Flying Cloud Institute appoints new executive director

Great Barrington — Flying Cloud Institute has announced that Maria Rundle was appointed as its next executive director at its board of trustees meeting on Dec. 7, 2016.
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.
“We took our time to find just the right person,” stated Amy Rudnick, chair of Flying Cloud’s board of trustees. “Our search for Jane Burke’s successor was broad and thoughtful and we are thrilled to find the perfect new leader right here in our community. Maria won us all over with her deep commitment to education, her skills as a collaborative leader, and her enthusiasm for Flying Cloud’s mission.”
Rundle will step into her new role on Monday, Jan. 16. As planned, Burke and her husband will both step off the board of trustees in February 2017, though she will continue to work with Flying Cloud as a consultant and an educator in its various programs. Burke has been the leader of Flying Cloud since she, her husband and her father founded it 35 years ago.