Welcome to the St. Mark’s head of school search page.
Thank you for taking the time to review our recent updates and communications. We are grateful to our Search Committee and search partners, and are committed to an inclusive and transparent process. We look forward to working with the entire St. Mark’s community to gain your valuable input.
Thank you to all of the St. Mark’s students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and trustees for your thoughtful participation in the search process over the past five weeks. We are deeply grateful to everyone who took the time to contribute their voice and share insights that will help us better attract and identify our next Head of School. Thank you also to our search partners at Spencer Stuart for conducting the in-person meetings and Zoom sessions, and creating the detailed survey.
After collecting all of your valuable feedback, the Search Committee, St. Mark's Communications staff, and the team at Spencer Stuart worked together to prepare a comprehensive Position Statement that reflects your input and provides a clear direction for the next Head of School. We are pleased to share the Position Statement with you here and have also posted it on our Head of School Search webpage. This statement will contribute to attracting a diverse and talented pool of candidates and will ultimately help facilitate a smooth transition.
The Search Committee is excited about the next step of the search process as we engage with potential candidates, meeting and interviewing them in the coming months. We will continue to stay in touch to give you updates as the process unfolds. Now is the time for you to nominate candidates to the role, and we look forward to receiving suggestions from the St. Mark’s community at stmarkshos@spencerstuart.com.
Again, thank you for your ongoing support and participation in this important process. We could not do this without you.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Moore ’80
Elizabeth R. Santini ’95
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Search Committee Members:
Michael B. Moore ’80, Committee Co-Chair
Elizabeth R. Santini ’95, Committee Co-Chair
Patricia Branch ’04
Jane He P’23
Kinne McBride P'06, '08, '11
Dr. Dejai Barnes
Mackin Pulsifer ’64
Al Ortiz ’82, P’21, P’17
Marisa R. Randazzo P’24
As the search for St. Mark’s Head of School John Warren’s successor continues, the Search Committee is eager to hear from all members of the St. Mark’s community—trustees, faculty, staff, students, administrators, parents, and alumni. Your participation in this search is our most valuable resource. The information gained will directly inform the position description, how we assess potential candidates, and ultimately provide insights to a successful transition for the new head of school.
The following meetings will take place over the coming weeks. Detailed information will be emailed to each constituency directly.
Board of Trustees
The Spencer Stuart team will meet with members of the Board of Trustees via Zoom on February 3 and 8.
On Campus
The Spencer Stuart team will be on St. Mark’s campus February 6 and 7 to meet faculty, staff, students, and administrators.
Alumni and Parent Meetings
The Spencer Stuart team will meet with St. Mark’s alumni and parents via Zoom on February 9, 13, and 15.
In addition to these meetings, Spencer Stuart has set up an anonymous survey. Whether you are able to join a meeting or not, we invite the entire St. Mark’s community to participate in the St. Mark’s Head of School Search Survey. We encourage you to complete the survey, which takes five to 10 minutes, before the closing date of February 15. All responses are completely confidential and are being collected by the Spencer Stuart team.
Spencer Stuart will be asking individuals to reflect on and give feedback about the following:
What makes St. Mark’s School distinctive?
What do you truly value about the School?
What are the opportunities and challenges facing the next head at St. Mark’s School?
What do you believe should be the priorities in the first five years of the next head of St. Mark’s School?
What are the professional experiences/capabilities and personal characteristics you hope to see in the next head?
What advice do you have for the Search Committee and Spencer Stuart?
Is there anyone you would like to nominate?
Finally, we continue to encourage you to reach out to our Search Committee and the Spencer Stuart team at stmarkshos@spencerstuart.com with any additional comments, questions, or candidate nominations.
