As I contemplated my life post-schools—places I have known through my own education and my professional life for more than six decades—I realized I wasn’t ready to leave a world I know well and love deeply.
For 27 years, I lived and worked at Phillips Exeter Academy (PEA), balancing teaching and administrative responsibilities that included serving as vice principal, acting principal, and ultimately principal. I “retired” from PEA in 2015 but soon found my next opportunity to lead: School Year Abroad (SYA), an overseas program for high school students that Exeter, along with Andover and St. Paul’s School, helped establish in the 1960s.
Leading schools is work I have truly enjoyed, and as I prepared to “retire” again in July, I knew I wasn’t ready to leave that work behind. Over the past decade, I have also found great satisfaction in serving on a variety of school boards, including the Piney Woods School in Mississippi and United World College–USA in New Mexico. Those experiences gave me the opportunity to support heads of school and boards as they navigated their distinct but interconnected responsibilities.
So, when it came time to consider my next chapter, I turned to a group of former school heads who had founded Strategic School Leadership (SSL) for advice. What SSL offers—serving school heads and working with boards on governance, planning, and leadership—spoke directly to both my experience and my interests.
As of July 1, I have become the newest SSL partner, and I immediately felt at home with this collaborative group. Intentionally small, with just seven partners, SSL brings together an extraordinary depth and range of experience. Together, we can take on a wide variety of focused projects: strengthening admissions programs, helping a board prepare for a head of school transition, coaching a new school head, and much more.
I am delighted to continue my work with schools through this new partnership with Strategic School Leadership. It feels less like a new beginning and more like a natural next chapter in a professional life that has been shaped by—and enriched through—a deep commitment to schools and the people who make them thrive.