Board of Directors
Gita Iyer, President
Curt Burmeister, Treasurer
Kathy Parent, Secretary
Devareaux Brown
Angela Cavallo
Elizabeth Freeman
Joelle Gamere
Aline Gery
Rachel Gwaltney
Rob Ruffin
Gita Iyer, President
Gita Iyer is a certified Leadership and Executive coach who partners with corporate executives, entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders to help them be more effective and fulfilled in their professional and personal lives. Prior to this, she was in Information Technology Consulting with Accenture, for over 25 years. Gita has an MS in Information Systems from Boston University and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She has served on the boards of Dedham Country Day school and Noble and Greenough School. Gita was the founding Board Chair of the Horizons at DCD program for 12 years and is the founding Board President of Horizons Greater Boston.
Curt Burmeister, Treasurer
Curt is the Chief Technology Officer and Co-Head of SS&C Algorithmics. His team is responsible for the design and development of quantitative risk management solutions that are used by banks and other financial institutions to meet both regulatory and internal reporting requirements. He is also a Board member and Treasurer for Horizons at Dedham Country Day. Curt holds an MBA in Financial Engineering from MIT and a BA with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics from Cornell University.
Kathy Parent, Secretary
Kathy Parent has served on the Education and Training Branch Board of the Greater Boston Y and provided mentoring for ten years at YMCA Training, Inc., a non-profit community-based workforce development program in Boston. Previously, she was a director of systems development at Fidelity Investments and earned a BS in Management Information Systems from Bentley University. Kathy served on the Dedham Country Day School Board and the Horizons at Dedham Country Day Board.
Devareaux Brown
Devareaux Brown serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Noble and Greenough School, where he has led the school’s technology vision, strategy, and operations since 2011. In addition to overseeing infrastructure and support services, he is a member of the computer science department and a dedicated football coach, working closely with students both in the classroom and on the field. Devareaux is passionate about fostering innovation, building strong teams, and creating inclusive learning environments. Outside of school, he enjoys life with his wife, Shaquanna and their two children, Sophia and Noah.
Angela Cavallo
Angela has held development roles at several academic institutions in the Boston area, including Harvard University, Milton Academy, and Newton Country Day School. Most recently, she served as the Director of Development at Horizons at Dedham Country Day School, where she helped advance the organization's mission and impact.
Angela lives in Dedham with her husband, Ben, and their two children, Sam (16) and Ellie (11). Outside of work, she enjoys coaching lacrosse and field hockey, playing tennis, skiing, cooking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Elizabeth Freeman
Elizabeth Freeman formerly served as an Access to Justice Fellow with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), an organization that provides legal representation for children who have entered the US immigration system alone. Previously, Elizabeth worked as a Managing Director and Senior Counsel at BNY Mellon where she specialized in investment company and securities law. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and law degree from Boston College and currently serves as a member of the Boston College Law School Alumni Board.
Joelle Gamere
Joelle Gamere is the Assistant Principal of the Mattahunt Elementary School and also serves as Director of the school’s Toussaint L'Ouverture Academy; the first in the nation early elementary Haitian Creole dual language program. She was instrumental in the redesign of the school by leading a team of stakeholders to address closing the opportunity and achievement gap while meeting the cultural, linguistic, and social emotional learning needs of the students. Prior to joining the Mattahunt in 2016, she was the Director of EL Instructional Support and Professional Learning for Boston Public Schools’ Office of English Learners. She has been serving the youth of Boston for over 20 years. Joelle is a graduate of Boston’s John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science. She earned a B.A. from Merrimack College and a M.Ed from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Aline Gery
Aline Gery led a group of teachers and administrators at Lexington Montessori School (LMS) to establish the first Montessori Horizons program in 2014. She was head of LMS from 2006 until she retired in 2023. Aline worked in independent and public schools for 40 years, with short stints in advertising and the international education business. She has served on the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE) Board and on the Board of the Montessori Schools of Massachusetts (MSM). She earned a masters degree in teaching and curriculum from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BA from Amherst College.
Rachel Gwaltney
Rachel Gwaltney is currently Executive Director of the Children’s League of Massachusetts, promoting the well-being of children and families through public awareness and advocacy. Previously she served as Vice President of Policy & Research at the National Summer Learning Association, leading efforts to improve and sustain policy conditions for summer learning and enrichment programs. Prior to joining NSLA in 2015, Rachel held various roles at District of Columbia Public Schools, Data Quality Campaign, and Horizons National, and Higher Achievement. Rachel earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Johns Hopkins University. She completed the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) at IEL in 2012.
Rob Ruffin
Rob is a Sr. Supply Chain Partner with Bain & Company, where he supports global clients on strategic operations initiatives. In addition to client-facing work, Rob has a long history of serving as a mentor within Bain, his alma mater Swarthmore, and the Minority Engineering Regional Incentive Training (MERIT) organization - of which he is an alum. Rob is passionate about “giving back” and is particularly motivated to help level the playing field and increase the odds of individuals reaching their full potential. Rob is originally from Delaware and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Swarthmore College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.