Whitney Wing Oppersdorff, Lincolnville , MAINE
Member Since 1977

Serving on the Personnel, Executive, Finance, Development & Annual Fund Committees. Whitney is currently serving as Board President.

Whitney has been involved in Riley School since the school was founded in 1972. She was one of the first two teachers that Glenna hired. She first taught art in the living room of Glenna's house and ultimately moved to the basement where the children could make a mess, work in clay, paint, paper maché, and wood. She is the former Art Director and established Art Week and Kite Day. She taught art at Riley School 1972-1993. She is a past parent and current grandparent, long time Board member, and practicing artist in a variety of mediums. Whitney has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College where she majored in painting and an M.A. in Art History from Columbia University. As an artist she has had some success in selling her work in local galleries. Whitney's elementary education at the Brearley School in Manhattan and college experience at Sarah Lawrence fostered her interest in hands-on-learning and projects based on a child's interests. Riley School was the perfect place for her to teach art.

Tony Oppersdorff, Lincolnville, Maine
Member since 2014

Serving on Building & Grounds, and Development & Annual Fund Committees.

Shortly after moving to Maine in 1976, Tony realized that Riley offered him the chance to do for children what had not been done for him during his own elementary education. In 1979 he became an Upper School facilitator, helping his students to understand themselves and the world around them through science and photography. He is the author of Coastal Labrador and a co-author and principal photographer for both volumes of Best Nature Sites: Mid-Coast Maine. Working at Riley allowed him to spend many summers on extended kayaking trips along the northern coast of Labrador and to sail along the Quebec Lower North Shore and the west coast of Newfoundland. He enjoys reading, cross-country skiing, shooting, motorcycling––and more importantly his family and grandson.

Penny York, Rockland, Maine
Member since 2021

SVP, Digital Manager, Bank of America
Serving on the Development & Annual Fund committee. Penny is currently serving as Board Secretary.

University of Maryland Global Campus, European Division, Kaiserslautern, Germany

Penny spent her early childhood on North Haven, where she benefitted from a tightly knit community of compassionate family and educators who encouraged her to dream big and filled her hear with wanderlust. She spent her twenties in numerous careers and traveled all over the world, but Midcoast Maine would always be her home.

Penny has over twenty years of finance experience including spending the last decade driving the innovation of appointments at Bank of America. Currently, she lives in Rockland with her husband Brandon, and their son Jackson who is a current Riley student.

William (Bill) kinnane, warren, Maine
Member since 2022

SVP, Digital Director, Bank of America
Serving on the Development & Annual Fund, Executive and Finance committees. Bill is currently serving as Board Vice President.

Bill was raised in Midcoast Maine and was a student at Riley School for eight years beginning in 1984. After graduating from Riley, Bill attended the Dublin School (Dublin, NH) and Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA). After college, Bill moved to Atlanta where he met his husband (John) and later adopted his daughter (Riley). In 2021 the family moved to Maine and his daughter now attends the Riley School.

Bill has over 22 years of experience within the financial services industry; holding leadership roles in teleservices, corporate education, marketing, digital strategy and operations. Bill currently works at Bank of America where he manages digital health & quality.

Sarah merlo, Jefferson, Maine
Member since 2022

Of Counsel, Vitt & Associates
Serving on the Development & Annual Fund and Finance committees. Sarah is currently serving as Treasurer.

Sarah is a Riley alum and delighted to be back in Maine (this time with her husband and children in tow) after trying out life in a number of other states. Sarah has a B.A. in psychology from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Vermont Law School. Early in her career, she worked in theaters, for the State of Vermont as a child abuse investigator, and for a nonprofit where she facilitated programs for children with special needs.  She has been a practicing attorney since 2008, with a focus in employment law. 

Sarah credits her time at Riley with re-igniting her passion for learning, both in and out of the classroom, and sees the same spark happening with her own children, who joined the Riley community in 2022.  Sarah joined the Board to help ensure that Riley is able to continue inspiring and supporting young learners for many years to come.

Caroline Saxe-Cobaugh, Camden, Maine
Member since 2023

Serving on the Development & Annual Fund committee.

Caroline grew up and lived in a coastal town in Connecticut and made her way north in New England, first to Massachusetts and then moved with her husband and son to midcoast Maine in 2020. After their first visit to the Riley campus they knew they had found something very special. Riley’s blend of student centered curriculum, integration of social emotional learning and commitment to nature and being outdoors is not only unique for the region but a model of progressive education nationwide.

Caroline’s interest in independent school education was fostered by attending a day school for lower and middle school and then the Pomfret School, where her early love of classical vocal music and musical theatre was further fostered. She received her bachelor's of Science in Politics and Government and a minor in Vocal Performance from Sacred Heart University and has diverse non-profit experience working for a broad range of organizations from museums to advocacy groups and arts organizations. She enjoyed a professional affiliation with Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health as a workshop programmer and was certified as a Yoga instructor there.