Our Team

Ann Clark

In 1989, after years of creating small handcrafted toys, dollhouses, and ornaments for sale throughout New England, artist and baker Ann Clark designed a metal cookie cutter and launched a new business in her garage. Armed with a small amount of cash and unbridled enthusiasm Ann tackled her first trade show and sold out her limited inventory of cookie cutters. Ann Clark, the company, was born.

Ann’s artistic flair and love for baking has created an extensive product line of handmade cookie cutters for the gift and kitchenware industries that sell throughout the United States and in many parts of the world. Ann Clark Cookie Cutter “The Cookie Cutter People from Vermont,” is now the largest manufacturer of cookie cutters in America.

Ann graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in art. She and her husband, John, picked Vermont as their home and soon found a scenic site in the foothills of the Green Mountains to raise a family. Beyond her art, Ann also enjoys traveling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and spending time with her grandchildren. She’s active in the local garden club and volunteers at the Rutland City Free Library.

Ann’s favorite cookie cutter is Mountain Bear, although the piggy cookie cutter continues to hold a special place in her heart.

Ben Clark

Ben, our fearless leader, is likely the most zealous whiteboard user you'll ever meet. He doesn't use them just for stick figure drawings or snarky comments: he pushes innovation and continuous improvement, with the boards as his aides. Anyone who is invited to a whiteboard discussion knows that Ben means business.

Ben was raised in Rutland, Vermont, and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Vermont. He later completed a Master's in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His career included employment with Black & Decker in new product development and purchasing, as well as the die casting industry. In 1998, he and his wife moved to Vermont so he could join the family business. Since becoming CEO of Ann Clark Cookie Cutters, Ben has been an avid proponent of lean manufacturing, which is a method of reducing waste without sacrificing productivity.

Ben's laugh can be heard from several rooms away, and he loves comedy. He also loves skiing, hunting, hiking, and paddle boarding. He currently serves on the board of Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center, whose primary mission is to strengthen and empower Vermont manufacturers. He and his wife Denise have two daughters, Margaret and Becca, and the family dog is a chocolate Labrador named Molly.

His favorite cookie cutter is the Watering Can.

WHAT DRIVES ANN CLARK COOKIE CUTTERS?

CEO Ben Clark discusses what drives the company, its vision and its management philosophies.

Randy Boduch

Though still an upstate New Yorker, Randy has spent most of his career working in Vermont. After graduating from Siena College, Randy worked for KPMG in Albany, NY and obtained his CPA certification. He then went on to work at Mack Group, Inc., one of Vermont's largest employers for thirty years culminating in his long-time role as the Company's Risk Manager and Treasurer. Randy's joining the Ann Clark team in early 2022 still requires the commute from New York into New England, a low-trafficked and scenic trek that provides ample time for planning and reflection.

With their only child, Reed, about to graduate from college, Randy and his wife now share their "half-empty nest" with two canine "children" - Neela, a collie, and a recently-adopted Australian shepherd named Moose. In his spare time, Randy enjoys hiking, skiing, fishing, listening to music, and simply enjoying the outdoors. His dedication and optimism are exemplified by his unwavering dedication to the New York Mets - don't ask why, he doesn't know.

Randy's favorite cookie cutter is the Christmas Leg Lamp, a reflection of his appreciation for offbeat humor.

Denise Clark

Denise, who is married to Ben, is a trained lawyer who received her JD from Wake Forest University, and she's also a licensed pharmacist. While that might not be the background you'd expect for an HR leader, it was just what the doctor ordered when she joined Ann Clark Ltd. in 2021 to help manage the company's rapid growth.

Denise loves travel and being outdoors, skiing, mountain biking and other active pursuits with Ben and daughters Margaret and Becca.

As a southern girl transplanted to Vermont, she can appreciate the winter hat, but her true favorite cookie cutter is all about summer, or a tropical vacation: The Flip Flop.

Eugenia Cooke

Eugenia manages our sales representatives and the inside sales team who serve our wholesale customers. She enjoys cultivating the company's business relationships and is passionate about Ann Clark Cookie Cutters being the #1 cookie cutter company for store owners to work with. She is also a "data geek" with more than 30 years of experience in sales analysis. At Ann Clark, she analyzes wholesale customers' buying patterns and preferences.

Though Eugenia is not a native Vermonter, she moved here in 1982 and hasn't looked back! She is a graduate of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. An avid birder, localvore, and "tree hugger", she enjoys many outdoor activities including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and cycling. Eugenia insists that she's only slightly obsessed with the New England Patriots—but we know better (Giants fans beware!).

It comes to no surprise that Eugenia's favorite cookie cutter is the Teardrop Bird because of her deep devotion to birding.

Tom Funk

Tom grew up outside Boston and fell in love with Vermont as a college student at Middlebury College. After a few years of working in New York in the book publishing business, Tom returned to Vermont where he has managed online marketing and website content for some of Vermont's most beloved brands, including Vermont Teddy Bear Company, PajamaGram, Green Mountain Coffee, Keurig, and Gardener's Supply Company. Tom first met the Ann Clark team when working for its website agency in the early 2000s, then joined the company full time in 2020.

With three daughters in college or graduated, Tom and his wife are rising to the challenge of their "empty nest" -- hiking, skiing, gardening, dining out and traveling. Tom also plays hockey a couple nights a week with the aptly named Disfunktional Hockey Club.

His favorite shape is the Llama because it's fun to decorate, and reminds him of a family vacation in Peru with awesome trekking through the Andes.

