At the start of the school year, colleagues, trustees, friends and family saluted 18 individuals spanning Spence’s academic and administrative divisions. Head of School Bodie Brizendine shared tributes to celebrate the exceptional contributions the honorees make to the life of the School, as well as their dedication to teaching and learning. 

 

Marking 10 years at Spence herself, Brizendine was briefly whisked away from the podium by President of the Spence Board of Trustees William L. Jacob III to be made an honoree instead of presenter and to hear words of appreciation for her tenure at Spence. Jacob doled out praise for Brizendine as an exemplar of a lifelong commitment to education. He also shared appreciation for her unequivocal care for every member of the community and for her vision.

 

“You so carefully match tradition and change. You’ve continued and expanded Spence’s leadership in educating young women. … Cheers on your 10th year, and here’s to many, many more,” Jacob said.

 

We invite you learn more about our stellar faculty and staff celebrating milestone years of service at Spence through Brizendine’s accolades.

Click here to view a gallery of photos from the event. 

 

 

 

With her extraordinary relational powers, Sara is never just a visitor to anything. Her commitment, her dedication and all of her energy are full-faucet on, and in all of her “muchness,” she’s been a variable shape-changer in positions: dean, teacher, multiple committee member, coach, confidante and friend. She opens students’ minds and their imaginations beyond any boundaries of learning, and she makes the individual voice of every student clear and compelling.

 

(Words from William L. Jacob III, President of the Board of Trustees)

You lead us, and you possess the magical ability to always be in the moment, always present, while still having the long view and always seeing around every corner, always anticipating. You lift us up intellectually, and you teach us how to balance the playful and the serious—it’s such a rare combination. You’ve furthered justice and equity in our School, and you have helped all of us make it our collective and unending work.

I actually think that Sara Cooper has shared with us only a quarter of who she is and what she can do. And that’s so interesting because she has done so many, many things for us: Middle School Rock Band, after-school programs, art classes. Contemplative, even a bit mysterious, Sara Cooper is one of those community members who naturally turns to her work, whatever it may be, with slightly ironic humor, a sharp and lively wit and full-on joy and commitment.

      

You just get that secure “we can figure this out” feeling when you’re with Angie, and you know that you are on solid ground when with her. … Angie finds a way to foster community around, within, above, behind … anywhere that preposition mouse can go, so can Angie. Wonderfully uncomplicated, Angie leads by her own calmness. She breaks problems down for us and finds the space and the way into solution—and all with her nonanxious presence leading the way.

          

With an easy humanity and such a good soul, Hemsley provides for her students a way to understand, a way to be part of the learning, a way for them to be themselves. With a dedication surpassed only by her love for her family, Hemsley meets every day with every child as an opportunity: for them, for her and for us as a School. She’s seemingly more comfortable in the background, never seeking the spotlight. But make no mistake, she shines brightly everyday nevertheless, even if in her own humility.

 

Erica McGovern is a highly principled woman of strong conviction and absolute determination. She moves through our hallways and through life with both a seriousness of purpose and a can-do determination, both centered upon how we can make our world a better place and on what makes for the best learning for her students. Throw in there her quiet but ever-sharp humor, and you’ve got the whole thing going!

 

With that marvelous and oxymoronic gift of alertness quiet, Becky Scott lives in imagination and possibilities. Her teaching and love for science match her deep attraction to mystery, discovery and learning. Full of inventiveness, Becky conveys to each of her charges the love of exploration and the power of different, and maybe even competing, observations or findings. … Becky loves the demands, challenges and delights of teaching and making a difference in schools.  

 

 

Frank’s always behind the scenes, and yet, he’s always there … for us and for the School. His dependability and his loyalty are unquestionable. His colleagues in the kitchen describe him as the best team player, ever. No matter if there is a late- or last-minute event, he is always willing to stay late or to lend a helping hand. What he does day in and day out for us can sometimes go unnoticed, but make no mistake, we couldn’t do what we do without him … and his good heart and warm enthusiasm make him all the more valued in our community.

 

Elizabeth Causey has a natural and completely arresting connection to children and to their learning. With her keen intellect and almost magical intuition about how, for example, a 5-year-old thinks about empathy, she brings all there is to give each child not only a compelling and valid sense of self, but also a sense of individuality and purpose. Bold, perceptive, playful and wonderfully confident, Elizabeth leads with wise sensibilities and unmediated care. You can’t miss her when she strides into the room. She’s the one laughing, and she’s the one always looking for yet again another opportunity for the students, for the teachers, for our School. 

 

Dana Crowell believes in community almost like no other. And here’s the best part: Dana knows that community can only happen when every member shares a responsibility toward its well-being. That’s why she’s always there at almost everything, and that’s why she volunteers for almost everything. Her moral compass always points true north, and her world is punctuated by hope, wholeness and well-being. Ever dependable, always wanting to know and learn more, Dana is just one of those good people in the world who really do care and who make sure always, to put belief into action. 

