 | Head of School Search News & Updates Head of School search update
8/22/2010
Head of School search update
8/22/2010
Dear Lick-Wilmerding community,
To those returning Lick families, faculty and staff, welcome back to school! And to those who are new to Lick this fall, welcome to our community. As you all know, we are in the middle of a search process to identify a new Head of School. Our beloved, long-term Head Al Adams will be retiring at the end of this school year.
Our consultants Carney Sandoe have been hard at work identifying candidates this spring and summer, and the Search Committee has begun its work to review candidate information. The process and timeline is fully detailed in the “Head of School Search Process” below. The Position Description, created last spring, is in the “Documents” box to the right.
We will be back to you in late October/early November to announce the finalists that have been selected and the schedule for their visits to our school. There will be school-wide meetings at that time to introduce them to the community.
Our contact information is on the website – we are always available for any questions or concerns that you have.
Sincerely,
Adam Elsesser, Chair
Bill Mellin and Carolyn Spitz, Co-Chairs
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Head of School Search Update
5/21/2010
Thanks to all of you who met and shared your thoughts with our consultants from Carney Sandoe, and to those of you who completed the online survey as well. You can find the Position Description posted in the "Head of School Search" section of the LWHS website along with an update as to next steps in the process. We don't anticipate any updates to the site during the summer months as our consultants distribute the Position Description to potential candidates, interview them and assemble information for the search committee in the fall.
As always, if you have any questions or thoughts, please contact any one of us -- our contact information is detailed in the "Head of School Search Process" box.
https://www.lwhs.org/headsearch
Best,
Adam Elsesser, Carolyn Spitz & Bill Mellin
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Position Description Posted
4/16/2010
Dear Lick-Wilmerding Community,
We have posted the Position Description (PD) for our new Head of School in the Documents area on this section of the school website. The PD is the primary tool in describing the Head position to all potential candidates. This document will be disseminated nationally and internationally in order to attract the best possible pool of applicants for the position.
The next step is for Carney Sandoe to spend time vetting candidates between now and August, at which time the consultants will meet with the Search Committee to present the dossiers of potential candidates. We will continue to update this site as new information becomes available.
Thank you to everyone who completed a survey or met with our consultants, Carney Sandoe, when they were on campus in March. Your input as community was a critical factor in designing this document and we appreciate your help!
Adam Elsesser, Bill Mellin and Carolyn Spitz
Search Committee Chairs
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Head Of School Search Committee Formed
2/10/2010
Dear Lick-Wilmerding Community,
We are happy to announce the formation of the Head Search Committee. The Committee is composed of the following members:
Chairs:
- Adam Elsesser, P’13, PAL’09, Trustee, Chair of the Search Committee
- Bill Mellin, P’11, Trustee, Assistant Chair of the Search Committee
- Carolyn Spitz, PAL’07 and ’04, Board President, Assistant Chair of the Search Committee
Members:
- Laralyn Bergstedt, Alumna ’92, Faculty, Chemistry
- David Clifford, Department Chair, Technical Arts
- Sheila Gadsden, P’13, PAL’09, Trustee
- Pamela May, PAL’09, ’06, ’05, Trustee
- Fred McCrea, Alumnus '85, Trustee, Co-Chair, Alumni Association
- Steve Simon, Department Chair, Mathematics
- Anyé Spivey, Alumnus '97, Trustee
- Lisa Wu, Director of Admissions
Lick-Wilmerding High School is very fortunate to have such talented people volunteer their time in this important endeavor. A summary biography of each member is included in the Head of School Search Process area of the website. In putting together the Search Committee, we first made sure that the members of the Committee possess the thoughtful judgment necessary to serve on the Committee. We then wanted to make sure that we had a varied and diverse set of viewpoints and personalities that would give the Committee the ability to do the hard assessments of the potential candidates that will ensure a successful search.
