Head of School Search

Greene Street Friends School is pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees has united to select Michelle Y. Holland as the next Head of Greene Street Friends School, beginning July 1, 2023.

Throughout the selection process, Michelle’s belief that schools should be places where students and adults may seek community, build trust, and develop a sense of identity was evident. Further, her background within Quaker education at Friends School of Baltimore and through her leadership work with Friends Council on Education has made her uniquely equipped to lead Greene Street Friends School into its next chapter. 

Currently the Principal of the Lower School at Friends School of Baltimore, Michelle has rich experience as an educator and as a senior administrator. Having started as a classroom teacher, Michelle is strongly committed to academic excellence, focusing on a dynamic, up-to-date curriculum that fosters individual student growth and encourages students to live into their full social, emotional, and academic potential. 

Michelle also brings extensive experience building diverse, equitable, and inclusive school communities that create a sense of belonging, a critically important component of Greene Street Friends School’s mission and vision. Under her leadership at Friends School of Baltimore, the Lower School significantly diversified both the staff and student body. Additionally, through her work on FSB’s senior leadership team and Quaker Life Committee, she has played an integral role in implementing the school’s Strategic Working Plan for Racial Equity and in advancing its Quaker dimension. 

Chris Mohr, Clerk of the Greene Street Friends School Board of Trustees, notes: “Michelle Holland is a dynamic, passionate leader who is ready to lead Greene Street Friends School into its next phase. She holds dear the aspiration of Greene Street Friends School’s mission to educate students to become world-changers and justice-seekers. In her leadership, she strives to provide clarity, transparency, and structure. We know her creative, passionate leadership, strong communication skills, and consultative approach to strategic thinking will inspire students, staff, families, alumni, and Germantown community members alike.”

Michelle Holland shared, “I am thrilled to have been selected to serve as Greene Street Friends School’s next Head of School. It gives me great joy to be able to continue the excellent work that Ed Marshall has done over the last 28 years. I look forward to getting to know each community member and to working in collaboration to move forward the impactful mission of GSFS. When I visited the school recently and spoke to students, families, educators and administrators, I walked away with a deep sense of the love and dedication that people possess for the school’s work with students and within the Germantown community. I stand in firm alignment with the Quaker values that the school was founded on, and I believe together we can lift the light that is within each student, and within each other, so that we can boldly go forth and be the local and global change makers that the mission calls us to be. I am deeply honored and am looking forward to moving to Philadelphia and starting our journey together this July.”

Michelle will work closely with trustees and Ed Marshall, the current Head who will retire at the end of the 2022-2023 school year after 28 illustrious years. 

Greene Street Friends School is deeply appreciative of the Head of School Search Committee and our community’s involvement in the search process. Throughout the process, more than 60 meetings with community members were held, starting with a consultative process to identify attributes of the successful candidate, to Town Hall gatherings with our extended community. Constituents included faculty, staff, parents and caregivers, members of Green Street Friends Meeting, alumni, and community members. The school community’s participation strengthened our process at every step of the way. “The board of trustees is grateful to each and every person who attended a meeting, filled out a survey, or gave us their feedback,” Chris said. “Thank you.”

The school is planning events to introduce and welcome Michelle and her family to the Greene Street Friends community in the coming months.