Next Meeting:
The Finance Committee will meet on Monday, April 28 at 5:45 and the Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Sturgis West Campus, 105 West Main Street, Hyannis.
The Board of Trustees is the organized group of volunteers who, collectively, are legally and morally accountable to the community for the health, vitality, and effectiveness of the Sturgis Charter Public School. The Board’s primary role is “Governance,” which encompasses legal responsibilities, general oversight, planning and policy-making, and meeting fiduciary requirements. The Board only has authority when it votes as a group. No single member has authority over the Board as a whole.
Aimee Bourke Foster
Vice President
Aimee Bourke Foster lives in Brewster and is the mother to Elizabeth (Sturgis ’25) and George (Sturgis ’27). In 2020, she and her family moved from the San Francisco Bay area to Brewster – a Cape connection through her husband’s family who are Brewster natives. We are grateful to call the Cape home. In a three-decade career, Aimee held numerous senior leadership positions in financial services firms with extensive experience developing and marketing products and leading global teams. Aimee is a proud holder of an International Baccalaureate Diploma from high school and credits the years spent working toward the diploma as her most formative educational experience. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and French from Mount Holyoke College. She is currently working toward a master’s degree in Psychology at Harvard University through the Extension School.
Gordon Harris
President
Gordon Harris has over 30 years of experience in human resources, business management, grant development, fundraising and operations management with not-for-profit organizations and in the private sector. Gordon is currently the President and COO of Wakeby Fire & Associates, a fundraising and organizational development consulting firm. Gordon has held the position of Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Sr.
Vice President of Diversity at Sovereign Bank (now Santander), one of the largest banks in New England where he was responsible for the company’s overall diversity strategy which included workforce development, retention, training, minority, and women owned vendor development, marketing and advertising. He has also held positions as regional Vice President of Human Resources at Sovereign Bank, managing human resource activities throughout the northeast – recruitment, employee relations, training, and benefits, and as Director of Employment for Foxwoods Resort & Casino.
Gordon has served on the Sturgis Public Charter School Board of Trustees, Plimoth Pautuxet/Mayflower II Museum Board of Trustees, Treasurer for the Mashpee One Room School House Preservation Council, and the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts Board of Directors. Gordon attended the International School of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Medfield High School, Salem State College and Boston University.
Eric Hieser
Board Member
Eric Hieser spent his educational career of 50 years split between U.S. public
schools and four international schools in Norway, Japan, Switzerland, and Brazil. For 13 years as Executive Director, he recently led Sturgis Charter Public School, a nationally and internationally recognized high school with two IB for All campuses in Hyannis, MA, USA. For the past 15 years, Eric has also been an IB consultant, face to face and online IB workshop leader, IB authorization and evaluation team leader, IB equity and access mentor, and a frequent presenter at IB World Heads Conferences and IB Americas Conferences. A majority of the workshops that Eric lead focus on leadership, equity, access, and board governance.
Paul Marble
Executive Director
Paul Marble has served his entire career as a teacher and administrator in three Massachusetts high schools, including a private boarding school, large urban district school, and a charter public school. Paul taught IB English at Sturgis for six years; was Principal for six years; became Executive Director in July of 2016; has made numerous presentations about the IB Diploma Programme and its implementation; is an IB Site Visitor; and is an IB Workshop Leader, helping experienced IB teachers from across the nation support diverse learners in their classrooms. He also has developed and led teacher workshops for the IB Organization’s Bridging the Equity Gap project.
Iona Masil
Faculty Representative to the Board
Iona Masil has taught ELD at Sturgis since 2019, starting briefly at West before moving to East for the 2019-2020 school year. In addition to her work in the multilingual learner department, Iona co-facilitates the Students of Color Coalition, and she has facilitated various professional development presentations for staff related to multilingual learner education, anti-racism in schools, and supporting diverse students through collaboration. She is incredibly excited to begin her new role as the team lead for the newly formed Equity Team at Sturgis, starting in fall 2024. Before joining Sturgis, Iona taught high school math and personal finance for Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, TN, where she also earned her Master’s in Education in 2015 from Lipscomb University. Iona received her Bachelor’s of Business Administration, majoring in finance, from UMass Amherst in 2014, and she’s a proud Barnstable High School graduate. Today, in addition to her work at Sturgis, Iona works part-time at Hyannis West Elementary School in their 21st Century afterschool program, and she also teaches adult ESL classes.
Theresa Tuaño
Theresa Tuaño of Yarmouth is the parent of Lyle (Sturgis ‘21) and Jake (Sturgis ‘24). She joined the Board of Trustees in February 2021 and is also an active member of the Sturgis Parent Association. Theresa has 25 years of experience leading policy development and programs for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Peace Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency. She has lived and worked in numerous countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Central America. Theresa also illustrates and writes picture books for children.
Marion Weeks
Secretary
Marion Weeks served as a Sturgis Librarian (2004-2011) and Sturgis Community Outreach Coordinator (2011-2017). She is the parent of Kate Weeks (Sturgis ’10). Marion received her BA in English from UNC-Greensboro and her MSLS from UNC-Chapel Hill. Prior to Sturgis, she worked in a variety of libraries including UNC Graduate Library, Savannah Public Library, Peace Corps librarian in Niger, West Africa, Warren Wilson College and Yarmouth Libraries. Marion also served as Director of Off-Campus Study at Colgate University (1990-1995).