Latest News

Strength coach and podcaster Anders Varner ’01 recalls how he was transformed by his time at Williston Strength-training coach and fitness entrepreneur Anders Varner ’01 wants you to embrace what’s hard in life. Not just the hard work of lifting weights and staying fit, skills the former CrossFit athlete teaches through his online media company...

Gabby Thomas ’15 has been busy. In June, she clocked 21.61 seconds in the 200-meter sprint at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. During that race, she earned a personal best (her third PB at the trials), the third-fastest time for that event ever (only Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo-Jo, twice ran faster), and the first-place...

Those who give to the Williston Northampton Fund can allocate their gift to support specific areas of interest, such as academics, arts, athletics, and financial aid. Beginning this year, donors also have had the opportunity to funnel their investment in the school to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives. In fact, to date, more...

Williston Northampton School is excited to welcome five new members of the Board of Trustees. This group brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the fields of business, filmmaking, finance, medicine, sport, and technology. Jondelle Jenkins ’71, DPM (top right in photo), has worked in private practice in Chicago for more than 30 years....

Kai Hori ’22 has wanted to build and launch his own rocket ever since he saw the movie October Sky and was “almost religiously carried away” by the story of a high school boy in a coal mining town who dreams of launching a rocket. Hori saw his dream come true with the help of...

A lifelong love of dogs and a desire to help others led Jen Bennett ’84 to create a safety net for families struggling to feed their beloved pets   A 1984 Williston grad, Jen Bennett is the founder and Vice President of PAWSitive Pantry, a Vermont-based nonprofit whose mission is to serve as a safety...

In her latest work, singer-songwriter and cancer survivor Quincy Coleman ’90 creates an anthem for climate change Quincy Coleman ’90 made her solo debut in kindergarten with “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles, and she has been singing ever since. You might know her song “Baby Don’t You Cry (The Pie Song)” from...

J. Steven Staggs ’78 discusses his extraordinary professional pivot from investment advisor to emergency department nurse Don’t try to make former investment advisor J. Steven Staggs ’78 tell you a story about how the financial crisis of 2008 was the best thing that ever happened to him. Because, although it precipitated a sequence of events that...

Paul Kennard ’71 works to mitigate the impact of climate change on Mount Rainier No mountain in the continental United States holds more ice than Washington’s Mount Rainier. Gathered from its 29 named glaciers, the frozen coating would form a cube measuring a mile in each direction, enough ice to fill a line of dump...

The remarkable story of how Williston came to own the copyright to a classic song Are you a musician, filmmaker, or media executive looking for a classic melody to bring charm to your next work? May we suggest “Dream a Little Dream,” a standard of the American songbook first published in 1931 and recorded by...

Working “at the intersection of culture and cause,” Tolu Onafowokan ’05 talks about philanthropy, social justice, and making a difference “My whole family went there!” Tolu Onafowokan ’05 says about Williston. “Me. My brothers, Tosin ’02 and Timi ’11. Two of my cousins.” Onafowokan spent her whole childhood in western Massachusetts—and her parents, who originally...

Champion baker and style icon Zoë Neal François ’85 is experiencing sweet success with a delicious new book and TV series Zoë Neal François ’85, who grew up eating carob on a commune and then went on to sell close to a million books about bread baking, is helping her 21-year-old son, Henri, learn to...

After a lifetime of radical innovation, John Seely Brown ’58 continues to look to the future of what’s possible Back before the pandemic put such things on hold, the scientist, researcher, and management theorist John Seely Brown ’58 was speaking at a big tech conference near his home in California. His topics included the rapid...

Painter Larissa Bates ’99 explores connection & culture The paintings of Larissa Bates ’99 draw inspiration from many parts of her life story—from the death of her mother, her half-Costa-Rican-half-Vermonter heritage, and her fascination with topics such as colonialism, family, power, and identity. But even as an artist who has exhibited internationally and a mother...

Oenophile and class of ’69 alumnus Gordon Sullivan’s new book spotlights wine trivia, tips, and advice for savoring your next glass  Here’s how Gordon Sullivan ’69 wants you to think about your next glass of wine: It’s alive. It contains thousands of organic compounds, all in flux. So if you want your wine to be...

Jen Holsten ’86 trades coaching for carpentry by starting Bear Isle Boards  After 25 years instilling confidence, skill, and strength in scores of young athletes, Jen Holsten has shifted her focus inward, and shaped—and sourced, sanded, and smoothed—a dynamic new version of herself. Holsten, a 1986 Williston graduate and longtime Colby College soccer coach, now...

The pandemic exposed many in Massachusetts to financial instability. Job losses, reductions in hours worked, and parents’ need to be home with students learning remotely—all have taken a toll on families. Norm Brzycki ’76 saw that stress and decided to do something about it. A leadership consultant from Marblehead, Massachusetts, he rounded up two fellow...

In January, Forbes magazine published an interview with Lisa Vazquez ’99, a portfolio manager focused on private equity and venture capital at Mass General Brigham Investment Office. Vazquez’s office oversees investment activity for the nonprofit health care system founded by two of the nation’s leading academic medical centers—Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General hospitals—and represents...

Justin Frometa ’16 gets the call to work on player development with his dream team Former Wildcat baseball team captain Justin Frometa ’16 recently made the jump to professional baseball as a player development intern with the Boston Red Sox. A prep all-star catcher (scouting reports noted “thunder in his bat”), Justin stayed involved with...

Kristina Madsen ’73, a longtime, influential furniture maker who incorporates European and Fijian techniques, received the 2020 Award of Distinction by the Furniture Society. Her pieces—at once functional and beautiful—showcase her mastery of the craft. Trained in furniture making by British master craftsman David Powell at the Leeds Design Workshop in the late 1970s, Madsen...