The Pingry School Appoints Nathaniel E. "Nat" Conard as New Headmaster
November 19, 2004

Dear Pingry Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I’m delighted to tell you that Nathaniel E. “Nat” Conard has accepted our offer to be Pingry’s next headmaster. Nat was the clear choice among the outstanding candidates who visited Pingry this fall, while also exceeding our absolute standards for leadership capability. He brings intellectual capacity, moral leadership, enthusiasm, and a wealth of experience to the role of head of school. He will become headmaster effective July 1, 2005.

Nat’s varied and intense experience in both business and education will serve him well as our headmaster. He was literally raised by educators; his parents founded The Mountain School in Vershire, Vermont, from which Nat graduated in 1976. He received his B.S. in Biology from Yale, after which he began his career teaching math at Orford High School in New Hampshire. Nat then attended the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, from which he received his MBA with highest distinction and was a Tuck Scholar. Following business school, he worked for two years as a consultant and team leader for Bain & Co. in Boston. In 1988 Nat returned to education and spent the succeeding ten years at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School in Waltham Massachusetts where he was again a math teacher and held the posts of Math Department Chair, Director of External Affairs, and Director of Development. Since 1998, Nat has been Academic Dean and Assistant Head for Academics at the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York. At Emma Willard he has overseen all aspects of the academic program of the school, and supervises the dean of faculty, the director of studies, academic department chairs, the athletic director, and the library staff.

Nat will be joined by his wife, Brenda Hamm and their children Rebecca and Benjamin. Brenda is also a career educator, a teacher and coach who received her B.A. at Yale and her Masters degree in education from Harvard. Rebecca and Benjamin are currently in the eighth and sixth grades.

I hereby extend my heartfelt thanks to all members of the Pingry family who dedicated their time and energy to the search process. Careful planning and countless hours of meetings were devoted by students, faculty, alumni, parents, and Pingry’s administrative team to make this a success. Choosing our new headmaster is the culmination of a process that has brought our community together toward a common goal, and will continue to do so as we all invest in Nat’s future with Pingry. Please join us in welcoming Nat and his family with open arms.

Sincerely,


John W. Holman, III
Chair of the Search Committee




© 2004 The Pingry School