Thank you for your engagement, input, and ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Moore ’80
Elizabeth R. Santini ’95
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Search Committee Members:
Michael B. Moore ’80, Committee Co-Chair
Elizabeth R. Santini ’95, Committee Co-Chair
Patricia Branch ’04
Jane He P’23
Kinne McBride P'06, '08, '11
Elise Morgan
Mackin Pulsifer ’64
Al Ortiz ’82, P’21, P’17
Marisa R. Randazzo P’24
Following Tuesday's announcement that the 2023-2024 academic year will be the last for Head of School John C. Warren ’74, we would like to take the opportunity to thank John and Laura for their unwavering dedication to building a better St. Mark’s over the past 18 years. On behalf of the St. Mark’s School Board of Trustees, we would also like to introduce ourselves as the co-chairs of the Head of School Search Committee and share an update on the search process to date. As St. Mark’s alumni and trustees, we recognize the importance of this search and are deeply honored to lead it.
Search Committee: We have assembled a dynamite Search Committee (members listed below) composed of dedicated and diverse trustees, alumni, faculty, and parents, both current and past. Like our School tagline, our search committee is intentionally small, but thinking big! We are committed to a transparent and inclusive process to find the best next head of St. Mark’s School. Please join us in thanking the members of the Search Committee for their time and dedication, and feel free to contact us at any time at stmarkshos@spencerstuart.com.
Search Partner: The Search Committee engaged in a comprehensive process that led to the selection of Spencer Stuart, a global leadership advisory firm, to assist us in the search. Spencer Stuart’s team, led by Mary Gorman and Aaron Mieszczanski, has a stellar track record of identifying and placing new leadership at the nation’s strongest schools. Working in partnership with Spencer Stuart, the Search Committee will evaluate candidates and ultimately make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which will make a final decision on the hiring of our next head of school.
Survey and Campus Visit: We look forward to engaging you in opportunities to meaningfully share your input about the school and its leadership. A survey will be shared with all members of the St. Mark’s community and the Spencer Stuart team will be on campus on February 6 and 7 to meet with the students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Details on the survey and campus visit will be forthcoming.
Head of School Search Webpage: To best keep our community informed, we have created a St. Mark’s Head of School search webpage to provide important updates, recent communications, and the ability to learn more about the search committee members and the team at Spencer Stuart. We encourage you to visit the web page often as we will continually post relevant information during the search process.
Thank you for your trust, partnership and support.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Moore ’80
Elizabeth R. Santini ’95
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Search Committee Members:
Michael B. Moore ’80, Committee Co-Chair
Elizabeth R. Santini ’95, Committee Co-Chair
Patricia Branch ’04
Jane He P’23
Kinne McBride P'06, '08, '11
Elise Morgan
Mackin Pulsifer ’64
Al Ortiz ’82, P’21, P’17
Marisa R. Randazzo P’24
As St. Mark’s Head of School John C. Warren ’74 announced earlier today, John and his wife Laura Appell-Warren, director of global citizenship at St. Mark’s, have decided to retire at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. John’s retirement will coincide with his 50th reunion at St. Mark’s, and concludes a truly remarkable career at the School as a student, board member, and head of school.
By the time he retires, John will have served as head of school for 18 years, the third-longest tenure in School history. John has led the School through a time of unprecedented development. Some of the major accomplishments to take place under John’s leadership, which began in 2006, include:
The implementation of the St. Mark’s School: 2020 strategic plan, which included the establishment of the Burgess Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, the development of a Global Citizenship program, and the creation of an integrated STEM curriculum
The opening of the STEM Center, designed to advance best-in-class teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and math
The launch of St. Mark’s Saturdays and Lion Term, formally incorporating experiential learning into the educational program
The opening of our state-of-the art athletics and fitness facility, the T. Jefferson Coolidge, Jr. ’50 Athletic Performance and Wellness Center, which has contributed to more than 100 student-athletes advancing to play at the college level since 2018
The completion of the Lives of Consequence campaign, the largest fundraising initiative in School history, which raised $112,042,614, surpassing its ambitious $110 million goal
The opening of the Alice Yin Hung ’86 East Gallery and Patterson-Sculley House, our new 150-bed residence hall, reuniting all students on Main Campus and reimagining founder Joseph Burnett’s “school under one roof” vision for a new generation
The success of the Global Citizenship Program, which offers transformative educational opportunities and partnerships with schools on every inhabited continent in the world
In addition, John has overseen the establishment of programs that are now central to St. Mark’s identity, such as the C. Boyden Gray Colloquium lecture series, the Taft STEM Research Fellowship, and the Lions Roam travel program. Last year, St. Mark’s was selected to participate in the highly selective University of Pennsylvania Independent School Teaching Residency Program–a testament to John’s leadership of St. Mark’s approach to teaching and learning and its commitment to professional growth, community and equity, and global citizenship principals.
