November 2, 2023
Dear Members of the Castilleja School Community,
The newly-formed Head of School Search Committee is ready to begin its important work. As co-chairs, we are committed to a thoughtful, transparent process that includes meaningful engagement with the entire Castilleja community — and we want to begin by sharing our goals and initial steps in the search for Castilleja’s next head of school.
Castilleja’s reputation for excellence is strong. We have been assured by leaders at independent schools across the country, and by our partners at the Spencer Stuart search firm, that our search will draw accomplished, ambitious, talented candidates. To attract and ultimately hire the right person, it will be essential for our committee to hear your perspective on the school’s changing needs, its challenges and opportunities, and the characteristics and experiences we are looking for in the next head of school.
We are committed to ensuring that all members of the extended Castilleja community — including faculty, administration, staff, students, parents/guardians, and alumnae — have a voice and a role in this process. Our committee understands the deep care you all have for our school, and we will keep you apprised and involved each step of the way. We welcome you to share your insights directly with the committee and our partners at Spencer Stuart via email at any time at CastillejaHoS@SpencerStuart.com.
Here are the initial steps ahead:
As the committee begins its engagement with Spencer Stuart, members of their team will visit campus Nov. 8–10 to observe the Castilleja experience and conduct listening sessions with leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumnae.
Also in November, we will invite members of the Castilleja community to participate in an online survey conducted by Spencer Stuart.
Both the on-campus listening sessions and the online community survey will ask the same questions of the Castilleja community, including:
What is distinctive about Castilleja School? What do you value most about the school?
How can Castilleja become an even better version of itself?
Which skills, competencies, professional experiences and personal attributes would you most like to see in Castilleja's next Head of School?
By the end of December, we plan to share an Opportunity Statement with you and the potential candidates. The information we gather from the community survey, meetings with the Board and school leaders, and Spencer Stuart’s visit to campus will be essential to the creation of this document. The Opportunity Statement will provide clarity on what is unique and important about the role and our community, and the kind of leader we seek. It will greatly inform the criteria as we assess prospects for the role and conduct our outreach.
It’s a pleasure to introduce you to the members of the Search Committee, listed at the bottom of this note. We are all energized by the task at hand. Castilleja is a special community we all cherish, and we recognize the vital importance of finding the right person to lead us into our next chapter.
Thank you for your commitment to our school, your upcoming participation in the process, and your support for our committee. We look forward to connecting with you soon.
Warmly,
Odette Harris and Jeff Wong
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Search Committee Members
Odette Harris P ’22 ’24, Co-Chair
Jeff Wong P ’24, Co-Chair
Zac Zeitlin P ’24 Board Chair
Mary Speiser P ’20 ’22, Former Board Chair
Raj Agrawal P ’28, Trustee
Nate Gallon P ’26, Trustee
Bob Kocher P ’23 ’24, Trustee
Jamaica Kreps P ’28 ’30, Trustee
Hwai Lin, Faculty
Mike Schroepfer P ’29, Trustee
Andie Sobrato ’08, Trustee
Rachel Tucker, Faculty