Board of Trustees

Lance Milken ’94 is a Senior Partner at Apollo Management where he has worked since 1998. Mr. Milken focuses on investments for Apollo’s private equity funds in the retail and restaurant sectors. Mr. Milken currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEC Entertainment, Claire’s Stores, and Qdoba Restaurants. Mr. Milken is also a member of the Milken Institute board of trustees. He founded the Young Leaders Circle at the Milken Institute in 2008 and has since grown membership chapters in five cities around the world. Mr. Milken graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with a BS in Economics. He and his wife, Hillary, have three children, Maddie ’24, Spencer ‘27, and Alice ‘29.

Antonieta Monaldi Arango is Director and Executive Vice President of Astra PTC and Executive Director of Aramont Charitable Foundation. Antonieta was born in Venezuela and graduated from Harvard University with an AB magna cum laude in Economics and from UCLA with an MA in Spanish Literature. She worked as an Investment Analyst at The Capital Group Companies in the Emerging Markets division, and later taught Spanish and Literature at UCLA.

One of Antonieta’s passions has been promoting education. She has served on the board and volunteered at different charter and private schools, including Value Schools, Camino Nuevo and John Thomas Dye School. She holds a College Counseling certification from UCLA and has worked on developing college access programs for underserved students. Antonieta has been a member of Harvard University’s Campaign Steering Committee and the Los Angeles Campaign Committee.

Antonieta and her husband Javier, who passed away in 2017, have two sons, Javi who is a student at Harvard University and Andy, who will graduate from Brentwood School in 2019.

 

Brian Lee is co-founder and served as CEO of The Honest Company, which he launched with Jessica Alba in 2012 with a mission to inspire and empower people to live happy and healthy lives.

Since its inception, the mission-driven Company has donated over one million products and over 9,000 employee volunteer hours.

Honest has been honored with a wide range of recognitions, including the ACG Award for Social Responsibility, PC Magazine’s Seal of Consumer Approval in Tech, and the 2015 Pioneer in Sustainability Award by the Sustainable Business Council of Los Angeles.

In 2001, Brian co-founded and served as President of LegalZoom, the nation’s leading provider of personalized, online legal solutions and legal documents for small business owners and families. In 2008, he co-founded and served as CEO of ShoeDazzle, the first monthly fashion service to bring a personalized boutique experience to shoe addicts and style fanatics everywhere.

Brian was formerly an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP. Brian is also the co-founder and managing partner of BAM Ventures, which focuses on seed investing in some of the most innovative start-ups throughout the world.

Brian graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Economics and Business from UCLA. He received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He was named among the 25 Most Notable Korean-American Entrepreneurs by Forbes Magazine in 2009 and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014. He has two awesome children (Davis and Madison), an amazing wife (Mira), and lives in Los Angeles, California. Go Lakers, Dodgers, and Bruins!

Benjamin Nazarian is Chief Executive Officer of TheraGun and Managing Partner of Omninet Capital, LLC, a private investment firm focused on real estate and venture investments. Benjamin received his Juris Doctorate from the Law Center at the University of Southern California and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California. He currently serves on the Board of the Law Center at the University of Southern California. He is married and has 3 children at Brentwood School.

Erika Aronson Stern served as Executive Director of The EGL Charitable Foundation (previously the Gruss Lipper Foundation) in New York City for twelve years. In that capacity, Erika advised a multi-generational family office on philanthropic activities, synthesized Trustees’ philanthropic goals, worked to improve the Foundation’s complex structures and navigate the Foundation through a decade of changes in philanthropic oversight. Part of Erika’s responsibilities was developing innovative programs in targeted areas, one of which she still directs from California. The Gruss Lipper Postdoctoral Fellowship Program brings Israeli PhD candidates to US host labs to train in the biomedical sciences with an emphasis on international collaboration and scientific exploration. Prior to her time at EGL, Erika served as an Associate at OMELVENY and MYERS, LLP in New York.