With an emphasis on holistic education, John has carried St. Mark’s forward during his time as head of school through his tireless ambition to make St. Mark’s a more innovative school, a more robust residential environment, and a more welcoming community for all. He has moved the School boldly forward by addressing key needs in our academic curriculum, our schedule, our physical facilities, and our residential program—operationalizing the School’s “intentionally small, thinking big” ethos—while remaining true to St. Mark’s Episcopal tradition and values.
John’s work over the past 17 years leaves St. Mark’s in a position of great strength as we now turn toward the search for his successor. I am delighted to have Elizabeth Santini ’95 as my co-chair in the search for St. Mark’s next head of school. Liz and I will share more details about the search very soon.
I am confident that we will have no shortage of exceptional candidates to serve as the next St. Mark’s head of school. I am also very pleased to have John and Laura with us for the next 18 months as we transition to this next chapter in the leadership of our school.
Please join me in deeply thanking John and Laura for all they have done—and continue to do—for St. Mark’s.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Moore '80
President, Board of Trustees
I write today with the news that Laura and I will be retiring from St. Mark’s at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. The decision to leave St. Mark’s is not an easy one, as St. Mark’s has been a warm and welcoming home to us since 2006, and we have greatly treasured the opportunity to serve this wonderful school in our respective roles. However, as St. Mark’s prepares to embark upon our next strategic plan, lays the groundwork for our next campaign, and fulfills the recommendations of the NEASC report and the GEBG endorsement, the timing seems right for St. Mark’s to begin the transition to its next head of school.
I am immensely proud of the foundation that exists currently, thanks to the successes of the St. Mark’s School: 2020 strategic plan and the Lives of Consequence campaign, that this next chapter will build upon. The Burgess Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, the Global Citizenship Program, the STEM Center, the Coolidge Center, and Patterson-Sculley House, envisioned by the strategic plan and supported by extraordinary philanthropic generosity, are indeed impressive institutional accomplishments. These and other capital improvements, along with the Faculty Excellence Fund that meaningfully increased compensation, gifts to advance our community and equity program, and significant additions to our financial aid endowment are making St. Mark’s an ever-stronger school.
I am also immensely proud of the intellectual vibrancy that exists at St. Mark’s and the continuing emphasis on character throughout our educational program, attributes that are frequently commented upon by visitors. These qualities exist because of our commitment to balancing traditional classroom learning with experiential learning; they exist because of our commitment to holistic education, focusing equally on providing learning opportunities inside the classroom and outside the classroom, and on the St. Mark’s campus and also in the larger world beyond our campus. Finally, these qualities exist because of the wholehearted efforts to make St. Mark’s a place where every member of the community can feel that they truly belong.
Serving with gifted and committed Board presidents George Putnam ’69, Tom Martinson ’80, Bill Burgess ’77, Aly Scott ’85, and Michael Moore ’80, and their Trustee colleagues has been a great honor. An equal honor has been serving with a highly skilled and deeply caring adult community of faculty and staff who ensure, day after day, that our students are able to do and be their best. An honor as well has been working with talented, caring students and watching them develop their intellect and character in ways that prepare them to lead lives of consequence.