 

Whenever you’re with Nancy Grey, you know you’re probably in for some intellectual and sharp wit of the highest order. And what’s best is that she always delivers it with that lovely, straight faced, wide-eyed look that makes you second guess what you might have just heard. Nancy is worldly, loyal, extremely hard-working and full of that natural curiosity that makes for good exploring, good thinking, good learning. A caring teacher of all levels, a dean of student life and leadership, Nancy is just one of those wonderful educators who chips in and who raises her hand when something interesting comes her way, believing that her own learning serves well her teaching.

 

With Eric Zahler, you have a sort of intellectual and humanitarian bonanza: extraordinary capacity, genuine care, excellent dialogue and, best yet, a permanent invitation to join him no matter the enterprise, no matter the question. … Eric loves everything, everything, about learning, and he sees himself a fellow learner as he explores, leads and most assuredly, inspires. Assuming first and always, a desire to learn, he’s a teacher who attends to what really matters, and he spends all the time necessary to make clear what it actually “is” that does matter.

 

Lillian is an ambassador extraordinaire, moving, maybe even flowing, through our halls with her trademark grace, style and welcoming flexibility. She is sensitive, kind, hard-working, purposeful and oh-so effective. Imagine what our days would look like, especially in the hiring season, without her! We find in Lillian, a ready home, an anchorage and a source of strong mission coupled with can-do alacrity … all coupled with that wonderful sense of humor and fun that comes from life and work in good schools.

 

How can someone be both intense and calm at the same time, small in stature but huge in presence simultaneously, serious in purpose and yet full of whimsy and mischief all at once? Well, that’s our Wei, our own balancing act in herself, our own tumbler, our own head stander, our own leaper-in-the-air. And with a sense of seemingly inexhaustible energy and keen fellowship, Wei has the confidence of a highly seasoned teacher but always with the spark, vim and anticipation of every day being a brand new day.

 

Simply put, Philipp Joseph is a dish that never grows old … pun intended. I call him the “mayor.” We all call him for advice, and as we all know, he remains the favorite choice among kindergarteners for a play date. And there is a reason for this. When Philipp talks to you, be you 5 or 55, you are the only one in the room. His attention belongs to you, and the conversations come directly from his experience, his life, his heart. As he runs his kitchen with warmth, care and imagination, he walks through the lunch room with colossal good will and purposeful stride, taking action where necessary, giving comfort when needed.

 

Tireless and with steadfast dedication, Mike D’Elia is part of our daily life at Spence in a way that knows no boundaries. Classrooms, the theater, the dining rooms, the gyms … Mike works all the corners of our world, and he comes and goes without ever drawing attention to himself, without any apparent need of acknowledgement. How many times have you been setting up for something and you’re asking for something you might need, even under your breath? And then, suddenly, Mike magically and quietly appears, like a genie, standing there, holding the very mics, the video or the lights you need without your even calling aloud for it.

 

With a singular and a sharply intellectual clarity, Kelly Jewett is a teacher for whom students and alums, like ticket-seekers for Shakespeare in the Park, will stand in very long lines for a very long time. And, of course, this admiration, this seeking out, doesn’t just happen. Rather, it is built on a long and luminous career of teaching forged on the immutable belief of individual voice, personal dignity and the wonder and breadth of interpretation. Marry this belief with her endless quest for curriculum of relevance and depth, and you have a sense of Kelly’s magic sauce. For her there is no watering down, no group-think and certainly no trucking with the safe. Kelly will wrestle, like Job, against principalities if necessary, and for her, the messiness of democracy is also its glory.  

 

Lively, passionate, electric, quick to light up and ever authentic, Karen is the epitome of “what you see is what you get.” She couldn’t pretend, disguise or equivocate even if she wanted to—and she never does. Everything is nearer the bone for Karen because that’s how she lives her own life: nearer the bone. She loves children, her family, her friends and this school—and not always in that order. Karen, it really hasn’t been 35 years of teaching and leading only; it has been 35 years of life, community and growing possibilities and goodness for us and the world beyond, every single day. She is our fashionista, our institutional historian, our speaker of truth, our champion of individuality, our moral compass point of true north, and our dear, dear friend.

 

 

Sara Beasley

Bodie Brizendine

    

Sara Cooper      

Angela Gordon          

Hemsley Hughes

Erica McGovern

Rebecca Scott

 

Lennis “Frank” Brito

Elizabeth Causey

Dana Crowell

Nancy Grey

Eric Zahler

 

Lillian Brash

Wei Jiang

Philipp Joseph

 

Mike D’Elia

 

30 Years      

Kelly Jewett

 

Karen Sullivan