Erika is also a Trustee at the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association where she serves on the Development and Finance committees. She also previously served on the Board of Trustees for The Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford, NY, and as a board member of The JCC in Manhattan, a community center and nursery school. Erika has a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. She is married to Adam Stern. They live in Malibu with their three children, Ethan '18, Ella '21, and Lola '22.

Adam Cohn ’89 is Co-CEO of Stone Canyon Industries, which he co-founded in 2014. Prior to Stone Canyon, Mr. Cohn was a Partner at Knowledge Universe (“KU”) where he was responsible for investments, financings and business development for KU and its portfolio companies. Mr. Cohn had worked at Knowledge Universe, or its related entities, since March of 2000. Previously, he was with J.H. Whitney & Co. Prior to J.H. Whitney & Co., Mr. Cohn was an investment banker in the Financial Sponsors Group at BT Alex Brown (and later Deutsche Bank) in New York where he advised private equity groups on leveraged buyout transactions. Mr. Cohn is a member of the Board of Directors of Luxfer Holdings PLC (ticker “LXFR) and serves on its Compensation Committee. In addition, he serves on several private company boards. Mr. Cohn is also a member of the Board of Governors at Cedars Sinai Hospital and sits on its Investment Committee. Mr. Cohn holds a B.S. in Business from Skidmore College and an MBA from Columbia University.

Laura Dudley is the Chair of the Brentwood School Parents Association. In addition she has sat on numerous boards and currently sits on the board of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. For the past ten years she has served on the PPLA Board, where she chaired the Guild for three years and is currently a co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. She was Chair of the Parents Association at Curtis School and co-chaired Annual Giving at Curtis School for 6 years.

Laura has had her own event planning company for the past 20 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Laura and her husband Randy have three children that attend Brentwood School. Jack ’20, Emma ’23, and Nate ‘24.

Irwin Gold is the Executive Chairman of Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI), a Los Angeles-based investment bank with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructuring, valuation and strategic consulting. The firm serves corporations, institutions, and governments worldwide with 26 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. Irwin co-founded Houlihan Lokey’s industry leading Financial Restructuring Group in 1988 and has led many of the Group’s largest and most complex financial restructuring engagements, both in bankruptcy and out-of-court. During his career at Houlihan Lokey, Irwin has consistently been recognized as one of the leading investment bankers in his field and has served on the boards of directors of various public companies.

Irwin and his wife, MaryAnn, support numerous causes in the areas of education, human services, the arts, the environment, and healthcare/medical research especially relating to childhood diseases, AIDS and cancer. Irwin has been a Trustee of the Brentwood School for 8 years and has formerly served as Chair of the BWS Finance Committee and as its Treasurer. Irwin holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. in Economics, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Duke University.

Thomas D. Gordon is the Chairman of the Board of the DSL Construction Corporation and a co-trustee of the Don Levin Trust.

In his previous role as Executive Vice President of Cedars-Sinai Health System for 22 years, Tom oversaw the organization’s Medical Network of primary care and specialist physicians. One of Tom’s many roles was Chief Executive Officer of Cedars-Sinai Medical Network Services, a management services organization that handles the administrative functions of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, Cedars-Sinai Health Associates (IPA), Cedars-Sinai Inpatient Specialty Practices, California Heart Center, Tower Hematology Oncology, Los Angeles Cardiology Associates, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Center, Santa Monica Orthopedic Group, Valley Internal Medicine and Santa Monica Gastroenterology. The Medical Network, which covers a wide geographic area in Southern California, consists of more than 1,000 physicians, providers and specialists, serves over 150,000 fee-for-service and managed care patients, and employs over 1,900 staff.

Tom began his medical management career in 1988 as a consultant to the Medical Group of Beverly Hills. Within a year he became the group’s Chief Executive Officer. Five years later in 1993, Tom oversaw the medical group’s merger into the Cedars-Sinai Health System.

