NWAIS Business Officers Conference

April 24, 25 & 26, 2023

Cedarbrook Lodge (Seattle, WA)

 Agenda, Speakers and Sessions

Monday, April 24, 2023 

1:00–2:00pm     Registration

2:00–3:00pm     Welcome, Introductions and Reconnecting

3:00-4:30pm     Keynote Session: The Economic Outlook With Joe Corbett, NAIS

Inflation, unemployment, changing economic growth: what do all of these trends mean for your school community? In this session, participants will learn about current and forecasted economic trends and how they are affecting your families, staff, and faculty.

Joe Corbett, Research Analyst, NAIS

Joe Corbett is a Senior Analyst at NAIS. His work is currently focused on helping schools understand their markets, and how changing demographics, economics, and parent values are affecting independent schools across the country. Joe has helped develop tools such as NAIS’s Market View, and has been a key part of the organization’s Jobs-to-be-Done research for independent schools. Joe has also authored magazine articles and chapters for NAIS’s Trendbook, focusing on enrollment and economic issues relevant to schools. Joe earned his BA in Economics from The Catholic University of America. 

5:00-6:00pm        Exhibitor Reception

6:15–7:30pm       Dinner

Tuesday, April 25, 2023 

8:00-9:00am      Breakfast

9:00-9:15am      Welcome and Framing

9:15-10:15am    Putting Data to Work in Independent Schools with Elizabeth Dabney, Director, Research and Data Analysis, NBOA

Data drives operational decisions and informs strategic conversations, making it critical to the foundation of any business officer’s work. In this session, you’ll hear from a research expert who has insights to share about the latest trends in key financial and operational indicators for independent schools from NBOA’s new Financial State of the Industry report featuring data from NBOA's Business Intelligence for Independent Schools (BIIS) data set. In addition to this fresh data analysis, you’ll also gain insight into perennially important data points and trends to track for your school and your benchmark groups, like net tuition revenue, financial aid and expenses. Special regional data analyses will be presented to provide context for how schools in the NWAIS region compare to national trends. This session also includes tips on putting data to work and showcases data tools and resources that help schools with strategic financial planning.

Elizabeth Dabney, Director, Research and Data Analysis, NBOA

As Director, Research and Data Analysis, Elizabeth leads the development, planning and management of industry research collected in the association’s Business Intelligence for Independent Schools (BIIS, pronounced “biz”) platform, in addition to other research activities as identified by the association’s strategic plan, in support of NBOA’s mission to inform NBOA members and other external stakeholders and encourage data-driven decision making throughout the independent school community.

Elizabeth brings to NBOA over 15 years of strong experience in research. She recently concluded seven years of service with the Data Quality Campaign, a nonprofit education policy and advocacy organization and the nation’s leading voice on education data policy and use, as their Director, Research and Policy Analysis. Over her career, Elizabeth has been instrumental in the development and execution of research tools, web-based resources, stories and publications that leverage research and policy analysis work. Her prior professional work experience has included research roles at Westat and Metis Associates, Inc.

10:30-11:30am  The Shifting Workforce with ISM Consultant Shannan Boyle Schuster       

As schools face a looming teacher shortage and the growing demand for flexible work schedules, they may need to rethink how to attract and hire the right people. 

School leaders know that hiring the right “people on the bus” makes their jobs easier and optimizes the student experience. However, recruiting the right people has become more challenging with the decline in qualified candidates.

In this session, Shannan will:

• explore ways to combat the teacher shortage;

• share strategies to attract the right people; and

• Identify incentives to get people to say “yes!”

  ISM Consultant Shannan Boyle Schuster       

Shannan shares her expertise in school management, Board/Head relations, hiring, scheduling and new head of 

school support. She worked in public, private and independent schools for 25 years before joining ISM in 2020.

Shannan previously served as Head of The Swain School, PA, where she executed a strategic plan that included facility renovation and addition, multiple curricular initiatives, auxiliary programming and revenue, increased support services, and the merger with another local independent school. Before that, she was Assistant Head Friends’ Central School, PA, and the Dean of Faculty at Flint Hill School, VA; where she oversaw the school’s adoption of a 1:1 iPad /MacBook program, an increase in support services, the academic program for grades PS – 12 and development of a comprehensive Maker program. She has also served in division leadership, department chair, and grade level leadership while teaching and coaching.

In addition to working in K-12 schools, Shannan has also served as an adjunct faculty member at The University of Virginia and a presenter at conferences and workshops across North America on various topics. Shannan earned her Doctorate of Education at The University of Virginia, and her master’s degree in Private School Leadership at The Klingenstein Center, Columbia University, Shannan’s two bachelor’s degrees are in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Vanderbilt University.

11:30-12:30pm Lunch

12:30-2:00pm   Evolve Or Perish: Strategic Financial Planning In A Post-Pandemic World 

                         with Brenda Stonecipher of Stonecipher Consulting Group

While our schools have resumed (nearly) normal operations, the financial model for many schools has changed in ways large and small. In this session, we will explore the shifting business model of independent schools, identify the trends impacting your budget, and examine how to retool your financial planning to respond to the changes. Whether your school is struggling to regain its financial footing or keep up with heightened demand, you’ll walk away with strategies for anticipating and reacting to the evolving landscape so your school will thrive now and into the future.

