Faculty & Staff Directory

A graduate of the Taft School and Williams College, Army veteran William “Bing” Bingham spent over twenty years working in the entertainment industry before turning to teaching in 2001. Along the way, he took up high adventure activities like flying hang gliders and ultralights, and even competed in the National Hang Gliding Championships as the New York/New Jersey champion. His career as a singer-songwriter spans decades and, along with Taft classmate and longtime friend Joe Knowlton, includes five recording contracts as the act, Joe and Bing, two of which are still active. His songs, Alaska Bloodline and Barnstormer, were top 100 hits. In their early years, Joe and Bing were managed by the man who brought the Beatles to America, legendary impresario Sid Bernstein. The pair continue to actively perform, write songs and record, and their history and current activities can be found on their website, joeandbing.com.

Bing is also an award-winning (Clio, Emmy) composer of hundreds of advertising jingles as well as scores to documentary films and television shows. While living and working in New York City, he dabbled in acting as well, performing in over seventy television commercials and playing Alex on ABC’s popular Kids Are People Too series for four years.

In the early 1990s, Bing began working with a literary agent to write and develop stories for television and film. That relationship continues today and has generated a number of successes. In 1997, Bing’s story about the Flying Tigers of WWII, Earth, Wings and Fire, was optioned by Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures in a well-publicized deal. Three years and several stories later, Bing won the job of turning Senator John McCain’s memoir, Faith of My Fathers, into a screenplay. The film was eventually produced for A&E television in 2005 and nominated for five awards (Emmy, ASC). Bing has also written five, two-hour entertainment specials for A&E and a number of short stories. His tale, The Lesson, was published in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series in 2009. And recently another story, Sea of Dreams, which chronicles his transition from screenwriter to prep school teacher, won accolades in a popular online writing contest.

Bing teaches senior English and two electives: screenwriting and song writing. After coaching boys varsity tennis for many years, he now coaches golf, and serves as Director of College Counselor. His free time is spent working on a novel, summering in the Adirondacks, and staying in touch with family, most especially his two beautiful daughters, Elizabeth and Katherine.

Victor brings many years of experience in enrollment management and admissions to Marvelwood. His longest tenure was at his alma mater, the University of Bridgeport, where he served as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admission. During his time there, he strengthened recruitment by forming viable relations. In addition, he was able to exercise his passion for civic engagement, serving as co-advisor for the Alternative Spring Break program which brought students to different parts of the country for public purpose projects.

"I feel that Marvelwood understands the importance of treating each student as a unique individual. During the admissions process, we guide and support students on their path to cultivate their greatness".

In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, hiking and spending time with his family.

Heather joined the Marvelwood community as Bodkin Library Director in 2006. A longtime resident of Kent, she previously served as the Youth Services Librarian at the town library and was excited to transition to a young adult population. She took over the role as House Dean for Star Dorm in 2008 and continues to enjoy her role in the residential life aspect at Marvelwood.

Heather’s role at Marvelwood has evolved to include formally providing support and success in decision-making and accountability as the Dean of Students. Most recently, Heather became certified as an instructor in yoga and mindfulness and enjoys teaching these important skills to students as a complement to her philosophies of intentional and responsible community living. Heather continues to develop and integrate tenets of restorative justice into the Deans Office structure. Heather also serves as the COVID-19 Prevention and Compliance Task Force Coordinator.

After living a full and exciting 11 years in Star Dorm, Heather moved into a house on the edge of campus where she lives with her young son Becket, two cats, and flock of chickens. She is also the proud parent of two launched and thriving adult children - Kori and Tyler.

Sonny joined the Marvelwood faculty in the fall of 2021 as their music teacher, discovering what a welcoming and genuine community resides atop this mountain. Beyond the classroom, Sonny also takes part in the theater department as the music director for their fall productions, and directs the various extracurricular music ensembles. He is also part of the residential faculty in Lake dorm.

A graduate of Bard College's class of 2020, Sonny earned his B.A. in music, primarily studying classical vocal performance. His thesis recitals - "Verlust & Pérdida: On loss of love and innocence" and "Entre mis brazos: On belonging" - focused on German, Mexican, Spanish, and American art song; Sonny personally translated the poetry of each song cycle as part of his degree as well, fulfilling his concentration in Latin American and Iberian studies. Sonny was also a very active participant in many facets of the college music department, including Chamber Singers, the Bard Baroque Ensemble, Opera Workshop, and many student-led endeavors. He also helped found the Bard College Musical Theater Company, musically directing several of their inaugural productions, and served as the music director and arranger for Bard's a cappella group for three years.

