Leadership Summit

Leaders don’t just lead up or down. They also lead across. Whether navigating budget decisions, launching new programs, or aligning faculty, the ability to work across roles and perspectives determines whether leaders move forward with clarity and trust or get stuck in silos.

This session offers practical frameworks and tools to help leaders strengthen collaboration, build alignment, and shift from “my work” to “our work.” When leaders embrace the art of leading across, small schools thrive.

In this workshop, participants will:

• Learn strategies to strengthen collaboration across roles and perspectives in small schools.
• Explore the conditions that enable trust, clarity, and shared responsibility in schools.
• Identify one actionable step to immediately strengthen collaboration in their own leadership context.

Developing traits that lead to being a resilient leader enables us to sustain our energy, cope with disruptions, and adapt to an ever changing leadership landscape.

In this workshop, we’ll explore the competencies needed to keep us on our game and prevent us from derailing as leaders. Fostering resilience and nurturing the competencies necessary for coping with the threats and disruptions that come with school leadership will allow us to not only recover from our setbacks but thrive in the midst of the challenges.

You’ll be a stronger, more effective leader when these competencies are learned, used and sustained. You’ll come away equipped with the tools needed for being a resilient leader in today’s ever changing and challenging world.

Preview a comprehensive toolkit for evaluating student life programs in independent school settings. This demonstration session showcases how strategically designed assessment tools gather meaningful data from all stakeholders—administrators, faculty, parents, and students—to create a complete picture of student life operations.

Observe how the toolkit identifies strengths and challenges across key domains, including communication systems, student support, crisis management, disciplinary processes, and community building. Using these instruments, see examples of how schools have measured operational efficiency, resource allocation, and staff workload balance. Learn about implementation strategies that maximize response rates and produce actionable insights.

During this interactive demonstration, participants will explore sample surveys, data visualization examples, and implementation frameworks. Discover how this assessment approach could align with your school's unique context and mission while addressing the evolving needs of your community. Leave with a clear understanding of how comprehensive assessment could transform your student life programs.

In today’s volatile and ever-changing landscape, thriving schools are led by strategic leaders who aren't afraid to embrace risk and innovate. Yet, given today’s uncertainty, the traditional independent school business model and ways of being—what got us here—will not be enough to drive future success.

This session will challenge you to explore how to move beyond the traditional assumptions, outdated practices, and legacy models that are holding independent schools back, and instead foster a culture of adaptability, innovation, and future-readiness. We will explore what it means to lead strategically in an evolving educational landscape and how to engage your Board not just to support necessary change, but to drive it. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Articulate the strategic imperative for independent schools to embrace a culture of innovation and nimbleness.
• Identify actionable strategies to recognize and challenge outdated operating systems and assumptions that are holding independent schools back.
• Apply insights and best practices from across the school landscape to address challenges in engaging Boards to support strategic leadership and change.
• Position your school for lasting sustainability and growth by shifting away from traditional, reactive planning to ongoing, forward-thinking strategic leadership.

Description Coming Soon

BIO:

Susanne Carpenter is the principal and founder of Carpenter Leadership Consulting- a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm focused on helping leaders and leadership teams become high-performing and strategy-focused. Channeling her own experience as a leader, Susanne empowers leaders to unlock their full potential, fostering confidence, effectiveness, and success. Her goal is to help her clients reach their fullest potential and lead with impact. She believes that when leaders are at their best, their organizations thrive.

Before starting her firm, Susanne was the Assistant Head of School at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She has also served as Director of Admission at Nashoba Brooks School and Worcester Academy. 

She is a graduate of Westover School and received her B.A. from Wheaton College. She is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation and is also a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. She is currently the treasurer for the board of trustees at Westover School. Susanne lives with her family in the Boston area. 

CONTACT:

susanne@carpenterleadership.com

www.carpenterleadership.com

www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-carpenter

BIO:

Edward Hollinger, founder of Hollinger Group Consulting, is an educational leader and consultant specializing in transitional leadership, team development and professional coaching. Ed holds a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Temple University and is certified in Organizational Change and Leadership Coaching from Northwestern University.  His work guides individuals and organizations to discover and develop their best professional selves.  He is currently serving as Interim Head of The Orchard School in Indianapolis, IN.

CONTACT:

edward.hollinger@gmail.com

www.hollingergroupconsulting.com

BIO:

Bridget Johnson is the founder of the Deans' Roundtable, a professional development community for student life professionals, and Bridget Johnson Coaching and Consulting, where she works with organizations on conflict resolution, difficult conversations, and strategic change.

The Deans' Roundtable was created in 2012 after Bridget identified a significant void in professional support for those in student life roles. Since its inception, the Roundtable has hosted an annual conference that attracts student life professionals from across the country, providing them with opportunities to connect, learn, and share best practices. Although Bridget has not served as a dean in many years, this group of professionals remains close to her heart as the Roundtable continues to foster growth, collaboration, and support within the field.