Tom obtained a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1971. After graduating from UCLA, he pursued graduate studies in Business Administration, with an emphasis on management. During his professional career, Tom has enjoyed management responsibilities in such diverse industries as screen-printing, advertising, retail auto services and consulting. He founded and was a principal in a graphics company and, immediately before his affiliation with the Medical Group of Beverly Hills, he founded a management and marketing consulting firm.

Tom is dedicated to serving the entire health care community and sits on a variety of boards including the California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG), the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, The Brentwood School, 21st Century Radiation/Oncology, and LivHome, Inc. Tom is also an active member of the Medical Group Management Association and the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Tom teaches a course on Leadership in the Executive MPH Program, is a preceptor in the graduate program in Health Policy and Management, and is a member of the Professional Advisory Council for the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also a guest lecturer at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.

Tom has been a keynote speaker for many conferences and executive retreats at the local and national levels on topics related to leadership and management, change management, culture building, training and motivation, and managed care. Tom has been married for forty-four years, has two married daughters and four grandchildren between the ages of three and nine years old.

Jerry A. Greenberg is the co-founder and CEO of Sushi Nozawa, LLC (SUGARFISH, KazuNori, Nozawa Bar) and co-founder of both HiHo and Uovo.

Ryan is a principal at GSLA Studio, a Los Angeles based landscape architecture firm. Prior to starting her own practice, she worked for the prestigious firms of Nancy Goslee Power & Associates in Santa Monica, CA and Reed Hilderbrand in Cambridge, MA, where she designed numerous projects that have received national recognition. Ryan serves on design juries at a number of educational institutions and has taught in the graduate school at the University of Southern California School of Architecture.

Ryan received her Masters of Landscape Architecture degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and her Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Architecture from Middlebury College. She and her husband Josh have three sons, two of whom are currently students at Brentwood and one in preschool.

Scott Klein is a founding partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Beach Point Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar alternative asset manager with offices in Santa Monica, New York and London. Scott has over 25 years of experience in managing high yield bonds, bank loans, and distressed debt portfolios as well as restructuring companies.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and UCLA Law School, Scott serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Scott and his wife, Melissa, are the parents of Catherine and Ethan.

David Kohl grew up in Milwaukee where he was a “lifer” at University School, a small private school serving grades K-12. From 1988-1992 he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he received his B.A. with a major in History. From 1992-1995 he attended the New York University School of Law where he earned his J.D.

David has been a parent at Brentwood School since 2005. He has four children, Levi (2017), Esther (2019), Abra (2023) and Goldie (2025), all of whom started Brentwood School in Kindergarten. David’s wife, Abby (who also attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison), has been instrumentally involved in the Lower School. In addition to volunteering, she has choreographed the 6th Grade production of The Odyssey since 2005. In doing so, she has gotten to know all of the kids who have come through the Lower School.

David is currently a managing partner of La Quinta Date Palm, a 1,000 acre date farm located just outside of La Quinta in Thermal, CA. The farm is one of the country’s largest producers of organic Medjool dates. The current production of the farm is 2,000,000 pounds and should grow to over 5,000,000 pounds by 2023. David is currently working with experts from Israel to improve all of the farming practices. One such project has the potential to save the Coachella Valley over 11,000,000,000 gallons of water annually if universally adopted.

David is a passionate stand-up-paddle surfer. If there is a swell, all bets are off.

Erica Lockhart ’93 is a Real Estate Agent with Compass who specializes in the sale of residential properties on the Westside of Los Angeles. A consistent top producer, Erica is recognized for her effective art of negotiating, strong attention to details and solid work ethic. In 2017, she was chosen as one of Angeleno Magazine’s Most Dynamic Women of the Year.

