Executive Director Search

Dear San Francisco Waldorf Community,
 
We are incredibly excited to announce that Lauren Smith has accepted the invitation from the Board of Trustees to be the new Executive Director at San Francisco Waldorf School, effective July 1, 2025. The culmination of a robust and intensive nationwide search, we couldn’t be happier to have found an exceptional leader who brings both deep Waldorf pedagogical knowledge as well as experience in school administration and background in corporate marketing.  Lauren impressed many across both campuses with her questions, her warmth and professionalism, as well as her future-facing interest in the development of Waldorf education. She workshopped marketing pitches at breakfast with Trustees after hearing us talk about how rigorous our education is, while protecting and nurturing all the capacities of our students. 
 
Lauren brings over 20 years of experience in Waldorf education, both as an educator and administrator in preK-12 schools. After helping to start a Waldorf School in Palm Beach County, she took two classes from Grades 1-8 as a class teacher at Lexington Waldorf School. She then returned to school administration and served as the Interim Director of Lexington Waldorf, and then served as the School Director at Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder, Colorado.
 
Lauren is a genuine, mission-driven leader who embodies the values of San Francisco Waldorf school to nurture all our students to be active participants in the human experience. She invites participation among all stakeholders, and one Search Committee member observed that “Lauren lit up every space that she was in.”
 
Starting on July 1, 2025, Lauren will step into the role of Executive Director, a new and expanded role.  She follows in the leadership footsteps of Craig Appel, who has led our community with warmth, care, and high-fives since 2017. We express our heartfelt appreciation to Craig for his remarkable contributions to SF Waldorf and look forward to celebrating his many and significant accomplishments as Administrative Director at SFWS later this spring.
 
We are also grateful for the tremendous amount of work and effort by our Search Committee members:  Yoriko Yamamoto (Board Trustee, Pedagogical Council, HS Faculty), Tal Honig (Pedagogical Council, HS Faculty), Sachi Gowe (Pedagogical Council, Early Childhood faculty), Erin Kemp (Board Trustee, GS Faculty), Pete Comerford (Board Trustee) and Jason Lohr (Board Trustee), Katrina Rhoads (Board Vice Chair), and Madhulika Chambers (Board Chair) who brought a diverse and invaluable set of perspectives to the committee. Together with the help of our consultant Tracy Bennett from Educators Collaborative, we have conducted an extensive search and thoughtfully considered the priorities laid out in the leadership profile. We reviewed 14 dossiers, interviewed 7 semi-finalists, and invited 3 finalists to campus for multi-day visits. From among these many capable candidates, the Board of Trustees is excited to have selected Ms. Smith.
 
The strength, heart, and intelligence of our community was on full display during the finalist visits. We want to acknowledge faculty, staff, parents, and students for showing up consistently, asking informed questions, and sharing thoughtful, incisive feedback about our three finalist candidates. We were moved and guided by this engagement, and feel optimism as together we move San Francisco Waldorf School towards a strong future.
 
We will welcome Lauren officially as the new Executive Director in July. Meanwhile in the coming months, Lauren will engage regularly with Craig, as well as meet with the Board, the GS Chair, the HS Chair, and the Director of Finance to ensure a smooth transition. She will also make some visits to campus to start building connections with our community, so please stay tuned for opportunities to get to know Lauren.  
 
Best regards,
 
Madhulika Chambers (Board Chair, Search Co-Chair)
Katrina Rhoads (Board Vice Chair, Search Co-Chair)

Dear San Francisco Waldorf School Community,

We are pleased to provide an update on our Executive Director search. Last month the Search Committee convened for implicit bias and interview training in preparation for the next steps in our process. This week we reviewed dossiers from a strong pool of candidates from across the country, all of whom our consultant has interviewed as well as spoken with references. Applicant materials include a cover letter, a CV, a statement of educational leadership philosophy, and references. Following our thorough assessment of candidate files, the committee selected 8 semifinalists for virtual one-hour interviews, which are scheduled for mid-February.

At our meeting, consultant Tracy Bennett shared that she has spoken with over 40 potential candidates interested in leading our school. The pool is diverse in gender, race, ethnicity, and experience, including current school leaders, division heads, and senior administrators. We’d like to remind you that the process remains wholly confidential until the finalists have been selected. At that time, candidates will make a 2-day visit to campus and meet with all our stakeholders—faculty, staff, parents, and trustees. There will be forums to hear from the candidates and you will have the opportunity to provide feedback directly to the Search Committee. 