Brenda Stonecipher, Stonecipher Consulting Group

Brenda is a native of the Pacific Northwest. She holds a BA (English Literature) from the University of Washington and an MBA from the UW Foster School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant. Brenda has three decades of financial and executive leadership experience in education, healthcare, arts administration, and government. She has served in the role CFO, Interim CFO, and Interim Head of School for many NWAIS schools. Brenda founded Stonecipher Consulting Group in 2018. Its mission is grounded in the belief that arts, education, and culture are the bedrocks of our society. Brenda and her team work to make great leaders and great organizations even better. Over the past five years, Brenda and her team have worked with 30 independent schools in Washington, Oregon, and California. In her free time, Brenda enjoys hiking with her dog, skiing, watching college hockey and staged bike races (e.g., Tour de France).

2:15-4:00pm     National Legal Trends: Looking Back and Ahead with Megan Mann, General Counsel for the National Association of

   Independent Schools (NAIS) and their Vice President in charge of Legal Education and Support

In this interactive session, NAIS General Counsel, Megan Mann, will review the legal and risk management related trends that independent schools across the country experienced during the 2021-22 school year, as well as those we see developing as we continue into 2023.  We will cover some of the top “here to stay” legal-related practices and policies that emerged or evolved as a result of the pandemic, along with other new and existing topics that have impacted independent school policies, practices, and approaches to risk management.  Megan will include scenarios and gladly take questions throughout the session.  She welcomes interactive dialogue, and will offer practical tips for school business officers. 

Megan H. Mann, General Counsel for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)

Megan Mann is the General Counsel for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and their Vice President in charge of Legal Education and Support.  Prior to joining the NAIS team, Megan was an independent school attorney, supporting independent schools across the country.  

Megan’s experience with independent schools began as an independent school student in Richmond, Virginia.  She is now the proud mother of two independent school children (and one fabulously awkward looking dog).  Additionally, Megan enjoys her role as a trustee for both One Schoolhouse and St. Michael’s School (RVA)(where she attended school).  When not practicing law or spending time with friends and family, she enjoys running, doing voice over work, traveling, reading, and enjoying a good glass of wine. 

4:15-5:15pm      Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice programming for the non-teaching staff with Jen Cort, DEI Expert

Participants will learn up to date information on EDIJ and glean strategies for application to your work at school.  Jen focuses on the systems and structures of schools to deepen their work.  In addition to students, faculty, staff and parents, Jen has worked with admissions, human resources, facilities, senior administrations, trustees, development staff. This session will leave you with strategies and resources for immediate application!

Jen Cort, Third Space Jen career blends her experience as a clinical social worker and educator. Her educational administrative experiences are as an assistant head of lower school, head of a middle school and senior administrator.  Jen's therapy background includes serving as a counselor in lower, middle and upper schools as well as private practice.  She began consulting after seeing a need for supporting schools to live out their missions regarding diversity and inclusion such that students can be seen and heard while learning to be visible and use their voices in productive ways. JenCort is the host of an internationally syndicated podcast focusing on equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice. In this podcast, Jen opens up a "third space"— a place outside our familiar home and work environments — in order that we might begin to engage in some of the provocative questions that need to be addressed. Listen in as Jen speaks with some of the leading thinkers and doers in the field. 

5:15-6:15pm      Reception

6:00-7:00pm         Dinner

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 

8:00-9:00am    Breakfast

9:00-11:30am   Futurist Thinking for Business Officers with Greg Bamford, Leadership+Design And Joe Romano, Charles Wright Academy

Business officers have a key role to steward the health of the organization over the long-run. However, our communities tend to be focused on the present and – at best! – think about the next 3-5 years. Thinking like futurists allows schools to consider a longer-term direction and be more likely to shape the future rather than simply react to it. It can also be used to help ourselves -- or others -- get "unstuck" and shift our perspective away from the near-term. We believe that schools should do this kind of thinking regularly at the board level and with senior level administrators. In this interactive workshop, attendees will be introduced to core concepts of futurist thinking, have the opportunity to practice a little futurist thinking as a group, and identify ways that futurist thinking can lead to more generative – and fulfilling – leadership work.

Greg Bamford, Leadership+Design, Co-Founder and Senior Partner, Leadership+Design

Greg Bamford (he/him) is a Co-Founder and Senior Partner. Prior to this, Greg was Associate Head of School for Strategy and Innovation at Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma, Washington, and Head of School at the innovative Watershed School in Boulder, Colorado. During his time at Watershed, the young school grew to full enrollment and achieved ACIS accreditation for the first time. He is currently on the Board of Trustees for his alma mater, The Overlake School in Redmond, Washington, and the Advisory Board for The Hatch School, a new, independent girls' high school that opened in Seattle, Washington in 2022. With his experience in school leadership, Greg brings a strategic lens to leadership development, innovation, and change management for Leadership+Design clients. He is particularly passionate about building leadership capacity and the cultural muscle to enact needed change. Greg has been a featured speaker at education conferences nationally and his writing has appeared in publications like Independent School, Net Assets, and The Yield. Greg lives in Tacoma, Washington with his wife and two children.

Joe Romano, Director of Innovation, Charles Wright Academy

Joe chairs CWA’s Academic Leadership Team and assists in program design and curriculum development with an emphasis on project-based learning. He also coaches CWA’s Middle and Upper School robotics teams, and facilitates design-thinking experiences with students, educators, and the wider community. With more than 20 years in schools,  Joe has taught in community colleges, artist residences, and boarding schools. He’s transformed empty parking lots into classrooms for designing and building tiny homes, and he’s facilitated the redesign of libraries, community spaces, and fabrication labs. As a consultant, Joe has helped launch new school campuses, and has helped schools develop new programs, redefine values, and operationalize strategic plans. In addition to his work with Charles Wright, Joe directs Leadership+Design’s UnMastered program, a seven-week learning experience for school leaders seeking to develop a stance toward realizing the future of teaching and learning in their schools. 

11:30-12:00pm       Closing and Conference Conclusion