UNIVERSITIES
55%
of college presidents plan to step down within five years.
American Council on Education, 2023
For schools and universities
Between the offer and the first year, a lot falls through the cracks.
SEARCH FIRMS
Place the leader.
NO ONE OWNS
- A move that splits their focus
- The politics never written down
- Early decisions, before trust is built
HR
Onboards them.
I design how schools and universities bring in senior leaders, so the leader they hired can focus on leading from the start.
Leaders are leaving sooner, and the first years are fragile.
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
1 in 5
new heads of school leave within three years.
NAIS, 2026
SENIOR LEADERS
up to 46%
of executive transitions are judged disappointments or failures two years in.
McKinsey
Tailored support roughly doubles a new leader's odds of success.
2 in 3
organizations don't provide it.
McKinsey
I know this work from the inside.
For more than 20 years, I've led in classrooms, schools, and nonprofit organizations, including enrollment, division leadership, and rebuilding how new faculty and staff were hired and brought in. Then I worked as a service designer for a national nonprofit, bringing shared structure to work used across more than 600 health centers.
Now, I bring both disciplines to the moment an institution brings in a new leader. People tell me what they won't put in writing.
AT THE INSTITUTION
- 01What people hope the new leader will change, and what they hope stays the same
- 02How the last big change landed, and what people need to trust the next one
- 03Where the work is stretched thin, and who has been carrying it
AT HOME
- 01Where the family will feel seen and welcome in a new community
- 02Which school will truly see each child, beyond the rankings
- 03Which neighborhood and doctors fit the family, beyond the listings
The leader arrives focused and unburdened. The institution gets a clear read from day one.
20+ years
in school leadership
Designer
at national scale
Confidential
themes, never names
Sheika is who you want in a crisis. … Without her intelligence, creativity, tenacity, and leadership, we would have floundered.
A first year that holds.
BEFORE DAY ONE
The leader has already heard what people hope for, and knows what they are walking into.
THE FIRST 100 DAYS
An entry plan in motion through the first 100 days.
THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR
The institution has one coordinated way to bring in every leader who follows.
Start with one leader, or with how you bring in every leader.
01
Entry Brief
BEFORE DAY ONE
A confidential read for the institution: what people hope for, how the last big change landed, and where the work is stretched thin.
02
Leader Transition
THE FIRST 100 DAYS
The Entry Brief, an entry plan for the first 100 days, and check-ins along the way.
WHEN THE LEADER IS MOVING A FAMILY
Family Transition
Advice on schools, neighborhood, and doctors.
03
Institutional Review and Design
FOR EVERY LEADER WHO FOLLOWS
A clear picture of what falls between offices today, and one coordinated way to bring in every new leader, with training for the staff who run it.
I knew you were going to handle this. I was just waiting for you to tell me what to do.
ONE QUESTION
Who at your institution holds a new leader's first year, from the offer on?
If the answer is several offices, let's talk. A private 20-minute conversation. Everything you share stays confidential.