2019-2020 Officer Bios
President – Jennifer Von Elm
Jennifer and her husband have a rising 8th-grade boy at Longfellow and a rising sophomore in high school. She has been volunteering since her children started preschool and has stayed busy ever since. At Chesterbrook, Jennifer was a room parent and the Fun Fair co-chair for several years. She has served on the Longfellow board for the past two years as the VP of Programs and then President. Jennifer finds volunteering to be very rewarding and a fantastic way to be involved with her children’s education and the community as a whole. She loves supporting excellence at Longfellow through building a strong relationship with the administration, staff, and parent community.
President-elect – Karen Leiser
Karen has a rising 8th-grade son and a rising 6th-grade daughter, so she will be at LMS for the next three years. In the past she has served as President of the Haycock Elementary PTA, as well as VP of Fundraising for two years and was a scout leader for both her daughter’s Brownie troop and son’s Cub Scout den. Karen runs her own law practice in Tysons Corner handling general litigation and family law. When not working or volunteering (or parenting) you will probably find her following her favorite band around the country or at the Enshin Karate dojo practicing her roundhouse kicks.
1st Vice President, Programs – Mel Tillotson
Mel and her husband Tom have two boys: a rising 10th grader and a rising 8th grader. Mel retired from Fairfax Water in 2017 after 28 years in the Procurement Department. She served as Vice President of Programs at Longfellow MS for the school year 2018-2019 and is excited to return for another year in the same capacity. Now that she has gotten her feet wet, she looks forward to enhancing some of the programs. She will continue to try to find more opportunities for working parents that would like to contribute their time and expertise.
2nd Vice President, Fundraising – Shelly Breslin
Shelly has three children, ages 15, 13, and 12. She has spent the last 10 years volunteering in either fundraising or event planning with schools or community sports organizations. Her most recent work over the last 3 years has been with Mclean Little League serving on the Board of Directors leading their $500,000 Capital Campaign and other fundraising efforts. She will have 2 boys at Longfellow next year and is looking to enhance our experience by getting involved and carrying on efforts already established to “Support Excellence at Longfellow”.
3rd Vice President, Communications – April Wade Turk
April and her husband Michael have two children: a rising 9th grader and a rising 7th grader. April has been the Vice President for Fundraising at LMS PTA for the last two years and at Chesterbrook, she has been a room parent and volunteer. Before Chesterbrook, her children attended the Montessori School of McLean where she served on the MSM Parents' Association Board, including two years as MSMPA President, and chaired the Auction Committee for six years. She takes an active interest in her children's activities and school. April also runs her own communications consulting firm.
Treasurer – Neetha Rao
Neetha will have an eighth-grader at Longfellow in the fall. She has volunteered in various positions in her kids’ elementary school PTA, including PTA president, hospitality chair, after-school activities coordinator, and room parent. She enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and playing trivia games.
Secretary – Somer Cross
Somer is a land planner/attorney practicing in Maryland. She has a son and daughter (twins) currently at Churchill Road and starting 7th grade at Longfellow in the fall. She served five years on the Board at Pinecrest School and is looking forward to working with the PTA Board at Longfellow. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and photography.
Jennifer and her husband have a rising 8th-grade boy at Longfellow and a rising sophomore in high school. She has been volunteering since her children started preschool and has stayed busy ever since. At Chesterbrook, Jennifer was a room parent and the Fun Fair co-chair for several years. She has served on the Longfellow board for the past two years as the VP of Programs and then President. Jennifer finds volunteering to be very rewarding and a fantastic way to be involved with her children’s education and the community as a whole. She loves supporting excellence at Longfellow through building a strong relationship with the administration, staff, and parent community.
President-elect – Karen Leiser
Karen has a rising 8th-grade son and a rising 6th-grade daughter, so she will be at LMS for the next three years. In the past she has served as President of the Haycock Elementary PTA, as well as VP of Fundraising for two years and was a scout leader for both her daughter’s Brownie troop and son’s Cub Scout den. Karen runs her own law practice in Tysons Corner handling general litigation and family law. When not working or volunteering (or parenting) you will probably find her following her favorite band around the country or at the Enshin Karate dojo practicing her roundhouse kicks.
1st Vice President, Programs – Mel Tillotson
Mel and her husband Tom have two boys: a rising 10th grader and a rising 8th grader. Mel retired from Fairfax Water in 2017 after 28 years in the Procurement Department. She served as Vice President of Programs at Longfellow MS for the school year 2018-2019 and is excited to return for another year in the same capacity. Now that she has gotten her feet wet, she looks forward to enhancing some of the programs. She will continue to try to find more opportunities for working parents that would like to contribute their time and expertise.
2nd Vice President, Fundraising – Shelly Breslin
Shelly has three children, ages 15, 13, and 12. She has spent the last 10 years volunteering in either fundraising or event planning with schools or community sports organizations. Her most recent work over the last 3 years has been with Mclean Little League serving on the Board of Directors leading their $500,000 Capital Campaign and other fundraising efforts. She will have 2 boys at Longfellow next year and is looking to enhance our experience by getting involved and carrying on efforts already established to “Support Excellence at Longfellow”.
3rd Vice President, Communications – April Wade Turk
April and her husband Michael have two children: a rising 9th grader and a rising 7th grader. April has been the Vice President for Fundraising at LMS PTA for the last two years and at Chesterbrook, she has been a room parent and volunteer. Before Chesterbrook, her children attended the Montessori School of McLean where she served on the MSM Parents' Association Board, including two years as MSMPA President, and chaired the Auction Committee for six years. She takes an active interest in her children's activities and school. April also runs her own communications consulting firm.
Treasurer – Neetha Rao
Neetha will have an eighth-grader at Longfellow in the fall. She has volunteered in various positions in her kids’ elementary school PTA, including PTA president, hospitality chair, after-school activities coordinator, and room parent. She enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and playing trivia games.
Secretary – Somer Cross
Somer is a land planner/attorney practicing in Maryland. She has a son and daughter (twins) currently at Churchill Road and starting 7th grade at Longfellow in the fall. She served five years on the Board at Pinecrest School and is looking forward to working with the PTA Board at Longfellow. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and photography.
