Leadership
Dear Collegiate Community,
I am pleased to share that the Board of Trustees has unanimously appointed Bodie Brizendine as interim Head of School effective Monday, June 17. She has agreed to serve through June 30, 2026, allowing the Board time and space to conduct a formal search for Collegiate’s next long-term Head.
Ms. Brizendine led The Spence School from 2007 to 2022 and was the head of Marin Academy in California from 1995 to 2006. An English teacher, Ms. Brizendine’s career has been distinguished by a focus on academics, the development of strong faculty, and the deepening of community culture.
Ms. Brizendine will be the 30th recorded Head in our 396-year history and the first woman to lead this boys’ school. She and her family are no strangers to Collegiate; her husband, Bill Bullard, was a member of our English department and Academic Dean for over a decade until 2017.
She is the right leader for Collegiate in this moment. Those familiar with her from her years at Spence describe her as remarkably capable, warm, and steady. As an experienced leader, administrator, and teacher, Ms. Brizendine understands well the need for a strong community in the service of supporting our boys as they learn and grow.
I ask that we give her time to immerse herself in the school. She will work this summer on deepening relationships with our administrative team and faculty, identifying our immediate needs, and preparing to open our red doors in September to welcome our boys back to the school they love. I know that our entire community will be eager to meet Ms. Brizendine, and we are working on ways to introduce her and begin a dialogue with our community.
For now, Ms. Brizendine wanted me to share the following message with you:
It is my honor and my privilege to serve Collegiate School, a leader in boys’ education that I have long admired and respected. I understand my charge as interim Head of School and will meet those responsibilities with both confidence and humility. With my deep appreciation to the Board of Trustees for the trust they have invested in me, I am eager to meet the full Collegiate community, most immediately the faculty and staff, and, of course, the students and their families.
You will hear more from her directly later this month.
Collegiate is an extraordinarily special place. During my discussions with Ms. Brizendine, I emphasized our commitment to rigor and boys' education, and our desire to prepare young men to be active citizens in our diverse world. As an alum, I also shared the meaning of our brotherhood and the importance to our students of that lifelong bond.
I close this letter with gratitude. I am grateful to our faculty and administrators for their enduring focus on our boys; grateful to our boys and families for their love of school and resilience through change; and, now, grateful to Ms. Brizendine for being willing to lead us. While this school year has been challenging for so many, we embrace this next chapter with the courage, compassion, and care that defines Collegiate.
In unity there is strength,
Jonathan K. Youngwood '85
President, Board of Trustees
Dr. Theresa Foy
Chief Financial and Operating Officer
Melanie Hutchinson
Head of Lower School
Dr. Hassan Jones
Head of Middle School
Andrew Prince
Head of Upper School
Rekha Puri
Assistant Head of School for Admissions and Enrollment
Heather Truscinski
Director of Development
Dwight Vidale
Assistant Head of School for Institutional Equity and Belonging
Raymond Voelkel
Director of Physical Education and Athletics
Board of Trustees
Collegiate’s Board of Trustees operates in accordance with the Principles of Good Practice set forth by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). The Board works to further the School’s mission and enables the School to provide an extraordinary education for all of its students. Board members serve a three-year term, with the opportunity to be reappointed for an additional consecutive term.
Jonathan Youngwood ’85, President
Victor Amoo ʼ01
Heather Baker
Prashant Bhuyan
Jerry Bright ʼ93, Vice President
Nick Brown ʼ04
Dana Coppolino, Parents Association President
Christa D'Alimonte
Karin DeMasi, Vice President
Lewis Hart ʼ01, Treasurer
Andrew Hoine
Chris Kojima
Mason Lecky
Chris Lee
Amie Rath Nuttall
Gregory Ostling
Jessica Peña
Alejandro Przygoda
Anna Quindlen
Judy Rubin
Jessica Tisch
Wayne Titus ’98
Peter Wallach ʼ00, Alumni Association President
Board Secretary, Timothy Rattray