I appreciate most of all Laura, who has been my constant companion on our leadership journey that began in 2006. Laura has built a global citizenship program now recognized throughout the independent school world as a model to be emulated. The welcome she ensures that faculty and staff, students, parents, and Trustees feel in our home, the sophistication of Laura’s approach to teaching, and the care she bestows upon advisees and the Monitors and other students she engages with remain an inspiration to me.
Laura and I look forward with great enthusiasm to the next 18 months. We are highly motivated to continue to serve St. Mark’s in our respective capacities to the absolute best of our abilities right up until our last day. We deeply love this School and are excited about what the future holds for it both in the short term and the long term.
Age Quod Agis,
John C. Warren ’74. Ed.D.
Head of School
The St. Mark’s Head of School Search Committee has proudly partnered with Spencer Stuart, a firm that brings extensive expertise in conducting independent school head of school searches, as well as significant experience in higher educational leadership searches.
![Michael B. Moore ’80, Co-Chair]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674496713/stmarksschool/n8kfymi3myeasb1qbxc5/MichaelMoore2.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674496713/stmarksschool/n8kfymi3myeasb1qbxc5/MichaelMoore2.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674496713/stmarksschool/n8kfymi3myeasb1qbxc5/MichaelMoore2.png","width":600}])
![Elizabeth R. Santini '95, Co-Chair]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674225708/stmarksschool/iok51vuyf9p1g7nrizet/ElizabethSantini.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674225708/stmarksschool/iok51vuyf9p1g7nrizet/ElizabethSantini.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674225708/stmarksschool/iok51vuyf9p1g7nrizet/ElizabethSantini.png","width":600}])
![Dr. Dejai Barnes]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1678206889/stmarksschool/q3d4nedfiol1mwyanfi2/HOSCMHeadshotsDJbarnes.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1678206889/stmarksschool/q3d4nedfiol1mwyanfi2/HOSCMHeadshotsDJbarnes.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1678206889/stmarksschool/q3d4nedfiol1mwyanfi2/HOSCMHeadshotsDJbarnes.png","width":600}])
![Patricia D. Branch ‘04]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674229522/stmarksschool/ac3thdsfouatuofnzphg/PatriciaBranch.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674229522/stmarksschool/ac3thdsfouatuofnzphg/PatriciaBranch.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674229522/stmarksschool/ac3thdsfouatuofnzphg/PatriciaBranch.png","width":600}])
![Jane He P'23, ’26]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674667568/stmarksschool/b0mqokwukktnwpetj48x/JaneHe.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674667568/stmarksschool/b0mqokwukktnwpetj48x/JaneHe.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674667568/stmarksschool/b0mqokwukktnwpetj48x/JaneHe.png","width":600}])
![Kinne McBride P '06, '08, '11]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674747934/stmarksschool/jhorbxai9eibef10tbq1/KinneMcBride.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674747934/stmarksschool/jhorbxai9eibef10tbq1/KinneMcBride.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674747934/stmarksschool/jhorbxai9eibef10tbq1/KinneMcBride.png","width":600}])
![Al Ortiz ´82, P ´17, ´21]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674482695/stmarksschool/gmyyfy3yegpmwlro1xv6/AlOrtiz.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674482695/stmarksschool/gmyyfy3yegpmwlro1xv6/AlOrtiz.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674482695/stmarksschool/gmyyfy3yegpmwlro1xv6/AlOrtiz.png","width":600}])
![Mackin Pulsifer ’64]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674159080/stmarksschool/mtadootdsmpoukr4zc32/MackinPulsifer.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674159080/stmarksschool/mtadootdsmpoukr4zc32/MackinPulsifer.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674159080/stmarksschool/mtadootdsmpoukr4zc32/MackinPulsifer.png","width":600}])
![Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D., P'24]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1674159167/stmarksschool/govyrd4fbxm9qxffgdlf/MarisaRandazzo.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1674159167/stmarksschool/govyrd4fbxm9qxffgdlf/MarisaRandazzo.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1674159167/stmarksschool/govyrd4fbxm9qxffgdlf/MarisaRandazzo.png","width":600}])
