To: Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: Announcing New Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer
Date: September 8, 2017
I am delighted to announce that Piper Starr Orton has been selected as Wellesley’s vice president for finance and administration and treasurer. Piper will serve as an executive partner to me and the senior leadership team.
In her new position, Piper will have primary responsibility for fiscal stewardship of the College’s resources; oversee and manage all financial administration, operational planning, and budgeting; and take overall operational responsibility for ensuring that financial, capital, and operational resources are safeguarded, developed, managed wisely, deployed with integrity, and aligned with the College’s strategic goals and aspirations.
Piper is exceptionally well qualified to serve Wellesley in this vital role. For the past year she has been my interim chief of staff, and she assumed the role of interim vice president for finance this spring. Previously, Piper served for 14 years as director of women’s health programs at the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and she held leadership roles for nine years in finance and administration at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood of Connecticut.
Piper’s tenure at the Connors Center included leading in a complex academic environment, defining the strategic direction and leading implementation for clinical, education, research, policy, and global health programs to advance scientific discovery. She worked across departments with faculty, staff, students, and trainees. At Planned Parenthood, Piper managed the organization’s resources, developed operating and capital budgets, and implemented system changes to improve financial and clinical outcomes.
Piper holds a B.A. in history from Williams College and an M.B.A from Cornell University.
I’d like to thank the members of the search committee, who were instrumental in hiring Piper for this role: Sheilah Horton, Debby Kuenstner, Chris Pasko, Casey Rothschild, Andy Shennan, Carolyn Slaboden, and Bunny Winter.
Please join me in congratulating Piper.
