Bob Galecke is a compassionate and thoughtful leader and astute businessman who knows how to get things done. His highly energized support for Ursuline, the broader Dallas Catholic community, and important civic endeavors continues to inspire others in like-minded service.

Prior to his retirement in 2016, Bob served in a variety of roles over 20 years in administration at University of Dallas (UD) including Executive Vice President and twice as Interim President. Prior to joining UD, he had served as Chairman, COO, or CEO of four public companies in the Real Estate, Finance, and Health Care industries. At Ursuline Academy, Bob was a member of the Board of Trustees from 2006-2011 and served as Board Chair from 2011-2013. From 2000-2016 he served as Director for both the Irving/Las Colinas Convention and Visitors Bureau and Irving/Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. He has held the position of President of Irving Flood Control District 1 since 2010 and was active in Rotary Club from 1992-2015. He is a current member of Holy Trinity Parish and a past member of St. Rita’s and its Parish Council.

A native of Wisconsin, Bob and his wife Jackie were married 51 years. They moved to Dallas in 1984, bringing their family of three children including daughters Elizabeth ’88 and Tricia ’90 who both attended Ursuline. Since retiring, Bob divides his time between his homes in Dallas and beautiful Sister Bay, Wisconsin.

In 2016, University of Dallas renamed its annual golf fundraiser in honor of the tournament’s founder, Bob Galecke. Proceeds from the Galecke Open support the university’s greatest needs for student scholarships, and faculty research and enrichment.

John Grimes Jr., Board Chair from 2013-2015, has provided energetic leadership for achieving major milestones at Ursuline Academy, including opening of the Sr. Margaret Ann Moser Athletic Field, a highly successful principal search process, and the launch of a landmark strategic roadmap.

During his Board tenure, John also guided Ursuline through the purchase of its Walnut Hill Lane property from the Ursuline Sisters, which in time will allow the Board of Trustees to become a completely independent governing authority for the school. His generosity of service to support excellence in education continues today through his role as Chair of the Ursuline Education Foundation (UEF) and as a board member of The Lamplighter School.

John is Executive Vice President for DuraTech Processes, an industrial services business.

Previously, he was owner/operator of Attics to Basements Estate Sales, a leading estate sale management company in North Texas. He also currently serves as Senior Advisor at Kroll, formerly Duff & Phelps, where he was a managing director in that firm’s corporate finance practice from 2011 to 2017.

John graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in accounting and earned his MBA in Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago.

John is married to Michelle Staubach Grimes, Ursuline Class of 1986. They are members of St. Rita Parish. John and Michelle are the parents of one boy, Jeffrey, Jesuit ’17, and two girls who attended Ursuline, Gracie ’19 and Emma ’21.

Win Bell is Chief Executive Officer of Ed Bell Investments, Inc., Ed Bell Construction Company and Construction Equipment Parts Inc. He is a current member of the Ursuline Academy Board of Trustees and serves on the Finance Committee of the Board. As Board Chair from 2015-2018, he led the most recent campus master planning process and was a visionary for successfully aligning the final plan with Ursuline’s feasibility study results.

As Owner’s Rep for Ursuline, Win has overseen all of the Academy’s major building projects, beginning with Campus Renewal and construction of The French Family Science, Math, and Technology Center (2008-2010), followed by the Sr. Margaret Ann Moser O.S.U. Athletic Field (2014), and most recently, the addition of the transformative East Campus and facilities renovations funded by The Campaign for Ursuline: Act, Move, Believe.

Win’s current volunteer leadership extends broadly to other schools and Catholic institutions in the community including: Bishop Lynch High School (Board of Directors, Finance, Facilities, Owner’s Rep); Collin County Regional Catholic School (Owner’s Rep); Cristo Rey (Board of Trustees, Owner’s Rep); Holy Trinity Seminary (Board of Directors, Facilities, Owner’s Rep); Jesuit College Prep (Board of Trustees Chair, Facilities, Real Estate, Owner’s Rep); Notre Dame School (Board of Trustees, Facilities, Owner’s Rep); OLPH (Board of Trustees, Facilities, Owner’s Rep); Shelton School (Board of Trustees, Capital Campaign Chair, Owner’s Rep); St. Michaels (Religious Formation Building Owner’s Rep); St. Rita (School Expansion Owner’s Rep); and University of Dallas (Board of Trustees, Finance, Governance, Executive, Owner’s Rep).

