Fall 2021 Surgere Magazine

SCHOOL News Andrea Kassar Appointed 12th Westridge Head of School Effective July 2022 In May, Andrea Kassar, current head of Upper School at The NightingaleBamford School in Manhattan, was named the next head of school. She will join Westridge in July 2022, succeeding Elizabeth J. McGregor upon her retirement.

“During our search process there was remarkable alignment across our community on the priorities we sought in our next head of school: a visionary thought leader with the ability to sustain academic excellence while promoting social-emotional wellbeing and a committed advocate for DEI and anti-racism work,” said Richard Fung, 2020-2021 chair of the Westridge Board of Trustees.

Kassar has more than 20 years’ experience as an administrator and faculty member at girls’ schools in New York. As head of Upper School at The Nightingale-Bamford School, she has led the division through significant enrollment growth and the transition to an Advanced Courses program and worked to implement new and expanded student programs in the areas of diversity and equity, and health and wellness. Prior to NightingaleBamford, Kassar was with The Chapin School, an all-girls school for grades K-12.

She earned her undergraduate degree in English and psychology at the University of Chicago and holds an M.A. in English and comparative literature from Columbia University and an M.A. in psychology from the New School for Social Research. Kassar spent part of her childhood in the Middle East (Bahrain and United Arab Emirates) and is a graduate of Brearley, a K-12 girls’ school in Manhattan. She and her husband, Tim McKenna, have three children, Lucy (13), Billy (8), and Cecily (5).

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