New York, NY—The Governing Board of the National Association of Episcopal Schools is pleased to announce the election of Laurie Bottiger, Ph.D., Monica M. Gillespie, Ph.D., Edward Kim, and the Reverend Canon John H. Taylor to three-year terms beginning July 1, 2010.
Laurie Bottiger, Ph.D.
Laurie Bottiger, Ph.D., is the founding head of school of Esperanza Academy – School of Hope in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a tuition-free school serving girls in grades 5–8. At Esperanza, she has brought to life her dream of creating a middle school that balances both nurture and rigor with a holistic, developmentally responsive program.
Dr. Bottiger has two decades of middle school teaching experience. Prior to Esperanza, she was middle school division head at St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Kansas City, Missouri. She holds a doctoral degree in Middle Level Studies from the University of Kansas, a master of science degree in Early Childhood Education, a bachelor of science degree in Elementary Education, and an Educational Specialist certificate in Educational Administration.
Laurie has served as the educational director for the Center for Understanding the Built Environment (CUBE). She writes a professional development column for the Middle School Journal and is an instructor at Cambridge College in Lawrence. She participates in many leadership opportunities as an advocate for middle level schooling and underserved communities, including a recent White House summit on Urban School Faith-Based Education. She is committed to making a difference in the lives of young people across the country.
Monica M. Gillespie, Ph.D.
Monica M. Gillespie, Ph.D., is head of school at St. Paul’s School for Girls (SPSG), Brooklandville, Maryland, having begun her tenure July 1, 2006.
An accomplished scholar, Dr. Gillespie completed her undergraduate work in English and history at the University of Virginia in 1990 and her graduate studies at that institution’s Curry School of Education, Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Policy in 1999. She has had a long interest in education and leadership, which informed her Ph.D. dissertation, The Woman in the Headmaster’s Office.
Previous to SPSG, Dr. Gillespie served as head of school at St. Luke’s Lutheran School in Culpepper, Virginia, and was a senior research associate for the Pew Partnership for Civic Change in 2001 and 2002.
In her tenure at SPSG, Dr. Gillespie has made a significant impact by, among other initiatives, establishing educational ties with schools in Mexico, France, and Australia; by promoting environmental stewardship; by engaging the SPSG community in Girls to Women, dialogues on important issues of the day; by increasing financial aid; and by establishing the Pace of Life Committee, which is committed to finding ways to promote healthy and less stressful lifestyles for students, faculty, staff, and parents.
Edward Kim
Edward Kim is head of school at Breck School, a P–12 diocesan day school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He joined Breck as head of school in July 2007, after 21 years as a coach, teacher, administrator, and assistant headmaster at Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey.
Mr. Kim received a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1986 and an master of arts degree from Columbia University Teachers College in 1994.
Mr. Kim has been appointed to the faculty for the 2010 NAIS Institute for New Heads and has served on numerous boards including Delbarton School, Charity Navigator, and the Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart.
The Reverend Canon John H. Taylor
The Reverend Canon John H. Taylor is the full time vicar of St. John Chrysostom Episcopal Church and School, Rancho Santa Margarita, California, in the Diocese of Los Angeles. The school serves 750 students, preschool through grade 8.
A member of the 1973 graduating class of Phillips Academy, Canon Taylor is a 1980 graduate of the University of California, San Diego. He received his master of divinity degree in 2003 from the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California and was ordained to the diaconate in 2003 and to the priesthood in 2004, when he began what was then a part time appointment at St. John’s.
Born in Detroit, John joined the staff of former President Richard M. Nixon in 1979. He became Mr. Nixon’s chief of staff in 1984, traveling with him to the Soviet Union, China, and many other countries, helping with six of his books, and helping plan the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California. Named the Library’s director in 1990, he oversaw President and Mrs. Nixon’s funerals in 1994 and 1993. As coexecutor of Mr. Nixon’s estate, he helped pave the way for the opening of the Nixon White House tapes and other historical materials. In 2007, he coordinated the Library’s entry into the federal government’s system of Presidential libraries.
For the Diocese of Los Angeles, he serves on the Commission on Ministry, Commission on the Middle East, and Committee on Constitution and Canons. He is chair of the Committee on Resolutions.
Please join the NAES Governing Board and staff in welcoming Laurie, Monica, Ed, and John to their new leadership roles with the Association.