About Us

Head of School Search

Partnership With Resource Group 175

The Board of Trustees has selected RG175, a premier executive search firm, to partner with the search committee. RG175 is staffed by a host of long-serving, successful heads of school with decades of experience conducting successful high-profile national and international searches for independent school leaders. RG175 consultants John Green, Marcia Prewitt Spiller, and Robert Henderson will co-lead the effort.

If you have questions about the search, please contact the committee via email at hos.search@berwickacademy.org.

Search Committee Members

Nicole Outsen – Trustee and Chair of Search Committee
Kelly Arp – Trustee and Berwick Parent Community President
Patrick Connolly – Faculty Member
Molly Gabarro – Faculty Member
Meghan Kenter – Faculty Member
Jason Kroll – Secretary, Board of Trustees
Chris Onken – Faculty Member
Barbara O’Connor – President, Board of Trustees
Catherine Powell ‘80 – Trustee
Kartik Sakthivel – Trustee
Paula Williamson-Reid – Vice President, Board of Trustees

Thank you to the following community members that have agreed to serve on the Search Advisory Committee:

Stephanie Caswell, Mary Condon, John Downey, Joel Hawes, Seth Hurd, Dani Megliola, Marc Small, Hevia Paxton, Jess Richardson, Ali Vandenburgh, and Eloise Willemsen.

Search Consultants

List of 3 items.

  • John Green

    Before joining RG175, John worked for thirty-two years at a range of independent schools, including Fessenden School, Western Reserve Academy, and St. Paul School. In 2001, he was appointed the head at Peddie School in New Jersey, retiring in 2013. John has served as a trustee at Choate-Rosemary Hall School. 

  • Marcia Prewitt Spiller

    Marcia Prewitt Spiller is the former senior vice president for academic and student life at Woodward Academy in Georgia. Prior to being appointed to this position, she was head of The Children’s School in Atlanta for more than two decades. In 2009, she was elected chair of the board of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). She is also a former board chair of the Enrollment Management Association (EMA) and a current board member at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio.

  • Robert P. Henderson, Jr

    Before joining RG175 as a consultant in 2017, Bob Henderson worked for thirty-seven years at schools in three different time zones, including both boarding and day schools, and schools of differing configurations, cultures, and philosophies. In June of 2017, he stepped down as the head of school at Noble and Greenough School (Nobles), in Dedham, Massachusetts. Prior to Nobles, Bob was headmaster of North Yarmouth Academy in Portland, Maine. Bob has served as a trustee for Tenacre Country Day School and Tilton School, and served on the board of advisors of Chewonki Foundation in Maine.

Head of School Search Updates

List of 6 items.

  • December 18, 2024 | Search Advisory Committee Update

    Dear Community Members,
    I hope this finds you all well as we approach the holiday season. I wanted to update you on the progress we are making in the Head of School search. RG175 is extremely positive about the response they have had to the posting and outreach for this role. They have received strong interest and are excited about the slate of candidates they are assembling for our consideration as the next Head of School.  
     
    Read More

  • November 19, 2024 | Search Update and Position Statement

    Dear Berwick Community, 
    I wanted to take a moment to update our community on the progress around our Head of School search. RG175 was on campus October 28 and 29 and met with many members of our community including administrative team leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, and trustees.
    Read More

  • October 25, 2024 | Search Committee Announced

    October 25, 2024

    Dear Berwick Community,
     
    The process of selecting Berwick’s next Head of School begins in earnest on Monday and Tuesday, October 28 and 29. On those dates, RG175, our search partners, will be on campus to gain insights into the culture of Berwick and what our community is seeking in our next leader.
    Read More

  • October 15, 2024 | Partnership With RG175 | Nicole Outsen P’22, ’24 Named Search Committee Chair

    October 15, 2024

    Dear Berwick Academy Community,  

    As a follow up to the recent announcement of Jim Hamilton’s departure at the end of this academic year, The Board of Trustees is excited to announce that after an extensive vetting process, having considered several national firms, we have retained Resource Group 175 (RG 175) to partner with us in the search for our next Head of School.
    Read More

  • September 26, 2024 | A Message from Board Chair Barbara O'Connor

    September 26, 2024

    Dear Berwick Academy Community,
     
    On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I write to you with the utmost appreciation and gratitude for Jim Hamilton, and the six years he has dedicated to serving Berwick Academy as our Head of School. Jim has informed the board that 2024-2025 will be his last year at Berwick Academy as he transitions to an exciting opportunity as the Head of School at The Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey beginning July 1, 2025. 
    Read More

  • September 26, 2024 | A Message from Jim Hamilton

    September 26, 2024

    Dear Berwick Academy Community,
     
    At our Fall board meeting, I shared with the Board of Trustees that the 2024-2025 school year would be my last at Berwick Academy. I am honored to have accepted the position as The Peddie School’s seventeenth head of school beginning in July 2025. Peddie is a boarding and day school located in Hightstown, NJ.
    Read More
 

Berwick Academy

31 Academy Street
South Berwick, Maine 03908

Contact:
Admission | 207.384.6300
Main Office | 207.384.2164
Berwick Academy, situated on an 80-acre campus just over one hour north of Boston, serves 520 students, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 and Postgraduates. Berwick students are from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and several countries. Deeply committed to its mission of promoting virtue and useful knowledge, Berwick Academy empowers students to be creative and bold. Berwick strives to graduate alumni who shape their own learning, take risks, ask thoughtful questions, and come to understand and celebrate their authentic selves.

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