shevlin brings over 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry to his role as President and Chief Operating Officer of CW, a leading, third-party special servicing and asset management firm with more than $221 billion of UPB assets. His background spans originating, underwriting, evaluating, auditing, managing, and disposing of more than $100B of commercial real estate properties of all classes throughout the United States. As an early adopter and advocate for emerging technologies in commercial real estate, Shevlin has positioned CW at the forefront of the ever-evolving CRE technology landscape. Recognizing the pivotal role technology plays in shaping real estate decisions, Shevlin spearheaded the development of the cutting-edge online auction platform, RealINSIGHT Marketplace, now Marketplace, after identifying a need for a faster and more transparent online forum for buying and selling commercial real estate. Since its inception, Marketplace has facilitated the sale of over $5 billion in commercial real estate assets, solidifying its status as the fastest-growing auction platform in the field.

Jaclyn (Jackie) Bailey is a current Diener parent, and this is her first year on the Board of Directors for The Diener School.  Her son, Brandon, started at Diener in Kindergarten, and is currently in 4th grade.  Jackie has also been the Chair of the Parent Association for three years.  She is involved in many aspects of Diener life, including organizing and attending community events, summer playdates, and classroom activities, leading Room Parents in class parties, spearheading Teacher Appreciation week, and organizing staff meals.  New this year, she created a Facebook Group for Diener parents to connect and ask questions, and she is helping to restart the Book Fair at Diener.   Jackie earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from University of Delaware in 2007, and her Master’s Degree from McDaniel College in Curriculum and Instruction with a Concentration in Administration in 2011.  She currently holds Advanced Professional Certificates in Early Childhood Education (Pre-K-3), Elementary Education (1-6), Middle School Math (4-9), and Administrator 1/Assistant Principal.   Jackie has been a teacher in MCPS for 19 years.  She started her career as an elementary school teacher (grades 3-5), and then transitioned in 2016 to middle school math (grades 6-8).  She was a…

Partner, Silver, Freedman, Taff & Tiernan LLP Ms. Freedman has served on the Board of Trustees of The Diener School since 2012 and held the role of President and Board Chair from 2018 to 2025. As Board Chair, she led Diener through a transformative period in the school’s growth, including the successful purchase, design, and construction of Diener’s first permanent campus. A proud alumni parent, Ms. Freedman’s connection to Diener is deeply personal—her son Noah was among the school’s earliest students, becoming the sixth child to enroll. Professionally, Ms. Freedman is a seasoned attorney with over 30 years of experience advising financial institutions and their holding companies on complex regulatory, securities, and corporate matters. She has counseled clients through mergers and acquisitions, charter conversions, corporate reorganizations, securities offerings, and compliance with evolving banking and FINRA regulations. Earlier in her career, she interned in the Legal Advisory Services Division of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where she developed expertise in banking law and financial regulation. Her strategic insight and legal acumen have made her a trusted advisor in both her professional field and in her service to the Diener community.

Former Head of School of the McLean School From 2013 to 2023, Mike Saxenian was Head of McLean School in Potomac, Maryland, a K-12 independent day school that is recognized nationally as a leader in college preparation for bright students with mild to moderate learning differences. At Mclean, he expanded enrollment from 328 students to 495, expanded program offerings, and oversaw the school’s first major capital campaign, a campus renovation, and the addition of a second campus. Prior to McLean School, Mike served as the Assistant Head of School and Chief Financial Officer at Sidwell Friends School, where he helped the school triple its net assets over twelve years, and led incorporation of cutting-edge environmental approaches to create the world’s first LEED Platinum secondary school building and four other buildings and landscapes that earned Platinum or Gold ratings. While at McLean and Sidwell, Mike served on the boards of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the National Association of Business Officers (NBOA), and the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW), and served as Treasurer of NAIS and NBOA.  Mike joined Sidwell Friends School from Discovery Communications, where he served as Vice President and General Manager of Discovery…

Partner, Ernst and Young, LLP Mike has over 36 years of experience in public accounting and has been a partner for 25 years. He has significant experience working with private equity portfolio companies and family-owned companies in areas such as corporate transaction planning, including acquisitions and divestitures, cross border expansion, IRS examinations including resolving complex issues at IRS appeals, interconnected planning for entities and their owners, state and local income and non-income tax planning, Mike’s experience has focused on income tax planning and coordinating other related services such as diligence support, strategic reviews, technical accounting support and sector driven consulting services. Mike received his B.S degree in accounting from the University of Maryland’s College of Business and Management. He is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He also serves on the board of the Diener School, a private school in Bethesda, Maryland which serves children with special needs.   Mike joined the board of trustees for the Suburban Hospital Foundation in 2019.  He also has previously served on the board of College Bound, an organization which is dedicated to providing mentoring…

Carl Tugberk is an Executive Director and Head of Wealth & Investment Management (WIM) Regulatory Relations at Wells Fargo & Company. Carl leads regulatory engagements, including, but not limited to, regulatory examinations, supervisory meetings, information requests, and responses to regulatory findings. This includes advising senior leadership and other partners on regulatory strategy and representing Wells Fargo before regulatory agencies. He has over 18 years of experience in legal and regulatory analysis, government relations, public policy development and advocacy, risk management, strategy, and thought leadership. Carl joined Wells Fargo in January 2019 as a Senior Vice President in Government Relations and Public Policy, for which he led and coordinated the development of enterprise policy positions and advocacy strategy on issues impacting WIM, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Commercial Banking. Prior to Wells Fargo, Carl served as Assistant General Counsel at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and in various roles at the Securities and Exchange Commission, focusing on market structure, sales and trading practices, self-regulatory organization rulemaking, and SEC enforcement practices and adjudication. He began his career as a litigation attorney in private practice. Carl earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Classical Civilization from Colby College, and his J.D. from American University.

Director of Federal Governmental Affairs, Duke Energy Tom Craig is Vice President of Federal Government Affairs at Duke Energy, where he leads the development of political and advocacy strategies to advance the company’s priorities with the federal government. A seasoned energy policy expert with a strong focus on nuclear energy, Tom brings extensive experience from both Capitol Hill and the private sector. Prior to joining Duke Energy, he served as Clerk for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, and held senior legislative roles with U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bill Frist. Tom holds a BA in Economics from Hampden-Sydney College and has served on advisory boards for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Department of Energy’s CASL program. He is also a guest lecturer at George Washington University and Yale College, and a board member of the Diener School.