Board of Trustees

Amy Bailey is the mother of a former student, an architect and project manager, and has worked with the Academy as a member of the Parents Committee from the outset. She also served the Academy as clerk of the works during our recent renovations to the schoolhouse. Amy and her pediatric dentist husband live in Exeter and are members of Temple Israel in Portsmouth. Amy serves as the Treasurer of the Board.

Charles G. Bickford, PhD., began his career as a professor of medieval literature and college administrator. He served as the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Humanities Council for 18 years, during which time the organization gained national recognition for innovative humanities programming. Since his retirement from the Council in 2001, Bickford has been a visiting professor at the Foreign Language College in Vietnam and the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Most recently, he served as the interim President of Strawbery Banke and The American Boychoir School. Charles and his wife Barbara, an award-winning photographer, retired to Portsmouth this fall where one of their four children live.

Alexander S. Costello teaches English at Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts. He has worked as a lawyer and as an award-winning Editorial Page Editor of the Lowell Sun. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Lowell Plan that works for the revitalization of the City of Lowell, Massachusetts and is a member of the Board of Governors of Saints Memorial Medical Center in Lowell. Alex and his wife have two daughters who presently attend Brooks School. Not surprisingly, one of Costello's interest is Irish History. The Costellos live in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Richard F. Davis taught for 37 years at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. Among his boarding school duties, Rich was Head of History Department, Head Crew Coach, Head of Humanities, and Head of House. He continues his teaching and coaching of 21 years in the St. Paul's Advanced Studies Program. Rich and his wife, Peg, have three children and have retired to Rye, New Hampshire. Rich navigated air refueling planes in the Air Force, stationed in Portsmouth. Rich is a member of the St. John's Church.

Blair Linen Demers spent five years working for a start-up educational non-profit in San Francisco, CA called SMART. The program provided educational opportunities for underpriviledged, talented middle school students, and worked closely with the city's independent middle schools. Blair served as the organization's Program Director, Executive Director, and Development Director over the course of her time there. She now lives in Portsmouth, NH with her husband and three young children. Blair graduated from St. Paul's School in 1992. Blair serves as the Secretary of the Board of Trustees.

Peg Gaillard has been a successful entrepreneur and active community volunteer. Her business activities include serving as President and Founder of Pottery at Your Place, an innovative direct sales company she successfully sold in 2005. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester and as Senior Warden of Christ Church Episcopal, Exeter, New Hampshire. She was co-chair of Christ Church's 2006 capital campaign and until recently was an Advisory Board member of Hampstead Academy in Hampstead, New Hampshire. Peg holds a BA from Wellesley College and lives in Exeter with her husband and three children.

The Rev. Canon Charles Lafond serves the Diocese of New Hampshire as the Stewardship Officer. His hobby is pottery at which he also excels. Earlier in his life Charles was a missionary teacher in Cap Hatien, Haiti, West Indies and then the corporate Vice President, YMCA of Greater Richmond, Virginia. After receiving his Masters of Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary, he served as Associate Rector at The Church of Our Saviour in Charlottesville, Virginia. He began his move back north toward his birthplace, Montreal, Canada, when he became an Episcopal monk in the Society of St. John The Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With his experience in a Dutch Reformed high school in Canada and in stewardship, Charles serves as Vice Chair of the Development Committee.

The Rev. Daniel W. Morrissey, O.P. currently serves as Assistant Vice President for Health Services at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Daniel is a Roman Catholic priest in the Dominican Order. He taught religion for ten years at Phillips Exeter Academy and held the Chair of the Religion Department. He has retired to Hampton, New Hampshire.

Hilary B. Parkhurst presently also serves as a Trustee of St. Paul's School. Hilary has taught at Greenwich Academy, The Dalton School, and Rippowam Cisqua School. She and her husband, Charles, have a daughter and three sons in independent boarding and day schools. Hilary was a member of US Junior Women's National Rowing Team in 1979 and graduated from St. Paul's in 1980 and Princeton University in 1984. Her daughter rows on the varsity crew team at Princeton.

Michael J. Quinn is a Director and Managing Director, Portsmouth Office of the McLane, Graf, Raulerson, and Middleton Law firm. Mike focuses on environmental law and has been recognized as Woodward's Best Lawyers in America -- Environmental Law. Mike serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Seacoast Family YMCA and Secretary of the New Hampshire Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership. The Quinns' son attends Seacoast Academy and was in the first class of the Academy in 2007. The Quinn family lives in Newfields, New Hampshire.

Ann G. Remus recently retired as the Superintendent of Schools in Bedford, New Hampshire where she oversaw the development of that town's new middle/high school complex. She brings her understanding of the laws of the state relating to schools and the policies of the New Hampshire Department of Education to the Board. Ann and her husband, Paul, have three children who graduated from St. Paul's School. Ann serves as the Chair of the Board.

The Rev. Canon Timothy Rich serves as Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of New Hampshire. While Rector of St. John's Church in Portsmouth, Tim felt the need for an independent school that could engage students around the full spectrum of spiritual questions. Tim and his wife, Meghan, have two young daughters.

Melissa Greer Solomon has worked for U. S. Senators Howard Baker, Warren Rudman, Bob Dole, and William Cohen. She has worked also for law firms in New York and Washington as a legislative law, civil justice reform, and product liability specialist. In New Hampshire, Melissa has helped establish several non-profit organizations to teach children foreign languages, to create a support network for parents of pre-school children, and to raise monies for autism research and outreach. Melissa lives in Durham with her husband and two children and serves on the Education Committee at Temple Israel in Dover. Melissa graduated from St. Paul's School in 1980.

Sean M. Tracey, President of Sean Tracey Associates, is a creative advertising strategist/consultant for advertising agencies throughout the country. His peers have honored him with many awards. Sean serves as an alumnus interviewer for the Brown University Admission Office. He performed professionally as a jazz pianist and trumpeter for over 12 years. Sean lives in Portsmouth with his wife and two young children. The Traceys are communicants in St. John's Church in Portsmouth, NH.

Gussie Wilson has been involved in public education, both on a volunteer and professional basis, for 25 years. She was elected as a Trustee for the Hillsborough City School District, Hillsborough, CA, and has served as Director of the Hillsborough Schools Foundation and Executive Director of the Hillsborough Concours organization, both of which raise money for the public schools. Gussie graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1972, a member of the first class of boarding girls admitted, and all three of her wonderful children also graduated from PEA. Gussie now works for Phillips Exeter Academy in Admissions. She lives happily in Exeter with two magnificent yellow labs who enjoy taking her for walks in the woods, and a cat who makes her laugh.

SEACOAST ACADEMY
an independent middle school