Featured Alumnus: Tim Wright '94 | Avon Old Farms News | About Us | Avon Old Farms

If you ask Tim Wright ’94 about his career with the CIA, he won’t be able to tell you much due to the agency’s dealing with classified information. If you ask about his time at Avon Old Farms, however, he’ll gladly share stories, acknowledge the influence his teachers made, and reflect on the impact Avon had on the rest of his life.

When he returned to the school in the fall of 2024 for his 30th reunion, he decided he wanted to do more to give back to the school. The right path for him was in the form of a planned gift, which involves naming Avon as part of your estate, but he still wanted to be involved in more ways as well. “The school meant a lot to me,” Tim explains. “And now that I’m no longer serving overseas and back home, I volunteered to help in any way I could.” One such opportunity came in the form of assisting an Avonian who was writing a research paper about CIA projects throughout history.

Tim says he wants to make sure present and future Avonians receive the same transformational experience he did on Mrs. Riddle’s campus. “There aren’t many things that have influenced my life as much as Avon. How to carry yourself, attack challenges, deal with setbacks—it’s a place where you can learn, succeed, and fail in a safe environment.”

For Tim, his influential time at Avon began in 1990 when he arrived as a freshman. The Massachusetts native had toured other schools in New England and decided Avon was the obvious choice. “It’s not ‘why I went to Avon,’ but ‘why wouldn’t I?’ You’re part of something a little bit different than other schools,” he says.

What particularly stood out to Tim was the sense of community and the second-to-none athletics programs. The tasty treats at the Hawk’s Nest were a big plus as well. “Those Oreo milkshakes…the best $1.98 I’ve ever spent.”

While at Avon, his primary sports were soccer and golf. He tried his hand at a variety of winter sports—even if it was partially just to get out of vespers. He also served as a monitor in Diogenes Dorm, wrote for the school newspaper, and was a member of the Trap Club. He learned a lot from his participation in these activities. “You are provided opportunities to face challenges, overcome them with your classmates, and learn from them. There’s a support system there for you at Avon as well. The same life themes you learn at Avon, are ones I look to instill in my teams now. Honesty, transparency, and the ability to find common ground with people who may have a dissimilar background.”

Tim also learned these lessons in the classroom, in particular from the legendary Avon educator Sid Clark. “His class is about as good of a preparatory step you can get in life. You are pushed to critically think, be accountable and defend your work in front of your peers, and learn from prior mistakes. I still remember Mr. Clark’s lectures on Robert Frost and Herman Melville, touching on themes of identity and self-reliance. It showed me what learning and education should be at a young age,” he says. “Avon teaches you to be a lifelong learner. While you’re a student there, the learning doesn’t stop when Mr. Custer lets you out of last period.” 

After four years at Avon, the next step of Tim’s lifelong learning journey brought him to Bates College where he studied English with the eventual goal of entering law school. His journey would take an abrupt turn, however. He was working at a law office in Maine when the terrorist attacks of September 11th took place. It forced Tim to rethink his role in the world at large. “For those of us who remember witnessing it, it was a dark day. It was very difficult to watch and it served as a moment of reflection. Although I didn’t know how at the time, I felt strongly that I could contribute to a larger purpose.”

So, Tim began searching for ways to do more. In 2006, he joined the CIA where he served in the Directorate of Operations. During his career, Tim would work counterproliferation, cyber, and counterintelligence issues. He managed and led diverse teams, and ultimately held several leadership positions within the Agency before moving to the Department of Energy (DOE). At DOE, he stood up a capability to detect nation state activity in our energy grid.

Tim explains how his time at Avon set him up for success in his career. “A boarding school like Avon builds your confidence, while teaching self-sufficiency, critical thinking, and independence. It forces you out of your comfort zone, which is mandatory for growth. At Avon, you learn you are responsible for your own journey. And those challenges you face at Avon are ones you will face again in both the government and corporate worlds.”

In 2022, Tim and his family moved to Denver, where he took on a new challenge as Deputy Chief of Security at Xcel Energy where he is responsible for protecting critical infrastructure in nine states. He resides there now with his family, but still makes trips back to his alma mater whenever he can.

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