Moses Brown School Announces David Smallwood as new CFO

Moses Brown School is pleased to announce that David Smallwood will become Moses Brown’s next chief financial officer, effective May 1, 2023. Smallwood, who will succeed Vickie Monta, was selected following a national search led by Moses Brown’s new Head of School, Katie Titus, who begins on July 1, 2023. Deerfield Associates partnered with the school in attracting a talented pool of candidates.

A financial leader in the education sector, Smallwood has held a range of roles with progressive responsibilities at Harvard Medical School for over twenty years, culminating in a two-year appointment as interim CFO amid the pandemic. He has served as the school’s executive director of finance and director of financial planning and analysis, and has held accounting, analyst, and budget management positions at the school. He earned an undergraduate degree in music performance at Berklee College of Music and an MBA at Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

“The stewardship and management of the school’s financial resources for the educational support of our students is among our most essential responsibilities,” said Moses Brown’s incoming Head of School Katie Titus. “It’s gratifying to add David Smallwood to the deep bench of talented senior leaders at the school. The depth of David’s strategic financial management skills will be an invaluable asset as we plan for the ongoing success and future of Moses Brown.”

Smallwood will support Moses Brown’s mission by providing strategic oversight of the school’s operating budget, capital expenditures, endowment, physical plant, and auxiliary operations.

“Moses Brown School has held a long-standing leadership position in education,” said Smallwood, “and I am inspired by its deep commitment to providing extraordinary academic programs rooted in Quaker values. As its next Chief Financial Officer, I look forward to partnering with the community to sustain the school’s financial strength while strategically stewarding its financial and physical resources in support of the educational mission.”

Further strengthening leadership of the school’s operations, Moses Brown also announces the promotion of two valued staff members. Effective immediately, Jen Rawson has been elevated to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer, and Peter Arpin to Senior Director of Facilities and Capital Projects. As COO, Rawson will provide strategic oversight of the school’s summer and after-school programs, dining, transportation, facility rentals, and campus operations, taking on increased strategic management of the school’s buildings and grounds. Rawson will report to Smallwood, and Arpin will report to Rawson in his expanded role managing the campus (valued at over $100M) and new capital projects. 

“I’m proud of our ability to attract leaders from some of the top schools in the country, as we also develop talent from within,” said Interim Head of School, Ron Dalgliesh. “David, Jen, and Peter’s leadership will amplify Moses Brown’s ability to provide the financial, operational, and physical resources required to continue to enhance the quality of teaching and learning for our students.”

With Smallwood in place as CFO, Katie Titus has solidified her most senior leadership team for the 2023-24 school year. Debbie Phipps will remain as Associate Head of School for Academics and Dalgliesh will return to his role as Associate Head of School for Community Engagement. Together, these four bring nearly 100 years of combined senior leadership experience at universities, boarding, and independent day schools.