THE ARC FELLOWSHIP for DIVISION LEADERS

The Experience

1. One-Week Summer Retreat in Sonoma Valley

Your journey begins with an immersive week in northern California's wine country at Bishop's Ranch—a spectacular venue surrounded by redwoods, vineyards, and rolling hills. Here, you'll be completely offline, immersed in nature, and focused entirely on your growth.

The Retreat Integrates:

Learning & Development

• Leadership workshops on critical division-level skills
• Clarification of your role and potential for impact within the school system
• Exploration of an Authentic Whole Self framework

Reflection & Renewal

• Purpose clarification and self-reflection
• Restorative time  in nature
• A technology-free  week of personal restoration

Connection & Community

• Afternoon Forum sessions for  inquiry-based peer coaching
• Unstructured downtime and social connection: art, hiking, music, wine tasting
• 1:1 Networking time to connect with peers from similar schools

2. Ongoing Peer-Coaching Forums

Throughout the year you will meet  with your small cohort of approximately 8 division leaders from similar schools across the country. These intimate peer-coaching sessions apply the Forum method to provide ongoing growth, support, accountability, and connection as you navigate your leadership challenges in real time.

3. Celebration of Learning & Impact

At the end of the program you will present a short reflection of your ARC experience, including both what you’ve learned individually and how you might translate this growth into ongoing impact in your school. This may be as light or robust as you would like, shared through an online Celebration of Learning & Impact  in May 2027.  Ideally this is something you can present to your  Head of School and  implement  the following year,  bringing immediate renewed leadership value back to your community.

About The Program

Who This is For

The program is selective by design. We seek leaders whom Heads of Schools want to retain—those who embody excellence and are ready for the next level of impact.

THE ARC IS DESIGNED FOR DIVISION LEADERS WHO ARE:

• Experienced in their division-leadership role
• Already excelling and seeking deeper growth
• Committed to leading with authenticity and purpose
• Ready to step away for a week to invest in themselves
• Eager to build lasting relationships with exceptional peers 
• Looking to reignite their passion for educational leadership.

What You'll Gain

Renewed Purpose

Reconnect with why you chose education and what drives your authentic leadership

Leadership Skills

Develop critical competencies specific to division-level leadership

Peer Network

Build deep, lasting connections with 20-30 exceptional leaders across the US

Personal Restoration

Experience true renewal through mindfulness, nature, and intentional reflection

Whole-Self Integration

Deepen your access to awareness, compassion, wisdom, and purpose as leadership foundations

Tangible Impact

Create and implement a leadership project that advances your school's mission

Your Fellowship Guides

KATHERINE DINH

Katherine Dinh has most recently served from  2019 to 2025 as Head of Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, California, a K-8 school serving 600 students from San Francisco and Marin Counties. Prior to that, she was the Head of Prospect Sierra School in El Cerrito, California from 2007 to 2019. She has more than 30 years’ experience in various school settings and locations. Katherine started her career in independent schools as an English teacher in Virginia, and after graduate school, she became Co-Founder of a public charter school in Boston.

Later she became English Department Chair at a K-12 school in Philadelphia. She served as Upper School Division Head at a Friends school in Delaware, and was Principal of Middle and Upper Schools of a PK-12 independent school in New Orleans. As a resident of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, Katherine evacuated to Houston, and was Founder and Director of  a temporary PK - 8 school in Houston for displaced students and staff.

Katherine has served on numerous school and educational boards, including as past Chair of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Board. She has also  served as Chair of The Principals’ Center at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, President of the Heads Collegiate Forum, and Governance Committee Chair of  the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) Board.

Katherine received her B.A. in English from the University of Virginia, and M.Ed. in International Education from Harvard. She received her executive coaching certification from the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute (BECI) at the Haas School of Business.

RUSSELL SHAW

Russell Shaw has served since 2010 as Head of School at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC, a K-12 school serving over 1,000 students from across the Washington metropolitan area. He will be in his role until June 30, 2026. Before joining GDS, he served as Assistant Head of School and Middle School Director at Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. He has more than 30 years' experience in various educational settings and regions. Russell started his career in independent schools as a Social Studies teacher at Thornton Friends School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and subsequently served as Dean of Students at Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley, California. He also led backcountry expeditions for Voyageur Outward Bound School.

Russell has served on numerous boards, including the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington, School Year Abroad, and the Center for the Study of Boys and Girls Lives. He is a frequent speaker at national events including the Aspen Ideas Festival and Semafor. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic, writing on parenting, technology, and education.

Russell received his B.A. in Political Science from Yale University, and M.A. in Educational Leadership from Columbia University.

JEFF SNIPES

Jeff Snipes currently serves as the Founder & Board chair of Millennium.org, a non-profit institute applying action research in developmental science to educational leadership and whole self development. Millennium also operates a laboratory middle school in San Francisco, CA (MillenniumSchool.org). Together, the organization is exploring innovative methods to advance conscious well-being in schools across the country.

Jeff has a long career in education and human development, including serving on the boards of Challenge Success, Mindful Schools, Greenhouse E3, Education Superhighway, and Marin Montessori School, among others. His work with public, charter, and independent schools has included leadership development, coaching, mindfulness training, and strategic consulting. Throughout this experience, his focus has been on the exploration of what we should be teaching in order to realize a broader collective definition of success. His research on how to advance awareness, compassion, wisdom and purpose led to the creation of Millennium’s Forum method.

Previously, Jeff was the Co-Founder of PDI Ninth House (now Korn Ferry Talent Consulting), the largest leadership development solutions provider to the Fortune 500. Jeff received degrees in Philosophy & Finance from Southern Methodist University, and has been a member of YPO since 2004.

A Program Built For Renewal

Division leaders carry immense responsibility. You shape culture, support teachers, guide students and parents, and implement vision—often without space to pause and renew. The ARC offers the  opportunity to step away, reconnect with yourself, and return to your school leading from a place of clarity, purpose, and authentic power.

Important Dates

Contact Us

If you have any questions and would like to speak with us further before applying, please feel free to contact us.