In July of 2025 the following new employees will join the RCDS community:

Tom Curran
Director of Athletics

Tom Curran joins RCDS after a decade of leadership at Fairfield Prep, where he guided the athletic program to 21 CIAC State Championships, 22 State Runners-up finishes, and 43 Southern Connecticut Conference titles. Before becoming Athletic Director, he served as Assistant AD and coached both tennis and basketball at various levels.

Under his leadership, FP Athletics experienced significant growth, including two major renovations to the Lavery Fitness Center and the conversion of two fields to turf. He also played a key role in planning the Barron Center for Arts & Recreation, a 47,000-square-foot facility opening in 2026.

Mr. Curran has prioritized athlete development and support, working with Fairfield University and College Counseling to guide student-athletes toward college success. He founded summer camps for football and rugby, created the Northeast Jesuit Rugby Tournament, and formed partnerships with Visionary Physical Therapy and KMK Training.

Believing strongly in athletics as a pathway to leadership and service, he connected teams with community service opportunities and promoted cross-departmental collaboration to enhance the student-athlete experience. His data-driven approach led to the implementation of performance analysis tools like Hudl, Teambuildr, and RIIP Reps, helping students track growth and set meaningful goals.

A Quinnipiac University graduate and former NEC tennis champion, Mr. Curran is passionate about supporting students on and off the field. He lives in Fairfield, CT, with his wife, Denise, and their two children.

---

Chris Hughes
Assistant Head of School

Chris Hughes joins RCDS with three decades of visionary leadership to education. Most recently, since 2018, he served as Head of School at Garrison Forest, a Pre-K–Grade 12 girls’ school in Maryland. There, he led academic innovation, strengthened community partnerships, and oversaw major achievements in enrollment, philanthropy, and campus development. He also founded the Boyce Center for Learning and Thriving, integrating academic support, counseling, and wellness into one holistic student program.

Mr. Hughes forged partnerships with institutions like Johns Hopkins and the UMD to expand student research, especially in STEM. His leadership fostered faculty excellence and institutional growth through a strategic management approach.

Previously, Mr. Hughes held leadership roles at St. Paul Academy, Chatham Hall, and St. James School. He launched lasting initiatives such as speaker series, curriculum redesigns, and academic innovations—including the authorship of 12 history books!

An educator at heart, Mr. Hughes has taught a wide range of subjects, coached varsity sports, and led global experiential programs across countries like South Africa, Russia, France, and Mexico—bringing to life his passion for global citizenship and student-centered learning.

Mr. Hughes holds a B.A. in History from Lafayette College and an M.A. in History Education, from Lehigh University. He has served on the Board of Directors for Woodlawn Academy, Icarus Quartet (music ensemble), the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust, and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland.

He and his wife, abstract artist Farida Hughes, are the proud parents of Jordan, a lawyer in Minneapolis specializing in environmental law, and Leah, a science educator at the MIT museum in Boston. They would be remiss not to mention their two rescue dogs, Koda and Aurora.

---

Cate Smith Todd
Director of Institutional Research & Data Analytics

Cate Smith Todd joins RCDS with nearly two decades of experience using data to drive strategic decision-making, deepen mission alignment, and support educational equity. At Rocketship Public Schools, a national network of charter schools, Ms. Smith Todd oversaw the shaping and execution of Rocketship’s multi-year strategic plan, the launch of new schools and programs, and the development of tools to assess impact and ensure alignment with the organization’s mission.

Prior to Rocketship, Ms. Smith Todd spent 16 years at Acelero Learning, where she founded and led a national research, evaluation and innovation team focused on early childhood education programming. Her work included building staff capacity in data literacy and designing research-to-practice partnerships that translated research findings into meaningful improvements in teaching and learning for thousands of educators and students.  

Ms. Smith Todd began her career as a third-grade teacher in the Bronx and has remained deeply committed to the transformative power of education. The RCDS motto, Not for Self but for Service, reflects her approach to using data to support people and purpose. She is a graduate of Amherst College and Teachers College and lives in Dobbs Ferry with her husband, Mike (an elementary school assistant principal), and children, Evan and Zoe.