How Maxine Armstrong & Amanda Wilson Armstrong Foster a Rich Academic Environment

Photography by ChiChi Ubina

Maxine Armstrong

I have lived in the area since 1974. I grew up in New Brunswick, New Jersey and went to school at George Washington University in DC, majoring in journalism and political science. I began my career in public relations in DC before moving to Greenwich, where I took a job in customer relations and marketing for a newsprint manufacturing company. I did some traveling in that position, visiting publishers and printing plants of major American newspapers.

While my girls were at Greenwich Academy, I was a principal and founder of Armstrong & Evans Publications. My partner, Marylou Evans and I produced art books, the Greenwich Polo magazine, brochures and catalogs.

Founding REACH Prep with three dynamic educators, Patsy Howard, Patricia Young and Nancy Hoffmann

Patsy Howard, head of Greenwich Academy, was familiar with Prep for Prep, a similar successful program in New York City. She invited me to a meeting with Gary Simons of the Trinity School in New York, who founded Prep for Prep. When I attended this meeting, along with a small group of trustees and parents, I had no idea why Patsy included me. I had been very active at the school, having chaired the annual benefit and was a member of the parent board but I had no idea that she was planning on seeding a similar program to Prep for Prep at GA and would want my leadership to help get it off the ground.

Meanwhile, Nancy Hoffmann, head of GA admissions, and Pat Young, head of the Lower School, had designed a curriculum similar to Prep for Prep’s with the goal of ensuring young women of color were prepared for entry into the 6th grade. This group was targeted because they were the most underrepresented in higher education and professional fields. GA had previously been seeking to diversify, but in some instances the efforts failed because the candidates had not had the coursework in their public school that was needed to make a successful transition. Equally important, GA wanted to include students of color so as to bring different voices and perspectives to the classroom and who would serve as role models and enrich the educational experience for the student body at large.

Shortly after this larger gathering, Pat, Nancy, Treasurer of the board of trustees Sharon Phillips and I met with Patsy to begin discussions on how to launch a similar program to Prep for Prep — set up a 501C3, put together a board of directors, seek applicants and strategize a development plan. The result of that gathering was that I was asked to chair the newly established Board of Directors with Sharon Phillips acting as treasurer and Nancy and Pat as executive directors. We brought in Deborah Stiles, an attorney and supporter of diversity in independent schools, to serve as my co-chair for the launch.

A small group of local independent schools that admitted girls formed our core placement opportunities the first year and we began with a class of seven young women.Once the schools saw how easily the girls made the transition, those that were co-ed began to ask for boys and that is how we grew to taking a class of 20 each year and placing them into dozens of independent schools, in not only Fairfield and Westchester Counties, but also in upstate CT and Manhattan.

Did you grow up attending independent schools? Did you feel that this was important for your children?

I attended public school, but my husband attended Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, which at the time was an all-boys private school. When we were deciding the path for our daughters and after visiting Greenwich Academy, we came to realize that single sex education offers many advantages. I believe my daughters thrived in a rigorous academic environment that offered many diverse activities and opportunities for leadership.

What other nonprofits have you been involved with?

In addition to shepherding Reach Prep, I have held board positions or committee chairmanships at the Greenwich United Way, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich, the Bruce Museum, ARCH Street Teen Center, Friends of the Greenwich Library, Junior League of Greenwich and Greenwich Academy. I was honored as a “Spirit of Greenwich” by the YWCA and as a Greenwich United Way Lifetime Sole Sister.

My roles have included board development, staff hiring and evaluation, strategic planning, fundraising and donor identification, marketing, public relations, event planning and community partnerships.

Most of us who took leadership positions in the town in the 80s and 90s were women who were not working or were working part-time. We loved getting together during the day and often made our meetings a social occasion. Many of us crossed over into multiple organizations and it was easy to find a friend to add to a committee or chair an event.

Volunteering has changed

There came a time when we volunteers was very concerned about the next generation of leadership. Interest in hands-on involvement seemed to wane during the aughts. But now we are thrilled that the millennial generation – our daughters and sons – is filling that gap and are passionate about their engagement. And, they seem to be having so much fun in the process! While more meetings are now on zoom calls or scheduled between business trips, this group of volunteers has come up with new ideas for successful fund raising that excite the community.

