RE announces new Head of Upper School

 

“I am thrilled to be joining the Ransom Everglades community,” Patriciawrote to me this week. “From the moment I stepped on campus, I felt welcomed. I was struck by the warmth of the community and inspired by the faculty’s dedication to the students. I immediately knew that Ransom Everglades was a match not only because of its commitment to academic excellence, but also because of how it truly embraces its mission of producing graduates who will leave the world a better place. It’s an honor to be invited to serve as the next Head of the Upper School and I look forward to getting to know each member of the community."

 

A daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, Patricia grew up in Washington, D.C., Nigeria, Haiti, Niger and other U.S. cities where she learned adaptability and cultural competence, and developed passions for meeting new people and taking on new challenges. RE students took to her immediately when she visited our campus; she exudes energy, curiosity and compassion.

 

In recent weeks, I have gotten to know Patricia very well, and she has shared with me her educational philosophy. Her vision aligns beautifully with ours. “We must continue to provide students with opportunities not only to apply their learning in the classroom, but also to turn their experiences into action in this ever-changing world,” she explained. “In the pursuit of excellence and one’s personal best, students should continue to develop a greater understanding of how they learn, their strengths, their vulnerabilities, and realize that a misstep does not have to be a complete derailment, but can be a path to a deeper learning experience.”

 

At Loomis Chaffee, Patricia led the development of the school’s first Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Plan. She has taught freshman seminars on the common good, public speaking and diversity, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. She also has served on the board of Grace Academy, an independent, inter-faith, tuition-free middle school for girls from underserved families in Hartford, Conn., and on the editorial board of DiversityIS magazine, a publication highlighting the efforts of independent schools to increase diversity equity, inclusion and access for students and employees.

 

Patricia previously worked as major gifts officer at The Madeira School, a job that honed her relational skills; a special assistant to the head at Madeira on diversity; and an associate producer at ESPN in Bristol, Conn. She attended The Madeira School before earning two undergraduate degrees in English and African-American Studies at the University of Virginia and her master of arts in Education and Human Development at The George Washington University.

 

I want to thank our diligent search committee members Jean Duty, Rachel Rodriguez, John King and Doug Heller '80, whose work throughout this process has been invaluable.

 

Please join me in offering a warm welcome to Patricia, her husband Wyatt and their 10-year-old son Pierce to Ransom Everglades. I can’t wait for her to join our team in July.