Development Committee

Jill Caron, P'17 has served on Gunston's Development Committee since 2016, as well as serving as a new family mentor coordinator. Caron has worked at the Kent School in Chestertown, where she lives, in various roles since 2004. An avid swimmer, Caron has also served as the Co-President of the Sho'men Swim Club as well as President and VP of Kent School Parents, Teachers, Friends (PTF) Association.

Secretary
Governance Committee Member
 

Megan Cook, P'22, '24 serves as Gunston's Executive Committee as Secretary. Cook is President of the Easton Town Council, Co-founder of CarePacks of Talbot County, and the assistant coach for the Easton High School tennis teams. Cook has a B.S. from the University of Rochester, and an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Vermont. She lives in Easton with her husband and three children. In addition, Cook serves on multiple boards including as the Finance Chair for the Neighborhood Service Center, the Secretary for Junior Achievement, and the board of the Salvation Army.

Buildings & Grounds Committee Member

Greg Farley is the Director of University Sustainability for George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. He has held similar positions at Washington College (Chestertown, MD) and Chesapeake College (Wye Mills, MD). Before transitioning to sustainability, he also taught biology, environmental science, and related courses for Chesapeake College, where he was the Stuart M. Bounds Distinguished Teaching Chair. He also serves Gunston as an advisor to the Chesapeake Watershed Semester. A biologist by training, he holds an MS from Florida State University and a BS from Duke University.  He is co-editor, with Jennifer Chirico, of Thinking Like an Island:  navigating a sustainable future in Hawai'i. 

Chair of Finance Committee
Development Committee Member 

Mark Freestate joined Avon-Dixon Agency as a Vice-President in 2002, and he has over 30 years’ experience in the insurance industry. He earned his  B.A. Degree at Hampden-Sydney College in 1975. His community involvement has included service as President of the Queen Anne’s County Arts Council, Director and Past Board Chairman of Centreville National Bank, and Vice-Chairman of the Academy of Arts Museum in Easton.

Development Committee Member

Kurt Gray is Director of Driver Services at AAA Club Alliance–the third largest AAA Club in the nation serving 6 million members in 13 states and Washington, D.C. As an essential element of the Club's traffic safety advocacy programming, Driver Services provides professional driver training and education solutions for AAA members, corporate fleets and the motoring public. Kurt currently serves on the Value and Enrollment Management Committee at St. Anne's Episcopal School in Middletown, and previously tutored and mentored elementary and middle school students in Delaware's Appoquinimink School District. He holds an MS from the University of Maryland University College and a BS from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Finance Committee Member

Joe Janney P'21 is retired after a 25 year career at Oracle Corporation, one of the world’s largest software and technology companies.  Most recently at Oracle, Joe was Vice President of Application Sales.  He is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying boating, fly fishing and hiking.  Joe and his wife, Martha, and their son Carter, live on the South River in Annapolis. 

Buildings & Grounds Committee Member
Governance Committee Member

Governance Committee Member
Chesapeake Watershed Semester Advisory Committee

Betsy Z. McCown, P’11 of Betterton Maryland is an Associate
and Managing Director at Echo Hill Outdoor School in Worton
Maryland. She earned her B.S. degree in Community
Leadership and Development from Springfield College in
Springfield Massachusetts. Betsy has over forty years of
administrative leadership and program design in outdoor and
environmental education.

Buildings & Grounds Committee Member
Development Committee Member

Jill Meyerhoff, P'11, '13 of Easton, Maryland was the inaugural President of the Gunston Parents’ Association. A Graduate of L’Acadamie de Cuisine and an art student from Montgomery College, Mrs. Meyerhoff has worked as a charter yacht chef and as Vice President of Tidewater Yacht Sales. At The Country School, where she was a class parent for 11 years, Mrs. Meyerhoff organized Wednesday assemblies, and was the costume designer for annual plays. She is currently a board member of the Academy Art Museum in Easton, and has previously served on the boards of Evergreen Cove Holistic Learning Center and the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore. 

Chair of Governance Committee

Mrs. Patricia Parkhurst ‘88, P ‘18, ‘21, ‘23 currently teaches Art at The Country School and has served on several area boards including the Kent School Board of Trustees, RiverArts KidSpot, Gunston's Second Century Capital Campaign committee and Co-chaired the Strategic Planning committee. An alumna of Gunston, Pat lives in Centreville with her husband, Steve, and their three children, two of whom currently attend Gunston. She earned her M.A. in Art Education from the Art Education University, Certificate in Fundraising from George Washington University, and B.A. from Roanoke College.

Chair of Development Committee
Governance Committee Member

Mrs. Mara Schmittinger P ‘16, ‘19 is an Occupational Therapist at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. She serves as Vice President of the Occupational Therapy Board for the State of Delaware’s Division of Professional Regulation. Previously, Mara was a founding board member at St. Anne’s Episcopal School in Middletown, DE. She also serves on many committees for the Leukemia Research Foundation of Delaware. Mara was a multi-year president of the Gunston Parents' Association and is the mother of two talented Gunston alums, Claire ‘16 and Isabelle ‘19.

Chair of Buildings & Grounds Committee
Finance Committee Member

Finance Committee Member
Former Chair of the Board