In 2019, St. Mary of the Assumption School and The Healey Education Foundation partnered to establish a Board of Specified Jurisdiction at St. Mary’s to assist with school governance. The Board of Specified Jurisdiction is a mission-driven, results-driven body with a bias for action. The Board has voting oversight of the governance and fiscal health of the school. The Board provides guidance for the enrollment, fundraising, and fiscal aspects of school management.
St. Mary of the Assumption School School Board
Damien Leigh, Chair
Damien Leigh serves as Chair of the St. Mary’s School Board. Additionally, he is a member of the parish finance council.
He is Senior Vice President, Direct to Consumer at New Balance. Damien looks after NB’s e-commerce, retail, marketplace, and social commerce businesses, globally. Additionally, he is responsible for digital product and engineering. He spent over ten years at Staples in a host of senior-level roles in retail, e-commerce, and sales. Damien has a proven track record as a strong general manager and leader who has led both growth and operational turnarounds.
Before leaving for New Balance, Damien was Senior Vice President and General Manager at Staples.com and Mid-Market. Prior to Staples, Damien worked for Bain and Company. He also served as a Captain in the United States Army. Damien has a BS in Engineering from West Point and an MBA from Dartmouth College (Tuck School of Business).
Damien has been a parishioner at St. Mary’s for six years and lives in Coolidge Corner with his wife Mary Jane, two sons, Matt and Andrew, and two dogs, Roxy and Roby. Additionally, Damien competed in the St. Mary’s 5k Race and won his age group!
Fr. Jonathan Gaspar, Pastor
Sarah Kelly, Secretary
Sarah is a Corporate Partnerships Director at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, an organization that raises funds for 170 children’s hospitals across the U.S. and Canada, helping make sure every child receives the best possible care. The Corporate Partnerships team is responsible for driving more than $200 million in revenue annually. In her role, Sarah leads the strategy for key relationships with corporate supporters.
Sarah has been with CMN Hospitals since 2015, working in a variety of roles in collegiate peer-to-peer fundraising, business development, and now corporate partnerships. In this role, Sarah focuses on building strong relationships with partners, developing corporate social responsibility solutions that fit business needs, and increasing fundraising for local member hospitals.
Sarah holds degrees from Auburn University in Human Development & Family Studies and Spanish. She lives in Boston and is a proud Missouri native.
Kitty Boles
Kitty Boles taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for 25 years, serving as Senior Lecturer on Education and Director of the Learning and Teaching Master’s Program until her retirement in 2018. Kitty was a classroom teacher for over 20 years before earning her doctorate at Harvard. With her colleague, Vivian Troen, Kitty has written extensively about school reform, teacher education, new forms of teacher leadership, and the connection between educational research and teaching practice.
Kitty lives in Brookline with her husband Barney. They have a son, Henry, who lives in Utah with his wife and two children, and a daughter, Molly, who lives in Uruguay. Kitty loves to travel, and in addition to visiting her children and grandchildren, she enjoys trips to New York City and Paris for good food and theatre.
Kitty is a parishioner at St. Mary’s and an active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Michelle L’Etoile
Michelle L’Etoile serves as a member of the St. Mary’s School Board. She is the Director of Graduate Admissions at Boston University School of Law. She leads the recruitment, admissions, and enrollment strategy for the law school’s LL.M., master’s degree, certificate, and other non-J.D. programs. She has over 30 years of experience in admissions having overseen J.D. admissions previously at New England Law | Boston and Boston University School of Law.
Always a lover of languages, Michelle received both her B.A. in English and Ed.M. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Boston University. She enjoys learning new languages and practicing with her students who come from over 45 countries each year. Currently, she is an avid watcher of Korean drama shows.
Michelle has been a parishioner at St. Mary’s for 26 years and lives with her husband Albert and their two teenage children, Juliette and Charlie, in North Brookline.
Jeremiah Smith
Jerry Smith serves as a member of the St. Mary’s School Board. He is the Senior Director of Advancement at Catholic Charities Boston, where he oversees annual giving, stewardship, and development operations. Jerry has more than a decade of experience helping organizations raise money for their missions. Prior to Catholic Charities, he worked for Goodwill and Merrimack College.
Jerry is a graduate of Merrimack College and enjoys spending time with family and friends, board games, Boston sports, and traveling. He is a parishioner at St. Cecilia Parish in Back Bay (where he met his wife). Jerry lives in Arlington with his wife Andrea and their Old English Sheepdog named Dudley.
Mary Russo
