UPCOMING WEBINARS
The Heads Network Campaign Leadership Series
This three-part webinar series offered by the Gail Perry Group is designed specifically for Heads of School, Aspiring Heads of School, Development Directors and senior leaders. All sessions will be held 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET/12:30-1:30 p.m. PT.
Tuesday, March 31
Session 1 - Getting Your Head in the Game: Building Your Campaign Foundation
Pre-Campaign Readiness & Strategic Positioning
Is a campaign on your horizon, or are you wondering if it should be? Before the first dollar is raised or the first donor is asked, the most successful campaigns are won or lost in the planning stage.
In this opening session of The Heads Network Campaign Leadership Series, Gina Vaughn, Cassie Rice, and Jen Herrmann of the Gail Perry Group will help you honestly assess where your school stands today and map a route toward where you need to be. Whether you're ready to launch or still building the fundraising muscle to get there, this session gives you the framework to move forward with confidence.
You'll explore what campaigns are (and what they aren't), when a major gifts growth strategy may serve you better than a full campaign, and how to prepare your community for a transformation and not just a transaction. You'll leave with clarity on the right sequence for your school and a practical understanding of the infrastructure, leadership, and donor readiness required to succeed.
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Wednesday, April 15
Session 2 - Heads Up! Navigating Campaign Leadership and Board Dynamics
Managing Stakeholders & Driving Success
You're in a campaign, or standing at the edge of one, and suddenly everyone is looking to you. The board has questions. Your faculty has concerns. Your Development Director needs direction. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, you're still running a school.
In this second session of The Heads Network Campaign Leadership Series, Gina Vaughn, Cassie Rice, and Jen Herrmann will help you get clear on your role -- and just as importantly, what's not your job. From board education and the Head/DoD partnership to campaign phases, case for support development, and managing community perceptions, this session is a candid guide to orchestrating all the moving pieces without losing your footing.
You'll walk away knowing how to define success beyond the dollar goal, how to navigate the Board/Head/Development Director dynamic when it gets complicated, and how to lead your campaign with confidence while protecting your bandwidth for everything else that comes with leading a school.
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Tuesday, May 5
Session 3 - Heading in the Right Direction: Sustaining Success Beyond the Campaign
Sustainable Fundraising & Community Engagement
A campaign ending isn't the finish line: it's the moment that reveals whether you've built something lasting.
In this closing session of The Heads Network Campaign Leadership Series, Gina Vaughn, Cassie Rice, and Jen Herrmann turn the conversation toward what comes next: how to sustain the momentum, deepen the culture, and ensure that the energy your community brought to this campaign doesn't quietly fade when the public phase closes.
Whether you're mid-campaign and thinking ahead, or building your fundraising culture from the ground up, this session will show you how a well-run campaign can serve as a permanent paradigm shift and not just a one-time achievement.
You'll explore what it takes to make philanthropy a community-wide value, how to engage faculty and staff as true partners in the work, and how to keep your development team motivated and retained for the long haul. You'll also look at the evolving campaign landscape and how schools are adapting through more strategic, more frequent campaign cycles.
You'll leave with practical strategies for refilling your prospect pool, maintaining major gift momentum, and making sure development never again feels like something happening in "that other building."
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Strengthening Your School’s Voice: From Messaging to Strategy
Tuesday, April 28
1:00-2:00 p.m. ET/10:00-11:00 a.m. PT
Independent school communications have evolved well beyond newsletters and magazines. Today’s leaders are navigating video, social media and digital marketing, often with limited time and competing priorities.
Drawing on case studies from schools across the country, this session will explore how heads can move their institutions from tactical messaging toward strategic communication: advancing mission, trust and institutional voice while simultaneously embracing innovation.
Designed for current and aspiring heads of school, the session will also distinguish the different roles and goals for marketing and communications. The presenter is Scott Butterworth of Fine Point Communications, a longtime adviser to independent school leaders.
AVAILABLE ON DEMAND
Interested in watching one of these session on demand? Contact Jen Evers for a link.