Since the hiring of the Head of School is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees, seven of the Committee’s eleven members are Trustees and the remaining four members were selected from the ranks of the Faculty and Staff. The seven Trustees were selected for their wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. The four Faculty and Staff members were chosen in large part through a nominating process of their colleagues, and each received overwhelming support in that process. Finally, as the search process gets underway, it is worth reiterating a point that was made at the time of the announcement of Dr. Adams’ retirement: the members of the Committee do not represent a particular constituency in their role on the Search Committee. Rather, they represent the entire school in the task of finding the next great leader for Lick-Wilmerding. It is with this viewpoint and deep caring about Lick that we begin the search process.
We will continue to provide updates throughout the process and, as always, if you have any questions or thoughts that you would like to share, please contact one of us.
Sincerely yours,
Adam Elsesser
Search Committee Chair
Bill Mellin
Search Committee Assistant Chair
Carolyn Spitz
Board President and Search Committee Assistant Chair
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Head of School Search Introduction
1/13/2010
Dear Lick-Wilmerding Community,
It is with strong mixed emotions that we embark on a national search for Lick’s new Head of School. We are indebted to Al Adams for building Lick-Wilmerding High School into the school that it is today and we will certainly miss him greatly. We now must turn our attention to finding a leader for the next generation in the school’s history.
Choosing a new Head of School is one of the most important jobs of the Board of Trustees at an independent school. The Board is forming a Search Committee that will consist of trustees, faculty and administration, parents and alumni, with members of the Search Committee possibly filling multiple roles. The Assistant Chairs are Carolyn Spitz and Bill Mellin. The final members of the Committee will be announced in February.
The Search Committee’s role, together with help from our search consultants, Aggie Underwood and Rayna Loeb of Carney, Sandoe & Associates, is to screen, interview and reference check the candidates and ultimately recommend one candidate to the Board of Trustees for approval as Lick’s next Head of School. The Search Committee will look to the Lick community for input at various stages in the process. We have attached a time line that details the process for this search. Please remember that this is our current plan, but as with any search for a new leader, the plan is subject to change depending on the circumstances that develop during the search. We will keep the community informed with updates throughout the process.
If you have any questions or thoughts about the search, please do not hesitate to contact me, Carolyn or Bill. We can be contacted at:
Adam Elsesser, Chair
adam.elsesser@penumbrainc.com
(510) 748-3222 work
Carolyn Spitz, Assistant Chair and Board President
carolynspitz@gmail.com
(415) 608-4036 cell
Bill Mellin, Assistant Chair
billmellin@me.com
(415) 298-2365 cell
We look forward to a great search.
Sincerely yours,
Adam Elsesser
Chair, Head Search Committee
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Head of School Search Process | Head of School Search Timing and Process Details on the Timing And Process Formation of Search Committee. The search committee is chaired by Adam Elsesser. The assistant chairs are Carolyn Spitz and Bill Mellin. Brief biographies are set forth below. The remainder of the search committee will be formed and announced in late February.
On-Site Visit from Search Consultant. Aggie Underwood and Rayna Loeb, our search consultants, will visit Lick-Wilmerding on March 1 and 2 for two days of intensive meetings with the faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, Board of Trustees and the search committee to help determine the needs of the school and the qualifications of the next Head of School. The exact schedule with specific times for each of these meetings will be announced in February.
Online Survey. On March 3rd, our search consultants will post an online survey that will allow all the members of the Lick community to offer their thoughts and opinions on the leadership needs for the next Head of School. The survey data together with the data from the on-site visit will be used to draft the job description for the next Head of School.
Publish Job Description. The job description for the Head of School will be published no later than early April.
Solicit Applicants and Screen Candidates. Our search consultants and the search committee will begin soliciting applicants and the screening of those candidates in April and will continue throughout the summer.
First Round of Interviews. In late August or early September, the search committee will decide to interview in person approximately eight candidates. These interviews will be confidential and held off campus.
Semi-Final Round. After the first round interviews, the search committee will decide on four to five candidates to proceed to the semi-finalist round. During this round, the search committee will form four support committees of faculty, parents, students and alumni made up of approximately six to eight members each. The semi-finalist candidates will interview with the search committee as well as have a chance to meet with the support committees, the administrative staff and the Board of Trustees.
