Person of Interest

Birthplace: Scranton, Pa. Age: 47. Occupation: Head of the new upper school at Seacrest. Years as an educator: 22. Current home: A small estate (donated by a benefactor) near the school's Naples campus. Moved to Naples from: New York City in June 2004. Family: Husband, Patrick (a teacher and musician), and three grown daughters. If she hadn't married Patrick, he'd be: A Trappist monk (seriously). Secret passion: Fast cars. She's been racing on speedways and dirt tracks since she was 17 and began fixing cars at 16. Past loves: In her youth, Duffy attended boxing matches with her grandfather, a sports editor, and she considered a career as a boxing referee. What she misses about New York: "Being able to walk out my front door and get anything I want." What she loves about Naples: "It's beautiful and I can go to the beach on weekends." Private vs. public education: "It's more about [the quality of the] individual instructors than public versus private." Favorite local tradition: Swamp buggy races. "The minute I smelled the methanol fuel, I knew I was home."

-Hobart Rowland