Dec 2, 2025
As 2025 comes to a close, I’m certain independent school leaders are looking back on a year of profound change. I see this reflected in a passion project of mine, the Net Assets Podcast, whose cadence increased to monthly episodes, in large part, due to your interest in hearing insights from independent school business leaders in their own words. As I look back on this year’s episodes , I’m struck by how often conversations centered on navigating uncertainty with clarity and confidence.
While it was no easy feat, I’ve distilled one takeaway from each guest. If any of these resonate with you, I encourage you to take a deeper dive and listen to the entire episode.
In the season 2 premiere episode, Jerry Walker, associate head of school for finance and operations at Kent Denver School (CO), shared his thoughts on compensation and employee retention. The school implemented a staff compensation structure similar to one developed for teachers a few years prior.
“One of the reasons [the new compensation program] was well-received is because we led with transparency. When you provide candor and clarity, people are [more likely] to get behind it,” he said. Listen to this episode.
Grace H. Lee is a longtime friend, partner at Venable LLP and legal counsel to NBOA. In episode 2, Lee shared valuable lessons on proactively protecting your school from legal risk.
“Schools have learned the hard way that doing what comes instinctually is not always going to benefit the school or be financially sustainable. … Setting up policies and practices that you can manage in a consistent way in the long run is going to benefit the school and employees so you’re not relying on just human instinct,” she said. Listen to this episode.
When Kathy Ferguson, a former partner at Armanino, and I sat down earlier this year, the question of how the independent school business office could or should leverage artificial intelligence loomed large. Unsurprisingly, the topic of fear surfaced: fear of the unknown, fear of disruption and fear of getting it wrong.
“It's very normal for you to feel intimidated by [AI]. I'm a little fearful of it. And that's part of the journey – that's not abnormal. When you start on this boat, you think, I could never get there. Yes, you can. That's exactly where most people start,” she said. Listen to this episode.
Episode 4 touched on one of my favorite topics – innovation. I talked with John Gulla, executive director of the Edward E. Ford Foundation and the 2025 recipient of the Sarah Daignault Outstanding Support of Independent Schools Award, about what it means to be truly innovative in today’s independent school market. He would know, having worked with more than 750 independent schools.
“If I distill the lessons learned from the hundreds and hundreds of schools that I've visited to a single sentence, it would be that there is not just one right way to do this work. … [Avoid] benchmarking your way into kind of a status quo or a homogeneity that may or may not be right for your school or necessary for your school,” he said. Listen to this episode.
How do you introduce bold changes without losing trust? In episode 5, co-founder and retiring head of school of Meridian Academy (MA) Josh Abrams shared how the school’s leadership designed a distinctive benefits program and why transparency was key to success.
“When you give the ‘why,’ faculty and staff are much more appreciative of the nuance and the trade-offs,” Abrams explained. This openness also sparks interest in leadership roles. “I want people who maybe didn’t think that being a leader in a school was exciting to understand how exciting it can be.” Listen to this episode.
Independent schools often operate in a world of knowns. But as CFOO Olaf Weckesser reminds us, sometimes the best move is to jump into the unknown. The Pingry School did just that when it acquired a shuttered campus and then evolved a plan to leverage it for staff housing, auxiliary programming and more.
“Just do it,” said Weckesser. “Always doing things the same way you did them last year is a guaranteed recipe to not succeed and not to be relevant in the future. So step off that ledge, jump into that unknown puddle of water and give it a shot.” Listen to this episode.
In this special episode, I was joined by two guests, current NBOA Board Chair Beth Pollard and immediate past Chair Duncan Booth. While our conversation centered on volunteer work, their perspectives on passion resonate far beyond board service.
“You are going to put in the time, and that time comes with the trade offs – like catching up on your work in the evening or while we are traveling,” said Booth, COO at The St. Paul’s Schools (MD). “But if you’re passionate, [the tradeoffs] are just noise in the background.”
“You need to really be passionate about the organization you're volunteering for because time is precious,” agreed Pollard, CFO at The Ensworth School (TN). Listen to this episode.
In this conversation with Kathy Gonzalez, assistant head for enrollment at Hawken School (OH), we discussed the importance of collaboration among enrollment and business leaders.
“I'm always surprised that sometimes I go to conferences or engage with enrollment professionals, and they're not really clear about how tuition is set,” said Gonzalez. “I would encourage all enrollment professionals to work very closely with your other leadership members. You should be having a regular touch base with your CFO.” Listen to this episode.
The 2025 recipient of the Ken White Distinguished Business Officer Award, Sandi Pierce, shared leadership tips from her more than 30 years of independent school experience at Cate School (CA). Of her many excellent insights, the following stood out.
“I believe at my core that the best work we do is collaborative. My advice [to new business officers] is to bring their own ideas and perspectives. Use that fresh lens. You will see things that I won’t see… Maybe we’ve been doing something for a long time that we can do much better. So let’s do it better!” she said. Listen to this episode.
Challenges in school leadership often feel unique and overwhelming. Yet as James Palmieri, NBOA executive vice president and CEO of NBOA Advisory Services, shared, common threads connect independent schools.
“I've had many calls with different types of schools across the country. Every call's been different, but there are common threads – questions and thoughts around roles and responsibilities in the business office." Learning to leverage collective experiences and industry data can help address these challenges effectively, he said. Listen to this episode.
In the penultimate episode of season 2, I spoke with George Suttles, executive director of Commonfund Institute, about the uncertain economy we face, investing and budgeting. As we look forward to the new year, it feels especially fitting to end this post on a note about transformation.
“Innovation is about adaptability, resilience and activating people's creativity to advance the work in new and even more impactful ways,” said Suttles. “I want that for our independent schools – both be resilient and also create breathing room for adaptation, for evolution that’s mission-focused.” Listen to this episode.
I can’t wait for the last episode of 2025 to drop in a couple weeks, and can’t help but end this blog post by urging you to listen and subscribe to the Net Assets Podcast for one-of-a- kind stories on independent school business leadership. My singular goal with the Net Assets podcast is to provide perspective and context from your colleagues to support your work as an independent school business leader and to unearth what truly matters to advance business excellence in independent schools throughout the NBOA community!
Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE
NBOA President and CEO
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