Bridget's leadership extends beyond the Roundtable. She previously served as the Dean of Students at Milton Academy, where she implemented innovative discipline procedures, reorganized health services, and led the creation of a comprehensive residential curriculum and emergency response program. She also contributed to the affective education program, focusing on character education and life skills.

After her tenure at Milton Academy, Bridget became the Associate Executive Director at Prep for Prep, an educational leadership development program that prepares high-achieving students of color in New York City for success in independent schools. In this role, she was instrumental in supporting students and driving community engagement.

In 2018, Bridget transitioned to consulting, working with public and private schools and nonprofit organizations. Through her consulting practice, she specializes in helping organizations navigate challenging conversations, develop conflict resolution strategies, and implement sustainable change. She continues to provide strategic guidance and leadership development for educational institutions. She is pursuing her Master's in Restorative Practices at the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP), furthering her commitment to creating positive change in education and leadership.

CONTACT:

bridget@deansroundtable.org

https://deansroundtable.org/

linkedin.com/in/bridget-johnson510

BIO:

Julia Riordan, M.A. / Senior Consultant / 

Driven by a commitment to social impact, Julia Riordan empowers mission-driven organizations to achieve sustainable growth through strategic, data-informed decision-making. Her foundation, built upon a Master's degree from the University of Chicago, provides a robust framework for leveraging data analytics and implementation science to prepare organizations to thrive amidst uncertain operating environments.  Julia recognizes that a strong business model is not merely a financial necessity, but a critical tool for amplifying mission impact. By refining business and dues models through rigorous analysis, she helps organizations optimize revenue streams to ensure their long-term viability. While some may perceive business growth as at odds with non-profit values, Julia believes it is a critical foundation for lasting social change.

CONTACT:

jriordan@scarletoakconsulting.com

www.scarletoakconsulting.com

www.linkedin.com/in/julia-riordan

BIO:

Alanna Tievsky McKee, MSW, Founder & CEO

Alanna McKee is a mission-driven architect, helping independent schools and associations build stronger foundations to realize their full impact. With a career spanning organizational leadership, teaching, facilitation, and consulting, she partners with mission-driven organizations to translate complex opportunities into actionable strategies. A social worker by trade, she understands the human side of organizational change, and has helped her clients navigate everything from strategic planning to governance overhauls. Alanna believes there is value in disagreement, and brings exemplary facilitatory skills that support divergent perspectives and civil discourse to arrive at consensus. She puts these skills into practice with her clients and in her role as the Chair of the Board at her children’s pre-school. 

A fourth-generation Washingtonian and nature enthusiast, Alanna named her company after the official tree of Washington, DC, the Scarlet Oak. When she’s not knee deep in school strategy, you'll likely find her enjoying the delightful chaos of raising two "wild and wonderful" kids with her

CONTACT:

atmckee@scarletoakconsulting.com

www.scarletoakconsulting.com

www.linkedin.com/in/alanna-tievsky-mckee

BIO:

CONTACT:

leigh@leadhershipeducationalsolutions.com

leadhershipeducationalsolutions.com

www.linkedin.com/in/leigh-toomey-leadhership-educational-solutions

Yes! Live attendance is completely free for both the Leadership Summit (May 7, 2026) and the Enrollment & Marketing Summit (May 14, 2026).

No problem. Recordings will be available for purchase for $97 after the Summit. You can attend live for free or access the sessions on your own schedule.

Leadership Summit:
This Summit is designed for Heads of School, Assistant Heads, Division Leaders, administrative leadership teams, and Board members at small schools.

Each Summit is a one-day virtual event with multiple sessions spread throughout the day. A full schedule will be shared closer to the event date.

Yes. The Spring Summits are a virtual extension of the Small School Leaders Conference (February 3–6, 2026), designed to keep learning and conversation going throughout the year. Conference attendees receive the Summit recordings as part of their conference ticket.

No. The Summits are open to everyone, whether or not you attended the February Conference. Conference attendees receive the Summit recordings as part of their conference ticket.

Professional development credit varies by school. While we don’t issue formal PD certificates, many schools count Summit attendance toward internal PD requirements.

Both Summits are fully virtual and will be hosted live via Zoom Webinar. Registered attendees will receive login details prior to the event.

Yes. Many sessions will include live Q&A or discussion time, allowing attendees to engage directly with presenters.

The full session schedule and speaker lineup will be shared in March 2026.

The Summits are hosted by Easy School Marketing as part of the Small School Leaders learning series.

Contact Aubrey Bursch through the Contact Form, and the Easy School Marketing Team will be in touch..