Meet the Summer Programs Office

Susan Peel Farrell, a graduate of Yale (B.A.) and Wesleyan (M.A.L.S.), first came to Choate as a teaching intern in the Summer of 1987. She returned in 1990, joining the faculty and serving as an Associate Director of College Counseling and a coach for girls soccer and lacrosse. In the ensuing years, she worked in the Choate Admission Office and in Development and Alumni Relations before returning to Summer Programs in 2010.

Susan lives on campus with her husband Stephen, long-time member of the faculty, and has four children, all of whom attended Choate Summer Programs and are graduates of Choate Rosemary Hall: Garrett ’12, Dylan ’14, Caitlin ’15, and Tagan ’20. In addition to her work in Summer Programs, Susan is Assistant Coach for Girls Varsity Soccer, a Student Life adviser to several Choate students, a House Mentor at the Kohler Environmental Center, the adviser to Choate’s Women Student-Athlete Association, and a former coach of co-ed Varsity Sailing. Outside of Choate, Susan was appointed in May 2020 to the board of Hoyas Unlimited, the alumni relations and fundraising arm of Georgetown University Athletics, and is now in her second 3-year term. She also continues to serve each year as an alumni interviewer for Yale University and is an at-large delegate to the Yale Alumni Association Assembly. 

Julia Pucci received her BA from Yale University, where she later returned to complete a Ph.D. in Italian Language & Literature. Before joining the Choate faculty, she ran Yale’s first asynchronous Italian translation program in addition to serving as a professional development program manager at a Fortune 500 company.

Beyond the classroom, Julia is a published poet, classically trained violist, and self-taught steel-string guitarist. She lives in New Haven, CT with her husband, Matthew, and their boisterous cat, Daphne.

Wes Jenkins is a graduate of the University of Connecticut (B.A.) and the University of Southern New Hampshire (M.S.).  Throughout his nearly twenty-year career, Wes has held several roles within the Deans’ Office at various schools including as a Director of Residential Life, an Assistant Dean, and the Dean of Students.  At Choate Rosemary Hall, Wes teaches U.S. History, serves as a dorm head in Pitman House, and coaches wrestling and weightlifting.  He began his journey with Choate Summer Programs in the summer of 2023 and served for two years as a high school dean before becoming the Summer Programs Dean of Students in 2025.  Outside of work, Wes enjoys time with his wife and daughter, Jill and Nova.  He is prone to be found gardening in his backyard or going for runs with his dog Loki around Wallingford. 

Debbie Carpenter is a graduate of Choate ’85, The University of Connecticut (B.A.) and Southern Connecticut University (M.S.). She worked in the Development Office at The Foote School for 9 years and was co-chair of Foote’s diversity organization MOSAIC (Multicultural, Open-Minded, Supportive, Accepting, Inclusive, Community) 2018-2019. She returned to Choate in March 2019 as a member of the Summer Programs Office. Debbie lives in Hamden with her husband, John and their son Nicholas.

Troy Guidone is a native of Wallingford, former PG at Choate, and graduate of Fordham University and Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. He was a fellow at Columbia University’s Klingenstein Institute for Early Career Teachers and a counselor at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.  Troy is an active screenwriter (most recently placing at the Austin Film Festival and Screencraft screenwriting competitions) and moved back to Connecticut from the Lakes Region of Maine.  In addition to working in the Choate Summer Programs Office, Troy works evenings at Quinnipiac University’s Office of Student Accessibility. 

Jennifer Sutera has recently joined our Summer Programs team as the Systems Coordinator. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University and an MBA from Texas Woman’s University. She has spent the last 9 years as an independent consultant in database development. Her background is in Training and Development as well as data management. After living in Houston, TX for 10 years, she has returned to CT and now lives here in Wallingford with her husband Paul and their two children, Tony and Ava.