Faculty Type: Advisory Board

Christine Warren Ramich (T’95) is an adolescent psychologist practicing in Matthews, North Carolina, where she evaluates and treats patients for depression, anxiety, stress, and anger, among other issues, through a variety of methods, including psychotherapy and talk therapy. She graduated from Duke in 1995 and earned her Ph.D. from Penn State University in 2001. She lives in Charlotte with her husband, Michael, and their children, James, Catherine (T’27), and Elizabeth.

Kirsten Villers (T’01) spent her early career working in investment and commercial banking at J. P. Morgan and its legacy organizations. During her time at JPM, she worked for the CFO of Chase Commercial Banking, assisting in all aspects of supporting a $6 billion dollar business. Subsequently, Ms. Villers worked at Chase Capital, providing subordinated debt and equity capital to Chase customers. Recently, Ms. Villers served as the Board Chair to Great Lakes Academy (GLA), a public charter school in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. During her time on the Board, GLA expanded from K-2 to K-8 and currently serves almost 600 students. During this time, Ms. Villers oversaw the $3 million purchase and expansion of GLA’s campus to deliver a new, state-of-the-art facility to its students and families. She also led the transition process of the school’s management from its founder to the current Executive Director. GLA continues to be a top-performing elementary school in the city. Ms. Villers earned a B.A. in Political Science from Duke, followed by her M.B.A. from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, with concentrations in Finance and Not-for-Profit Administration. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Ned, their three children and two dogs.

Sonali Mehta (T’20) is one of two young alumni on the board. She is currently working as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Arlington, Virginia. During law school, she interned in the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Appellate Section; the ACLU Women’s Rights Project; Public Justice; and Protect Democracy. In college, Sonali became the first woman to win Trial by Combat, the one-on-one mock trial national championship. Sonali graduated from Duke in 2020 and from Harvard Law School in 2024.

Ellen Kollar (T’89, P’21, P’25) has served as general counsel for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company and for Mars, Inc., North America, and has also been in private practice at McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago. She is a founding member of East Beach, LLC, a private investment company, and also of Towpath Productions, which produced an award-winning independent film, AKRON, in 2015. She served on the DukeEngage National Advisory Board and is an active member of the advisory board of the Gene Siskel Film Center, a public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and an A.B. in Economics and History from Duke. She lives in Kenilworth, Illinois, with her husband Tim. They have three sons: Lou, Tim (E’21) and Frank (T’25).

Janice A Gault (T’87, MD’91, P’24) is an Associate Surgeon for Wills Eye Ophthalmology Clinic, Wills Eye Hospital, and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. She teaches and has a clinical practice. She earned her bachelor’s and M.D. degrees from Duke. She has served on the Duke Annual Fund Advisory Board and the DukeEngage National Advisory Board and received the Duke Alumni Association award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Her husband, James Vander, is a retina surgeon at Mid-Atlantic Retina at Wills Eye Hospital. They have three children: Caroline (T’24), William, and Eli.