Board of Trustees

Shawn Card has led the investment of more than $110 million in development and aided his clients in the acquisition and divestiture of CRE over $200 million in value and close on capital financings totaling over $315 million. Further, Mr. Card has guided clients in strategically positioning CRE portfolios of over 1.7 million SF. Mr. Card has over 20 years of investment, M&A, and strategic financial advisory experience. Mr. Card leads Community Growth Partner’s investment, operations, finance and risk functions. Prior to founding CGP, Mr. Card was Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Investments at Neighborhood Development Company (“NDC”) where he led the investing, investor relations, financing, risk mitigation, budgeting, forecasting, and accounting functions. Mr. Card led the company in developing financing strategies, securing equity and debt financing and working with outside counsel to structure NDC’s deals. Additionally, Mr. Card managed all the CFO functions of the organization including budgeting and forecasting, financial statement preparation, managed the accounting functions including month end closings and vendor payments, oversaw the risk functions of the firm and working with the firms outside accountants to prepare organizational and investor tax documents. Prior to joining NDC, Mr. card was an Associate Director of Finance at Ekistics LLC and was responsible for the financing activities of the firm’s $1.6 billion State Center project along with the forecasting and budgeting functions. Before joining Ekistics, Mr. Card was a private equity professional at Allied Capital, an investment banker in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at Keybanc Capital Markets and a consultant at Wells Fargo and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Card received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Morehouse College and his Master of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Jessica Eustace is a longtime community leader and professional volunteer with over 20 years of experience supporting schools, arts programs, athletic organizations, and nonprofits through strategic fundraising and engagement. She has led major efforts such as growing her local high school booster club’s fundraising from $25,000 to $150,000 and expanding the Norbeck Country Club swim team to over 200 athletes. For 14 years, she coordinated The Nutcracker’s Green Room for Olney Ballet Theater, and she continues to impact the community through her Annual Father-Daughter Dance, now in its 15th year. Jessica currently volunteers with In Honor of Her, a nonprofit aiding survivors of domestic violence. A proud supporter of Mater Amoris Montessori School, where her three children attended, she now serves on the Board, focusing on fundraising and community partnerships.

Born and raised in Haiti, Chantou is fluent in French and Haitian Creole and is also conversational in Spanish and baby sign language, skills she utilizes to broaden the children’s culture. Her love of Montessori began at a young age when she attended a Montessori school from the age of 2 ½ through elementary. Devoted to Montessori philosophy, Chantou is a certified AMI Assistant to Infancy (0-3) guide and obtained her Masters of Education in Montessori from the University of Hartford. During her decade of experience, Chantou spent three years in Haiti where she successfully started a Young Child Community, and she also transitioned what was previously a day care program into an AMI recognized community. Chantou is passionate about children and devotes her attention to providing them with a safe environment that fosters growth and independence. When she is not teaching, Chantou enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews, as well as reading and walking.

David Jaffe is Associate Dean for Student Affairs at American University Washington College of Law. In his work on wellness issues among law students over the last two decades, he has served on the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program including as its chair and continues to serve on the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (CoLAP) as co-chair of the Law School Assistance Committee. Jaffe co- authored “Suffering in Silence: The Survey of Law Student Well-Being and the Reluctance of Law Students to Seek Help for Substance Use and Mental Health Concerns”, reporting the results of the national survey he co-piloted in 2014, and was lead author for the Updated Survey, published as “It Is Okay to Not Be Okay”. He was lead author for the Law School section of “The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change” released in August 2017. Jaffe also authored “The Key to Law Student Well-Being? We Have to Love Our Law Students” in the NALP PD (National Association of Law Placement Professional Development) Quarterly, and co-authored “Conduct Yourselves Accordingly: Amending Bar Character and Fitness Questions to Promote Lawyer Well-Being” in The Professional Lawyer magazine of the American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility. This latter article focus on the importance of stats removing their mental health questions from the character and fitness portion of the bar exam application. David says he practices mindfulness by being in the moment with his daughters whenever he can.

Erin Larkins is the parent of a student who attended Mater Amoris for 7 years; her son started there as a primary (5 year old) student in 2018 and graduated from 6th grade (upper elementary) in 2025. She is a physician (medical oncologist) and served as a medical officer in the US Navy for 14 years. She then served as an officer in the US Public Health Service for 10 years and retired from active duty service in 2024. She has worked at the Federal Drug Administration since 2014 regulating drugs intended for the treatment of cancer. She lives in Silver Spring, MD, with her husband, son and dog (Sam). She joined the Mater Amoris Board in the fall of 2020.