Celebrating

Anniversaries, Awards, and Sabbaticals

At the Parents Association’s annual APPLE Faculty & Staff Appreciation Luncheon on April 29, members of our faculty and staff celebrated their 10-, 15-, and 20-year anniversaries at Greenwich Country Day School and others were awarded Faculty Chairs and sabbaticals.

10 YEARS

Polly Boeschenstein, School Psychologist, N–5

Scott Karagianes, Facilities Staff (not pictured)

Meridith McGlynn, UES Science Teacher

Steve Whitmore, Director of Physical Education, N–5

15 YEARS

10 YEARS

Diana Abreu, MS World Language Teacher

Eric Cornell, MS Science Teacher

Erika Feighery ’85, Beansprouts Caregiver

Gloria Gutierrez, Dining Hall Staff

Jason Hamilton, Network Administrator

Laura Moore, MS Counselor

Nick Pitassi, Facilities

20 YEARS

Andy Fernandez ’93, Associate Director of Admission

Kevin Monahan, Facilities Staff

Manny Terron, Facilities Staff

15 YEARS

Linda Northrop Faculty Chair Award

Given annually in honor of Linda Northrop to that member of the faculty or staff whose character and kindness as a teacher, friend, and role model reflect the qualities that Linda so cherished about GCDS. Over her 15 years as a Country Day parent, Linda admired the care and passion that the faculty and staff had for developing the character of students.

Debbie Kerrick, Director of Visual and Performing Arts

Mitchell Family Faculty Chair Awards

Thanks to the generosity of the Mitchell family, four chairs, one for a faculty member in each division, have been created to honor the great faculty of GCDS and reward excellence in the classroom. Nicole Mitchell, a beloved member of the faculty from 2007 to 2021, and her children Donovan and Jordan, wanted to demonstrate how much the faculty of Country Day have impacted their family and how much they value our teachers.

LES: Anne Allen, LES Assistant Division Head

UE: Randy Hall, Grade 5 Teacher

MS: Michael McGovern, MS English Department Chair

US: Pat Scanlon, US Seminar Teacher

SUMMER SABBATICALS

Greenwich Country Day School provides opportunities for its faculty and staff to benefit from a sabbatical program for personal and professional growth and development. There are two funds based on tenure: one for faculty completing their second through ninth year of service, and the other for faculty and staff with ten or more years of service. Both funds were established with money initially raised by GCDS parents at benefit auctions.

SABBATICAL GRANT FOR FACULTY & STAFF

(2–9 YEAR TENURE)

Jackie Wood, US History Teacher

SABBATICAL GRANT FOR FACULTY & STAFF

(10+ YEAR TENURE)

Washington Alvarez, Facilities Staff

Hilary Childs, MS English Teacher

Jay Reynolds, US Classics Teacher

Nicole Boruchin, LES Creative Technology Teacher

BROADBENT ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

The Broadbent Family Fund is designed to support the work of GCDS faculty members in the fields of conservation and environmental education. The fund makes grants to enhance faculty members’ knowledge and awareness of environmental issues through trips, speakers, activities, or other opportunities.

Karen Perkins, N–5 Physical Education Teacher

Former GCDS Board President and Financier Leaves Lasting Legacy

Every year on the first day of school, Head of School Adam Rohdie writes a letter to “his great friend” David A. DeNunzio ’71, a financier and former President of the GCDS Board of Trustees, who was instrumental in hiring Mr. Rohdie in 2004.

“I want him to know how far our school has come and that any success we have is because we stand on the shoulders of giants like him,” said Mr. Rohdie.

Mr. DeNunzio returned to GCDS on April 12 to receive the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award, which is voted upon annually by the Alumni Advisory Council. (The event was postponed to Spring 2022 due to COVID restrictions.) In front of an audience of high school students and faculty, his family, and former

David A. DeNunzio ’71 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient 2021

classmates and trustees, Mr. DeNunzio accepted the award with a tear in his eye.

Mr. DeNunzio attended GCDS for three years from 7th to 9th grade. He arrived from public school begrudgingly at his father’s insistence, yet it turned out that those years had a lasting impact on him. At GCDS, he formed habits and developed friendships that have spanned a lifetime. He fondly remembers studying Latin, run- ning cross country, working on the Spire, the school’s yearbook, and playing daily word games on his English teacher Mr. Griswold’s chalkboard.

