Matt A. Anderson moved to Stowe in January 1996 with his wife Leslie, and son Austin.  Matt is currently the Sales Manager, North America for Par Springer-Miller Systems, Inc. and is responsible for overseeing the entire Domestic Market which includes the Caribbean.  Matt has spent over 30 years in Sales Management capacities at various companies, including market development both domestically and internationally. He is actively involved with a number of professional and non-profit organizations both on a national basis and within the local community, including the Mason Organization, The Exchange Club (past-President) and the Stowe Theatre Guild (Board Member and Chairman of Finance). Matt's interest in SEF goes back to its inception, and is personal for reasons of his early involvement in a number of the legal suites resulting from Act 60. "It's essential through these challenging times that we maintain the same core beliefs and values established well before Act60/68 took place for our children and our community."
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Emily H. Bland has lived in Stowe for 14 years with her husband, Richard, and their three children, ages 17, 14 and 11. She has volunteered for many years at the elementary school, and now serves on the Parent Teacher Team at the middle school. Emily recently worked as a legal assistant at the local law firm of Nichols and Associates, and previous to that, she worked in marketing and public relations for several non-profit and profit organizations. Currently, she sits on the board of the Charlotte ’s Wings Foundation.
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Chris Goss moved to Vermont from Atlanta, GA in 1998 with his wife Brenda, son Jasper and daughter Ruby.  He has served as the Director of Hospitality for Mt. Mansfield Company, Inc. / Stowe Mountain Resort since November of 1999, over seeing the Food & Beverage, Lodging, and Conference Services departments.  Prior to moving to Vermont , Goss developed, managed and owned acclaimed restaurants and hospitality businesses throughout the Southeast.  These projects included the noted Magnolias in Charleston, SC ; South City Kitchen, The Food Studio, The Urban Coffee Bungalow and Bold American Catering in Atlanta, GA.   “I had an early mid-life wake up call about the kind of husband and father I needed to be”, Goss recalls about his decision to sell his interest in South City Management Group and follow his dream to raise his family in a “ Ski Town ”.  A graduate of Michigan State University with a BS in Food Systems, Economics and Management, Goss has 23 years of experience in a wide range of general business, food service and hospitality management.  “My inspiration for getting involved in SEF is to continue my quest to be a great role model for my children, to give back to the community that Brenda, Jasper and Ruby and I have grown to love, and to assure that the educational opportunities I moved here for do not disappear.” 

Denise Gutstein, Chair,  moved to Stowe from Rochester, New York in 1999 with her husband Adam and their two children. Denise is the former president of Frontier Telephone and has a BSEE from Union College and an MBA in finance & marketing from the University of Rochester's Simon School.  She served as President of the Stowe Cooperative Nursery School from 2001 - 2004.   "I am involved with the SEF as there is nothing more important than education when it comes to the s ta bi lity and prosperity of mankind. "
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Susan Grinberg,

Paco, Gabi and I have been part time residents since 2003. In 2006 we became full time residents relocating from Palm Beach, Florida . Susan received a B.A.in Elementary Education and a B.S.in Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her field was Special Education. She taught at Woodberry Learning Center for boys in Huntington and for BOCES. She then relocated to Tucson, Arizona where she taught at a residential treatment center called Vision Quest. These were the people that brought a Wagon Train of children across the to Philadelphia for the Bi Centennial many years ago. Most of these children were placed there by The Juvenile Detention Center and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In later years Susan was the Sales Director and Associate Publisher of Ranch and Coast Magazine and the Rancho Santa Fe Gold Book. These publications were based in La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe and Del Mar, California . Her most recent endeavor was a business that specialized in Vintage Jewelry and Handbags in Florida .  Susan has always been involved in fund raising for the schools that her daughter Gabi has attended. Both private and public schools everywhere are in need of extra funds. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful public schools here in Stowe and she plans to support them in anyway that she can with SEF.

Van Harissis,  his wife Jane,  and daughters Sarah and Anna,  have lived in Stowe since 1999.  Van is a partner with Champlain Investment Partners,  LLC,  a Burlington investment managem ent firm.  His education in cl udes an und er grad ua te BA degree from the University of R ocheste r,  and a gr aduate MBA degree from Cornell University’s Johnson School.
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Elise McKenna lives in Stowe with her husband Bob, and son, Willie, a high school Junior at Stowe High School .  They moved here last year after living in Washington, DC for 15 years. As a nurse, educator and parent of two boys, Elise has worked and volunteered in elementary, secondary and higher education. After getting a degree in nursing, Elise received a Masters Degree in Public Health from Columbia University and a Masters of Science Degree in Education from the University of Southern California . She has taught at Georgetown University for the last 14 years. Currently she is a healthcare management consultant and continues to teach part-time in the Department of Health Care Management and Policy at Georgetown . “Throughout my career I have worked hard to help support creative and innovative ways to educate diverse learners. Working with SEF is a way to continue this passion and enhance our children’s education here in Stowe.”


Caren Merson moved to Stowe full time in August, 2005 with husband Howard and their three children Josh, Rebecca and Hannah. The family has been a homeowner in Stowe since 2001 and spent many weekends here while living in Boston and Old Greenwich, CT.  Caren has a B.A. from The University of Alabama and has over 15 years experience in Marketing and Sales for such companies as United Brands, Jules Place Art and Paychex, Inc. She has been involved recently with projects to raise money for Hurricane Katrina Relief. Since having children in 1992, Caren has been actively involved with Public schools and served on various committees whose goals were to enhance the opportunities provided by public education. She is currently serving on the Education Committee at JCOGS and is working with The Stowe Skateboard Coalition. She joined SEF with the shared belief that strong public schools are essential to the future of our community. “The needs of our schools are great and together we can make a difference.”

