The Board
Meet The 2024/25 Board Of Directors
The WAC Board of Directors all volunteer their time, experience and expertise to oversee all aspects of the English Social Club and Learning Tree School. They are a group of people dedicated to the advancement of the WAC’s ideas and mission, ensuring that its constitution and bylaws are upheld while also being responsible for representing the interests of its members and leading the direction of the WAC.
President
Trushna Jhaveri
Provides operational and strategic governance to the WAC.
Trushna was born in Louisville, Kentucky, grew up in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, and has lived in New York, London and Germany before moving to Switzerland in 2010. She discovered the WAC in 2018, when her children joined the Learning Tree School. She was then pleasantly surprised to find several WAC activities she could partake in even as a mother working full-time (like the Potluck, Dinner Club, Board Game night and Summer BBQ), which helped alleviate the sense of isolation she felt as an expat in Switzerland.
In her spare time, Trushna is an avid cook and foodie and loves to socialize – her invitations to come over for a meal are genuine! She is also passionate about supporting working mothers succeed both personally and professionally in the challenging Swiss context. She is grateful for the opportunity to volunteer as President, and she welcomes your honest feedback as she navigates this new territory.
Vice President
Kellie Hüsler
Presides in the absence of the president and is the liaison for the Learning Tree school
Originally from Southern California, Kellie transplanted to Switzerland in 2008 and her life has since grown deep roots. She has been a member of the WAC family since 2013, participating in the Babies and Bumps group while still pregnant with her eldest. She now has two little ladies, Mia and Megan and has enjoyed watching them grow up making memories alongside the WAC. Since joining, they have enjoyed the full gamut of courses on offer including the playgroups, preschool and Spielgruppe, Explorers and Reading & Writing classes. She has spent the past number of years as the Exterior Chair, specifically looking after the garden. You’ll most likely find her nosing around the pots, splashing some water here and there, picking away at weeds, or planting something pretty. She is excited to continue volunteering in her new role as VP and looks forward to seeing what blooms and grows.
Treasurer
Denise Kempshall
Budget management and administering financial processes
Denise is a Swiss Primary School teacher who has grown up and lives in Uster. Her husband is from the UK and they have been living together in Switzerland since 2004. She has two boys, who have enjoyed all the stages of the WAC from playgroup to Reading & Writing and are sadly aging out of their WAC experience. During their time they have made many friends and loved their time at the school and the club.
Denise has been a member of the WAC since 2013 and has worked in the NomCom and has been in the PTA for 6 years. She especially likes the library at the WAC and has spent many hours volunteering there.
The WAC has helped her boys tremendously with improving and nurturing their English, while being a primarily Swiss environment. Thanks to this there is no barrier in communicating with the English part of their family. Denise loves making new friends at the WAC and spending Wednesday afternoons and many evening in the great company of other international mothers. She loves reading, travelling, cycling and drinking coffee with her friends.
Board Secretary
Emma Bell
Manages all Board documentation, policies and procedures. Records meeting minutes
Emma originates from Newcastle upon Tyne in the north east of England. She studied molecular biology and has worked as a scientist in both academia and in the pharmaceutical industry in both the UK and Germany. Emma has been living in Uster with her family since 2020. She has two young children that attend the Learning Tree School. They have both gained an enormous amount of confidence and lots of friends from the Pre-School and Explorers classes over the last few years. WAC has been key to helping her family settle into life in Switzerland and she is pleased to now have the opportunity to volunteer as Board Secretary.
Business Chair
Samuel Weyermann
The main point of contact for current and new business opportunities
Sam is originally from the USA and spent most of his childhood in Colorado. After meeting Sharon and having four children together, they moved 8.5 years ago to Switzerland to the other side of Zürichsee. Four years later in 2020 they moved to Uster and found the WAC. After finally feeling brave enough to attend a few of the activities, Sam has made several friends at the WAC and enjoys the sociality and the international community he finds here.
In his professional life he is a software engineer with expertise in backend systems and cloud services. His hobbies include travelling on self-powered wheels, photography, and spending time in and around Greifensee.
Marketing Chair
Judy
Responsible for marketing including publications, website and advertising
Events Chair
VACANT
Event management for the WAC
Board Support Staff
Office Manager
Ieva Ciceri
Manages all in-house office services, reporting directly to the President
Ieva is from Latvia and has lived in Switzerland since 2013. Before moving to Switzerland, she lived in Cambridge, UK. Her husband is from Italy and they have 2 children who both find the WAC their second home and love it dearly.
Ieva has been an active member of the club from the moment she arrived in Switzerland and has held previous Board and Chair positions at the WAC before taking on the role of Club Office Manager in 2019.
The WAC has helped her to settle in Switzerland, find friends and given her the satisfaction of having some other responsibilities, outside of being a mum. She loves hiking in the beautiful mountains of Switzerland, cycling and having a relaxing moment with a cup of tea and a good book.
Bookkeeper
Charikleia Tzalla
In house Bookkeeper, reporting directly to the Treasurer
Charikleia, fondly known as Hara is an accomplished Finance professional and the Bookkeeper for WAC. She was born in Athens, Greece, where she lived and worked as a Chief Accountant in the Financial Services Industry until 2017.
Hara relocated to Switzerland and she is inspired daily by her husband and their two children.
Hara has had a broad range of responsibilities with a positive attitude and tireless energy. She has a proven track record of expertly managing projects from inception to completion, and she is carefully executing all responsibilities to minimize risk and maximize productivity.
In her free time, she likes swimming and walking in the beautiful Swiss woods.
