Board of Directors

The Green Mountain Center for Gifted Education is governed by a board of directors comprised of educators, parents, community members, and other individuals who are passionate about serving the needs of Vermont’s gifted and talented individuals.

Carol M. Story, PhD founded the Talent Development Institute in 1998 as part of her responsibilities as a Professor of Education at Johnson State College. She also directed the graduate program in the Education of  the Gifted while at the college, and is a published author and presenter at several national and international conferences on gifted education. She continues to enjoy TDI in her retirement, serves as an honorary member of the board of the Green Mountain Center for Gifted Education, and consults with families and schools regarding the nature and needs of gifted learners.

Will Frick was a camper as a child and continued to return year after year, eventually becoming a staff member, and now joining the board. He is a software developer and loves to teach technology strands like the wildly popular Computer Game Design at our Summer Camp.

Chris Peterson, S.M. is Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at MIT, where he oversees the recruitment and evaluation of outstanding academic and technical talent and produces creative communications projects. He also teaches undergraduates in the Comparative Media Studies program and researches at the Center for Civic Media. He attended the inaugural year of TDI as a camper and has returned to learn or teach (almost) every year since.

Deb Pinney owns and works as an accountant for Lakeview Accounting in South Burlington, VT. Her son Bill is a TDI Summer Camp alum who went through the Leadership Program and now works and teaches as a staff member each year.

Elizabeth Raven Walters, PhD holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Policy, Planning, and Administration as well as a PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology. She has taught at all levels, and has been the Clinical Director at Green Mountain Support Services for more than a decade. Raven joined the board of the Green Mountain Center for Gifted Education in great measure to increase opportunities for gifted children to ‘find their tribe.’ Her two children are devoted TDI campers who find vital social and intellectual nourishment in the camp experience. Raven serves her community by sitting on a range of school and non-profit boards.

Megen Velez holds a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education and taught preschool through fifth grade in both Vermont and NYC for ten years. She was welcomed into the TDI community for the summer of 2015 as a staff member and became the Head Dorm Supervisor in 2016. She is now a stay at home parent to her two young sons and is excited to be able to reconnect and support TDI through the board.

Colin Spencer is a TDI Summer Camp alum, Leadership Program participant, and is now a member of the TDI Summer Camp staff. He serves on the board as the resident “tech guru”. He works as an electrical engineer at Beta Technologies, where he designs circuit boards for experimental electric aircraft.

Zoë Frolik is a former TDI camper who returned to the community to serve on the Board of Directors. They now work in event production in political, corporate, music, and nonprofit spaces where their Green Mountain-grown creativity can run wild. Zoë currently lives in Seattle, WA.

Alice Russell, MBA is a TDI Summer Camp alum who went through the Leadership Program and has now served for many years as a staff member for the camp. She works as an academic advisor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Vermont.