Erin Hawk, Executive Director of World Leadership School, focuses on developing socially responsible and sustainable partnerships with communities worldwide. She works closely with schools to help transform learning through life-changing travel opportunities and inspiring educator development. Erin also works with school partners on connecting student travel programs to learning as a way to manage the risks of off-campus programs. Most recently she has helped schools design student and educator programs for WLS in Greece, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco, Turkey, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru. Through these programs, Erin seeks to enable students to unleash their unknown potential.

Prior to joining World Leadership School, Erin served as a Director of Programs for Camp Fire USA, a youth development non-profit that focuses on service-learning and summer camps. While at Camp Fire, Erin developed new service learning and outdoor programs for after-school, in-school, and summer camp settings using the traditional Camp Fire USA curriculum. Before that, Erin helped design and manage inner-city youth programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Tucson, Arizona.

Erin grew up in Great Falls, Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC, and graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Psychology and Leadership. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with my husband J., our sassy daughter, Grace, and son, Rye. In her spare time, she trains for marathons, triathlons, and anything else that challenges her mind and body.

Doreen Kelly | Mrs. Doreen Kelly leads the leadership team of Ravenscroft and has been Head of School since July 2003. She joined the Ravenscroft faculty in July 1999 as the director of the Lower School. Mrs. Kelly is a Board Certified (BCC) Executive Leadership Coach.

Mrs. Kelly graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in English and a Master's degree in Education. She also studied for two years at Villanova University. She was also a Division I volleyball player.

Prior to joining Ravenscroft, she served as Upper School Director of Studies, Head of Middle School, English teacher and volleyball coach over a 10-year career at Trinity-Pawling School, an all-boys boarding/day school in Pawling, New York. Prior to her responsibilities at Trinity-Pawling School, she taught English as a Second Language for two years at D'Education Populaire, France.

Sandra Litzenberger teaches art at the Fletcher Academy in Raleigh, NC. She received her undergraduate degree at Ottawa University in Canada and completed her graduate work in art therapy at Norwich University in Vermont after which she worked as a clinical art therapist with children and adults. As a teacher, she believes that humans are innately creative. With 35 years of experience in human services and education, Sandra helps individuals develop their unique vision and abilities in the visual arts and how to use them for personal growth.

Donna Orem has served as NAIS president since November 2016. In June 2022 she announced to the NAIS board her intention to retire when her contract ends in June 2023. Read the full announcement, and learn more about the search process for the next NAIS president.

Orem served as NAIS’s chief operating officer for 11 years before becoming president. In that capacity, she directed the organization’s strategic planning and provided vision and leadership for new initiatives, products, and services. She also oversaw human resources and talent management. Orem joined NAIS in 1998 as the vice president for educational leadership and later became the vice president for strategic initiatives and research.

Prior to joining NAIS, she was the vice president for products and services development at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). In her 15 years at CASE, she also served as the vice president for independent schools. In that role, she managed all services for the independent school advancement community, including the annual CASE/NAIS Conference. Earlier in her career, she served as associate director for the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

Orem speaks frequently about leadership, governance, innovation, trends in independent education, workforce development, and student health and well-being. She is co-author of the NAIS Trustee Handbook (10th and 11th editions) and contributes regularly to Independent School magazine, the Independent Ideas blog, the NAIS Trendbook, and Looking Ahead.

She holds a B.A. in English from St. Joseph’s University (Pennsylvania) and attended graduate school at the University of Maryland School of Journalism.

Susan Perry is a proven, experienced interdependent, and relational educational leader who thrives in the nexus of campus life having served in executive and leadership roles at independent schools (Governor’s Academy, Phillips Academy, Asheville School, Ravenscroft School) and in higher education (Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Smith College). 

Susan has been nominated and served on two NAIS Committees charged with examining best practices and providing recommendations to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of students, including being appointed to the NAIS/TABS Independent School Task Force on Educator Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response. Susan has also completed extensive training in leadership development and team facilitation with the Center for Creative Leadership (www.ccl.org) and utilized this interdependent leadership approach while serving as Assistant Head of School for Student Life at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC. In 2014, Susan appeared as an expert panelist on PBS/UNC-TV’s Focus On: Educating Black Boys, which explored issues around education, opportunity, race, identity, and parenting in the 21st Century.  Additionally, Susan has completed the Racial Equity Institute Groundwater and Phase 1 training and The Principals’ Center (TPC) at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education (HGSE) program in Race, Equity, Leadership in Schools. Her clinical training has included two separate in residence internships at Duke University and has completed Advanced Clinical Certification in The Relational Model  Levels I & II at the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute, part of the Stone Center, Wellesley Center for Women (WCW) at Wellesley College, 

Susan is a published author and holds an earned doctorate in educational administration.  She has served as consultant/advisor/educator to Boards of Trustees, executive leaders, faculty, families, students and has traveled extensively as a conference speaker and trainer nationwide. Susan is the Associate Head of School for Wellness and Belonging at Forsyth Country Day School.