Prior to Real Estate, Erica worked in media and advertising for 9 years. As VP, Account Director at the country’s largest media firm, Erica was instrumental in the strategic direction of major brands such as American Express, Nautilus, The LA Times and Kaiser Permanente. With her strong background in marketing, Erica brings an innovative and highly effective approach to Real Estate.

Erica graduated from the University of Southern California. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management.

Erica lives in View Park with her husband and their three children, Arielle ’22, Justin and Brandon.

James Lustig is a third generation Denver native and spends a considerable amount of time in the Los Angeles area. With a BA degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Columbia University, James is a non-practicing CPA and presently manages a private investment portfolio. He and his wife Debbie have two daughters, Booke Lande and Jennifer Gardner, and six grandchildren who all currently reside in Los Angeles.

James is involved in numerous charitable and civic activities. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Shalom Park, the Mitzel Museum and Yeshiva Toras Chaim, all located in Denver, and is also on the Board of the Wiesenthal Museum and The Race to Erase MS, both located in the Los Angeles area. He has been on numerous other boards in Denver, as well as a member and past president of Green Gables Country Club, and is currently a member of Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles. Along with his wife Debbie, James is active in the Los Angeles Ballet and the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital.

Wendy Marantz Levine '91 is proud to serve as the President of the Brentwood School Alumni Association. She is the founder of Beauty Bus Foundation, an innovative non-profit that provides dignity and respite to chronically or terminally ill men, women and children through complimentary beauty and grooming services and pampering products.

Wendy is an attorney who previously worked as Director of Litigation at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, where she spearhead the international Holocaust Services Justice Network, which organizes attorneys across the world to provide free legal services to thousands of Holocaust survivors. Wendy was an appellate litigator at Irell & Manella; a Clinical Teaching Fellow in the Appellate Litigation Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center; and clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Los Angeles Magazine named Wendy one of the 50 women who most impacts Los Angeles. She has served on Duke University's Board of Visitors for Trinity College and on Duke's Women's Studies Council. She is currently on the Board at Camp Hess Kramer and is a member of the Parent Advisory Council at the UCLA NICU, the Irene Dunn Guild at Saint John's Hospital, the SAM Initiative and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Amicus Brief Committee. Wendy graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University and cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.

Wendy and her husband Eric are active in YPO (Young President's Organization) and have two children - Alexis '28 and 5-year-old Tyler.

Sarah Milken graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania, with a BA in Communications. After graduating, Sarah worked at the BBDO advertising agency in London. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Sarah received her MA and PhD in educational psychology at the University of Southern California. Upon finishing her PhD at USC, Sarah taught in the graduate school of education. Sarah’s passion for education, children’s and women’s issues is demonstrated by her active role in many organizations. Sarah serves on the Board of Trustees of Brentwood School. Sarah is also integrally involved in The HELP Group, the largest non-profit in the country serving children with special needs. Sarah serves on the Leadership Circle for Visionary Women, a women’s international leadership organization. Additionally, Sarah serves as a member of Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA’s Today’s and Tomorrow’s Children Fund. Sarah also participates in the various initiatives of the Milken Family Foundation and is a member of The National Advisory Board of Stanford University’s Sean Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma.

Loren Montgomery ’87 is the founder and President of Montgomery Clark Advisors, providing strategic services to clients regarding complex real estate development projects. Prior to founding Montgomery Clark Advisors, Ms. Montgomery was a partner at the law firm of Latham & Watkins, including years of experience as a land use, real estate and environmental attorney. Loren has been a frequent speaker at local and state conferences related to land use and project development, covering topics such as the California Coastal Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, Appraisal and Valuations, and generally on women in the legal profession. Loren also serves on the boards of Street Poets, Mar Vista Family Center, and Little Dolphins Preschool. Loren and her husband live in Santa Monica Canyon with their three children.

David Nathanson serves as President of Mapleton Investments. During his 18 year tenure at 21st Century FOX, Nathanson lead nine cable networks including FS1, FOX Soccer, TVG and FOX College Sports.

