MARLBORO — The Board of Directors of Potash Hill, Inc., a subsidiary non-profit organization of the Marlboro School of Music, recently hired Brian Mooney as its managing director. In this newly-created position, Mooney will oversee the management, marketing, constituent and community relations, scheduling, and program development for activities on the southern Vermont campus from September through May each year.
In September 2021, Marlboro Music’s subsidiary, Potash Hill, Inc., purchased the campus that, since 1951, has been home to the Marlboro Music School and Festival. The rural, hilltop campus, formerly owned by Marlboro College, comprises more than 50 buildings on 560 acres.
As managing director, Mooney will work to secure tenants and partners for the campus with a focus on artistic, cultural, educational and environmental uses throughout the year; to ensure that the uses of the campus are compatible with the values and summer program of Marlboro Music; to maintain strong, positive relations with the town, region and state; and to explore additional ways in which the campus can benefit the area.
“We are delighted to have Brian serve in this new position and to oversee the vital work of realizing the potential of this beautiful and important campus,” said Anthony Berner, chair of the Potash Hill Board, in a statement. “My colleagues and I engaged in a very thorough and deliberative hiring process. While we spoke with a number of excellent candidates, we were especially impressed by Brian. We believe he has the vision, range of skills, depth of knowledge, collegiality, and in-depth understanding of Marlboro Music, the campus, and the community necessary to be successful.”
“I am honored to have been chosen for this position,” Mooney said in a statement. “As a graduate of Marlboro College, a former visiting professor of writing at the college, and a longtime community resident, I care deeply about the property and its legacy.” He added, “I understand the importance of the campus locally, regionally and nationally. For generations, it has been a place for cultural exchanges, learning and creativity at the highest levels. I look forward to working with the Potash Hill Board to identify other meaningful and productive uses of it in the years and decades ahead.”
In addition to his writing and teaching activities, Mooney is the recipient of grants from the Vermont Council on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Vermont Community Foundation. As founder of Storymatic Studios, he created the popular Storymatic family of writing prompts and games, a quarter million of which are in homes and classrooms around the world. As managing director of Potash Hill, Mooney joins a team that includes Karen Kloster, operations director; Dan Cotter, director of plant and operations; other maintenance and operations staff; and the administrative, financial, marketing, and development staff of Marlboro Music.
