Board of Directors

Simon Jones, Harvard, is President and CEO at Regenacy Pharmaceuticals, a startup biotech company in Boston, resulting from the successful acquisition of his prior company Acetylon Pharmaceuticals. He is responsible for corporate operations in developing novel therapies in areas of high unmet medical need, defining corporate strategy, and establishing business partnerships. Simon holds a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in chemistry from King’s College, University of London. He moved to the Boston area in the 80s to pursue his career in the biological sciences, initially at MIT, and subsequently, at various biotech companies. His philanthropic activities focus in the areas of conservation, social support services, and cultural activities. His love of music, in particular the classical genre, stems from his father’s pivotal influence, and is shared by his partner Richard.

Miriam Smith, Harvard, is an educator, musician, and writer. She received her B.A. in Psychology and Music from Bates College, M.A. in Applied Child Development from Tufts University, Ed.D. in Early Literacy from Clark University, and is currently pursuing her M.A./M.F.A. in Children’s Literature at Simmons University. A lifelong violinist from a musical family, she performs in various local classical music ensembles, singer-songwriter duo Smith & Ryder, and country band Backyard Swagger. Miriam is devoted to community service, with special interests in supporting nonprofit organizations centered around education and/or music. In addition to Groton Hill Music Center, she has served on the boards of Infant-Toddler Children’s Center, Salt Bay Chamberfest, Parker Charter School, Sounds of Stow Chorus, and Simmons College Children’s Literature Advisory Committee. Miriam has been married to her partner, Mike Acton, for 35 years, and they have three adult daughters.

Jon Panek, Harvard, is retired from a career as senior design engineer with Hewlett-Packard’s Medical Imaging Systems Group. He brings 20 years’ experience with non-profit organizations to Groton Hill Music Center, including board leadership, strategic planning, capital fundraising, and executive search. He is former Chairman of the Board of the state-wide Massachusetts Audubon Society and has served on the boards of, or provided consulting services to, many other non-profit organizations. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Jon holds a Master’s Degree from Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering. He enjoys playing piano, clarinet, and recorder, and has participated in several adult ensembles at the Center. Jon and his wife Jessie have lived in the Groton Hill region since 1985.

Phil Francisco, Groton, is a lifelong lover of music since his earliest days watching his father play in, direct, and conduct a marching band in Danbury, CT. He is a Core Member at Underscore VC, an earliest-stage venture capital firm, and an advisor/investor to several companies. A technically-trained marketing and product management executive with over 30 years of experience, Phil has successfully built teams and led growth in roles ranging from early-to-midrange start-ups to multi-billion dollar portfolios in major corporations, most recently as VP of Product Management and Marketing for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. He holds an MSEE degree from Stanford University, completed the Advanced Management Program at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and holds two BSE degrees from the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at University of Pennsylvania. Phil has lived in Groton with his wife Carolyn and their family for over 30 years, and counting.

Peter Ashton, Acton, is semi-retired and the former President of Innovation and Information Consultants, Inc., an economics and management consulting firm he co-founded over 30 years ago. As President he testified before the U.S. Senate, Federal, State, and Tax courts on economic issues related to gasoline and crude oil pricing. Peter holds an A.B. in economics and government from Colby College and a Master’s in economics and business from Columbia University. In addition to his professional career, he served as a Selectman in Acton for 9 years, and was Chair of the Open Space Committee, Community Preservation Committee, and Senior Tax Relief Committee, and was Co-Chair of the Regionalization School Study Committee. Peter has also served as Treasurer and a Board Member of several non-profit organizations, including Change Better, Infant-Toddler Children’s Center, Acton-Boxborough United Way, and Cambridgeport Children’s Center.

Peter Bentinck-Smith, Concord, is a former educator and business executive. After growing up in Groton, he attended Lake Forest College where he received his B.A. in History. For the next seven years he taught in both the Brookline (MA) Public Schools and the Park School in Brookline. Before transitioning into a business career he received an M.Ed. from Boston University and an MBA from Boston College. Peter joined the Charrette Corporation in Woburn(MA), where he spent his entire business career. Starting as Manager of Corporate Planning, he ultimately became President of the Charrette ProGraphics Division and one of the Company owners. He is presently retired.

Kirsta Davey, Groton, is an educator and a photographer. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire, Lesley College, and from the Boston University Center for Digital Imaging with a Professional Digital Photography Certificate. Kirsta is a literacy specialist at Nashoba Brooks School and owner of Kirsta Davey Photography. With both teaching and photography as passions, she often combines the two, where she enjoys telling stories through images. Kirsta has served in numerous capacities in the local community and beyond, including as head of the alumni strategic planning committee at Northfield Mount Hermon School, co-chair of the senior parent gift committee at Lawrence Academy, parent leader for the squash team at Connecticut College, and strategic planning committee member for Nashoba Brooks School. She is the photographer and a board member for Operation Delta Dog, which pairs veterans with service dogs.

Jeff Fuhrer, Littleton, is Executive Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer at MassDevelopment. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, where he first oversaw and then advised the Bank’s research, regional and community outreach, and diversity and inclusion functions. Jeff has been active in economic research for more than three decades, and has served as an associate editor for the American Economic Review. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and a B.A. summa cum laude from Princeton University. Married for 35+ years with three grown children, Jeff has served as President of the Boxborough Conservation Trust, Captain of the Boxborough Minutemen, and President of the Church Council at St. John Lutheran Church, Sudbury.