Patricia Sasser was named Saint Mary's School's Assistant Head of School and Residential Faculty Member in 2022 after serving as the Head of the Upper School at the Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, Florida. She worked previously at the Loomis Chaffee School as a dean of students and was heavily involved in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the school. Prior to Loomis Chaffee, Patricia worked at The Madeira School in several roles, including as a major gifts officer, director of student activities, special assistant to the head of school on diversity, and the assistant dean of students for residential life. Before transitioning into education, Ms. Sasser worked at ESPN as an associate producer, where she was a two-time Emmy® nominee and a 2006 Emmy® award winner.

Originally from Washington, D.C., as the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service mom and Nigerian dad, Ms. Sasser spent her elementary and middle school years living overseas in Nigeria, Haiti, and Niger. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and in African American Studies. She also earned a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from The George Washington University.

Ms. Sasser is a member of the South Miami Chapter of Jack & Jill, Inc.; the Junior League of Miami; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., a Black Greek organization including a lifetime of service where members may join as undergrads and also as post-graduates to serve, impact, and uplift the community She formerly served on the Grace Academy of Hartford, Arts for Learning Connecticut, and UVA Young Alumni Boards. She also served on the Association of Junior Leagues International’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and chaired the Junior League of Hartford’s first Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Ms. Sasser enjoys playing volleyball, reading, traveling, and going to the movies. She lives on campus with her husband and son.

Imana Sherrill | A graduate of West Charlotte High School and UNC Charlotte, Ms. Sherrill brings nearly 30 years of experience in public and independent schools. “It has been my life’s goal to lead a K-8 school and align my passion for challenging and nurturing students with my deep commitment to equity and inclusion and a sense of belonging for all,” said Ms. Sherrill, whose education career began as a teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. She also spent 15 years at Charlotte Country Day School as Educational Technology Director and Diversity Coordinator.

Ms. Sherrill joins Trinity from The Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square, PA, where she is Head of Middle School. In that role since 2017, Ms. Sherrill oversaw the learning experience for nearly 300 students and more than 60 faculty, and worked to make classrooms more inclusive, provide leadership development opportunities for faculty, and improve parent engagement and communication.

Prior to The Episcopal Academy, Ms. Sherrill was Director of Diversity & Inclusion at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, and at Charlotte Country Day School she established diversity programs and implemented leading practices in school technology. She taught at Chantilly Visual and Performing Arts School (now Chantilly Montessori School) in Charlotte, and then in public and independent schools in Los Angeles and San Fernando, CA. She received her bachelor’s degree in education/early childhood education from UNC Charlotte in 1994, and her Master of Education from Pepperdine University in 1997.

Sarah Wike, Ed. D. is the Director of Educational Technology and Department Chair for Innovation, Design, and Engineering at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC. Due to the cross-divisional nature of her role, she is in the rare position of having a personal connection to all faculty members in a Pre-K-12 independent school community.

Sarah transitioned to this role in 2017 after teaching middle and high school Spanish for 14 years at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. During her tenure there, she was a cross-divisional Spanish Team Leader and Upper School Technology Mentor. In addition, she was recognized for multiple professional accolades, including Outstanding Teacher (2014) for the North Carolina Technology in Education Society (NCTIES), Teacher of the Future (2014) for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Blackwell Award (2014) for teaching excellence in the humanities, and Outstanding Teacher (2015) for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). These honors can be attributed to her work bridging educational technology tools and curriculum design focused on backward design and teaching for mastery in the World Language classroom.

In 2020, she earned a Doctor of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Florida. Sarah has recently completed two year-long leadership institutes, Emerging and Aspiring Technology Leaders in Independent Schools for ATLIS and the Fellowship for Aspiring Heads for NAIS. She has presented at numerous national conferences and workshops. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, outdoors (hiking, camping, cycling, running, listening, etc.), lifting heavy stuff (weird, I know), reading (mostly fiction), and traveling (preferably when there isn't a global pandemic).