Final Round. After the semi-final round, the search committee will select two to three candidates who will proceed to the final round. These candidates will return to the school with spouses/partners and all faculty, staff, students, parents and alumni will have a chance to meet these candidates.
Select and Announce New Head of School. After these visits to the school, the search committee will select a candidate that it will recommend to the full Board of Trustees. A subset of the search committee will visit that candidate’s school as a final step in the process. After that visit and approval of that candidate by the Board of Trustees, the new Head of School will be announced to the Lick-Wilmerding community. |
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| Head of School Search Team Bios Brief Information On The Head of School Search Team
Laralyn Bergstedt. Laralyn joined the Lick community as a freshman student in 1988, Al Adams’ first year as Head of School. After graduating from Williams College and spending two years as an academic advisor in Barcelona, Spain, she returned to Lick to teach chemistry. In addition to teaching in the science department for 12 years, she has co-led several summer Spanish language/cultural immersion programs, served as student activities advisor and collaborated with colleagues and students to facilitate discussions around equity and social justice.
David Clifford. David started his journey at Lick in 1998 in the Metal Shop. In 2001 he created the Fabrications discipline, a fusion of industrial metal arts traditions with 21st century ideas of design thinking and making. David has been the Department Chair of the Technical Arts since 2002. David has worn many hats while in the shops at Lick: Project Liaison for the Tech & Design Center, Multicultural Programs Coordinator, Student Council Advisor, one of the founding members of the Center for Civic Engagement, The Senegal Project, and the Philanthropy Initiative course. David is finishing up his graduate work in Educational Leadership from Mills College and plans to continue on to receive his EdD as well beginning in the Fall of 2010. Outside of Lick, David is helping to found the East Bay School for Boys, and an enamored husband to Alice and loving father to Lucy (7) and Misha (4), both welders and artists.
Adam Elsesser. Adam lives in San Francisco with his wife, Martha, and is the parent of four children. Lili graduated from Lick in ’09 and Aidan is a freshman at Lick. Claudia is in first grade and Juliet is in pre-school. Adam is serving his second year on the Lick Board and previously served for six years on the Board of the San Francisco Day School, where he chaired the Search Committee for its current Head of School. Adam is the founder and CEO of Penumbra, Inc. a medical device company located in Alameda.
Sheila Gadsden. Sheila and her husband, John Crew, are the parents of Simone, a Lick '09 graduate, and Erica, a freshman. Sheila is serving her fourth year on the Lick Board and is on the Governance and the Civic Engagement committees. She has written, edited or researched for various publications, among them the San Francisco Business Times, Money, Woman's Day, Travel and Leisure and Advertising Age. Her Board experience includes the San Francisco Day School where she Chaired the Trustee and Community committees and the Diversity Task Force. Sheila also served on two Head Search Committees there as well as the Head Evaluation Committee. She is a past Board member of the Aids Legal Referral Panel.
Pamela May. Pamela and her husband, Dr. Robert Napoles, are the parents of three Lick graduates: Mariah ’09, Leana ’06 and Tessa ’05. Pamela has served on the Lick Board for four years, is Chair of the Civic Engagement Committee and serves on the Development Committee. As majority owner and senior executive of Design Media, a San Francisco-based learning solutions firm, she oversees all strategic functions including business development, financial management, and organizational structure. Design Media creates custom learning solutions including eLearning, instructor-led training, blended solutions, mobile learning, events and video for Fortune 500 corporations and government agencies.
Fred McCrea. Fred is the current co-President of the Lick-Wilmerding Lux Alumni Association Board and a member of the Lick-Wilmerding Board of Trustees. He grew up in San Francisco and graduated from Lick in 1985 carrying on a two-generation tradition. His father, Peter, is a member of the class of 1957 and former President of the Lick Board. His uncle Don McCrea is a member of the class of 1956 and his sister, Sarah, graduated from Lick in 1986. Following Lick, Fred matriculated to Middlebury College and later received his MBA from the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. He is currently a Vice-President at Thomas Weisel Partners LLC. In addition, he is a director of his family’s business, Stony Hill Vineyard. He and his wife, Courtney, live in San Francisco.