Evelyn "Evie" Henderson

Originally from the backwoods of Maine, Evie fell in love with Vermont while pursuing a BFA in Graphic Design & Digital Communications at Champlain College in Burlington, which she completed in 2019. During her time there, she took art related classes that took her to various places around the world, including Spain, Portugal, and an entire semester in Auckland, New Zealand.

Evie came back to Vermont to work at Ann Clark Ltd. as the in-house graphic designer a year after graduating from college. She spends her days there creating imagery and graphics to further elevate Ann Clarks visual brand standards. A wiz with the Adobe Suite, she enjoys touching up product photography and sketching new packaging ideas. She has also become intimately involved in the creation of new cookie cutter shapes.

In her off time, she partakes in other creative hobbies, including painting, pyrography, and macrame. If asked whether she would jump off a bridge 'just because your friends are doing it', she can in fact answer yes, and highly recommends it: provided there is a state-of-the-art bungee cord attached.

Her favorite cookie cutter is the teacup, a fine addition to her collection of antique porcelain.

Lauren Olewnik

Lauren is Ann Clark's data wrangler. Her favorite task is cleaning data. She loves a good, clean spreadsheet filled with raw data that is ready to be mined for marketing gold. She recalls a time as an undergraduate at the SUNY Buffalo when she pondered how she could 'do research' for a living, while sitting in a library rifling through academic journals. After receiving Bachelors' degrees in History and French Language and Literature, she received a Master's degree in Library Information Science. While Lauren originally came to Vermont to apply her skills as a librarian, she is now engaged daily in vigorous competitive industry research.

In her spare time, Lauren runs the Women's Woodworking Club at Rutland's Makerspace, and is working on building a hollow wooden paddleboard from scratch. She is also a (no joke) worm farmer--you should see the data she collects on her worms--time, temperature, moisture, feed rates. Truly exciting stuff.

Lauren's favorite cookie cutter shape is the rocket ship, because her guiding principle is that you are only bound by your imagination, so we should always push boundaries to see how far we can go.

Annora McGarry

Annora loves finding ways to weave data and creativity together to craft compelling clickable content. Try saying that 5 times. She enjoys finding what makes a brand unique and shouting that story from the rooftops. As the Digital Content Specialist, Annora gets to combine her passion for data-driven content with her love of baking and crafting memorable moments.

A native Vermonter, Annora grew up on a dairy farm in the northwestern part of the state. After graduating with a degree in Marketing & Food Industry Management from Cornell University, she sought adventure and found it in the mountains of Northern California. There, she led the marketing program for a resort and retreat center and spent all of her free time mountain biking, backpacking, and shredding the gnar. After nearly a decade out west she moved back east, leading content and marketing programs in the horticultural industry to develop robust ecommerce strategies for plant nurseries and one soil manufacturer. She acquired a wealth of horticultural knowledge and a veritable indoor jungle along the way.

In her free time, Annora loves all things outdoors. You'll find her in the mountains camping, hiking, skiing, or mountain biking. She also enjoys getting her hands dirty in her ever-expanding garden and cooking homemade goodies in her kitchen.

Annora's favorite shape is the cow face, because it reminds her of her favorite cow, Boo Boo, on her family's dairy farm.

Jillian Costello

Jillian recently graduated from college in Washington State, earning a BA in Economics and a BBA in Marketing. Eager to embark on her professional journey, she made the bold decision to relocate to the picturesque landscapes of Vermont to pursue her passion for digital marketing.

Now settled in Vermont, Jillian has found her niche as a Digital Marketing Analyst for Ann Clark Ltd. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for data analysis, she thrives in the fast-paced world of online marketing. Whether she's crafting engaging social media campaigns, optimizing website content, or analyzing consumer behavior trends, she is always working towards driving digital growth and maximizing brand visibility.

Outside of the office, Jillian enjoys exploring Vermont's charming towns, and indulging in outdoor adventures such as paddle boarding, snowboarding, and camping. You can also find her bringing her sweet yellow lab Bandit on all her adventures.

Her favorite cookie cutter is the fashion doll head because it was the first new shape she helped bring to market, and she loves any excuse to decorate something pink!

Dave Chase

While originally from Vermont, Dave grew up on the coast of Maine. After school and a tour in the Army he returned to his roots in The Green Mountain State where he met his wife Betty and raised their two children, Jessica and Sarah.

Dave came to Ann Clark after an extensive career in manufacturing and production management in the medical device industry, giving him unique insights into production planning and management.

A lover of all things outdoors, Dave enjoys camping, hunting, fishing, gathering with friends, and relaxing by a crackling campfire. He also keeps bees and boils maple syrup. Spring is a busy time of year outside of his work at Ann Clark, as he preps beehives after long winters and makes maple syrup. Between sugaring and beekeeping, he and his family do their part to make everyone just a little sweeter! Working at Ann Clark Ltd. is a natural fit for Dave-manufacturing cookie cutters and baking essentials aligns well with his mission to make life a little sweeter.

Dave has not one, but 3 favorite cookie cutters. He loves the Christmas Tree for how versatile and fun to decorate it is. The Christmas Tree is a popular cookie cutter for a good reason, and is often the first cookie shape that people decorate. He also loves the honeybee because as a beekeeper he finds those little winged wonders so interesting! Fun fact: the honeybee is the Vermont state insect. Lastly, Dave has a special place in his heart for the hamburger, the first shape that he made the die for when he came to Ann Clark Ltd. (and of course he loves a good burger).