“Something magical happened here. I bonded with a small group of friends— several of whom are here today,” said Mr. DeNunzio during the presentation. “What GCDS really did for me was to teach me how to study. And it put me on a trajectory that allowed me to succeed academically, not only here, but also in all the various academic institutions that followed. So, I am grateful to GCDS in many, many ways.”

After GCDS, Mr. DeNunzio attended Deerfield Academy, Princeton University, and then Harvard Business School. “People ask which of your schools has had the biggest impact on you, and I always say Country Day was the most determinative.”

Mr. DeNunzio is currently Managing Director and Global Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group in the Corporate & Investment Banking division of Wells Fargo. Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2016, Mr. DeNunzio spent 27 years at Credit Suisse, where he held a number of senior leadership positions, including, most recently, Global Chairman of Mergers & Acquisitions.

At age 60, Mr. DeNunzio left the top investment bank to join Wells Fargo, with a mandate to grow its relatively more modest M&A practice.

“I was looking for my second act,” he said. “I’m told I took a big risk by joining Wells Fargo, but really, it has been very, very satisfying and fun to grow a business. It takes time, but we can see the progress.”

When people ask Mr. DeNunzio, who shows no signs of slowing down, what he loves about this career, he replies: “My answer always is because every day is a completely different day. It’s a marketbased business, and the market goes up; the market goes down, and it goes sideways. Values change, companies evolve. Transactions that you could get done six months ago, you might not be able to get done six months from now. The issues change. Accounting issues change; tax issues change; legal issues change; regulatory issues change.”

Mr. DeNunzio shares his industry experience as a member of the Advisory Council of The Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University, which is a group of Wall Street practitioners who help academics think about current topics in finance. In addition, he is a director of the Gordon A. Rich Memorial Foundation, which provides college scholarships to the children of those working in the financial services industry who show demonstrated need.

Mr. DeNunzio served as board president from 2003–2007; his entire tenure on the board lasted from 2000–2008. “The main issues that we had during my tenure were the headmaster transition, the prospect of a high school, and the renovation of the Upper School [now the Middle School].”

In 2004, as the Head of School Search Committee presented candidates to the full board to replace then beloved Headmaster

For David DeNunzio, Country Day has been a family affair. His two brothers, Tom ’77 and Peter ’74; his sons, Chris ’07 and Robert ’09; and a niece are all graduates. His father, Ralph, was also President of the GCDS Board of Trustees from 1974–1977, making them the school’s only father and son board presidents. He is also the second alumnus to become Chairman of the Board of Trustees in the 96-year history of Country Day.

Dr. Doug Lyons, Mr. DeNunzio had a clear first choice. “We could see Adam was a magnet for kids; we could see his relationship with the students, the scholarship, the peer relationships he had with faculty, and how he handled the parents. He was the total package.”

Mr. DeNunzio was so thrilled about the selection of Mr. Rohdie as Head of School that he drove down to Montclair, NJ, where Mr. Rohdie lived at the time, and arrived at his doorstep with a bottle of champagne to tell him the good news of his selection in person.

After bringing Mr. Rohdie to GCDS, the board did a major feasibility study on the building of a high school. It was the second time that such a study had been carried out. The first time was during his father’s tenure as Board President. Certain that there was demand for a GCDS high school, Mr. DeNunzio recalls traipsing all over Fairfield and Westchester counties with Mr. Rohdie to find the right property, but there was nothing available.

“I guess the third time’s the charm,” said Mr. DeNunzio referring to the newlybuilt Stanwich campus. “I’d like to think the early work the board did during my time helped make the subsequent decision much easier.”

During the presentation, both Mr. DeNunzio and Mr. Rohdie offered similar advice to the students about the importance of mentors and the people in one’s life.

“When you start to think about college or the real world, when you have a big decision to make—the most important factor in making that decision is this— Who will you surround yourself with?” said Mr. Rohdie.

Mr. DeNunzio credits his career on Wall Street to his friendship with Princeton professor Burt Malkiel, author of the best-selling book, A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Investing

“So, keep an open mind as you head off to college. Were it not for asking Professor Malkiel for a Ph.D. recommendation, I would probably be doing something else. It may well be a small moment that proves to be defining for you.”

During the Q & A with students, Mr. DeNunzio commented on how rapidly the world is changing and how job mobility is also increasing. “Have a plan but don’t be afraid to deviate from it when other interesting opportunities arise.” )