A SPECIAL MESSAGE
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
June 1, 2023
FROM JOHN ALLMAN
Dear friends,
As I prepare for my fifteenth year at Trinity, the time is right for me to step down as Head of School at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year. I am tremendously grateful for the time I have spent at Trinity and for the privilege of being part of the lives and learning of the thousands of students who have passed through our doors during that time. Having the opportunity to lead this revered institution is one of the great honors of my life.
I will always remember arriving at Trinity from Texas with my family in 2009. Everyone was warm, welcoming, and embraced us with open arms. Today, some of our dearest friends are those we have met through the Trinity community. During my tenure, Trinity has continued to evolve in many ways through our ongoing pursuit of excellence. We have made significant changes to our curriculum and offerings, expanded our campus, built out critical departments such as college counseling, and welcomed many new extraordinary faculty members. Together, as a school, we have revolutionized how we support students at Trinity.
As I reflect on my time at Trinity, I can’t help but smile as I remember all of the special moments embedded in our traditions that have brought me such joy. I will always remember fondly the smiles of the first graders carrying candles (early on, real candles!) down the aisle in the holiday chapel and the excitement I would have anticipating the Halloween costumes that would parade through the Great Hall for Halloween. I have felt a sense of gratitude seeing so many students volunteering with our community partners, playing bingo with seniors, and helping to prepare meals at Advent Lutheran Church. And I have cherished every single Senior chapel talk I’ve been blessed to hear. These and so many other memories will stay with me forever.
The heart of the Trinity experience remains the lively, engaged conversation between inspiring, caring teachers and talented, motivated, and curious students. I have seen more than 1,000 graduates leave us eager to “learn confidently for the rest of their lives, and to give generously and joyfully to others,” and I couldn’t be more proud. Our school community is strong, ready for the next generation of leadership.
I am excited for Alexis Mulvihill as she succeeds me as Trinity’s next Head of School. Over the years, I and the rest of the Trinity community have increasingly relied on Alexis for her deep intellectual commitment, her powerful eloquence, her insight about teaching and learning, and her strong sense of empathy and respect for all. I am eager to see where Alexis takes this remarkable institution.
I look forward to my final year as the Head of School with excitement and great reverence.
Fifteen years ago, the school’s compelling mission statement impelled me to bring my family to New York City, and fifteen years later, I find Trinity’s mission no less compelling and important. Thank you all for the opportunity you have given me to play a role in serving that mission.
Gratefully,
John Allman Head of SchoolFROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Dear friends,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am delighted to announce that Alexis Mulvihill, Assistant Head of School, will become Trinity’s next Head of School and the first woman to hold the position on other than an interim basis in the school’s 300-year history.
Alexis will succeed John Allman, whose leadership has admirably served the Trinity community and who has chosen to step down at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year after a remarkable 15-year tenure as Head of School. For next year, Alexis will serve as Head of School designate and work closely with John. An accomplished and innovative educator with deep experience as an administrator and teacher since she joined the school in 2011, Alexis was the clear choice to become Trinity’s next Head of School. As Alexis was considered for this role and was interviewed by the Board during the succession planning process, it became clear to us that she has a range of important qualities and valuable experience that would be impossible to replicate.
Through a series of roles with increasing responsibility, from head of the English Department to Assistant Head of School for Academic Affairs to her current position as Assistant Head of School, Alexis has established herself as a dynamic educator and leader devoted to the well-being of students, faculty, staff and our community. She embodies Trinity’s values of providing a world-class education with rigorous academics and outstanding programs in athletics, arts, and public service to a talented, motivated, and diverse student body from a broad range of economic and social backgrounds.
Alexis was responsible for overseeing our successful NYSAIS Accreditation Process, a critical and far-reaching series of activities we undertake every decade. She has been instrumental in advancing Trinity’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts as co-chair of the Anti-Racism Task Force, which produced significant work and research to better our community. Previously, she led our Faculty Growth and Evaluation Committee and Gender Equity Task Force and co-chaired our Student Wellbeing Committee, among other initiatives. The Board has come to know Alexis as someone with far-reaching vision, deeply rooted knowledge of and enthusiasm for Trinity’s unique culture, and relationships with students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni that span many years.
We want to express our deepest gratitude to John Allman for his extraordinary stewardship and innumerable contributions to Trinity over the past 14 years and his upcoming 15th year. During his admirable tenure, John has provided steady and innovative leadership through the evolution of Trinity in countless ways that have enriched the experiences of our students and benefited our community, while also sustaining its reputation for excellence. He was instrumental in the vision, planning and realization of our significant campus expansion effort in 2015, which resulted in the addition of new classrooms, science labs, a performing-arts space, and a playing field.
With John’s guidance, Trinity has achieved ambitious fundraising goals, raising over $200 million for the School expansion, the endowment, and other key initiatives and activities, and the School continues to be in a strong financial position. John was also responsible for the establishment of Trinity’s Department of Global Engagement and its Office of Public Service, providing remarkable opportunities for our students to engage with their local and global communities.
Most recently, John steered the School with unwavering leadership through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and our return to campus effort. As Head of School, John has overseen Trinity through several challenges but also through many triumphs: the expansion of the curriculum to include Economics, Robotics, Engineering, and Playwrighting among others; a history-making year for Trinity’s athletic program where we won 10 Ivy Preparatory School League conference championships; the establishment of the Community Circle Partnership, which enables students to become involved during their school day with 15 different neighborhood organizations near campus, and so much more. Trinity’s student and employee populations have each become 50% more diverse during John’s tenure, and his support for implementation of the Anti-Racism Task Force’s recommendations will help sustain a school environment that prepares students to become members of diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities and engaged citizens of the world. John and his family have been quintessential members of the Trinity community: as leaders and mentors and also as parents and students, embodying our mission and our pursuit of excellence.
It is the responsibility of the Board to ensure Trinity has the right leadership to continue delivering on its promise of educational excellence and opportunity, and we could not be more pleased with this outcome of our succession planning efforts. John has been an invaluable partner to the Board in facilitating this planned transition, having recruited Alexis to Trinity and mentored her over the years, putting us in the enviable position of having our next extremely qualified leader already among our ranks. John and Alexis have worked hand in hand on many of the most important initiatives for Trinity. The Board is thankful for everything that John has done to lead the School to where it is today and greatly appreciates his continued collaboration with Alexis in the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year. In inviting Alexis to this role, we are assuring a smooth leadership transition for the School.
Please join me in congratulating Alexis on her new role and in celebrating John’s accomplishments and immeasurable contributions to Trinity over what will be 15 years as Trinity’s 29th Head of School. Both are at the heart of our confidence in Trinity’s bright future.
Sincerely,
David Perez President, Trinity Board of Trustees