Mark Your Calendars: Finalist Visit Dates

We plan to have finalists for the Executive Director position visit SFWS and meet with our community on the following dates (subject to their availability and the number of candidates):

• March 3-4
• March 6-7  
• March 10-11 

We have an exciting few months ahead and are grateful for your engagement in this important undertaking. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Warm regards,

Madhulika Chambers and Katrina Rhoads, Co-Chairs

SFWS Executive Director Search Committee
Pete Comerford
Sachi Gowe
Tal Honig
Madhulika Chambers
Erin Kemp
Jason Lohr
Katrina Rhoads
Yoriko Yamamoto

Dear San Francisco Waldorf School Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to provide an update on our progress. Following the campus visit of our search consultant in early December, we began our work in earnest. Input from faculty, staff, parents, and trustees, guided our development of the Information for Candidates document. This comprehensive document provides potential candidates with an overview of our school, an outline of the opportunities and challenges before us, and a profile of the skills and attributes we will look for in our Executive Director. 

As highlighted in the IFC, we are seeking a leader who enthusiastically embraces and champions the school’s commitment to Waldorf education and shares its deep belief in the inherent goodness and potential of every human being. The successful candidate will bring a leadership approach distinguished by enthusiasm, resilience, curiosity, and confidence.”  We encourage you to share information about this exciting leadership opportunity in your personal and professional circles—the IFC is available on the Educators Collaborative website as well as on AWSNA and relevant educational forums. Please direct any interested individuals to our consultant, Tracy Bennett (tbennett@educatorscollaborative.com, who will follow up directly.

The primary responsibility of the Search Committee is to identify the qualities most desired and needed for the Executive Director and then to screen, review and evaluate candidates in light of these traits as well as the challenges and opportunities we have identified our next leader will address.  Ultimately, the Search Committee recommends a candidate to the Board of Trustees, who holds responsibility for hiring and managing the Executive Director. 

Members of the Search Committee include:

Madhulika Chambers, Board Chair, Search Committee Co-chair, GS + HS Parent
Katrina Rhoads, Board Vice Chair, Search Committee Co-chair, HS Parent
Pete Comerford, Board Trustee, Board Finance Committee, GS Parent
Jason Lohr, Board Trustee, GS Parent
Erin Kemp, Board Faculty Trustee, Grade School School Teacher, Alumni Parent Yoriko Yamamoto, Board Faculty Trustee, Pedagogical Council, HS Teacher, HS Parent
Sachi Gowe, Early Childhood Teacher, HS Parent
Tal Honig, Pedagogical Council, High School Teacher, GS + HS Parent

We’re pleased to share that you can find information about the search and communication updates on our Executive Director search page. There you will see an FAQ that provides information about the search process and timeline. In the coming weeks, Tracy and her Educators Collaborative colleagues will focus on generating a robust pool of candidates for our review. The Search Committee aims to review applications in early February and bring finalists to campus in March. At that time, all SFWS community members will have an opportunity to meet candidates and provide feedback to the Search Committee.

We will continue to provide updates as we continue our work and appreciate your continued engagement. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Respectfully,

Madhulika Chambers SFWS Board Chair, Search Committee Co-chair

December 14, 2024

Dear SFWS Community,

The Board has launched its search for the next leader of San Francisco Waldorf School, and as Board Chair I plan to write to you regularly this school year with updates on our search. Hiring and supporting our school’s leaders is one of the Board’s most important responsibilities, and we look forward to a thoughtful, inclusive and excellent process, and a successful outcome. Over the next three months, the search will engage members of our community—including teachers, staff, students, and families—to help guide this critically important work. SFWS is a beloved Waldorf school with a rich history spanning 45 years. Our search will be marked by careful deliberation and thoughtfulness at every step, with the aim of having the next leader selected in the spring and begin in July 2025.

We are pleased to announce that we have retained Educators Collaborative and EC partner Tracy Bennett to help us conduct the search. Educators Collaborative specializes in finding senior leaders for independent schools and will shepherd the process. They will ensure that we identify candidates with the skills and experience necessary to lead our diverse community, uphold our Waldorf pedagogy and values, and continue to deliver on our promise of educational excellence. Tracy has already begun her work, and a Search Committee composed of Trustees and members of the SFWS community will soon be formed. Tracy is well versed in Waldorf education, and impressed us with her warmth and depth of understanding of Waldorf schools. She is a former Head of Seattle Waldorf School (2011-2020) and has worked closely with many peer urban schools, including Highland Hall, Shining Mountain, Denver, Honolulu, and Steiner School in NYC. Her references are outstanding, and have said that she is “exceptional”, “highly attuned” and “direct”. 

In the last few weeks, I have been reaching out to Trustees and Heads of many other schools, both in San Francisco, and in Waldorf schools in other urban areas. All have shared helpful and varied advice. There were three standout things that all have said to me about our school, that I thought I would share with our community:

San Francisco Waldorf is a "beacon of light" for other schools - respected as a "flagship"/"heritage"/"legacy" school to others. Our teachers, our size, our longevity, our ability to build a gym, our ability to fundraise ("raise some serious dough"), our standing in a city, all inspire hope in other schools all over the country.

