Ayanna Hill-Gill, affectionately known as Yanni, is the Head of School at Atlanta Girls' School. Prior to AGS, Yanni worked at Purnell School, a boarding school for girls in New Jersey, where she was the Head of School since 2007. Yanni holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry from Dickinson College and a master’s degree from Columbia University Teacher’s College with an emphasis on Private School Leadership. She has been a yearlong Klingenstein Fellow and an EE Ford Fellow for NAIS’ Aspiring Heads Program. Prior to her tenure at Purnell, Yanni worked at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden building their community outreach program and developing curriculum for children's educational programs. In 1992, Yanni lived in Costa Rica while studying sustainable development and conducting independent research in water quality. It was these two experiences that led Yanni to teaching, particularly science. As a graduate of an all girls’ school in Philadelphia, Yanni has committed her career to creating opportunities for girls and young women to discover their voices, achieve success and become leaders in the fields of their choice.

Yanni currently serves on the Board of the Heads Network and the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools. She serves locally as a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Village Project, an all girls school for refugees in Decatur, GA. Yanni has served as a Trustee on the Board of Rutgers Prep School in New Brunswick, NJ, Far Hills Country Day School in Far Hills, NJ, Link Community School in Newark, NJ, New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS), The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), and Willowwood Arboretum.

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Dr. Jennifer Stimpson is a chemist, Independent school educator and leader, and a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. She was named the IF/THEN ambassador by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She developed an all-girls initiative focused on leadership skills and academic success. The City of Dallas issued a proclamation lauding her work in developing a sustainable biofuel source for the school district’s transportation system. Dr. Stimpson has also been honored by O: The Oprah Magazine, The State of Texas, US Congress, Michael Jordan Foundation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Dallas County Community College District, which recently called her a role model for future STEM teachers, honoring her with an Exemplary Teaching Award. To recognize her efforts in the future of science, Jennifer received the Hidden Figures in STEM award from the National Society of Black Engineers.

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Welcome to the Fullstack Educator Podcast!

Dr. Deborah Dowling has been the Executive Director of CAIS since July 2020. Previously, Deborah held the roles of Assistant Head at Chadwick School, Upper School Director at Bridges Academy, and Director of Studies at Harvard-Westlake School. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Deborah holds a bachelor's degree in physics and a doctorate in the history and philosophy of science. Deborah has taught a variety of subjects from kindergarten through undergraduate, including leadership training for independent school administrators.

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Julie Ray is the Chief Financial Officer for Mount Paran Christian School leading administrative services which includes the business office, human resources department, .information technology, and operations and facilities departments. Julie received her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the University of Texas at Austin and her master’s degree in business administration from George Mason University with an emphasis in management and organizational design and development. Julie has been with Mount Paran Christian School since 2003 and in her current role since 2006. For a period of eight years, Julie served as a board member and was the board chair at MISBO: an association of independent school professionals serving the business office, human resources, IT, and facilities.

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One of the largest subsets of independent schools are faith-based schools and schools that intentionally work to support students’ spiritual wellbeing and development. However, few ed leadership programs prepare individuals to effectively lead the faith component of their schools.

Stephanie Williams O’Brien is the Lead Pastor at Mill City Church in Northeast Minneapolis. She is also a professor of ministry at Bethel University and Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Stephanie is a sought after leadership coach and speaker. She is also the cohost of the Lead Stories podcast. Her first book Stay Curious: How Questions and Doubts Can Save Your Faith was released in the fall of 2019.

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Independent schools are continually looking for innovative ways to make education more relevant and valuable to students. Some schools have decided to merge their English and history departments together to form a humanities department. The goal of a robust humanities curriculum is to break down the silos that separate the studies of history and English and to give students a deeper understanding of the cultural reality that exists within each moment of history.

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The Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) welcomed Debra Wilson as the new president of the association in 2019. Debra is an accomplished attorney and served as general counsel to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) for nearly two decades. In this episode, we have a conversation with Debra about managing legal issues within independent schools. We also asked her about the impact of COVID-19 on independent schools and the decisions that SAIS schools will face in the coming years.

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What skills do you feel that you are missing? Are some skills more important to teachers in private schools than they are to teachers in public schools? Dr. Michael Q. McShane has researched this question. Dr. McShane is the director of national research at EdChoice. He is the editor of New and Better Schools, the author of Education and Opportunity and numerous other books, and is currently an opinion contributor to Forbes. Dr. McShane’s analysis and commentary have been published widely in the media including USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Wallstreet Journal. Dr. McShane is a former high school teacher who went on to earn his Ph.D. in Education Policy. We asked Dr. McShane to tell us more about his research and help us better understand the skills that teachers need to succeed in private schools.

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Our guest on this episode is Nishant Mehta, Head of the Children’s School in Atlanta Georgia and a powerful voice in the national independent school community. Nishant shares his thoughts on leadership, finding a mentor, and life-long learning. We then switch gears and hear Nishant’s take on the challenges facing independent school leaders and the skills that aspiring leaders need to develop.

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Meredith Monk Ford is the Executive Director of FolioCollaborative a community supporting Independent School leaders engaged in collaborative professional development. As schools rapidly shifted to distance learning this week, FolioCollaborative has been a leading voice and source of support for hundreds of schools.

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