 

Etienne Morris was born and raised in Stowe and is a graduate of the Stowe Schools.  She spent the early part of her career in the hotel industry, in Stowe and Boston .  Etien ne has worked for Sp ri ng er -Miller Systems as a Product Manager and was  Director of Travel for Topnotch Tennis Tours.  Etienne and her husband, Paul, have two children in the elementary school.  She has been an active member of her children’s schools, holding board positions at the Stowe Cooperative Nursery School, serving as a volunteer for the PTO’s Save for Success and Learning to Look programs and as a classroom parent at the Stowe Elementary School.  She owns a retail cutlery business, The Perfect Knife, and has just started a consulting company, EM Consulting, identifying opportunities to enhance the guest experience.  “I've always felt that the SEF was deeply committed to the children of Stowe and I am happy to have the opportunity to actively contribute to the work that the SEF does."

Deborah K. Schoepke
After being a part-time resident of Stowe for 10 years, Deb moved to Stowe in 2004 with her husband and three children, ages 8, 5 and 4.  She is a graduate of the University of Maine and has over 20 years of commercial banking experience.  She was most recently First Vice President of investment risk management at Mellon Financial Corp. in Boston.  “One of the reasons we moved to Stowe was to provide our children with an excellent education.  My desire to be involved in the SEF stems from the potential impact of Act 60/68 on our children and community.”
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Ashley Tagatac
Ashley Jones Tagatac moved to Stowe from New York City with her husband and two young children.  In New York , Ashley spent 18 years in several financial sales positions rising to an executive director at Morgan Stanley & Co. and then a senior vice president at Lehman Brothers.  Since moving to Stowe, Ashley founded Tagatac & Co., LLC a consulting firm providing a full range of consulting services to the hedge fund and investment management communities.  She also supports her husband Chris in his Real Estate and Wall Street T-Shirt businesses.  Ashley has been on the board of the Stowe Cooperative Nursery School and on the alumna boards of Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT and the Hewitt School in New York City .  Her int erest in and commitment to childhood education has been solidified by volunteering at the Stowe Elementary School .  Ashley has a BSBA from Georgetown University ’s School of Business .  “An exemplary education is the best gift you can give children.  Once you foster a love of learning, it is criti cal to provide a divers e and challenging course offering to keep children eager and interested.  I am honored to be part of a proactive solution to funding these curriculum enhancements.”
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ADVISORY BOARD:

Lisa Mihan moved to Stowe in late 2006 from London, England with her husband Valar and their two children.  Lisa has a BA from Bra nde is University and two MA degrees, one from Hunter College and the other from the Monterey Institute of International Studies.   Prior to having children, Lisa worked at the United Nations and also as a high school English and History teacher in Brooklyn, New York.  In 2003, Lisa and her husband developed an organic cookie business, Mad Moose Organics, Inc., which they sold in late 2006.  Lisa is honored to have been asked to lend her talents to the SEF which works so hard to ensure the children of Stowe have an outstanding education.


Nancy Jeffries-Dwyer, Executive  Director and Manager of BeStowed, moved to Stowe in 1991 from Toronto with her four children, now aged 15-28.  She graduated f rom Ryerson College in Toronto in Business Administration and Management and was a founding member of the Stowe Education Fund in 1997.  With over 30 years of fund-raising, retail ma nage ment and event planning experience, she lo oks fo rward to many ye ars of growth with the ever evolving SEF.
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Donna Carpenter, Emeritus, has lived in Vermont for the last 20 years and in Stowe for the last 11 years. She is the owner of Harvest M arket, a specialty food store in Stowe as well as being active in her husband Jake's business, Burton Snowboards.  She has a B.A. from Williams Col lege and has spent considerable time traveling, including a recently completed year long trip around the world with her family.  Donna has been involved with SEF since the beginning and was instrumental in reforming school funding legislation on the state level. Her motivation for helping establish the Stowe Education Fund: "One of the main reasons I live in Stowe is the strong sense of community and Stowe's public schools are the heart and soul of th at community."
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Terry Dwyer, Emeritus,  has lived in Stowe for the past 13 years.  A corporate bond analyst and senior vice president at KDP Investment Advisors, in Montpelier, Terry has considerable knowledge a nd expe rience in the area of investments/portfolio management.  His education includes an undergraduate degree from Boston College and two graduate degrees from Indiana University.  In addition to being a founding member of the Stowe Education Fund, Terry has served on the Stowe School Board for 8 years.
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Sara Slaymaker Yoskin, Emeritus, her husband Peter and their daughter Jessie moved to Stowe in 1998.  After exploring diverse careers ranging from equitation instructor in Bermuda to floor broker on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, s he now owns and operates Stowe Video with her family. Sara's personal involvement with the Stowe school system ended when Jessie graduated in 2004, but she believes strongly in the mission of SEF and will continue to support the Fund.
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Alan Thorndike, Emeritus,  has lived in Stowe for close to 30 years. With his wife Ellen, they have had the pleasure of raisin g two sons who went through the Stowe school system from kindergarten through High School graduation. When Act 60 became law, Alan jumped at the opportunity to serve on the SEF Board to protect Stowe's long standing commitment to educational ex cellence. A graduate of Dartmout h College and the University of Maine School of Law, Alan's day job is practic ing law from his office on Main Street in Stowe.
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