Dustin Heuston
Dustin Heuston is chairman, founder, and CEO of Waterford Institute. Dustin’s impressive presence in the world of education, combined with his real life experiences, have allowed him to be one of the most innovative minds in the field of early childhood education. Born and raised in New York City, Dustin attended PS81 and PS7 in the Bronx. After attending the Bronx High School of Science, he transferred to Mt. Hermon, a New England boarding school. Following his graduation from Hamilton College in 1954, he began a Wall Street banking career before being pulled into the Korean War as a Naval Air Intelligence Officer. He served in the Pacific Theater touring on two aircraft carriers, the Kearsarge and the Shangri-La. Following his military service, Dustin received a master’s degree from Stanford and a doctorate from New York University in American literature. He taught at the college and university level (Brigham Young, Vassar, and Pine Manor) for eight years before becoming headmaster of the Spence School in New York City from 1969 until 1977. Inspired by a desire to help as many children as possible overcome the challenges of learning, Dustin founded Waterford Institute in 1976. He soon moved the Institute to Provo, Utah, where he hired a group of leading scholars from Brigham Young University to help develop instructional materials. In 1981 he established Waterford School. Dusty and his wife Nancy have 6 children, 14 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.
Benjamin Heuston
Edward Benjamin Hull Heuston is currently the president and chief operating officer of Waterford Institute. He has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and English from Swarthmore College and a master’s and doctorate in Psychology from Brigham Young University. Heuston is a member of and has presented for Society for Scientific Study of Reading and is a member of International Gold Key Honour Society. Since 2004, he has been mentor for Utah Entrepreneurship Challenge. Heuston resides in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife and five children.
Ed Arsuffi
Ed Arsuffi has been a force of innovation in the creative film and video industry for over 20 years. His skills range from editing to authoring, to technical support and beyond. Currently, Ed is the Vice President of Research & Development at Waterford Institute. In addition to the many years spent at Waterford Institute, Ed has worked for such renowned companies as SageMD/ARGUS L.L.C.; Pinnaclepost, Inc.; Eagle Edit; Bonneville Communications, Inc.; and FilmWorks, Inc. Ed has also had the opportunity to use his skills as an independent consultant to various agencies in the United States government.
Ann Treacy
Ann Treacy is Vice President of Human Resources and Facilities at Waterford Institute. She began her career at Waterford in the early days as a receptionist in a trailer on the campus of the Waterford School in 1991. She is responsible for HR policies in both for the US and International Offices. Ann is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the American Management Association (AMA).
Claudia Miner
Dr. Claudia Miner is the Vice President of Development at Waterford Institute. She has over 25 years of experience in non-constituent-based institutional advancement, focusing on all aspects of fundraising, public relations, and marketing. She has been invaluable as Waterford Institute continues to extend their reach to more children. Prior to coming to Waterford, Claudia was Vice President for Institutional Advancement at the Desert Research Institute, an environmental research organization, and Director of Development for The National Judicial College, a non-profit providing training for U.S. and international judges. At Waterford, Claudia’s responsibilities include prospect identification, grant writing, foundation and corporate initiatives, and government relations. Her current work focuses on extending Waterford’s reach to more children, including the Utah technology-based pre-K program. Claudia received her undergraduate degree from Colgate University, her Master’s degree from the College of William and Mary, and her doctorate degree from Washington State University.
Bill Gibbons
Bill Gibbons is the Vice President of Finance and the Chief Financial Officer at Waterford Institute and a veteran among corporate financial managers. His experience has been focused in the technology sector, with nine years as CFO of Folio Corporation, along with experience for other software publishers such as Knowlix Corp., and Infobases Inc. He joined Waterford as CFO after a ten-year corporate finance consulting practice, in which he assisted clients in M&A transactions, venture funding, and in defining and achieving optimal capital structures to maximize enterprise value.
Valerie Connell
Valerie Connell is the Vice President of Product and Market Strategy with over 20 years of experience in Product Management and Business Strategy. Her broad experience began on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and she has been involved in strategic acquisitions at multi-billion-dollar international corporations, has founded several startup technology companies, and has managed hundreds of product launches. Prior to joining Waterford Institute, Valerie was with publishing giant LexisNexis. Her responsibilities at Waterford Institute include strategic planning and developing the product portfolio.
