February 20, 2020
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
Nineteen years ago, Doug Cooney started Deerfield Associates as a dream—to combine his significant experience in executive search with a strong affinity for the education sector. His early years growing up in Northampton, Massachusetts, a block from Smith College, later graduating from UMass, Amherst with undergraduate and graduate degrees, and then working as a young Admission Officer at Vassar College (in the early days of their coeducation) all contributed to Doug’s powerful desire to build a “boutique” executive search firm dedicated exclusively to senior leadership administrative searches in the world of academia.
As a retained search firm, we are best known for our high-quality personalized service, confidentiality and, most importantly, for our ability to recruit and deliver to each hiring client the very best candidate of choice. For us at Deerfield Associates, it is all about the right match for both the hiring client and the candidate of choice. deerfieldassociates.com
Our search firm completed 19 searches in 2019, and six searches in the first quarter of 2020. Rest assured, though, that the theme of DA is quality over quantity.
Now in our 19th year, we take great pride that 88% of our 133 clients in education have returned to us for additional search work. Repeat business from hiring clients is the best barometer of the highest quality search work. In some cases repeat business from hiring clients has been significant: Yale University (24), Dartmouth College (11), Bowdoin College (8), The Taft School (8), Deerfield Academy (6), The Nightingale-Bamford School (6), The Spence School (6), Milton Academy (6), The Fessenden School (5), Hopkins School (5), Amherst College (5), Babson College (5), Bentley University (5), Mount Holyoke College (5) and Mercersburg Academy (4).
Endorsements are very important to us. Please click here to read what our hiring clients from this past year told us about their experience. You’ll also find comments from a few of the candidates of choice, and can read what they say about Doug Cooney and Deerfield Associates.
As a national search firm, we have tremendous capacity to recruit on a national and international basis. We are both “importers and exporters of talent.” Here are examples of our contacts with strong geographical reach, highlighting our ability to be able to recruit and relocate the very best talent:
| Name | Current Job | Current Organization | Location | Prior Organization |
| Jake Odden | Chief Financial Officer | The Taft School | Watertown, Connecticut | Burlingame, California |
| Lawrence Crimmins | Director of Development | The Taft School | Watertown, Connecticut | The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio |
| Vickie Monta | Director of Finance and Operations | Moses Brown School | Providence, Rhode Island | The Nightingale-Bamford School |
| Felicia Smith | Director of Institutional Advancement | Saint Andrew’s School | Boca Raton, Florida | The International School of Zug, Switzerland |
| Holly Pratt | Chief Financial Officer | Saint Andrew’s School | Boca Raton, Florida | St. Paul’s School, Concord, New Hampshire |
| Mike Archibald | Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations | Bowdoin College | Brunswick, Maine | Scripps College, Claremont, California |
| Fred Baumgarten | Director of Foundation Relations and Sponsored Research | Mount Holyoke College | South Hadley, Massachusetts | Sarah Lawrence University, Bronxville, New York |
| Nicole Graas | Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts | Yale University | New Haven, Connecticut | Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Peter Boston | Senior Associate Director, Principal Gifts | Yale University | New Haven, Connecticut | Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass |
| Greg Pollard | Senior Associate Director Development | Babson College | Wellesley, Massachusetts | Ransom Everglades School, Miami, Florida |
| Meredith VanDuyne | Director of Institutional Advancement | Flint Hill School | Oakton, Virginia | Breck School, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Michelle Odell | Director of Signature and Special Programs | Flint Hill School | Oakton, Virginia | York Country Day School, York, Pennsylvania |
| Denis Stokes | Director of Advancement | The Episcopal School of Dallas | Dallas, Texas | Christ School, Arden, North Carolina |
| Laurie Hindley | Director of Advancement | The Hewitt School | New York, New York | Dulwich College, London, England |
| Doug Odom | Chief Financial Officer | The Hewitt School | New York, New York | Lowell School, Washington, DC |
| Krista Campbell | Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations | Hamilton College | Clinton, New York | Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania |
We continue to serve and are tremendously loyal to our long term clients. Thank you! We have also teamed up with twelve new clients this past year, including: Phillips Exeter Academy, Greens Farms Academy, Moses Brown School, The Wheeler School, The Elisabeth Morrow School, Convent of the Sacred Heart School, Rumsey Hall School, Wooster School, New Canaan Country School, The Lovett School, Boston University Academy, and Vassar College.
Finally, our search team is strategically based in diverse geographies to best serve our national audience. While Wellesley, Massachusetts continues to serve as home base, our search team is also located in Amherst, Massachusetts, Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia and Miami, Florida.
We thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to our paths crossing again soon.
All best wishes,
Doug Cooney
Executive Search Consultant
& Founder, Deerfield Associates