They all understood our challenges, even if in some cases theirs were very different. They felt inspired by the governance and leadership work that the school has undertaken starting last year, and the work we are doing to identify our needs going into the future.

All the Waldorf leaders said that the amount of time they had put into their schools in terms of energy and time was a drop compared to what they got in return for their children who attended the school. I said I felt the same. 

I hope you have been enjoying our special community, not only through your children’s education, but also at events like Join the Mob at our HS gym last month and of course Winter Fair this past weekend. I also loved attending a talk by Karmin Guzder Williams to our preschool and kindergarten on reading, and how we develop comprehension and literacy through the grades. The Board Enrollment committee in conjunction with the Admissions office ran a stellar event at the carousel in Golden Gate Park where many current parents connected enthusiastically with many prospective parents about our school.

I am happy that after speaking at Back to School Night, multiple parents have reached out to me at boardchair@sfwaldorf.org with ideas for retention and enrollment. Please keep them coming and feel free to reach out anytime about anything. The Board is interested in, and keen to follow up on the excellent ideas living in our community.

Over the coming weeks we will establish a website which will have regular updates and information about the search process. I will also add a section “Board Chair Corner” to the news bulletin, with updates from the Board. We have much that is exciting to report, and I hope you will check in periodically and offer any feedback or help.

Warmest Best,
Madhulika Chambers, Board Chair
On behalf of the Board of Trustees

Dear SFWS Community,

It was with mixed emotions that I recently shared with the Board of Trustees my intention to step down from my role as Administrative Director of the San Francisco Waldorf School at the end of this school year in June 2025. I am grateful that the Board asked me what might influence me to stay in my current position and has been very supportive of me in my role. After careful reconsideration, I am confident this change comes at the right time for my professional and family goals, and for the school to build on the vibrancy and strong foundation created over the past 45 years.

The past eight years working with the teachers, staff, board, parents, and students have been the most rewarding time of my career. It has been an honor and privilege to lead and collaborate with the entire community to move the school forward and meet unprecedented challenges, always keeping the experience of the students, the warmth of the community, and beauty of Waldorf education at the center of our work. The school’s commitment to individual and organizational development has helped make me a better leader, colleague and parent. I am grateful to the faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees for their tireless work, deep commitment, broad expertise and valuable support that allowed me to successfully lead our school. Above all, I am grateful to parents and guardians, past and present, for entrusting your children’s education to my colleagues and me.

The skills, strength and enthusiasm of the faculty, staff, and Board give me great confidence in our school’s ability to capitalize on the myriad opportunities ahead. 

I am enthusiastic to bring my many years of Waldorf school experience to my next organizational leadership role. At the same time, I plan to remain deeply connected to SFWS as a proud donor, available volunteer, and active and committed SFWS parent to my two youngest children—10th Grade and 5th Grade—and an alumni parent to my two older children.  

I look forward to working diligently with the Board and colleagues during the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year on the exciting initiatives underway to ensure the next leaders are set to help SFWS continue to flourish. I am also committed to assisting in any way I can to make the leadership transition as smooth as possible.

Best regards,
Craig Appel

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Dear SFWS Community,

SFWS Administrative Director Craig Appel has shared with the Board of Trustees his intention that 2024-2025 will be his final year in his role. While we are undoubtedly sad, and would love to hold onto Craig forever, we are so grateful that Craig’s love for our school kept him with us for eight years. We are indebted to Craig for his leadership, energy, optimism, clarity, and years of facilitating the important work of our school. 

Craig has been the face of our school and the face of Waldorf education to our families and independent school educators at peer schools across the city. During his tenure, Craig has embodied our school culture of community and collaboration. He led and ensured broad participation in the efforts to fund and build the Bushnell Center of Athletics and Community, oversaw the design and execution of the 2019 strategic plan, orchestrated a successful WASC/AWSNA accreditation in 2023, navigated the school through the pandemic with excellent outcomes for students and faculty (for which we can never thank him enough), and countless other initiatives and achievements. Prior to his role as Administrative Director, Craig served as an SFWS Trustee for eight years including three as Board president. In short, Craig has had a deep and lasting impact on many areas of our school and we will miss him dearly.

Looking to the future, the Board plans to interview and engage a search firm to help the school hire our next leader who will join us in July 2025. We look forward to collaborating with faculty and staff and the community in the search process. Craig has shared his commitment to work diligently with the Board and colleagues during the remainder of 2024-2025 school year to ensure a smooth transition and to help find the next excellent leaders of the school. For our part, we are excited for Craig to launch a new phase in his career as he looks for further growth and opportunities in organizational leadership. 

Please join me in reaching out to Craig to give him your heartfelt appreciation for his years of service, as we look forward to working with him for the remainder of the school year. Do not hesitate to contact me at boardchair@sfwaldorf.org to learn more about the search process going forward. 

Sincerely,
Madhulika Chambers
SFWS Board President