Pam Lynn, Acton, enjoyed forty-five years in the Acton-Boxborough School System as an educator, mentor and administrator. Never leaving the classroom, she served as the Social Studies Department Head while introducing high school students to Russian history and AP Psychology. Upon retirement Pam shifted to community service including terms on the Historic District Commission and Acton Memorial Library Board of Trustees as Vice Chair and Secretary, as an archivist for the Discovery Museum, and Secretary of the Friends of the Acton Council on Aging. Joining the Acton 250 Committee brought her full circle academically. A Midwesterner, she came east to study history at Wellesley College and received a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Pam has lived in Acton since 1981 with her husband Jon Benson, a retired attorney. Her association with Groton Hill began years ago when her adult sons took lessons at Indian Hill.

Samuel Morrow, Groton, is Chief Executive Officer of Scully Royalty Ltd., a New York Stock Exchange listed merchant bank. Prior to working for the Scully group, he was Vice President of Tanaka Capital Management and Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of the Tanaka Growth Fund. Sam is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a graduate of St. Lawrence University in New York State. He currently serves on a number of non-profit and corporate boards. Sam lives in Groton with his wife and two sons who are both students at Groton Hill Music School.

Janet Nicholas, Stow, is recently retired from a career in strategy consulting and senior leadership roles in marketing and operations with a number of technology companies including Dassault Systèmes, IBM, Digital Equipment Corp., and Nixdorf Computer where she helped drive growth strategies often in uncharted waters. She is a past Board Co-Chair of Community Action Partners (CAP), a pro-bono consulting organization of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association. It was in the context of one such CAP engagement that she was first introduced to Groton Hill Music and developed a passion for the organization, its mission, and its bright future. Janet holds a B.A. in Math and Administrative Science from Colby College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She and her husband Paul live in Stow.

Jane Puffer, Acton, is a marketing executive with technology company experience from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. She is currently President of Dreamaker Consulting Group, which provides marketing leadership to early-stage technology companies. Previously, Jane was Vice President for marketing at Integrated Development Enterprise Corporation. She also held a variety of marketing, management, and product development positions at Compaq Computer (formerly Digital Equipment Corporation and acquired by Hewlett Packard). Jane currently serves on the Leadership Board of Beth Israel Medical Center where she is on the Leadership Board Nominating Committee and the General Medicine Advisory Council. She previously held board positions at Package Machinery, Inc.; Tambora, Inc.; Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts; Bridgewell; Visiting Nurse and Community Care; Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center; and the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge. Jane received her B.S. in business administration from Central Connecticut State University and her M.S. in administration, innovation, and technology from Boston University.

Dave Riggert, Groton, has served as CFO of Bemis Associates Inc. based in Shirley, MA, for over 23 years. He is the Chair of Groton Hill’s Investment Committee. Dave also serves on the Board of Southworth International Group Inc. of Portland (ME) and as a Trustee of the Groton Public Library Endowment. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Boston College and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University. Dave’s three (now adult) children all attended Groton Hill Music School.

Deb Verner, Acton, has had a life-long passion for music and has been involved with Groton Hill since 2005. Raised in Georgia, she started piano lessons at age four. Throughout her youth she played the flute, played bass drum in her high school marching band, competed in state-level piano competitions, and attended three summers at the Brevard Music Center. She holds a M.S.W. from Smith College and B.A. degrees in Music and Psychology from Bates College. Deb currently works at an elementary school in the Acton-Boxborough School District. She has served on the boards of the Acton Family Network and Acton Barn Preschool, and has been significantly involved in volunteer activities with Bates College, Acton-Boxborough Youth Soccer, Acton-Boxborough Schools and the Acton Food Pantry. She and her husband Jason have three children, each of whom have been involved in various programs at Groton Hill Music School.

Bob Anderson, Groton, is a Past Board Chair of Groton Hill Music. A former CEO of GenRad, Inc. and a former Director of LeCroy Corp., he co-founded a startup electronics company, and for over 25 years has been a director or advisor to multiple startups and emerging companies. His B.S. degrees in E.E. and Industrial Management are from MIT. Bob has an avid interest in classical music and is a piano jazz student at Groton Hill Music School. He and his wife Judy have lived in Groton for 28 years.

Ralph Brown, Watertown, is a Past Board Chair of Groton Hill Music Center. He presently serves as Board Chair for the Native Plant Trust, which helps conserve and promote New England’s native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes. After working as a Mainframe Operating System Engineer for International Computers Ltd. in England, Ralph founded Paxton Computers Ltd. and developed a popular accounting system for small businesses. While managing software projects for British Telecom he created Ships Fund Accounting for the Royal Navy. Lotus Development asked Ralph to build their first software development laboratory in Europe for UNIX versions of 1-2-3 and in 1993 he moved to the U.S. to develop Lotus Notes for IBM and HP. Following his passion for music he joined the Groton Hill board and began to understand the striking similarities between board leadership and software leadership. Ralph was delighted to serve as board chair and also continue to lead cutting edge software development, including predictive analytics for United Health and consulting about business strategy related to the Internet of Things. After retiring from the software world Ralph remains committed to non-profit leadership and is excited to be part of the organization’s future.

Dave Moulton, Groton, is a Past Board Chair of Groton Hill Music. A retired educator and musician who specialized in music production, acoustics, and loudspeaker design, he holds degrees from Bard College and the Juilliard School of Music. Dave chaired audio programs at the State University of New York and Berklee College of Music. He also helped to invent Acoustic Lens Technology (ALT) for loudspeakers, which was sold to audio firm Bang & Olufsen, featured on the cover of Time Magazine, and adopted by automakers Audi, Aston-Martin, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. He created Golden Ears (ear-training for audio engineers) and the textbook Total Recording. He has also written for Recording Magazine and TV Technology magazine. In 2000, Dave was nominated for a Grammy Award and in 2014 was made a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society. He has taught at numerous colleges and served as a trustee/director for several institutions. In retirement, he has become active in natural music and landscape art.