A founding member of the Greater Dwight Development Corporation, Ms. Townsend Maier has a background in finance and business management. Since her arrival, she has worked in a leadership capacity at GDDC serving as President of its Board of Directors from 1994 to 2000. In 2001 she took the helm as Executive Director and has never looked back. Indeed, Townsend Maier’s vision is forward moving as she notes the necessity of staying two steps ahead of everyone else. This is a mindset that has served her (and the GDDC) extremely well as she continues to lead the charge through grant applications, ensuring all functioning projects stay on track and that work is done according to specifications. Such meticulous attention to detail continues to pay off in multiple ways. Board Members and Staff know how to: anticipate and prevent risks; troubleshoot possible courses of action to ensure decisions are not detrimental; and ensure that the programs developed have the ability to nurture independent young people. Townsend Maier maintains that once the children know they can be successful they can learn to succeed in other environments. In other words, the MSOE sets its young pupils up to succeed, surely a giant step toward lifelong learning. When she’s not working, Townsend Maier enjoys spending time with her family, particularly her grandchildren.
