School Board

Shaina LaFond works in the Clerk’s Office for Peninsula Township, where she also serves as the Township’s FOIA Coordinator. She has a background in hospitality and small-business ownership and has long been involved in community and volunteer work.

Chris is a Design Principal and Architect at BellCraft Architects, and grew up in Southwest Michigan. He and his family moved to Traverse City from Seattle, Washington in 2018.

Currently the Conservation Director for the Trust for Virgin Islands Lands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Susie is a member of the Peninsula Township Planning Commission, and is the contracted PDR Monitor for the Peninsula Township Purchase of Development Rights program. Born in British Columbia, Canada, Susie came to Michigan through marriage to an alumnus of Old Mission Peninsula School. 

Emma is the Director of Development and Marketing at Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan, where she has spent eleven years working across child welfare, behavioral health, and fundraising in support of children and families throughout the region. Also a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in youth mental health, Emma brings a clinical background to that work. She and her husband, Raul, recently welcomed their first child, Julian, who has already expressed his excitement about becoming an OMPS Panther in the not-too-distant future!

Amanda Igra has served on the Old Mission Peninsula School Board since OMPS opened as a public charter school in 2018. She is an attorney practicing in intellectual property, technology, and litigation matters and previously served as an attorney with the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C. Before becoming an attorney, Amanda worked as a music teacher and private music lesson instructor in the Traverse City area. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law. Go Green!

Ben is a Marketing and Communications Professional with a background in Elementary Education. Originally from Metro Detroit, he has called Traverse City home since 2008. He and his wife are raising their three daughters on Old Mission Peninsula and enjoy being part of the OMPS community.