Coming Home

Molly Bourne Steffey ’92 P’20 ’22 leads the Board of Trustees.

Molly Bourne Steffey ’92 P’20 ’22 took the helm as Chair of the Board of Trustees in 2022. She is only the second woman in the school’s 211-year history to lead the board and the first female graduate to do so. Steffey grew up in Cornish, NH, and attended KUA as a boarding school student. One of her earliest jobs was working in the KUA admission office after graduating from the University of New Hampshire. But her drive and keen business acumen spurred careers in entrepreneurial ventures, real estate, and investing. Along the way, family ties and an affinity for KUA kept her bond to the Academy strong, and after numerous roles of service she joined the Board of Trustees in 2018. Here she reflects on her path, her leadership, and her hopes for the Academy.

Tell us about what you’re up to today.

I invest in hospitality, food, and beverage businesses. In the past year, I have jumped on to run a startup RTD (ready to drink) cocktail company under the name Good Dogg. Good Dogg is based in Florida with expanding national distribution. Additionally, I moved to Vero Beach, Fla., and it’s been fun to connect to several of my KUA schoolmates. It’s wonderful when those long-term relationships can come full circle.

Your sons attended KUA. How was their experience different and how was it the same as your own?

While I grew up in nearby Cornish and could have easily been a day student, I chose to board at KUA, and I absolutely loved it. My sons, also local to KUA, living in Hanover and then New London, were committed to being day students against my interest in having them board. I am so impressed with how well KUA integrates day students into the community. That was not the case in the late ’80s and early ’90s during my time at the Academy. Yet, what we all have in common as an undeniable shared experience is that our relationships with our peers and with the adults in the school have been strong and enduring.

There are many places where you could invest your time. What drew you back to serving KUA?

After my older son enrolled at KUA in the fall of 2017, I was honored that the director of advancement asked if she could introduce me to a few KUA trustees to determine if there was mutual interest in my participation on the board. I had served on the Alumni Council in my early 30s and was also co-class agent for some time. KUA has been a constant in my family for decades. Both my brother, Jason ’88, and I are alums and anticipating, back in 2017, that my two sons would be as well, it was clear that KUA was the place where I should invest my time and resources.

You are only the second female board chair and the first alumna in the school’s history. Has that shaped how you lead?

While I find it interesting, and slightly odd even, that I am the first alumna and second woman to chair our board, I don’t give it much thought when acting in my role. I think I am collaborative, I encourage unvarnished feedback, and I make it clear that I am committed to improvement. I respect people’s time and live by two rules: One, meetings start on time and end on time; and two, be thoughtful, be succinct.

One thing I've thought is that it’s not entirely unexpected or unreasonable that women haven’t served in this role because women are often responsible for so many other aspects of their personal and professional lives and still in charge of the majority of their home lives. My leadership style is likely different because I’m a woman, but that doesn’t change that I’m still a businessperson. I’m mindful that volunteer time is not endless because there are still other roles that people play in their own lives, and if volunteer roles play too large a task, it becomes less enjoyable.

What are the Board of Trustees’ priorities right now?

Our priority is to support our Head of School, Tyler Lewis, in delivering an exceptional academic, residential, and extracurricular experience to students while simultaneously supporting similar needs and the professional development of our adult community. To do that we need to be innovative and forward thinking in our financial planning and modeling. The trustees with whom I have the honor of working bring a wealth of financial, business, legal, and educational expertise to our board room; I am grateful to them all and grateful that KUA benefits from this outstanding team.

What is your hope for the future of the Academy?

My hope, and what we are doing, is to continue to build infrastructure and programming that aligns with the talent of our faculty and coaches and fully supports the potential of our remarkable student community. Additionally, we need to keep KUA accessible to more families.

How might you encourage other alumni to engage or re-engage with the Academy?

There are three “pro tips” I would recommend for connecting back to KUA. First, get in touch with Advancement through kua.org to update your contact information, thereby ensuring that invitations and publications make their way to your home and inbox. Also, attend a KUA gathering in your area, because free food and drink and great company is always a win. If inclined, use social media to reunite with your KUA schoolmates and faculty members. K