Funding sources have changed to an extent. Donors in corporate leadership positions had a discretionary fund from which he or she could designate a local organization that reflected his/her interests. Over time that changed and the process became a more formal one in which one needed to submit a detailed grant proposal, sometimes years in advance, that reflected the goals of the company. Having said that, many donations are still based on personal relationships, but in a different sense. So many supporters of Greenwich institutions have their own companies, funds or family foundations from which they generously draw support.

The days of stuffing envelopes with annual appeals and invitations seem to have passed – as has writing press releases weeks in advance and mailing them to all the local media outlets along with 5 x 7 photos. I did it that way for many years and appreciate how easily and quickly information is disseminated now.

The Future

I am excited about the future of the organization. I believe the program will continue to strive for excellence – recruiting intellectually curious and diligent candidates, updating the program to be compatible with the independent schools curricula and broadening its development efforts to continually attract more involvement from donor engagement. Our base has widened, reflecting the parental involvement from a number of schools and strong continued growth for the organization. It attracts not only financial commitment from donors but, equally as important, mentorships, camperships, interview prep and support for college students throughout their experiences, as well as helping them to steer through their career choices. It truly is a partnership with the community on so many levels.

Amanda Armstrong Wilson

Having grown up in Greenwich, what brought you back? 

I always knew that I wanted to come back to Greenwich after having such a positive experience growing up in this amazing town. Specifically, in 2015, I applied for and was hired for a role at Starwood Hotels & Resorts (since purchased by Marriott International) running their sports and entertainment sponsorship platform for the SPG loyalty program. This role was based in Stamford, CT and provided the impetus I needed to look for a home for myself and my husband, Sam, in Greenwich as we had been living in New York City after college and business school. At the time, Sam also had family (his brother, sister-in-law and niece) living in Riverside. Soon after we arrived, I became pregnant with my oldest son Gray and gave birth in March 2016. After maternity leave, I continued on at Starwood, which officially became Marriott International in January 2017. I remained in various marketing and partnership roles—having my second child, Brooks, in November of 2018—until I left in September 2020 for an exciting leadership role at Wilderness, a hospitality and conservation company that runs luxury sustainable safaris across eight countries in Africa.

You grew up seeing your mom involved with REACH Prep. How did you get involved? 

My Mom was always involved in something—whether through Greenwich Academy or one of the many non-profit organizations she spearheaded in town. She loves to give back and support others and that spirit and determination is something that I share as well. Greenwich Academy also prepared us to be very civic-minded and community service was an expected and inspiring part of the curriculum. Maxine was incredibly busy with REACH during my high school years, but I didn’t really understand the impact of the organization (and her hard work) until I was in college. One of the first luncheons I attended was after my father passed away in 2005 and I recall being very proud of what she and the organization had achieved. Sam and I became involved about five years ago when we started to attend some of the long-standing annual events and new events targeted at a younger audience. We were some of the first members of the Junior Council that then became the Associate Board, which has been a huge part of our philanthropy in town. A favorite memory of mine is Sam emceeing the auction for the “I love the 90s!” fundraiser at Arch Street in 2019.

What are your thoughts on the upside of an independent school education? 

I am a huge proponent of an independent school education and was so fortunate to attend Greenwich Academy. The academic curriculum, resources and expertise of the teachers ignited my intellectual curiosity. The athletics and leadership opportunities gave me confidence and a sense of belonging. Sam had equally valuable experiences at Calvert Academy and Gilman School in Baltimore. My older son, Gray is at Brunswick School in second grade and has been thriving in an academically challenging yet incredibly loving and warm environment.

Reach Prep Growing Up + The Associate Board

REACH has made a tremendous impact in its first 30 years, and it feels like the sky’s the limit. It is awe-inspiring to see the scholars that have graduated from the program that now have leadership roles in their respective industries. I would like to see the organization continue to flourish and I expect that will happen with the huge surge in support of a younger demographic in Greenwich that is passionately behind REACH and its mission.

How has the Associate Board helped the cause?

The Associate Board has been integral to spreading the word about the organization and hosting a series of engaging events that have now become cornerstones of Greenwich’s social calendar. At each event, we usually hear from a scholar or two about their time at REACH and what they are doing now, and it has been, hands-down, the most meaningful and special part of the programming.

 The Associate Board has members that are affiliated with a variety of independent schools across Greenwich and surrounding towns, and are engaged in various professions. I am blown away by the perspectives and experience that each member brings to the table. Meetings are always fun; we love to brainstorm and plan and have such a talented group of individuals that truly care about the mission and how they can support the organization. Personally, I have loved mixing my professional and personal life by offering a Wilderness trip for the live auction at several REACH events over the year.