Mattering: The Next Big Idea Transforming School Communities (with Jennifer Wallace)
Join us for an exclusive New View EDU LIVE conversation between NAIS President Debra Wilson and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Wallace (Never Enough). Wallace shares game-changing insights from her highly anticipated new book, Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose, in which she turns her lens to the adults in children’s lives—educators, coaches, and parents—to reveal how embedding mattering into daily school life reduces educator burnout, improves retention, and builds resilience. Wallace shares the latest research, real-world examples, and simple strategies participants can put into practice to build schools where both students and adults thrive.
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THN was proud to offer this webinar in partnership with NAIS.
Reimagine HR in Your School: Adopting a "People First" Approach
Independent schools are facing unprecedented challenges—teacher shortages, burnout, and the urgent need to attract and retain top talent. Traditional HR, too often viewed as administrative and disconnected, is no longer enough.
Join Lindsay Glogower, Senior HR Consultant at People Function and former Director of People Operations and Talent Development at The Pingry School, for a dynamic session on how adopting a People First approach can professionalize, prioritize, and demystify your HR practice. You’ll explore how strategic People Operations can elevate faculty engagement, strengthen retention, and create a thriving workplace culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to do their best work.
Walk away with actionable frameworks, practical strategies, and a renewed vision of HR as a trusted strategic partner in advancing your school’s mission.
2024-2025 Trend Report: What Kept Independent School Leaders Up at Night Last Year and What Can You Learn From Their Experiences?
The landscape that independent school heads are navigating today is more complex than ever. Trust is your school’s biggest non-financial asset and must be carefully safeguarded. Doing what is necessary to ensure that your board and your leadership team are prepared and equipped to respond swiftly, effectively, and compassionately–and reestablish trust–when you are faced with a crisis can feel overwhelming.
For the last 25 years The Jane Group has supported hundreds of independent schools across the country and the world with crisis response and communications. Join The Jane Group CEO Jim Hulbert and Senior Consultant Kim Newsome for a lively and informative webinar during which they will share issues and outcomes that schools have managed. They will share what is on the horizon, including leadership transitions, institutional changes, societal and political issues, statements and more. Presenters will also share how to mitigate risk, how to manage the impact on your school and the importance of building your trust bank. While there is no magic wand, there are steps schools can take now to prepare. There will be real (anonymized) case studies and interactive dialogue.
The Role of the Head in an Asking Conversation: How to Close Gifts Organically and Smoothly
Current and aspiring school leaders: is "making the ask" a fundraising fear? In this webinar, you will discover how Heads of School can transform awkward solicitations into inspiring conversations!
Presenters share how you can use your unique leadership position to:
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Lead donor conversations that naturally flow toward enthusiastic and joyous giving
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Ask powerful questions that connect donors' values with your school's vision
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Recognize the perfect moment to present the opportunity
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Partner effectively with development staff for maximum impact
Leave with specific techniques and renewed confidence to secure those transformative gifts your school deserves. When Heads master the art of the ask, extraordinary things happen!
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Presenters: Gail Perry, Founder & President, and Dr. Kathryn Gamble, VP of Client Advancement, Gail Perry Group​
Middle Level Leadership Development
There is a growing and troubling leadership crisis impacting education worldwide. Simply put, teachers are increasingly reluctant to step into leadership roles, and those who do are not being set up for success. In this exclusive webinar, Sarah Prevette and Sandra Nagy from Future Design School unpack action research from the latest edition of the Future of Education Report, demystify the emerging trend of middle level leadership development in K-12 schools, and provide actionable strategies, look-fors, and tools for Heads Network members.
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Click here for a PDF summarizing the webinar.
Seeing Through the Glass Cliff
This session offers an overview of the presenters' own empirical research on the glass cliff phenomenon among women heads of school, as well as broader information drawn from current research about women’s pathways to school leadership and the hazards of those leadership roles. The presenters introduce and define key terms and processes; that is, they discuss the differences—for example—between policy and practice, as well as why this distinction is important to diversifying school leadership. The session also includes the perspective of a seasoned hiring expert.
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Presenters: Lauren Bailes, PhD, Associate Professor, Program Coordinator, EdD in Educational Leadership, University of Delaware School of Education; Tom Hudnut, Search Consultant, RG175; and Sarah Odell, PhD, Dean of Faculty, San Francisco University High School