Head of School Search
About the Search
On April 9, 2025, Dr. Joan Buchanan Hill, Catherine M. Rose Head of School, announced her retirement from The Lamplighter School at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year. In a joint communication with Board Chair Margaret Johansen Hirsch '89, Dr. Hill shared her gratitude for the school community over the past 14 years, and her immense optimism for the future of The Lamplighter School. This page will serve as a hub for information about the Head of School search process, with updates provided as new details emerge.
Search Committee
The Board of Trustees has assembled a Search Committee whose members will work closely with the consultants throughout this process. Members of the Search Committee are listed below and represent a wide variety of Lamplighter community members, including alumni, current and past parents, current and past trustees, life trustees, and members of the faculty.
Dave Beran, past Trustee, P ’20, ’22, ’25
Liz Cullum Helfrich ’90, Trustee, P ’18, ’21
Margaret Johansen Hirsch ’89, Chair, Board of Trustees, P ’23, ’26
Ham Lee, past Trustee, P ’20, ’22, ’26
Whitney Lewis, Trustee, P ’27, ’30
Jed Morse ’82, past Trustee, P ’19, ’22
Thomas Morton, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees, P ’21, ’22, ’25
Jake Peden, Kindergarten Teacher
Lakeshia Peters, Second Grade Teacher, P ’12
Alex Sharma, Life Trustee, P ’13
Search Consultants
The Lamplighter School has retained Carney, Sandoe & Associates (CS&A), an internationally recognized education search and recruitment, consulting, and coaching firm, to partner with us in the search for our next Head of School. CS&A brings deep knowledge of independent schools from over 45 years of experience guiding schools through their searches for exceptional heads of school, senior administrators, and faculty. Carney Sandoe is known for its highly personalized approach to understanding the particular strengths, needs, and cultures of schools and then supporting them through the identification, recruitment, and hiring of excellent leaders, whose skills and experiences align with the school’s needs. We are excited to work with Kim Peeples and Marsha Little as our consultants.
Communications
June 17, 2025: Search Firm & Search Committee announced
April 9, 2025: Dr. Hill's retirement announcement with letter from Board Chair Margaret Jonhansen Hirsch '89
Contact Information
Members of the Lamplighter community are welcome to share any additional thoughts and/or questions with the Search Committee. Please use the following email address to share a question or comment: headofschoolsearch@thelamplighterschool.org