David Hanson

David Hanson, J.D., MBA, Ed.D.

Chief Financial and Operating Officer

The Branson School

David Hanson is the chief financial and operating officer at The Branson School, in Marin County, California. He is also a partner with Winthrop & Associates, LLC, a financial planning consultancy. Prior to joining Branson, Hanson served as the chief operating officer for the Boston office of a global nonprofit foundation and before that as CFO and chief risk officer at Phillips Exeter. Earlier in his career, Hanson spent 15 years working for large universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University and Emory University. Hanson also spent nearly a decade in the legal field, including clerking for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and serving as a Federal Staff Attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta. Hanson is a veteran of the U.S. Army, and graduated from the Judge Advocate General’s School in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is a two-time Fulbright award recipient. Hanson holds a B.S. from University of Tampa, a J.D. from Ohio Northern University, two master’s degrees in education and business from the University of Florida and Emory University respectively, and a doctorate in education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Online Courses

Past Webinars

  • AI in Independent Schools: Navigating Legal Risks While Embracing Innovation This item is protected

    October 22, 2026
    Artificial intelligence is reshaping independent schools. Explore key legal and risk considerations, including privacy, intellectual property, cybersecurity, discrimination, vendor contracts, and regulation, with practical guidance for policy development.
  • Culture and Compensation: How to Empower Your Faculty This item is protected

    October 9, 2026
    Discover how a school transformed faculty compensation from a traditional salary scale to an innovative banded system. Learn how they secured buy-in, sustained momentum over 9 years, and created a model that supports faculty growth, agency, and feedback.
  • 2026’s Back-to-School Legal & Regulatory Update This item is protected

    September 30, 2026
    Join independent school legal experts as they review recent changes to the law and answer your questions about how they may impact your school.
  • Grants Management for Independent Schools This item is protected

    May 26, 2026
    Designed for business officers who manage or oversee grants, this webinar provides actionable tools and templates to strengthen financial stewardship and enhance mission impact through effective grants administration.
  • Enrollment Forecasting as a Strategic Financial Tool This item is protected

    May 8, 2026
    This webinar presents a strategic approach to enrollment forecasting that blends the enrollment team’s relational insights with financial analysis and data modeling. Learn how to strengthen projections using internal data alongside external signals.

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