Board of Directors

Dave Reiss
Chairman
Email: DavidPeterReiss@icloud.com

Dave led the launch of First Serve in 2016. He was a Managing Director of a leading global research company that went public in 2004. Now Managing Director at DPR Wealth Management, Dave served 20+ years as board member at JRF, a Catholic foundation that hosts urban middle schools at its Adirondack summer camp. He earned an MBA from Cornell and BA from Fordham where he played number 1 and Captained the top 20 ranked Div-I varsity squash team. Dave was later ranked number 1 in U.S. Masters Squash (age 45+). As League Chairman of the largest public high school squash league in the country, Dave led the recruitment into the league of Thurgood Marshall Academy in Harlem and New Haven High School. Dave founded the Fairfield High School squash team and volunteered as its Head Coach for 8 years. Dave also plays tennis and paddle.

Marjorie D'Elia
Vice Chairman
A married mother of three, Marj is an Occupational Therapist.  She practiced as a Hand Specialist for over 25 years. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, MO, where she received her BS in Occupational Therapy. Marjorie is also a real estate investor.  Her community work includes serving on the board of “Friends of Pediatrics” for Bridgeport Hospital, and is a past President. She has volunteered at the Fairfield Christmas Tree Festival, Near and Far, and the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church. Marj is an avid tennis and paddle player.

Ed Paige
President
Ed led Fairfield University’s Division I Varsity Men’s and Women’s tennis programs to new heights as Head Coach from 2006 to 2014. For the men this included a first ever NCAA appearance, and first MAAC conference title in 14 years. For the women it included 3 NCAA appearances and 5 straight MAAC conference titles. Ed guided his son Nolan to a national junior ranking of 5 and a successful college career playing for Stanford. Previously Ed served as editor at World Tennis Magazine and at Tennis USA, the official monthly newspaper of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). From there he worked at some of the top publishing companies in the country, including Paragon House, while teaching writing and editing at New York University. Ed earned a BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974.

Mark Alexander
Mark has been a very effective and generous teacher of English as a second language in the city of Bridgeport. An enthusiastic tennis and paddle player, Mark also keeps busy with his horse farm outside Nashville, TN. He holds degrees from The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and from Fairfield University.

Charley Biggs
Charley is Managing Partner of eCamps, Inc. a nationwide provider of youth sports camps for kids. In 2005 he founded the Adidas Tennis Camps which have taught tennis to over 30,000 children, including many urban youth through partnerships with the USTA. Charley remains a top level tennis player who understands how life lessons can be learned on the court. He’s active in the Bridgeport community, serving in a fundraising capacity for the Bridgeport Rescue Mission and the Bridgeport Hospital Foundation. Charley grew up in Fairfield and graduated Denison University in 1989. He and his wife Karen live in Fairfield with their son Pearson, and daughter, Coco.

Rhonda Lathrop
Rhonda is very involved in the tennis and ski racing community. She has first hand experience of how tennis has provided her own son with learning disabilities the opportunity to play tennis in college. She started the Northshire Community Tennis Association in Manchester, VT in 2008. A local entrepreneur, Rhonda is the founder and owner of two family businesses. She graduated from the Carroll School of Management Boston College with a Bachelor of Science in Business. Rhonda lives in South Londonderry, VT with her 5 children.

Andy McConnell
Treasurer and Secretary
After 20 years on Wall Street working at Bear Stearns, Greenwich Capital and other firms, Andy decided he wanted to make the most possible impact. He teaches 9th grade social studies at Bridgeport Central High School, where he's also Head Coach, Varsity Tennis. He was voted FCIAC high school boys coach of the year in 2017. Andy moved to Westport in 1992 and has been there ever since. He has two grown children, Aiden and Sophia.

Kate Preston
Director of Academics
Kate is responsible for all academic programming and operations at First Serve. She grew up in Lake Placid, NY, and at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT she was a Psychology major, Math minor, and Women’s Ice Hockey player. Kate went on to receive her Masters Degree in Secondary Education from Sacred Heart and a certification in Secondary (7-12) Mathematics. She’s taught at Bridgeport Central High School over 14 years, coached the Varsity Softball team for 10 years, and enjoys other rolls such as Student Council, Yearbook and Class Advisor. Kate’s committed to promoting opportunity and growth through Academics for the Bridgeport Community.

Rob Oppenheim
Director of Tennis
Rob leads all the tennis activities and operations of First Serve Bridgeport, including all tennis related programming, coaching, community partnerships and ongoing communication with board members. He earned a BA in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was a standout on the Division I Varsity tennis team.  He earned his teaching certification in Physical Education from Southern Connecticut State University. For the past 20 years he’s been a Physical Education teacher in the Norwalk, CT public school system.

Ellen Simmonds 
Director of Administration 
Ellen manages all functions and activities outside academics and tennis including financial management, grant writing, office operations and strategic planning. Ellen came to First Serve from Grassroots tennis in Norwalk, CT where she served as Interim Executive Director and Director of Administration. Ellen is also the current Executive Director at PAWS, an animal shelter dedicated to the rescue and adoption of Fairfield County’s homeless and abused dogs and cats.

Pablo Bellagamba 
Chairman, Tennis Professionals Board
Originally from Argentina, Pablo brings over 20 years of experience to First Serve Bridgeport. He started as the First Assistant at Dellwood Country Club in New City, NY. He later moved to the Greenwich Country Club in 2002 where he was First Assistant for four years. In 2006 he took over as Director of Tennis at the Country Club of Fairfield (CCF) where he has been for the last 14 seasons. While at CCF Pablo has also served as Director of Tennis at ProForm Tennis in Rye Brook for four years 2013-2017, and as Assistant Coach at the University of South Carolina from 2017-2019 where he helped lead the team to 2 NCAA appearances and 2 national top 20 finishes.