Development, Alumni Relations, and Engagement Team

List of 5 members.

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  Karen Burns 

  Assistant Head of School for Advancement

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  Karen Burns P'26 came to Gould from the Island Institute, a community development organization, where she worked as a senior leader overseeing all leadership development and staff development programming. Previously, Karen worked as a high school English and K-12 theater arts teacher. Amherst College B.A. University of Maine M.A.T.
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  Denise Manning 

  Associate Director of Alumni Relations

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  Denise Manning P'14 attended Simmons, where she earned a B.A. in English and Education. She worked briefly in public schools before embracing the boarding school life. She has taught ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders, headed Davidson Hall, coached girls' soccer, and led the RugRats Program. She enthusiastically supports Gould's Four Point Program and the Advising Program, and serves as an advisor with her husband, history teacher Rob Manning. Sometimes, when she isn't working with students, she has time to read and cook! They live on campus in the Hutchinson House with their dogs, Mookie and Marshall. Both are certified therapy dogs.
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  Fuzzy Thurston 

  Associate Director of Major Gifts

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  David "Fuzzy" Thurston '67, P'94, '09, is one of many Thurston family Gould grads and recently unretired to come back to work at Gould. In one of his past lifetimes, he owned The Sudbury Inn and created Suds Pub. His family was instrumental in the creation of Sunday River, and he has skied there since Opening Day in 1959 (not continuously - just in the winters!).  He has worked in the Gould weekend racing program since the early '90s, long enough ago that he even coached some junior racers who are now on the Gould faculty.  After Gould, he went on to get a B. S. at Dartmouth College.
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  Kathleen Willis 

  Associate Director of Development

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  Kathleen Willis P'25 and her family have recently moved back to Bethel after living in Vermont for nearly 20 years. She brings to the Alumni Relations/Development team her past 15+ years of working in the hospitality industry with a strong focus on guest service. She most recently was an operations manager at the Woodstock Inn & Resort's Athletic Club in Woodstock, Vermont. She and her husband, Dave Willis, have three children, with their youngest currently at Gould. They enjoy the outdoors, hiking, biking, and all on-snow activities. She is a New England transplant who originally comes from Atlanta, GA. She attended school Westminster School and Brandon Hall in Atlanta and then went to Sweet Briar College in Virginia.
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  Tao Smith 

  Head of School

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  Tao Smith '90, P'23, '26 is a graduate of the University of Vermont, where he majored in religion and minored in history. Tao was part of the Varsity Alpine Ski Team that was two-time Division I National Champion and twice runner-up. He also competed on the 1992 National Ultimate Frisbee Team and the UVM Road Cycling Team. He returned to Gould to teach in the History, English and World Language departments from 1995 to 2001. He coached lacrosse, skiing, and cycling and was director of the Outing Club and founder of the Philosophy Club. While at Gould, Tao chaired the "Values" Committee of the 1999 NEASC Accreditation. His colleagues speak highly of his ability to create solid teams and bring constituencies together. His empathy has helped him build trust with both students and faculty. Others spoke to his collaborative approach in nearly all areas and to the fact that people trust him. Tao lives in Bethel with his wife, Dawn, and six children, Hannah, Ayden, Gaven, Addie, Tobe, and Lillian. He enjoys spending time with his family, cycling, fly fishing, skiing, and surfing, among other activities.