Who We Are
The Weston Community Foundation is operated and governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
Dawn Egan
Board of Directors, Chair
Taffy (Stephanie) Miller
Board of Directors
Taffy (Stephanie) Miller has spent most of the last 25 years working in the field of strategic philanthropy, as a grant seeker, grantmaker, and on the ground as a local and national community worker in Canada, the U.S. and overseas. She spent ten years as Executive Director for Trust for Learning, a national grantmaking foundation focused on early childhood education. She then founded a philanthropic advising firm, consulting with a wide range of private grantmakers in areas such as education, wrongful conviction, children of war, gun control, and the environment.
For the last few years, along with her husband (and Homefront Farmers owner) John Carlson, she dedicated her time to the family business, building and maintain organic vegetable gardens across Fairfield County, helping people to understand the value of growing their own food.
Raised in Montreal, Taffy is a proud Canadian and received a graduate degree from McGill University. She sits on the Board of Education in Weston and is served on the Board Outreach and Social Action Committee at Norfield Congregational Church. Taffy and John have 5 children and live in Weston, Connecticut.
Rev. Dr. Bernard R. Wilson
Board of Directors
Reverend Dr. Bernard Wilson is the Senior Minister at Norfield Congregational Church in Weston and has served there for over 17 years. Dr. Wilson is a retired Navy Chaplain who received numerous awards, medals and citations for his stellar military career of 22 years. He served as the Executive Minister of The Riverside Church in New York City, and as the Interim Minister of the Briarcliff Manor Congregational Church in New York. Dr. Wilson served as an Adjunct Preaching Professor at The New Brunswick Theological Seminary and at the Howard University School of Divinity for Continuing Education.
He serves on the Board of Directors of the David and Dovetta Wilson Scholarship Fund, a non-profit organization with his siblings which awards awarded nine scholarships annually.
The Wilson Family was named “Family of the Year” by USA Today, “Heroes for America” by Reader’s Digest and the Wilsons were featured in the NBC special: Images and Realities the African-American Family.
Dr. Wilson served as the first Chair of the United Church of Christ Board, and he serves as the Police Chaplain for the Town of Weston. Dr. Wilson holds numerous degrees: a Masters and Doctorate in Divinity and Ministry including an MBA.
Rev. Dr. Bernard Wilson is the author of “Meditations for Tough and Testing Times.”
Rev. Wilson is married to Nereida Torres and have two sons and six grandchildren.
Kristen Runk
Board of Directors
With more than 20 years experience in nonprofit management, operations, marketing, and development, Kristen Runk is currently a freelance consultant helping small and mid-sized organizations reach their full potential. Due to her interest and involvement in the arts, Kristen began her career in arts administration in New York City and has since been involved with nonprofits addressing a wide variety of issues and fields, including arts and culture, education, and social services.
Kristen graduated from Wesleyan University and currently lives in Weston with her husband and two kids, both of whom attend Weston schools. Kristen has lived here for just over 10 years. She loves that Weston provides such a small town feel and abudance of woods and nature, while being so near the conveniences of larger cities and towns.
Kristen is excited to be a part of the Weston Community Fund and is excited to see the changes this new initiative can bring!
Kristana Esslinger
Board of Directors, Secretary
Kristana has lived with her family in Weston for 22 years. Along with her husband, she has 2 children, one in college and one in high school, and they adore their rescue dog Lucy.
Professionally, Kristana spent 31 years with Accenture, a global professional services company that specializes in IT services and consulting, with 25 of those years as a Senior Human Resources Executive after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is now working at a national HR Consulting firm focused on small to medium sized businesses across the U.S.
When her children were younger she was a Youth Soccer and Lacrosse Manager. Since then she has found other ways to be an active part of the community. Currently she serves on the Weston Survey Research Committee, is the President of the Weston High School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and is a board member of the Save the Children Fairfield County Leadership Council. In addition, she is engaged with other local non-profits such as Food Rescue US and The County Assemblies.
Kristana loves the small town feel of Weston and knows the Weston Community Fund will make a difference – in both big and small ways.
Michael Tobin
Board of Directors
Mr. Michael Tobin is a partner in a new AgTech Venture Fund. Michael has participated in business and finance in the capacity of strategic planning, financial marketing and Principal since 1987.
Michael is originally from Chicago and earned a B.A. and M.M. from Northwestern University and The Kellogg School of Management in Economics & Political Science and Finance & Strategic Planning, respectively. Mr. Tobin has held partner, COO and CMO level positions at Cowen & Company, Nomad Ventures, Vega Securities, Galleon Group and most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for Taylor Woods Capital, a Blackstone seeded energy-focused fund, then considered to be a top institutional fund in the segment, where he oversaw the raise of approximately $2.4 billion of institutional funds over a five and a half year period.
Mr. Tobin has one college age daughter. He is an avid martial artist who has held several regional and national titles in his career and is presently active in Muay Thai. Michael lives with his partner Liz Smith here in Weston, CT and St Petersburg Florida.
Woody Bliss
Board of Directors, Treasurer
Woody currently serves on the Board of and as Treasurer of the Weston Community Fund. As a longtime resident of Weston, Woody was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 1999 and was elected First Selectman four times from 2001 to 2009. He was the chief advocate for the $80 million school expansion in the early 2000’s. As First Selectman, he oversaw the project and through a series of weekly reviews, brought it in on time and under budget. He was also instrumental in preserving in perpetuity over 1,800 acres of open space in Weston. Woody has also served in numerous leadership roles at Norfield Congregational Church, the United Way, the Fairfield County Boy Scout Council, the Board of Finance, the Kiwanis Club, the Police Commission Friends of the Weston Senior Activities Center, Friends of the Weston Library. He also served on the Board of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) for four terms and as Vice President for two terms. He chaired the Environment Committee when he was on the CCM Board. Woody Bliss was a dean’s list graduate of Cornell University in 1959, receiving both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. He worked for IBM for 34 years and retired in 1993. That year, he was recognized by Who’s Who Worldwide as a “Global Business Leader” because he had “demonstrated outstanding leadership and achievement” in computer science education in 55 countries. At IBM, he held numerous positions which included three different director positions. After leaving IBM, he served as the President of Business Atlantic, Inc., a company involved in high tech education consulting and development, from 1993 to 2001. In 2013, he was voted Weston’s “Citizen of the Year.”