While his collegiate career was mostly voice-centric, Sonny has a varied instrumental background as well. A classically trained oboist and English horn player, pianist, guitarist, percussionist, electric bassist, and aspiring clarinetist and trombonist, there is no shortage of musical curiosity in Sonny's life. He also channels this curiosity into composing, conducting, arranging for varied ensembles, and (his personal favorite) music theory and analysis.

Sonny spends his free time in the kitchen (participating as chef and diner alike), around the pool table, listening to favorite tunes, reading poetry, and studying foreign languages.

Barbara has been with Marvelwood since 2005, starting in the Business Office as Accounts Payable Associate. She moved to the position of Assistant to the Head of School in 2011, which brought a whole new prospective to working at the school; she thoroughly enjoys interacting with and helping students and their families, and brings enthusiastic positive energy to the position. Barbara currently is Vice Chair on the Board of Assistant Heads with CAIS. Barbara has two grown children, Lauren and Brian. Brian graduated from Marvelwood in 2010. She also has four grandchildren, who are her pride and joy. She lives in New Milford with her husband Michael and silly goldendoodle, Abby.

Although Amanda was born in New York, she never considered herself a New Yorker. "My brothers and I were raised in an active academic family on the east end of Long Island. While always involved in education, we were also nature lovers. We moved to Mallorca, Spain when I was two, and though we didn't grow up there, we maintained the house and a strong connection."

Amanda's introduction to boarding school life came from the Wooster School which she attended for four years. She went to Hobart William Smith College and during her junior year abroad started a ten year period of travel. "Despite my wandering, I graduated from SUNY Stony Brook (on time) in 1985, and continued studying Education throughout the decade. Having traveled all around Europe, Kenya, Mexico and even Russia, I decided to settle down and teach. I went to the Hoosac School in upstate NY to teach English, art and Spanish. After my son was born, I returned to Spain and taught at the American International School for a year. The Stony Brook School on Long Island and finally in 1999, I came to Marvelwood!"

Apart from a five year hiatus as Director of Student Life at Mount Snow Academy, Amanda has been here at Marvelwood ever since. Amanda is a passionate hiker, cook, and traveler and loves spending time with her family.

Emma Devanny ‘16 joins the Marvelwood faculty in 2021 as an alumni intern for residential life and athletics. Emma is a 2020 graduate of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT with a degree in Psychology and is currently enrolled at Post University, pursuing her masters in Counseling and Human Services. Emma will be a staple of the dorms on campus, interacting with students during dorm duties and evening study halls in Summit dorm, Sterling dorm and Star dorm. She will also be assisting with the girls soccer and softball teams, while serving as head coach of the girls varsity basketball team.

During Emma’s time at Marvelwood, she was an exemplary student and athlete. Her work ethic gained the admiration of her teachers and coaches, as she racked up award after award and record after record. In the classroom, Emma graduated from Marvelwood with high honors and was a member of the National Honor Society. On the sports field, Emma was a star soccer player, setting multiple school records in goals in a career and goals in a season. She was a team captain for all four years, was team MVP in 2014 and a four time All HVAL selection. On the basketball court, Emma was captain for two seasons and helped guide the team to 4 straight league championship games. She was an All HVAL selection three times. On the softball diamond, Emma was team MVP three times, All HVAL three times and won the HVAL championship with the team in 2015.

Emma resides in Summit dorm for this school year and is working hard on completing her masters program. In her free time, Emma loves dancing, working out and painting. She is also a horror movie aficionado, with her top 3 being Hereditary, Silence of the Lambs and The Witch.

Laurie has been with Marvelwood since 1987 and Chair of the Science Department for much of that time. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Lake Forest College and her M.Ed in special education from The University of Hartford. During her undergraduate years, she worked with Dr. Charles R. Brown on his pioneering studies focusing on the costs and benefits of coloniality in Cliff Swallows. Today, in collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Laurie and her students continue to engage in research on a different member of the swallow family, as well as purple martins, which are a threatened species in Connecticut.

Laurie is on the Board of Directors for the Kent Land Trust and is a consultant to the Kent Conservation Commission. Since 2001 Laurie and her students have operated a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) bird banding station on land trust property under the guidance of the Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) and the Sharon Audubon.

In 2007 Laurie created, “Building Migratory Bridges” a program which brings Marvelwood students together with underserved children in eastern Panama to learn about birds and conservation efforts. The yearly trip to Panama and the Cocobolo Nature Reserve is a research, exploration, and community outreach trip that is unlike any other!

Over the years Laurie and her students have initiated numerous research projects for local communities involving aquatic macro-invertebrates, amphibians, birds, vernal pool ecology, and GIS mapping. These research projects have contributed to the Town of Kent’s Natural Resource and Buildout Analysis, as well as habitat management plans for local land trusts. She has also been the recipient of numerous conservation educator and volunteer awards, as well as Faculty of the Year at graduation.