Foundation Board Members
LESLIE SHIVAMBER
Leslie Shivamber is the Secretary for the ACS Education Foundation. From 2017-2022, Leslie was the International Alumni Relations Coordinator for the American Community School of Abu Dhabi (ACS).
In addition to the Alumni Relations Coordinator role, Leslie held multiple school positions, including serving on the ACS Board of Trustees from 2013 to 2016 and as Board Admin Liaison. She served on the Policy, Institutional Advancement, and Finance Committees while on the Board. Leslie is a former ACS parent; her two children graduated in 2013 and 2016.
While living in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida, Leslie held leadership roles in her daughters’ elementary school community, serving as both Vice President and Treasurer of the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). Additionally, she dedicated four years to the School Advisory Council. When she moved with her family to Abu Dhabi in 2010, Leslie quickly became involved at ACS, creating the school’s first New Family Buddy Program. In addition, she co-chaired the annual International Day events for three years and the High School Career Day for two years.
Leslie attended Indiana University and graduated with a BS in Mathematics. She and her husband currently reside in Nashville, Tennessee.
GREGORY J. GOLDEN
Gregory J. Golden is the principal legal counsel for Northrop Grumman’s business, operations, pursuits, and joint ventures in the Middle East, North Africa, and Afghanistan.
Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Mr. Golden was a partner of the international law firm Baker Botts L.L.P. where he represented public and private companies in connection with domestic and international transactional and compliance matters. From 2009 to 2014, Mr. Golden was the Partner in Charge of the firm’s office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. While residing in Abu Dhabi, Mr. Golden was elected as the Chairman of AmCham Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi member of the global network of American Chambers of Commerce, and he also served on the Board of Trustees of the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, a non-profit, U.S. accredited college preparatory school serving a culturally diverse student body.
Mr. Golden was appointed by the Virginia State Bar to serve on a committee responsible for reviewing and adjudicating complaints against members of the Virginia Bar. He was also appointed by the Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court to serve as a faculty member for a mandatory professionalism course for all newly-admitted members of the Virginia Bar. Mr. Golden is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Reves Center for International Studies at the College of William & Mary.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Golden served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Mr. Golden is a graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law and Washington and Lee University.
JOHN HACKWORTH
John Hackworth is a retired educator from Kentucky who received an undergraduate degree from Kenyon College, an MA from the University of Arkansas, and an administrative credential from The College of New Jersey. John was a teacher and later the elementary principal at Sayre School, an independent college preparatory school in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1979, he and his wife, Carolyn, embarked on overseas teaching careers. Their first assignment took them to the American School of Kuwait, then in 1981 to Saudi Arabian International Schools, Jubail campus, and finally in 1987 to the American Community School of Abu Dhabi (ACS). John taught at ACS for three years before becoming its first High School Principal. The high school was newly formed in 1990, whereas previously ACS Abu Dhabi had been a KG through Grade 9 school.
Returning to the US in 1999, John returned to Sayre School as an admissions officer, and eventually, he became the Director of Admissions before retiring in 2012. For the past 20 years, he has been very active in the work of the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation, the 14th oldest preservation non-profit organization in the nation, serving as board president and chair of numerous committees. John has maintained an interest in the happenings at ACS Abu Dhabi through his contacts with teachers, parents, and alumni, and he enthusiastically supports the vibrant alumni association developed by ACS.
MONIQUE FLICKINGER
Monique Flickinger is the Superintendent at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi (ACS). Established in 1972, ACS is a non-profit, U.S. accredited college preparatory school with an international student population of approximately 1,200 students, representing about 60 countries.
Prior to that, Ms. Flickinger was the Head of School at The Metropolitan School of Panama. The school had 860 students, 99 teachers, 61 support staff. Over her 3-year tenure, she increased enrollment by 30% and oversaw the authorization of the DP/MYP program thus becoming the first full continuum IB school in Central America. She was also responsible for the creation, planning, and oversight of the new campus design for the start in 2020.
Prior to that she was the Director of Instructional Technology at Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colorado. This high-performing district of 26,000 students transitioned to 1:1 during her time and she oversaw the instructional training for 1800 teachers and more than 100 principals. She also became highly involved and co-led Colorado’s monthly technology CIO and tech director’s meetings.
She has served as the middle school principal at Lincoln IB World School (2007-2011) and also at Evanston Middle School in Evanston, Wyoming, and Stevens Middle School in Port Angeles, Washington. Previous to her roles as school leadership, she was a math teacher and special needs teacher in Canada, United States, and Costa Rica.
Before entering education, Monique was a newspaper publisher that included three weekly newspapers and a design firm. She was recognized for becoming one of the first digital newspapers in Canada and was awarded the Young Entrepreneur Award of Canada for leadership skills and technology improvements within the industry.
She has a Bachelors in Mathematics from Brigham Young University, an MEd in Leadership from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and has completed her Doctoral classes in Educational Leadership from the University of Wyoming, United States.
LESLIE BELLAS
Leslie Bellas is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), representing the U.S. refining and petrochemical manufacturing industry.
Prior to joining AFPM, Ms. Bellas managed regulatory affairs for a European renewable fuels company. From 2014 through 2018, Ms. Bellas was a consultant to the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, where she helped develop environmental regulations and policy for the Emirate. Before moving to Abu Dhabi, Leslie served as a trade association executive, litigated environmental enforcement actions on behalf of the United States, and provided environmental counseling and litigation services to private industry.
Leslie resided in Abu Dhabi from 2010 through 2021, during which time her son, Alex Weiler, and daughter, Kat Weiler, attended the American Community School of Abu Dhabi (ACS), a non-profit, U.S. accredited college preparatory school serving a culturally diverse student body. With the exception of one year, Leslie served on the ACS Board of Trustees from 2011-2021, serving as Board Secretary from 2012-2013, Board Chair from 2017-2020, and an Honorary Trustee from 2020-2021. Leslie also served as a Director of AmCham Abu Dhabi.
Leslie obtained her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she currently serves on its Board of Visitors. and her undergraduate degree from Barnard College, Columbia University.
Leslie currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband, David Weiler.
BREE OLIVARI
With over 15 years of category leadership across marketing, IT and supply chain at Johnson and Johnson, Bree has held roles of increasing leadership within the Procurement organization. She is currently the global category leader for the media and agencies categories with a portfolio of spend over $100M. Before joining Johnson and Johnson, Bree’s experience varied from being an Intellectual Property Paralegal to a Commodities Trader and a Human Resources professional.
Bree was a student at ACS from 1989 – 1996 where she proudly represented the school on the volleyball court, entertained families on the stage and tried out her diplomatic skills as a member of the ACS Model United Nations team. Bree received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the College of William and Mary in 2000 and an MBA in Global Supply Chain from the Thunderbird Global School of Management in 2008. Outside of work, Bree is actively engaged as a volunteer serving at her sons’ schools, as a Board Member for her community pool and as a Committee Member for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. Bree currently resides in Madison, New Jersey with her husband and two sons.
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