From
A Special Message
the President of the Board of Trustees and the Head of School
SEPTEMBER 2023
Dear Brearley Community,
After more than a decade of leading Brearley during a transformative period with wisdom, vision, and grace, Jane Foley Fried has decided to retire in two years at the end of the 20242025 school year.
While it is impossible to recount all she has done for Brearley, it is abundantly clear that Ms. Fried’s accomplishments are extraordinary and will continue to have an impact on the School for years to come. Her unwavering focus on our students, their learning and their wellbeing has inspired numerous innovations over the past eleven years. Her remarkable ability to galvanize us around critical causes has united our community during some of the most challenging times. She continues to lead the School with a steady hand, indefatigable spirit, deep devotion, careful attention, and above all, an abiding love for the students in her charge.
Four essential accomplishments stand out to me. Ms. Fried greatly enhanced the experience of students, focusing on the academic program, health and wellness, student life, the weekly schedule and much more. She gave new impetus to the School’s long-standing efforts to be diverse, inclusive and equitable. She continued in-person instruction during the pandemic safely and compassionately, while maintaining excellence in the program. Further, her vision to turn the School into a vibrant campus led to the construction of 590 and the revitalization of our historic 610 building, including our new tenth floor Middle and Upper School Library. These milestones and initiatives will leave a lasting legacy and ensure that Brearley continues to be a leader in education for decades to come.
For the Board of Trustees, my predecessors, and me, Ms. Fried has been a North Star, pointing deliberately and decisively towards actions necessary for the School to thrive. She consistently embodies the principles of our mission, challenging each member of our diverse community to think critically and creatively, and to act with courage and integrity. And she continues to do so with unending energy and unwavering passion. For all of this, we are truly grateful.
We will engage in a deliberate and thoughtful search process to choose a new Head of School. Dr. Lauren Wasson, P ’30 and ’32, will lead the Search Committee composed of Trustees including myself, Ms. Sue Meng ’99, P ’31 and ’35, Mr. Gideon Berger, P ’24, as well as the following members of the faculty and administration: Coco Yang, Assistant Head of Lower School; Ahmed Najm, Director of Faculty and Program Development; and Gail Marcus, History Teacher. The Search Committee will work closely with Carney, Sandoe & Associates, the nationally recognized educational search firm carefully selected by officers of the Board of Trustees. Devereaux McClatchey, President of Carney Sandoe, will lead the firm’s team. Joining him will be Marsha Little, Senior Consultant, Director of Professional Learning and Development, Search and Consulting Services; and Heather Flewelling, Chief Talent Officer, Search and Consulting Services. It is fitting that the same firm that brought us Ms. Fried will lead the search for our next Head of School.
Together, the Search Committee and Carney Sandoe will screen and evaluate candidates, ultimately making recommendations to the Board of Trustees. We expect to announce our next Head of School in the spring of 2024. Following a year of transitional planning, we will welcome our new Head of School in the fall of 2025.
We welcome input and will offer the entire community many opportunities to share their thoughts and hopes for the next Head of School. Representatives from Carney Sandoe will visit the School later this fall, and we will schedule meetings with them for parents, students, faculty, staff and alumnae. We will also solicit perspectives using varied methods. Specific details about these visits and the general process will be announced soon.
I am deeply grateful to the Search Committee and the entire Brearley community for your ongoing support and enthusiasm as we navigate this transition.
By truth and toil,
MODUPE AKINOLA ‘92 PRESIDENT, BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Dear Brearley Community,
Today’s announcement of my retirement in June 2025 fills my heart with gratitude for the support of a community I have come to love over the past eleven years. I remember walking the halls of an unnaturally quiet 610 in the summer of 2012 having only an inkling of the intellectual engagement that permeates Brearley’s classrooms, the dedication of faculty and staff, the camaraderie of the students, and the joy of traditions, such as Homecoming and Mountain Day, that would become integral parts of my daily life. I met alumnae and parents who provided me with valuable context for the Brearley of the past and their hopes for its future. My opening days here drew me into this community in a way that I could not have imagined and made me feel vested and at home.
Together, we have accomplished a great deal. Balancing the needs of a thriving community with the responsibilities of ensuring the continued excellence and relevance of the program has demanded a lot from each of us. No one person or group is solely responsible for achieving the ambitious goals we set for ourselves; rather, it has been our collective effort and commitment to the greater good that has ensured our progress.
The next few years will be equally exciting. We have an updated Strategic Vision, Stepping Through the Open Door, that guides our work with students and for the School. We will move ahead with 610’s renovation, specifically the new Studio Arts facility and upgrades to floors 11 and 12. The Board will also lead a search for the next Head of School, who, in my mind, will be the most fortunate new independent school leader of 2025. I know that Brearley’s people— the students, faculty and staff, families, alumnae and trustees—will be the greatest asset in attracting the School’s next leader. Your passion for Brearley is what sustains the strength of our extraordinary program. Our community will be busy, indeed!
While I will be retiring from school leadership, I am excited about this next phase of my life when I am still young (and fit) enough for wilderness expeditions. I plan to serve the communities who have supported me throughout my career, and to spend time with my wonderful family, whose love and encouragement have sustained me. By design, my life will be very different from my days at Brearley, but I will be forever grateful to have walked this path alongside all of you.
There are so many people to thank, and fortunately, I have the next two years to do so. For now, I express my gratitude to the past and present Board of Trustees for their vision and courage; to the administration for their expertise, commitment and collaboration; to the faculty and staff for their excellence, innovation and dedication; to the students for their love of learning, leadership and care for one another; and to our parents and alumnae for their partnership in delivering on the promise of a Brearley education.
Thank you all. And in true Brearley spirit, let’s get back to work!
By truth and toil, JANE FOLEY FRIED HEAD OF SCHOOL