Bill Mellin. Bill is serving his third year as a member of the Lick-Wilmerding Board of Trustees. He is Chair of the Development Committee and a member of the Executive Committee. He has also served on the Core Values review committee and the Mission Statement Task Force. He is the parent of current student Hillary Mellin, ‘11. Bill is recently retired from a 22- year career at Farallon Capital Management where he was a Managing Member specializing in investments in distressed debt. His previous school Board experience includes The Little School (treasurer), Drew College Preparatory School (member), and The Bay School of San Francisco (founding board member, Development Committee Chair).
Steve Simon. Steve lives in San Francisco with his wife, Cynthia Marcucci. He is the Chair of the Lick Math Department, and has taught at Lick since 1984. In addition, he has been the Co-Director of the Flexible Tuition program since its inception in 1989. Before coming to Lick, he taught math at the Chadwick School in L.A. County and The American School in Switzerland.
Carolyn Spitz. Carolyn lives in San Francisco with her husband, Stephen, and is the parent of two Lick graduates: Matt ’04 and Liesl ’07. She has a BA in Economics from Pomona College, an MBA from Northwestern University and a Master’s in Music Education from Holy Names University. She held managerial positions at Wells Fargo Bank and Charles Schwab before retiring from business in the spring of 2001. Carolyn currently teaches elementary music and serves on non-profit boards. Carolyn joined the Lick Board as an ex-officio member in 2003-2004, serving as PA President that year. Prior to becoming Board President in 2008-2009, she served as Head of the Finance Committee for four years.
Anyé Spivey. Anyé is a real estate development senior project manager for A.F. Evans Development. He graduated from Lick in 1997 and went to Georgetown University. A Bay Area native, Anyé is a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters in the East Bay and serves on the Board of First Place for Youth, a provider of housing and services for emancipated foster youth. Anyé has served on the Lick-Wilmerding Board of Trustees since 2003 and is the Chair of the Endowment Committee.
Lisa Wu. Lisa is the L-W Director of Admissions and joined the Department in the Fall of 2001, after ten years of working in publishing and media in New York City. Lisa has also served the L-W community as Head Coach of the Girls' and Boys' Varsity tennis teams, School Counselor, and Club Advisor for Agape. A graduate of Columbia University with a Bachelor’s in American History and East Asian Studies, Lisa also holds a Master’s degree in School Counseling and Psychology from Saint Mary’s College. When not discussing the ways of the world with Lick students, Lisa and her husband, Alex, enjoy family time together with their 6-year old daughter, Ella.
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| Head of School Search Contact Information Contacting The Search Team
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| | FAQs (Click to view answer) | Q. | Who is on the Search Committee? | | A. | Chairs
- Adam Elsesser, P’13, PAL’09, Trustee, Chair of the Search Committee
- Bill Mellin, P’11, Trustee, Assistant Chair of the Search Committee
- Carolyn Spitz, PAL’07 and ’04, Board President, Assistant Chair of the Search Committee
Members
- Laralyn Bergstedt, Alumna ’92, Faculty, Chemistry
- David Clifford, Department Chair, Technical Arts
- Sheila Gadsden, P’13, PAL’09, Trustee
- Pamela May, PAL”09, ’06, ’05, Trustee
- Fred McCrea, Alumnus '85, Trustee, Co-Chair, Alumni Association
- Steve Simon, Department Chair, Mathematics
- Anyé Spivey, Alumnus '97, Trustee
- Lisa Wu, Director of Admissions
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| Q. | How was the Search Committee selected? | | A. | With advice from our Search Consultant and research on best practices, we learned that the committee is ideally comprised of a limited number of people representing primarily the Board, but also other constituencies such as faculty, alumni, PALs and parents. Members of the faculty and staff were chosen via a nomination and interview process – a majority of faculty and staff responded, providing names of individuals they felt were best suited to be on the Committee. Other members were chosen by the Committee Chairs. |
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| Q. | What is the role of the Search Committee? | | A. | The Search Committee directs the search process from start to finish. It coordinates input from all interested groups and individuals, works with the search firm to craft the Position Description, sorts through the initial round of candidates vetted by the search firm, and organizes and conducts interviews with the semi-finalists and finalists such that one broadly supported candidate can be confirmed at the end of this process. A major function of the Search Committee is to keep the entire L-W community informed and engaged throughout the search process. |
