Flying Cloud Institute Appoints New Executive Director
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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Maria Rundle has been appointed as the next executive director of the Flying Cloud Institute.
Rundle is currently the director of development at Gould Farm in Monterey, where she has worked since 2008. Initially managing the Childcare Program, Rundle was promoted to her current position in 2012 where she has raised a substantial portion of Gould Farm's annual budget. In addition, she just completed a four-year term on the School Committee of the Southern Berkshire Regional School District.
Prior to moving to Monterey, Rundle was an educator while getting her master's degree in Education from SUNY Binghamton. She spent three years after her college experience as a union organizer both in Chicago and upstate New York.
"I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Flying Cloud Institute into its next phase. Jane Burke has created a treasure, and it's an honor to be able to put my shoulder to the wheel to move Flying Cloud forward," Rundle said. "I am passionate about education and believe that Flying Cloud’s winning combination of science, art, nature, engineering, creativity, and technology is the gold standard for a lifelong love of learning. Its programs have helped thousands of Berkshire county students identify seamlessly as artists and scientists, performers and programmers."
Rundle will step into her new role on January 16. As planned, Jane Burke and her husband, Larry Burke will both step off the Board of Directors in February. Burke will continue to work with Flying Cloud Institute as a consultant and an educator in its various programs. Burke has been the leader of Flying Cloud Institute since she, along with her husband and her father, founded it 35 years ago. The leadership transition has been underway for a number of years and is now nearing completion with the hiring of Rundle.
"I am amazed that our once small program now reaches so many children. I think the future of the organization is bright with Maria at the helm, and I look forward to seeing Flying Cloud continue to grow through her leadership," Jane Burke said.
Flying Cloud Institute is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire young people and educators through dynamic science and art experiences that ignite creativity. For more than 35 years, its programs have brought programs in the sciences and engineering to young people through creative strategies in the arts. Today it serves over 3,500 students in Berkshire County’s schools and is a leader in science and arts professional development for teachers and innovative programming for youth.
