Summer Bourlier currently works as a Major Gift Officer at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY, stewarding donors to further the initiatives and programming being done at the university. Previously, she worked for the Walkway Over the Hudson and most recently the Marist Brothers Center at Esopus as their Director of Advancement. In this role, she oversaw a broad variety of fundraising efforts, including fall and spring appeals for the Esopus Fund, originating the first ever MBCE Day of Giving, which raised over $150,00 in 2026, and has grown the Esopus Fund over 50% since 2018. Summer is also the choreographer for F.D. Roosevelt High School’s spring musical. She has danced since the age of two and has training in most dance disciplines such as tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary, musical theater, and hip hop. She has taught at Dance Works Too in Hyde Park, NY and continues her dance training where she can through online classes at Steps and Broadway Dance Center. Summer obtained her B.A. in Communications in 2016 and her Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in Non-Profit Management in 2023 - both from Marist University.
She believes that to be an educator, especially in theater, means that you have to have a strong degree of pathos - you are asking your students to try new things, think outside the box, and grow beyond the boundaries they have set for themselves. You have to continually find new ways to relate to them, understand them, and help them to reach their potential. She feels lucky that my work at the MBCE, helping underserved populations, and her work at FDR and NYSTEA have this overlapping mission - caring, connecting, and fostering growth in those that walk through their doors. Her main goal with both avenues of professional life is to leave people with a sense of being heard, understood, and genuinely cared for. She hopes to continue that work and impact even more young people by providing additional resources and opportunities to grow within their theatrical world.
She believes that to be an educator, especially in theater, means that you have to have a strong degree of pathos - you are asking your students to try new things, think outside the box, and grow beyond the boundaries they have set for themselves. You have to continually find new ways to relate to them, understand them, and help them to reach their potential. She feels lucky that my work at the MBCE, helping underserved populations, and her work at FDR and NYSTEA have this overlapping mission - caring, connecting, and fostering growth in those that walk through their doors. Her main goal with both avenues of professional life is to leave people with a sense of being heard, understood, and genuinely cared for. She hopes to continue that work and impact even more young people by providing additional resources and opportunities to grow within their theatrical world.