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| Q. | Can you tell me about the Search Committee consultants and their experience in finding new Heads for independent schools? | | A. | After interviewing several nationally renowned search firms, the school has retained Carney, Sandoe & Associates (CS&A) of Boston to assist us in the search process. The firm is a leader in recruiting School Heads at independent schools around the country. Aggie Underwood, our lead consultant, is Vice President and Managing Associate of the firm, serving as a School Head for over 25 years before entering the search consulting business. Her Senior Search Consultant colleague Rayna Loeb has experience in both independent school and executive search consulting. Their full bios are detailed in the Documents section of this website. They are highly qualified and are already aware of the unique qualities that make L-W such a special place. We are absolutely thrilled to be working with them. For more on Carney, Sandoe and Associates, please visit www.carneysandoe.com. |
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| Q. | What is the overall timeline for the search? | | A. | The Search Committee and our consultants at CS&A will begin work in March, 2010. As part of their intensive data gathering phase, CS&A has designed an online survey that will be placed on the school’s website in early March and available for response from all members of the L-W community. On March 1st and 2nd, the consultants will hold numerous meetings with key constituents, including parents, alumni, faculty, staff, students and members of the Board. Based on their findings during these meetings, the Search Committee, together with the consultants, will develop a Position Description, which will serve as the primary tool in describing the Head position to all potential candidates. Beginning in April, this document will be disseminated nationally and internationally in order to attract the best possible pool of applicants for the position. After spending the majority of the summer vetting the candidates, the consultants will meet with the Search Committee in August to present the dossiers of a small group of potential candidates. Then, the real work begins! Interviews will be conducted, references will be checked and double checked, finalists will be selected to meet with all constituents of the L-W community, the Search Committee will recommend a final candidate to the Board of Trustees for approval and, if all goes according to plan, the announcement of a new Head will be made to our school community in November. |
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| Q. | When is Al Adams’ last day as Head of School? | | A. | June 30, 2011 |
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| Q. | When does the new Head report for work? | | A. | July 1, 2011 |
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| Q. | Please describe the search process. | | A. | Consultants’ Role:
- Together with the Search Committee, CS&A will translate the school's objectives into a leadership profile required to achieve success (i.e. the Position Description).
- From the school's mission, philosophy and objectives, they help to identify the knowledge and competencies a new leader must possess. From the School’s culture and values, the consultants help in discerning the personal characteristics and style required for the new Head to "fit" the school effectively.
- CS&A interviews and checks references of all candidates before referring their credentials to the Search Committee for review.
- CS&A provides advice concerning format, logistics, procedure, and best practices, and offers Committee members detailed interview questions custom-designed to probe whether candidates possess the specific leadership qualities identified as required by the School.
- The consultants help the School structure interviews, visits, and reference checks to ensure that the candidates' and the Committee's needs for information are met.
- They also facilitate the flow of feedback between the candidates and the Search Committee.
- CS&A prepares a Transition Management Plan for the Board President, providing tools that will support the appointment and the School's effective leadership and governance. These include: a model job description, proposed objectives and a suggested evaluation process for the new Head; an Entry Plan to facilitate an effective transition; a Board President/New Head behavioral style analysis to foster an effective working relationship; and an Administrative Team-Building Analysis to promote cooperative and effective leadership.
- Finally, CS&A is available to revisit the school after the first "100 days" to provide an objective, transition management assessment of the working environment between the new Head of School and the Board of Trustees.
Search Committee’s Role:
- Manages the search process from beginning to end.
- Develops and implements a communication plan to all members of the school community, keeping interested parties informed and engaged in the search process.
- Provides input and final approval of the Position Description.
- Helps create representative constituent groups, who, later in the process, will meet with candidates.
- Reviews the dossiers of candidates presented by the consultants and determines which candidates will be invited for face to face interviews.
- Plans, organizes and conducts initial off-site interviews of quarter-finalist candidates.
