December 15, 2014 Dear Parents, Alumni, and Friends of GSA, On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to announce that the Board has voted unanimously to appoint Tim Seeley to the position of Head of School. Tim will begin his term on July 1, 2015. He is currently the Director of Summer Programs at Portsmouth Abbey School, a co-‐ed boarding school in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where he resides with his wife, Jill Clendenen, and their rescue dog, Pinto. Tim graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1981. His early postgraduate years included jobs in farming and carpentry, coaching football and basketball in California public schools, and a full-‐time volunteer position as assistant teacher at an alternative high school for at-‐risk youth. In 1984 he returned to his alma mater, Portsmouth Abbey School, where he taught Ethics, Algebra I, and Algebra II for three years prior to leaving to complete his advanced studies. He entered Harvard Divinity School where he received his masters in Theological Studies in 1989, and a Masters of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1990. From 1990 to 1997, Tim taught Religious Studies and became Chair of the Religion Department at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, where he also acted as a housemaster, and coached football, basketball and tennis. Tim went on to become the Director of the Humanities Program at Northfield Mount Hermon School from 1997 to 2001. Among other responsibilities, he oversaw the development and successful imple-‐ mentation in the Humanities of the school’s classroom technology initiative. North Cross School became Tim’s home from 2001 to 2011 where he filled a variety of roles, first as Dean of the Faculty, then Assistant Headmaster and Director of the Upper School, and finally Headmaster. During his tenure there he instituted a school-‐wide program of ethics education and created a program to increase effec-‐ tive ways of working with students with learning differences. He carried through the successful completion of a campaign to renovate the middle school and secured a $1.2 million gift for the complete renovation of the athletic facility. In 2011 Tim re-‐ turned again to Portsmouth Abbey to lead its Summer Academic Program, attended by nearly 100 students, both boarding and day, from Central America, Europe, Asia and the United States. In addition to coordinating all aspects of this program, he cre-‐ ated the Portsmouth Abbey English and Golf Academy, a program for international students serving 32 students from China in its first summer and generating signifi-‐ cant revenue. Tim comes to GSA with his wife, Jill Clendenen, currently the Assistant to the Direc-‐ tor of the Summer Program, and also Director of Afternoon and Weekend Activities. Jill received her B.A. from Bennington and her M.A. from Middlebury. She has taught French and coached field hockey and swimming. Both Tim and Jill enjoy outdoor ac-‐ tivities, music, reading, writing, and travel. Tim has three children: Jeremy, in busi-‐ ness school; Demarest, in nursing school; and Molly, a writer, blogger, and website editor. The Search Committee began meeting in July, ably assisted by educational consult-‐ ants Bruce Shaw and Raymond Nance. The search was international in scope and we received over 50 applications for the position. The committee interviewed many candidates and subsequently brought four finalists and their spouses to GSA’s cam-‐ pus for two-‐day visits. Finalists met with the search committee, teachers, students, administrators, staff, parents, trustees, sending school administrators and commu-‐ nity members, who were then invited to provide feedback to the Search Committee. The Search Committee unanimously recommended Tim Seeley to the Board for its approval. I would like to thank Bruce Shaw and Raymond Nance for their wise counsel; Tyler Knowles, trustee and Head Search chair, for her tireless, thoughtful, and thorough leadership; and all the search committee members for their dedication and hard work: Cory Schildroth, Director of Special Education; David Stearns, history chair; Rada Starkey, Director of Development; Melissa Mattes, trustee; Samantha Politte, parent and trustee; John Richardson, parent; Jim Markos, trustee. Thanks also to the many individuals who participated in this process and provided the committee with many helpful comments and perspectives. Sincerely, Marion Dillon Morris President, Board of Trustees Member, Head Search Committee