I am honored to serve as the next President of the Board of Trustees for Wingra School. As a proud alumnus of Wingra (1991-99), I have long credited the school with much of my success in life; it made me a person who naturally sought to learn because I genuinely enjoyed learning, and that alone delivered me very far indeed. I am excited to be part of the team that works to ensure today’s children have a similar opportunity.

I am also excited to be able to work to *expand* the population of children who can benefit from a Wingra education and worldview. While our new individualized tuition model lays the groundwork for us to significantly increase the socioeconomic diversity of the Wingra student body, the work surrounding the vision of making Wingra a welcoming and thriving community for all is just beginning. Wingra must also work to actively recruit and retain a racially diverse student and staff community and to create a deep sense of belonging for everyone who enters the building each day. I see this work, along with ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the new tuition model, as critical areas of focus for the Board in the coming years.

Wingra is more than just a school; it is truly a community. That same ethos applies to the Board of Trustees: we are people willing to get our hands dirty (in the case of the Building and Grounds committee, literally) and do the work because we are passionate about Wingra’s mission and impact. We always seek more kindred spirits to join us in this work. If you or anyone you know might be interested in getting involved with the Wingra Board, please get in touch with me. In the meantime, I look forward to getting to know you throughout the school year.

Black lives matter. We denounce police brutality and call for a transformational redesign of local law enforcement, including removal of law enforcement from schools and replacement with counselors. We support the rights of all to advocate for themselves and others and confirm our commitment to stand behind our black youth as they advocate for creation of a world that is more just. We commit to using our time, treasure, and talent in support of local organizations, such as Urban Triage, Freedom Inc, and Madison for Black Lives, that are dedicated to lifting and amplifying young black voices. We pledge to work to end systemic racism not only in our local community, but in our school community, as well.

We, the white Trustees, commit to take the following actions:

1. To continue to educate ourselves and each other on the insidious nature of our own racism. We must understand how our internalized racism affects our interactions with black people. We must learn our own history: how systemic racism was developed and continues to be upheld by white people, in order to be effective in the dismantling the process.

2. To call each other out when we resort–whether consciously or unconsciously–to a position where we center our white thoughts and white actions without regard for the impact on black voices.

3. To commit to creating a leadership pipeline for black Trustees to attain positions of power within the board. It isn’t enough to bring black voices onto the Board and we recognize that getting out of the way is essential to creating fundamental change.

4. To de-center our own whiteness and our own white experience which is unique to us as those in the dominant white culture. We will sit with our own discomfort as we make mistakes and not seek closure or reassurance from our black colleagues. We recognize that it is not up to them to make us feel better.

5. To work every day to lead the transformation of Wingra School to an anti-racist organization. Our history as a majority white institution means that there is much to be done and we pledge to use our white privilege to support the creation of a community based in equality and justice.