Head of School Announcement from Board Chair Justin Gmelich

January 26, 2024

 

Dear Trinity Hall Community,

 

The Board of Trustees and I are excited to announce the appointment of Theresa Kiernan as Trinity Hall's third head of school, removing her "interim" title with immediate effect. The Board was unanimous in its support of the Selection Committee's enthusiastic recommendation of Theresa following a process to identify suitable candidates. As interim head and with ten-plus years of institutional knowledge, Theresa emerged as our clear and best choice. Most critically, Theresa's understanding of the culture and daily life at Trinity Hall allows her to truly embody Trinity Hall's mission and vision while further advancing the hopes and dreams of this extraordinary institution and its graduates. 

 
Theresa joined the Trinity Hall family in 2012 - our very early days - as a volunteer who worked tirelessly to spread the news about the opening of a new all-girls school. Initially, Theresa created and managed our social media platforms until being hired as the director of advancement and admissions by our founding Head of School Mary Sciarrillo. Since then, she has been responsible for many successes while advancing the mission of the school. As a founding senior leadership team member, Theresa strategically led all aspects of school communications and external relations, while supervising the admissions, communications, development and technology teams. 

Theresa heightened the school’s profile by building and preserving the institutional brand throughout marketing and advertising pieces and engaging social media content. Her attention to detail in establishing the Trinity Hall brand is unmatched and admired by many. While making the Trinity Hall name known and garnering local and national attention, she was also instituting the admissions process and building the student pipeline, propelling student matriculation from zero to more than 300 students. She created an experience of personalized service for every student applicant and her family, and for many of our girls and alumnae, Theresa was the welcoming first face representing our school.

 

Theresa has spent the last decade at Trinity Hall on the senior leadership team, providing administrative oversight in the school as a whole, frequently acting as the point person in the absence of the head of school. Theresa is not a stranger to strategic and tactical leadership as she has successfully completed multi-faceted initiatives, managed budgets for multiple departments, created leadership and mentor programs for students and faculty, sat on many internal committees, and ensured transparency with the Board of Trustees. Most of all, Theresa has fostered relationships with fellow faculty members, students, parents, board members, alumnae and all community members, enhancing the sense of community and culture at Trinity Hall which Theresa has been such an integral part of cultivating.  
 
Prior to Trinity Hall, Theresa earned her Bachelor’s degree in communication and a minor in theology from Rutgers University and a graduate certification in technical communication from New Jersey Institute of Technology. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in private school leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Initially she worked as a voice-over casting director in the largest audio facility in New York City. Theresa’s experiences with Trinity Hall, from our infancy through our most recent 10th-anniversary celebration, reinforce her appreciation for our vibrant community and unique culture. As one of the original bricks in our foundation, Theresa is ideally suited to champion our mission and its core values, given her dedication to advancing the profound gifts of young women and planting seeds of faith that will support them throughout their lives. 

The Board of Trustees and I thank Mairead Clifford for her leadership and time commitment spent chairing the Selection Committee of Kerry Devine, Patrick Donnelly, Victoria Gmelich, Chuck Jones and Kim Tsimbinos. We also want to thank the faculty and staff for their patience and support over the past months as we navigated this change in leadership.

We will keep you informed of events to celebrate Theresa Kiernan in her not-so-new role as head of school. Please join me in congratulating Theresa.  

Sincerely, 
Justin Gmelich
Chair, Board of Trustees