Board of Trustees
Barry Barlow
Board Chair
Barry is a Louisville native and long-standing West End School Board volunteer. He taught an Economics course to the middle school for several years before joining the Board.
Barry is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and is currently the managing partner of a local company.
Paul Perconti
Board Chair Emeritus
Paul was the Founding Board Chair of West End School. He was responsible for assembling the outstanding Board and raising over 20 million dollars for operating and capital expenses. He is a graduate of Indiana University and is an active and successful entrepreneur.
WES Board of Trustees 2025-2026
Executive Committee Leadership
Board Chair: Barry Barlow
Vice Chair: John McCarthy
Secretary: Akure Ahaghotu Paradis
Treasurer: J. Daniel Rivers
Chair Emeritus: Paul Perconti
Executive Committee at Large: William W. Crawford, Tim Ratliff, J. Daniel Rivers, Jackson Woodward
Akure Ahaghotu Paradis
GE Aerospace
Bill Crawford
Retired Teacher
Crystal Peterson
EVP, Chief Inclusion & Global Community Relations Officer at Brown-Forman
Dan Rivers
President, Northwestern Mutual Louisville
Darrell Griffith
Ambassador, Office of the President UofL
Doug Grissom
Senior Advisor at Madison and Dearborn Partners
Dr. Dawn Wade
Managing Partner and Chief Strategy Officer Nimbus
Emmanuel Collins
Dean, Speed School of Engineering UofL
Elizabeth Poindexter
Volunteer
Heather Farrer
Retired (Gartner)
John Fleming
President, Louisville Community Initiative
John T. McCarthy
Founder/Managing Partner, McCarthy Strategic Solutions, LLC
Jim White
President, Reality-Check Consulting Inc.
Jackson Woodward
CEO, Horton Fruit Company
Justin Bridgeman
CEO of Heartland Coca-Cola
Kenneth Gray
Acquisition Specialist, Stock Yards Bank
WES Alumnus
Nancy Bush
Community Volunteer
Russell Awkard
Pastor, New Zion Baptist Church
Tim Ratliff
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel
Walt Kunau
Retired Teacher