Concord Christian Academy is governed by an independent Board of Trustees who represent several local churches. The Trustees are comprised of ten members. They routinely review the school’s foundational statements and use them as guiding principles when making decisions and setting policies for the administration and faculty to accomplish.
Chris Casoni, Trustee
Chris live
s in Manchester, NH, with his wife Laura and their three children. A graduate of CCA in 2004, he went on to finish his Bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry and later completed his Master’s degree (Summa Cum Laude) in Organizational Leadership from Clarks Summit University. Chris serves as the Senior Pastor of Calvary Bible Church in Derry, NH, where he has served as a pastor since 2012.
Chris has benefited from Christian education and is passionate about CCA's impact on the lives of students and families in the region. He desires to see people experience and know God's deep, transforming love.
Chris loves reading, going on walks with his wife, hosting bible studies and small groups on his patio, and watching his children play soccer.
Derek Depelteau, Secretary
Derek Depe.jpg)
lteau has spent the last 20+ years as an executive global leader in the Biotech/Pharmaceutical industry where he has been honored to lead several large groups of diverse individuals internationally. Derek’s efforts have been focused in driving the development of new drug therapies across a number of therapeutic areas including Ophthalmology, Cardio-metabolic Diseases, General Medicine, Rare Disease and Oncology. He currently holds the position of Executive Director of Oncology Drug Development with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. In this role, he is responsible for all strategic planning, program management, and execution of clinical drug research. Derek is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, ME and holds a degree in Biochemistry and Pre-Medical Studies. Derek aspires to employ these skill sets to support CCA’s Christ-centered mission and its continued growth and direction.
Derek lives in Concord, NH with his wife Sarah and their two young children, Isaak and Faith. Both have been blessed to attend CCA since 2021. They are members of Tower Hill Church in Auburn, NH. In his free time, Derek enjoys spending time with his family, weight training, and paddle boarding on Newfound Lake.
Ben Hiers, Trustee
Ben Hiers lives 
in Bedford, NH with his wife Jill, his three children, Emily, Joshua, and Ezra, and their yellow lab, Lily. A graduate of CCA in 1995, he went on to be Valedictorian of Babson College in 1999 and later completed his Master’s Degree (Summa Cum Laude) at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. Ben is thankful for being able to attend Christian schools growing up, and is grateful his children now have the opportunity to attend CCA.
Ben is the President of a regional financial planning firm, supporting a network of financial advisors throughout New England. He and his family are actively involved in Shiloh Community Church, where Ben is an elder. The family serves together in their food ministry, hosts a small group, and teaches in the children’s ministry. Ben enjoys basketball (both playing and watching), grilling and smoking meats, and all things technology.
Lynn Nemicolo, Chair
Lynn is a nurse who has been working in the business side of Healthcare for the last 20 years. During that time she has held various management, business development and executive leadership positions. She is currently the SVP Customer Success for MCG Health, LLC. Lynn has a minor in Christian counseling that she obtained while pursuing her business degree at Liberty University. She has done lay counseling for people in crisis for many years. She is actively involved in her local church. She has served in marriage and women’s ministries over the last 30 years.
Lynn and her husband Gary live in Loudon NH where they have raised their 3 children. She has been connected to CCA for 33 years as a parent and grandparent. All of her children attended CCA and now her grandchildren are students.
Neil Neveu, Vice-Chair
Neil joined the CCA Board of Directors in 2019, and he is an alum of CCA (’94) and the University of New Hampshire. He is a CPA and a Managing Director in the Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Having been blessed to attend Christian school for much of his education, he is passionate about serving CCA--to help see it and its students achieve everything God has for them.
Neil lives in Bedford with his wife Erika and their three young children. They attend Shiloh Community Church. Before children, Neil has vague recollections of a variety of hobbies he once enjoyed. While he certainly wouldn’t have it any other way, he does hope at least some of his kids eventually grow to love fly fishing and ineptly working on cars.
Nathan Perez, Trustee
Nathan lives in Pembroke, NH with his wife Jocelyn and son Samuel. Samuel has been at CCA for 4 years and is currently in 5th grade. As an alum of CCA class of ’90, he is excited to serve as one of the newest members of the CCA board and looks forward to seeing what God has planned for the students and faculty of CCA. Nathan and his family have served faithfully at Joy church in Pittsfield, NH since 2015 where they have seen firsthand how God’s love has impacted the community. Nathan has built a career in the insurance industry over the past 20 years and enjoys the challenges presented in a constantly changing landscape of the healthcare industry. Nathan and his family are passionate about spending time outdoors, whether at the beach or wandering around the mountains of New Hampshire, you can be sure nature has nurtured his family.
Christiana Thornton, Trustee
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na Thornton is President and CEO of Granite Edvance, a nonprofit whose mission is to support New Hampshire students and families in navigating their education and career pathways.
Christiana serves as a Trustee for the University System of New Hampshire and as Vice Chair of New Hampshire’s College Tuition Savings Plan Advisory Commission. She serves as a Director for the Business & Industry Association, New Hampshire’s statewide chamber of commerce; as Chair of the Founding Advisory Board of the Ethics in Government Forum at St. Anselm College; and as a Director of NH Mutual Bancorp, a mutual bank holding company. In this capacity, she also serves as a Director for Merrimack County Savings Bank and NH Trust Company.
Christiana is Past Chair of the National Council of Higher Education Resources (NCHER) board of directors and Past President of the New Hampshire Bankers Association, a nonprofit trade association representing all FDIC insured banking institutions in the state. During that time, she served in several national appointed positions for both the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America. She formerly served on the New England Community Development Advisory Council (CDAC) for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Prior to joining NH Bankers, she served for six years as a staff member for former United States Senator John E. Sununu, both in New Hampshire and in Washington, D.C. She worked as a Legislative Aide focusing on education, labor, banking and housing policy issues.
Christiana graduated from Rollins College with a BA in Political Science. She lives in Pembroke with her husband and two children.