staff

“We do girls a disservice when we let our fears for them – and sometimes our fear of them – obscure the extraordinary gifts of mind, body, and spirit and the basic, normal, everyday developmental needs that define the lives of most adolescent girls.” -JoAnn Deak, Author & Advisor to Bromley Brook School.

Dr. David G. Hans, Executive Director. Dr. David G. Hans joined Bromley Brook School as Executive Director in December 2009. Dr. Hans has worked with youth and families in a variety of settings including therapeutic boarding, inpatient, day treatment, outpatient and schools. He obtained his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology. Prior to becoming a psychologist, Dr. Hans worked in corporate finance and investment banking in New York City and San Francisco.
Laura Mack, M.S., is our Academic Director. Laura has over thirty years of experience in education and spent many years in curriculum development and academic directorship. Laura is particularly passionate about helping girls find their own voice and has incorporated this into our academic curriculum here at Bromley Brook. Laura also shares her love of theatre and acting with the girls and has been a professional actress herself.
Sharon Hartunian is our Counseling Director. She has over twenty years experience as a clinician, clinical supervisor, program coordinator, consultant, and community trainer in a variety of settings, including high schools, colleges, hospitals, and outpatient clinics. Sharon specializes in work with adolescents and families, as well as substance abuse. She is particularly committed to working with teenage girls and their families, helping girls to build self-esteem, resilience and character and helping families to strengthen relationships, enhance communication and maintain appropriate expectations and boundaries. Sharon holds a Masters in Social Work from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She has two daughters and enjoys writing, running, and practicing yoga.
Beth Bove is our Admissions Director. For 15 years Beth Bove worked in the Human Resources field for several major corporations around Vermont. During that time Beth was also working with young adolescents in programming for the Vermont State Conference of Churches, leading youth retreats throughout New England, organizing fund raising events to help youth create community service options and training them on self awareness opportunities. She finally has been able to utilize all of her skills in the perfect job as Director of Admissions here at the Bromley Brook School.
Mary Sallisky joined the Bromley Brook team as Director of Operations on March 1, 2005. Mary was looking for new challenges after working in the Health Care system for many years. She feels our school has a wonderful energy that is very exciting. Mary graduated from Southern Vermont College with a major in Accounting and a minor in management. She earned her CPA in 1989. Mary has over 25 years of financial, managerial and operations experience. She is interested in photography, soap making and genealogy. Mary has been collecting information for quite some time and is in the process of creating a scrapbook of her family history and of her husband's as well.
Mary Jo Degrandi, M.S. is the head of Special Therapeutic Programs. Mary Jo has over 15 years of experience working with families and youth-at-risk, specializing in group and individual counseling, as well as training and workshop delivery. She has worked internationally and across the United States, including France, South India, Mexico, Alaska, and Minnesota. Most notably, Mary Jo has worked as a Therapeutic Wilderness Instructor, guiding and facilitating group and one-on-one wilderness treks, and as a Clinical Support Specialist, developing and implementing emotional growth curriculums for families and youth. While at graduate school, she focused on rites of passage and nature as contexts for self-discovery and healing. Mary Jo holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and English Literature from Fairfield University in Connecticut, and a Masters Degree in Ecopsychology and Environmental Science from Antioch New England Graduate School in New Hampshire.
Justin Bendall is our Director of Community Life. Justin graduated from Emory University ten years ago with a B.A. in English/Creative Writing. Since then he has worked in a variety of fields, including advertising - where he served as the Account Coordinator for the McDonald's account - and selling Class A commercial real estate in Atlanta. He found a home at Bromley Brook two years ago when he was hired to work in the Academic department and transitioned into the Community Life department at the start of 2008. He enjoys golfing - though not as often since moving North - and is a voracious reader. He lives with his wife, Leighann, and their dog, Huxley.

Alex Prior is an advisor to Bromley Brook School. Bromley Brook is starting a new collaboration with Alex Prior, LICSW, clinical social worker at Stone Center Counseling Services of Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Our work together will foster a unique way of working with girls that follows the theoretical foundations of Relational-Cultural Theory, formulated over the years from the work of scholars, researchers and clinicians at the Stone Centers for Women and the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at Wellesley College.

View the entire Bromley Brook School for Girls Staff List

The directors at Bromley Brook were chosen for their professional expertise, leadership ability and their personal passion for helping girls blossom into strong, beautiful young women.