Anneli Shearer Ballard is Chapin's Chief Communications and Strategy Officer and a member of the senior administrative team. After 12 years as a Chapin student, she left for Washington, D.C. and earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design from The American University. Ms. Ballard, who returned to New York to embark on a career in communications, joined Chapin in 2011 with an extensive background in public relations, marketing and event coordination, having worked for Estēe Lauder, NIKE, Cole Haan and Korn/Ferry International. She also served for three years as a Trustee for The Brownstone School, a not-for-profit, independent pre-school in Manhattan. Ms. Ballard lives with her husband and two sons.