Nathanson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with honors. He also holds an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Currently, Mr. Nathanson serves on the board of FanDuel and Falcon Water Technologies. He lives in Bel Air with his wife and three children.

Mike Riera is the Head of School at Brentwood School. For over twenty-five years he has worked in education as a head of school, counselor, dean of students, teacher, and consultant. He is also a best-selling author, an award-winning columnist, a former television commentator (for CBS News), and a national speaker on issues of children, adolescents, families, and parenting. Mike is the author of six books: Right From Wrong: Instilling a Sense of Integrity in Our Children (2002), Field Guide to the American Teenager (2000), Uncommon Sense For Parents With Teenagers (1995), and Surviving High School (1997), Staying Connected to Your Teenager (2003)—launched with three appearances on Oprah—and most recently, Making the Most of Difficult Conversations in Independent Schools, written for the National Association of Independent Schools.

After graduating from Northwestern University, Eden Romick worked for 15 years in film and television marketing and publicity. In addition to her work on the Brentwood School Board and the Northstar Team Foundation Board, she supports Northwestern University, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Weizmann Institute of Science, LACMA, and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

She and her husband Steven have four daughters.

John is the Office Operating Partner of the Century City office of Allen Matkins, immediate past Chair of the firm's Real Estate Department and is one of the top attorneys in California with respect to real estate transactions. John represents his clients in actively buying, financing, developing, managing, leasing and selling office centers, shopping centers, mixed use projects, hotels and residential projects throughout the United States. He also has extensive experience in representing owners, operators, and partners in all types of development, construction, management and operating agreements.

John is a long-time board member of Junior Achievement of Southern California, and is the current Vice Chair. He received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Miami University and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He and his wife Carolyn have two children, Clay '17 and Kelly '19.

Nadine Watt is President of Watt Companies, where she oversees all commercial investment activities including acquisitions, development and asset management for the company's 6 million square-foot portfolio of multifamily, industrial, office, and retail properties.

In 2011, Nadine led a strategic reorganization of Watt Companies that moved the firm beyond traditional property management and leasing to a focus on acquisitions and real estate development, as well as entrepreneurial joint venture opportunities. Later that year, she was instrumental in launching a new acquisition division - Watt Investment Partners - that is actively investing $60 million of debt and equity in a variety of property types across the Western United States.

Throughout her 18-year tenure at Watt Companies, Nadine has played significant roles in nearly all facets of the company's operations. She has developed hundreds of apartment units and multiple shopping centers. Nadine was also responsible for a multi- million dollar renovation program at Watt Plaza, a 920,000 square foot, Class-A office building in Century City, that was instrumental in securing the building's Platinum LEED certification in 2013 and a TOBY award in 2011. She also oversees Watt Companies' oil and gas operations.

An active business and community leader, Nadine is a member of the USC Board of Governors and the Marshall School of Business Board of Leaders, as well as the Lusk Center for Real Estate and the USC Associates. She is on the Board of Brentwood School, and she is the first female Chair for the Los Angeles Business Council. She also serves on the executive committee for the Los Angeles Real Estate and Construction Council for the City of Hope. A graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Nadine also holds a Master of Arts degree from the School of Cinematic Arts at University of Southern California.

Nadine currently resides in Beverly Hills with her husband Andrew Jameson and their two daughters, Keira and Reese Jameson.

Sam Yadegar is a manager of multiple LLC’s in his family office. Since 1996 he has invested in and is responsible for all aspects of acquisition, development, repositioning and management of residential and commercial properties throughout Los Angeles County. He received his JD from Whittier Law School and obtained a BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Sam and his wife Tracy live in Brentwood. He is actively involved in the neighborhood as he serves on the Brentwood Community Council. They have three children, Audrey ’25, Alexa ’28 and Asher. Sam enjoys spending time with his family and loves to ski, swim, bike, hike and play tennis.