Palmer Trinity School (PTS) welcomes Patricia C. Cornish, Phil Serrate and Russ Wilson to its board of trustees.
“We are very pleased to be welcoming Patty, Phil and Russ to the Palmer Trinity board as they all have a deep connection to the school and share our vision for it going forward,” stated Hugo Mantilla, Chairman of the Board.
Patricia C. Cornish is a philanthropist and supporter of the FIU First Generation Scholarship program and Camillus House through The Thomas and Patricia Cornish Family Foundation. She is also involved in a local nonprofit led by students, Stop The Rumbling Corp., that supplies needy public school students with breakfast and lunch for the two weeks during the December holiday break.
Cornish´s previous board experience includes serving on the board of directors of City Year Miami for six years, and as board chair for three years. City Year Miami is an education-based nonprofit providing mentoring and tutoring to at-risk students enrolled in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In addition to her philanthropic work, Cornish provides insurance consulting services after retiring as a leader in the commercial insurance industry for 18 years where she ran the Financial Services practice group for Seitlin Insurance and later Marsh & McClennan Agency. She also has 16 years of corporate sales and banking management experience at SunTrust Bank. She resides in Pinecrest with her husband Thomas and their son, Nicolas, a 10th grader at Palmer Trinity.
Phil Serrate is vice president of operations for Lennar Homes, LLC´s Southeast Florida Division. As a certified general contractor, he oversees all aspects of its operations including land development, purchasing, and vertical construction and has been with Lennar for 25 years. Prior to Lennar, he worked for the State of Florida’s Department of Community Affairs alongside FEMA’s public assistance office helping to rebuild Miami after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
In addition to being a board member, Serrate is on the PTS Building and Grounds committee. He also serves on the Deering Estate Foundation Weeks Property Renovation Project. Serrate is married to former PTS board member and alumna Beth Brockway Serrate. Their four children, triplets Brock, Chad and Hunter, and daughter Mackenzie are also Palmer Trinity School graduates.
Russ Wilson is a partner at Trivest Partners, the oldest private equity firm in the Southeast.Wilson co-leads Trivest’s buyout strategies and is involved in all aspects of the firm including the origination of investment opportunities, completing acquisitions, portfolio oversight and strategic management.
Wilson is a member of Trivest’s Investment Committee. He also serves as chairman or as a board member of numerous current and former Trivest portfolio companies including Artifex, Athletic Supply, Dauenhauer Plumbing, Ellery Homestyles, Take 5 Oil Change, National Carwash Solutions, HandStands Twin-Star International, Wise Company, Oil Changers, Columbus Recycling, GAL Power Systems and Pelican Water Systems. He is an active volunteer for Junior Achievement and Zanmi Ben, a residential community for 64 abandoned and vulnerable children, half of whom have physical or mental disabilities in Haiti.
Wilson holds a bachelor´s degree from Eckerd College, where he was student body president, a member of the basketball team, and graduated with honors. He is married to Jenny Wilson and is the father to PTS students Landon and Bryce, and daughter Kylie.
About Palmer Trinity School:
Palmer Trinity School—a coeducational, Episcopal day school—is dedicated to promoting academic excellence that integrates knowledge, compassion, global citizenship, and social responsibility. Providing a supportive environment, Palmer Trinity School serves students from a broad range of socio-economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds in grades 6-12. For more information about the school, visit www.palmertrinity.org. To follow Palmer Trinity School on Facebook, click here.
