3 minute read
LOOKING FORWARD
The St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Board of Trustees announced in June the unanimous appointment of Dr. Jeneen Graham as the next Head of School. She will start her new role on July 1, 2023. Dr. Graham was chosen after a six-month search process that spanned the globe.
“Conducting this robust search in a highly competitive market not only afforded us the opportunity to meet many dynamic educators and independent school leaders, it also served to benchmark our school against the deep talent and extensive experience of the marketplace,” Board of Trustees President Paul Westhead said. “By this standard, it was abundantly clear to our search committee, the Board of Trustees, as well as the many community members who participated in our finalists meetings, that we have something special at St. Margaret’s, including an exceptional leader in Jeneen who will help write the next chapter of our school’s history.”
Dr. Graham has been St. Margaret’s Upper School Principal since 2018, but her deep ties with the school go back nearly two decades. She enrolled her two sons in the preschool while she was a doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine. She later became a member of St. Margaret’s Board of Trustees before being named Academic Dean of St. Margaret’s in 2012. As Academic Dean, her responsibilities included curriculum development and alignment for the school community, teacher professional development, database development and data analysis, and the pursuit of promising pedagogical practices and assessments. She also teaches AP psychology in the Upper School.
Mr. Westhead added, “Jeneen has drawn upon multiple lenses through which to view St. Margaret’s and consistently demonstrated her unique perspective to thoughtfully and expertly make connections between divisions and build community throughout the school. As a researcher, administrator, teacher and parent, Jeneen embodies the balance of our commitment to educating both hearts and minds.”
Dr. Graham said, “We are blessed with a large and beautiful campus, tremendous professional community members, a wise and highly effective Board of Trustees, incredibly supportive parents and alumni, and the best students for whom we could ever wish. We are a full and healthy school, and our future is incredibly bright with so many exciting strategic goals on the horizon. I am both excited and eager to bring St. Margaret’s to its next level, in collaboration with so many of you."
In the coming year, Dr. Graham will continue her role as Upper School Principal, while working with Head of School Will Moseley and the Board of Trustees to ensure a smooth transition.
Dr. Graham will be the fifth Head of School in St. Margaret’s history, following Founder The Rev. Canon Ernest D. Sillers (19791986), Markham Campaigne (1986-2003), Marcus Hurlbut (20032013) and Mr. Moseley, who joined in 2013 and announced his planned departure in October 2021 at the conclusion of the 20222023 school year.
Jeneen and her husband, Andy, are the parents of two St. Margaret’s alumni who are now in college—Robbie ’19 and Reid ’22.
Prior to working at St. Margaret’s, Dr. Graham was on staff in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine as a lecturer and a researcher. She was the Assistant Director and later the Acting Director of the Center for Research on Cognition and Learning. Before joining UCI, Dr. Graham was the Assistant Director of Admission for St. Andrews School in Boca Raton, Fla. She began her career at Carney, Sandoe and Associates, a well-known educational consulting firm in Boston.
Dr. Graham holds a B.A. in anthropology and a minor in Spanish from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and an Ed.D in educational leadership from a joint UCI/UCLA program.
Scan here to learn more about Dr. Graham’s background and the Head of School search process.
