Strategic Planning

While there is much to experience here in the present, we also, as always, have our sights set on the future.


Last spring we began strategic planning, an 18-month, inclusive process that welcomes the voices and perspectives of our broader community in exploring and setting a strategic direction and guiding compass that positions Thacher for the next exciting chapter in our school’s long history. 

Our partner in this work, Leadership + Design, is helping to guide us through this process, which includes a number of opportunities for our community to share their insights, including time with students and faculty, community think tanks, as well as other virtual and in-person opportunities to engage with the team.    

The School and Board identified four co-chairs to guide this work, along with a team of faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, parents, and members of the leadership team. We are excited to share that list and are grateful to each of them for their willingness to engage in this important work for the School.

The charge of this team is to work collectively to surface and synthesize feedback, data, research, and experiences about Thacher; to facilitate conversations and moments of shared design thinking; to form inquiry groups to focus on specific areas of the School; and to explore solutions and strategic initiatives that will ultimately become the focus of the plan. The team’s role is to be information gathers, storytellers, collaborators, and designers.

Planning Team

 
CO-CHAIRS

 
Dr. Tracy Miller
Director of Studies
Assistant Head of School
Jeff Berndt
Director of Institutional Advancement
Catalina Saenz CdeP 1995 P ’27, ’23
Trustee
Brian Smallwood CdeP 1983, P ’26
Trustee
MEMBERS

Edgar Arceo
Science Faculty
Alex Herbert Van Helden CdeP 2002
Trustee
Jason Carney
Director of Afternoon Programs
Jeff Hooper
Head of School
Michael Dachs CdeP 2003
 
Bill McMahon
Director of Enrollment and Planning
 
Dr. Sarah DelVecchio
History Faculty
Theo Richardson-Omamo CdeP 2013
 
Dana Dwire
Executive Assistant to the Head of School
Stephanie Rauner CdeP 2004
Jose Estrada CdeP 2002
Trustee
Carly Rodriguez 
Director of Communications
Jenn Gudebski P '24
Trustee
Danny Sonenshine CdeP 1991, P ’20, ’24
Board Chair
Dr. Kendrea Hart 
Director of Counseling and Wellness
Meriem Soliman P ’22, ’27
Trustee

Questions? Insights? Ideas?

Should you have questions not answered here, want to relay insights not captured by the survey, or wish to speak to a member of the planning committee directly, please email strategicplanning@thacher.org, or use the button below to get in touch.
  

About Leadership + Design

Leadership + Design's process is collaborative, emotionally engaging, and transformational. They help teams identify the needs in their community, think creatively about the the changing world, distill their thinking into strategic insights, and make a concrete plan to get even better. To learn more about Leadership + Design, visit https://www.leadershipanddesign.org/.
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.