Win Bell graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Math. He earned his MS in Computer Science at Purdue University.

Win and his wife, Lynn Feather Bell, Ursuline Class of 1982, will serve as co-chairs of the Catholic Charities Bishop’s Gala in 2025. They are members of St. Rita Parish and have three children: Maegan (33), Brian (32), Shannon (27); and two grandchildren: George Bell (2), Lyla Gossens (1).

Tom Merkel is a Managing Director and 30-year veteran of Merrill Lynch, where he leads a team responsible for over $2.0 billion of client assets and has been recognized in Merrill’s Circle of Excellence, a designation reserved for the firm’s top performers. Tom is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Economics. A Certified Financial Manager, he earned his Certified Investment Management Analyst accreditation through the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Tom joined the Ursuline Academy Board of Trustees in 2014 and served as Board Chair from 2018-2021, adeptly guiding the Academy through the challenges of the pandemic and a major transformation of the Ursuline campus. He has been a member of the Ursuline Finance Committee since 2009. He is a Board Member of the Ursuline Educational Foundation (UEF) and a Canonical Steward on the UEF Sponsors Counsel. He had also served as Co-Chair of Ursuline’s Athletic Field capital campaign.

Tom was a member of The Catholic Foundation Board of Trustees for 13 years, ultimately serving as Chairman. He has served on the Endowment Committee of University of Dallas, the School Board of Christ the King Catholic School, and as Co-Chair of Christ the King’s Community Center capital campaign steering committee. He currently serves on the Bishop’s Diocesan Finance Council where he chairs the Investment Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee for the Dallas Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Tom and his wife, Sue, are parishioners of Christ the King. Their two daughters, Maddie ’12 and Emily ’13, both attended Ursuline, and two sons, James ’15 and Joey ’16, are both Jesuit graduates; all four children now proudly serve as officers in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

Jon Piot is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Scout Energy Partners, a $3B energy private equity fund for institutional investors including university endowments, pension funds, and foundations.

Previously, he co-founded, Censeohealth (now Signify Health), a healthcare company providing prospective health evaluations for Medicare Advantage health insurance plans, Medestar (now Doximity), a locum tenens healthcare company serving hospitals nationwide, and Impact Innovations Group, a provider of technology outsourcing services to mid-market companies. In prior positions at Booz Allen & Hamilton and Anderson Consulting (now Accenture), Jon consulted with many Fortune 500 companies on IT strategy and systems development.

Jon’s extraordinary commitment to volunteer leadership and service to Ursuline and the Catholic community includes two six-year terms on the Ursuline Academy Board of Trustees, from 2004-2011 (Chair 2010-2011) and again from 2018-2024 (Chair 2021-2024). He also served as Finance Committee Chair (2006-2009) and as Chair of the Ursuline President Search Committee (2011-2012). He was a member of the Ursuline Foundation Board from 2013-2017. At Jesuit, Jon served on the Jesuit Foundation Board 2017-2023, its Investment Committee (Chair 2021-2023), and on the Finance Committee from 2013-2016. He was a member of the School Board at Christ the King School from 2007-2010.

Jon earned his BS in Computer Science at Southern Methodist University, and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He has authored three books: Outperform, Inside the Investment Strategy of Billion Dollar Endowments, (John Wiley & Sons, 2010); The Executive’s Guide to Information Technology, (John Wiley & Sons, 2003 & 2007); and The Professional Services Firm Bible, (John Wiley & Sons, 2005).

Jon and his wife Susan Irwin Piot, Ursuline Academy Class of 1987, are members of Christ the King Parish. They have three children: Lauren ’15 and Allison ’17, both Ursuline graduates, and William, Jesuit Class of 2019.