Senior Leadership Team
Members of the Senior Leadership Team represent every aspect of Taft’s administrative operations, from academics, student life, and community culture to fiscal matters, our physical campus, and building a sound future through advanced and evolving admission and fundraising practices. They help shape a vision for the Taft’s future and lead the school community in bringing that vision to life.
Thomas Allen
Dean of Community, Justice, and Belonging
Thomas Allen has been instrumental in creating a culture of understanding, compassion, and belonging at Taft, often through educational programming and large-scale, community-wide events. He has created opportunities Taft students to visit historical sites in the US which provide context and aggregated histories of race in America, and guided students as they recreated those sites and experiences for the full Taft community.
Allen’s background includes experience in social work and as a guidance counselor in Hartford, CT, Waterbury, CT, and his hometown of Philadelphia, PA. He is also a certified personal trainer and is the co-founder of Triple Threat Training Sports Performance. He holds BS and MSW degrees from Springfield College, and an MCP degree from Rosemont College.
Peter Becker ’95
Head of School
Peter Becker began his tenure as Taft’s sixth Head of School on July 1, 2023.
As a Taft graduate, Becker knows, loves, and values Taft’s mission and culture: its insistence on excellence, passion for community and belonging, commitment to improvement and to service, and pride in school spirit. His career has always been about students. As a teacher, coach, advisor, dorm head, department chair, and head of school, he has worked with empathy and caring to help students feel valued so they can grow and succeed. As a head, he has shown a tremendous ability to administer and lead, inspiring others with a strategic vision and working collaboratively to improve and transform the school.
Amanda Bohnsack
Director of Enrollment Management
Before joining Taft in 2024, Amanda Bohnsack spent five years as the Director of Admission at Deerfield Academy, served as the Director of Secondary School Advising at the Greenwich Country Day School, and spent a decade at her alma mater, The Hotchkiss School, where she worked in the admission office, coached field hockey, hockey, and softball, served as an advisor, and lived in a dormitory with ninth and tenth grade girls.
Earlier in her career, Bohnsack spent three years working in San Francisco and a year guiding fly fishing trips in Jackson, Wyoming. She earned her undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and holds a master’s in education from the University of Southern California.
Eileen Bouffard ’98
Assistant Head of School for Faculty & Academics
As Assistant Head of School for Faculty and Academics, Dr. Bouffard ’98 provides leadership for Taft’s academic program and faculty, helping advance the school’s mission and strategic priorities while supporting the continued growth and development of its educators.
Building on the work of Taft’s Strategic Design Plan, Dr. Bouffard helps bring to life the aspirations articulated in Taft’s Portrait of a Learner and Portrait of an Educator, ensuring that the school’s academic program continues to prepare students for lives of purpose, leadership, and service while supporting excellence in teaching. She plays a central role in translating Taft’s strategic vision into evolving programs and experiences for students.
Kathleen Cleary
Chief Advancement Officer
As Chief Advancement Officer, Kathleen Cleary brings leadership and strategic vision to all aspects of Taft’s constituent relations and fundraising activities through the broad and comprehensive work carried out by Taft’s 20+-member alumni development team, including major, endowed, leadership, and planned giving; the Taft Fund and the Parents’ Fund; reunion and class campaigns; advancement services and operations; development and campaign communications; and constituent relations and special events.
Before coming to Taft, Cleary spent a decade at Phillips Academy, where she oversaw the major and principal giving operation. Her work and leadership were integral to Andover’s $400 million Knowledge & Goodness campaign, and to the growth and elevation of their advancement operation. She distinguished herself through her work on a women’s philanthropic initiative, metric development and implementation, philanthropic mentorship, and strategic programming. Her background also includes time as director of philanthropy and The Nature Conservancy, and in major and principal gift officer roles at the renowned Mayo Clinic.
Cleary earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from the University of South Florida. She has also participated in numerous certificate programs through the Harvard Division of Continuing Education.
Samuel Davidson
Director of Institutional Research
As the Director of Institutional Research, Sam Davidson brings a strong analytical background and human-centered design to supporting the various academic and operational functions to Taft. Originally from Madison, Connecticut, Davidson attended The Hotchkiss School and Bucknell University.
Prior to his arrival at Taft Davidson spent a decade working in urban K12 education using data to support schools and school leaders. He is passionate about helping teams find measurable ways to improve and elevate their work.
Jennifer Kenerson
Senior Advisor to the Head of School
Jennifer was appointed Senior Advisor to the Head of School in 2025, after serving as the Dean of Academic Affairs from 2018-25 and the Mathematics Department Chair from 2015-18. She also teaches math.
Kenerson came to Taft in the fall of 1994 after graduating from Bowdoin College with a degree in math and economics. She also played college field hockey, squash, and lacrosse. Kenerson earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University in 2002.
Jake Odden
Chief Financial Officer
Jake Odden ’86 returned to his alma mater as its Chief Financial Officer in January 2019.
He spent the prior twenty years helping build and manage Aberdare Ventures, a leading San Francisco-based healthcare-focused venture capital firm. As a Partner & COO at Aberdare, he assumed leadership responsibility across a broad spectrum of activities, including helping establish investment focus and strategy, serving on company boards, overseeing marketing and fundraising activities, and helping build a highly complementary and collaborative team.
Earlier in his career, Odden worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and in strategic planning at The Walt Disney Company. Odden holds an M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth and a B.A. From Bowdoin College.
Kaitlin Orfitelli
Director of Marketing and Communications
Kaitlin Orfitelli leads the Marketing and Communications Office, a great group of storytellers who work through text, imagery, print, and digital experiences to tell the world about Taft. Orfitelli oversees the production of the school's alumni magazine, website, social media channels, and all external messaging and branding. She also serves as spokesperson for Taft.
Prior to joining the Taft community, Orfitelli was a member of the public affairs team at Yale Law School, serving in a number of capacities throughout her eight years there—including wearing hats as a writer, managing editor of the Yale Law Report, news director, and deputy director of communications.
Before taking her position at Yale, Orfitelli taught English and was the director of communications at Suffield Academy. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Bowdoin College, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in English. Kaitlin also received her Master of Fine Arts from the program for writers at Warren Wilson College.
Ozzie Parente
Assistant Head of School for Student Life
As Assistant Head of School for Student Life, Parente serves as a senior leader and architect of the student experience beyond the classroom. He sits on the school’s senior administrative team and leads the Student Life Team, which encompasses residential life, wellness, advising, leadership development, discipline, student activities, and community programming, working closely with colleagues to cultivate a residential and co-curricular environment that is joyful, inclusive, purpose-driven, and aligned with Taft’s mission and Portrait of a Learner.
Before his appointment to the Assistant Head of School post, Parente served as Associate Dean of Students and Co-Chair of Taft’s Strategic Design Implementation Team. In his work within the Office of Student Life, he helped foster a safe, healthy, and inclusive residential environment while partnering closely with students, faculty, and families. His leadership emphasizes belonging, relationship-building, and student growth — shifting student life beyond rule management toward mentorship, connection, and character development.