BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dianne Brown

Chair

Dianne splits her time between homes in Stowe, Vermont and the South End of Boston, MA. Dianne has also volunteered in multiple school systems, serving as Arts Enrichment Coordinator, Community Food Pantry Coordinator, and Treasurer for various Parents’ Associations. For the past eight years, she has served on the Board of Women Working for Oceans (W2O), an affiliate of the New England Aquarium, where she is also an Executive Committee member, Finance Chair and Events Coordinator. In addition, she is currently a docent and volunteer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. A graduate of Wellesley College with a BA in History and Economics, and an MBA from Babson’s Olin School of Business, Dianne’s professional career has spanned banking, investment management and marketing in both for profit and not for profit environments. She is an avid yogi, skier, hiker, chef, and traveler. Dianne enjoys all forms of the arts, both performing and visual. She is thrilled to be a member of the board of Spruce Peak Arts and become more involved in the Stowe community. Dianne is married. She and her husband have two daughters and a dog.

Mirza Cavalic

Vice Chair

In early 2021 Mirza Cavalic left his 16-year career in financial services and his role as Vanguard’s Head of Strategy and Operations for Intermediary Distribution, to join his wife (fiancée at the time) Jessica in Burlington and focus on real estate and startup ventures. From 2008 to 2019, Mirza also founded and led Fuel the Cure, a non-profit organization that engaged over 6,000 young professionals in London, New York, Boston, DC and Philadelphia in philanthropy through volunteering and fundraising events and donated over $500,000 to various philanthropic causes. Mirza holds an undergraduate degree from Dickinson College in International Business and Management and an MBA from the Wharton Business School. In their spare time he and Jessica love to spend time in their Stowe home with their daughter and two dogs, travel, and engage in sports and outdoor activities.

Andrew Chmura

Originally from Pittsfield, MA, Andrew moved to Stowe in 1999 and has raised his family here ever since. Andrew is the president of Grand Slam Tennis Tours, a global tourism company specializing in travel and event management at major tennis events around the world, partner of Topnotch Management, a sports agency specializing in athlete representation and events, and a partner at Stowe Mountain Rentals. Andrew has been responsible for bringing to life two major tennis events, the 2007 Fed Cup between USA and Russia, and the Stowe Mountain Lodge Classic, a marquee exhibition tennis event held at Spruce Peak in 2017 and 2018. Andrew graduated from University of Notre Dame where he played on the tennis team.

Sam Gaines

Sam is a Managing Director of AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp. and serves as President of Mt. Mansfield Company, which owns various real estate and hospitality assets throughout Stowe, including Spruce Peak (Lodge, Club, village and real estate development). Sam has nearly 20 years of exerience in real estate development, private equity investment, asset management and resort operations. Originally from Connecticut, Sam reconnected with his Vermont skiing roots when he moved to Stowe in 2011 with his wife Molly. Now with three children–Theodore, Lois and Beatrice–Sam is active in both local and national organizations, serving as Vice Chair of the Stowe Land Trust, Director of the Mt. Mansfield Ski Club and Academy and as Vice Chair of the Urban Land Institute Recreational Development Council. In his free time, Sam enjoys skiing, coaching youth sports in Stowe, and playing guitar in a Grateful Dead tribute band. Sam holds a BA from Pomona College and a MS from New York University.

Dean Goodermote

Dean’s occupational career has been spent with early stage software companies working in such varied markets as clinical trials, plant maintenance, disaster recovery and music. He has also been active on boards and committees with many non-profits including the Berklee College of Music, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the New England Aquarium and the US Ski and Snowboard Association. He has an interest in music and is an active player and bandleader. He was a professor of entrepreneurship at HHL, Leipzig School of Management and closer to home, a partner in Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps and a member of the board of the Mt. Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club. He has two grown children and lives with his wife, Diane Arnold, their dogs and horses in Stowe Hollow. 

Lisa Hagerty

Lisa is the founder and owner of Well Heeled, a high end specialty boutique for women in Stowe, for the past 10 years. In conjunction, she owns her own Real Estate company. Recently, Lisa started a new venture into the health and fitness world, the Yoga Barn in Stowe. Before she moved to Vermont, she was Executive Vice President of Strategy and Sales for Ellie Kai. Lisa holds an MBA in Finance from Harvard Business School and an AB in Economics from Harvard University.

Lisa McGovern

Lisa is honored to join the Board, hoping to show appreciation for all that SPPAC does to build community and inspire creativity. She is a retired prosecutor from Beverly MA. Lisa and her husband, Jay Wallace, became seasonal Stowe residents in 1999 and then supporting “founders” of SPPAC when they built their Spruce Peak home in 2006. They have three adult children who rose through the esteemed ranks of Stowebusters.

Caren Merson

Barry Pius

Treasurer

Jill Witten

Secretary

Jill grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, and it may have been those snowy winters that drew her to Stowe.  She and her husband Roger, a law partner in Washington and now New York, built their vacation home in Morrisville in 1985.  Her lifelong passion for classical music led her to suggest what became the Stowe Chamber Music Society, of which she is a Committee member.  A pianist from the age of 7, Jill majored in music at Smith College, graduating in 1969, and subsequently earned an M.A. in Piano Performance from American University.  In addition, she spent many years coaching with three concert pianists; participating in chamber music groups at the Composers’ Conference, Wellesley College and Brandeis; and at Manhattan School of Music.  Professionally, she taught piano at Peabody Conservatory Prep Department for one year while living in Baltimore and independently from 1971-1998.  She was a choral accompanist at the National Cathedral School in Washington for 13 years, Past President of the Washington Music Teachers Association, and a Board member of the Stowe Music Festival.  She is currently a member of the Associated Chamber Music Players.  She and Roger have two daughters and four grandchildren. Her other interests include skiing, swimming, kayaking, flower arranging, knitting, art, and books about history.