- Determines who from the quarter-finalists candidates will advance as semi-finalists.
- Checks references, in parallel with the search consultants.
- Receives feedback comments, systematically, from those who interview the semi-finalist candidates; meets and determines those who will advance as finalists.
- Plans, organizes and conducts two-day visits for finalist candidates with finalists and spouses/partners.
- Completes in-depth “due diligence” background referencing on all finalist candidates, including background screening checks.
- Prepares and conducts on-site visit to the candidate’s current school.
- Evaluates the Committee’s recommendations for the next Head and brings that recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
- Closes out search file, ensuring that all necessary documentation is present.
Current Head’s Role:
- Continues his primary focus of directing the School.
- Serves as a resource to the Search Committee and the search firm, Carney Sandoe.
- Meets with each semi-finalist, and again with each finalist when he/she visits the school to share his insights about education, the school, and its workings.
Board’s Role:
- Approves the formation and membership of a Head Search Committee.
- Supports the Search Committee, referring all inquiries and/or questions to the Chairs of the Committee throughout the process.
- Assures a high level of congruence between the desired candidate profile, the identified challenges/opportunities and the school’s mission.
- Meets with all semi-finalist and finalist candidates and provides feedback to Search Committee.
- Approves the appointment of the new Head, considering the recommendation of the Search Committee.
Faculty and Administration’s Role:
- Provides nominations for Search Committee members.
- Provides feedback to CS&A during the information gathering stage prior to publication of the Head Position Description.
- Remains actively engaged in the Search, giving feedback and commentary to the Search Committee throughout the process.
- Supports the Search Committee, referring all inquiries and/or questions to the Chairs of the Committee throughout the process.
- Through its Head Search Support Committee, meets with all semi-finalists and gives feedback to the Search Committee. The entire school faculty/staff has the opportunity to meet the finalist candidates.
The Parents’ Role:
- Provides feedback to the search firm during the information gathering stage prior to publication of the Position Description.
- Remains actively engaged in the Search, giving feedback and commentary to the Search Committee throughout the process.
- Through its Head Search Support Committee., meets all semi-finalist candidates and gives feedback to the Search Committee. The entire parent body has opportunity to meet the finalist candidates.
The Alumni Role:
- Provides feedback to the search firm during the information gathering stage prior to publication of the Position Description.
- Remains actively engaged in the Search, giving feedback and commentary to Search Committee members throughout the process.
- Through its Head Search Support Committee, meets all semi-finalist candidates and gives feedback to the Search Committee. The entire alumni body has opportunity to meet the finalist candidates
The Students’ Role
- Student Council provides feedback to the search firm during the information gathering stage prior to publication of the Position Description.
- Remains actively engaged in the Search, giving feedback and commentary to Search Committee members throughout the process.
- Through its Head Search Support Committee, meets all semi-finalist candidates and gives feedback to the Search Committee. The entire student body has opportunity to meet the finalist candidates
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| Q. | Where can I find regular updates on the search? | | A. | Go to our website http://www.lwhs.org/headsearch. We will post updates whenever new information is available. |
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| Q. | How can I participate in the search process? How can I contribute? | | A. | The Search Chairs are always available to hear your feedback and concerns. We will notify parents, faculty, staff, alumni and students when the online survey will be posted and look forward to your input. |
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| Q. | I have a candidate I think would be a great Head for the School. Who do I contact to refer his/her name? | | A. | Please e-mail or call any of the search chairs to submit names to be considered. |
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| Q. | At what point will the L-W community get to meet the candidates? | | A. | We expect to introduce the finalists of the Head Search in the late fall. |
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| Q. | Whom do I contact if I have any questions, concerns or thoughts around the search? | | A. | You can contact Search Chair Adam Elsesser at adam.elsesser@penumbrainc.com, (510) 748-3222 (work), Assistant Search Co-Chair Bill Mellin at billmellin@me.com, (415) 298-2365 (cell) or Carolyn Spitz, Board President and Assistant Search Co-Chair at carolynspitz@gmail.com, (415) 608-4036 (cell). |
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