In the Boardroom

What she didn’t know then was that she was charting a course for all four of her children to become Hun lifers, or students who attend the School from grades six through twelve.

“We see Hun not just for what the School did for our children, but in our community,” Mrs. Michel says. “To have a powerful Middle School education that then continues into Upper School that then prepares them well for college — we couldn't ask for more.”

Ten years ago, Mrs. Michel joined the Board of Trustees, and is the longest-serving current female Trustee. For her, it was an honor to be asked by Head of School Jon Brougham to serve on the Board, and she leaves each meeting feeling empowered and energized.

“We always thought we had the best School when our children went through, and to see it become even better is great. I just feel as if Hun has always been very forthright in thinking what's best for the future,” she says.

This foresight is something Mrs. Michel believes the School had fifty years ago, when it began admitting girls.

“When you break into a room you can change the dance, but you don't have to change who you are,” she says. “And I think when these young women entered Hun, they didn't realize the gifts they were bringing in that they were going to change the rhythm, and for the better.”

This concept of bringing a new rhythm into an environment is one that Mrs. Michel understands well: She is the CEO of Glen Eagle, a global financial company that specializes in wealth management and institutional markets. In the field of financial advising, the Bureau of Labor

Statistics estimates that women make up about thirty percent of the workforce.

Mrs. Michel, who is chair of the investment committee of the Board, knows that girls at Hun today believe they can be part of any club or organization without second-guessing if their gender is holding them back. “And that’s the gift Hun gives them, that they can be themselves,” she says.

“Your high school education is definitely one of the most important four years of your life because that’s a period where you’re really spending the time to find yourself; you learn how to be part of a team, what inspires you academically, and how to discover your purpose. Hun brings you the best of all of those things,” Ms. Tillman says.

And now, sheʼs excited to help current students get the most out of their Hun School education, too. Ms. Tillman was the featured speaker at Convocation, where she inspired the crowd and kicked off the celebration of the 50th anniversary of girls and women at Hun. She’s also among the newest class of inductees to the

Board of Trustees, chairing the Education Committee where sheʼll bring her real-life experiences from her career as a marketing executive at Fortune 500 companies to the Hun community.

“We’ve all been there, where you’re sitting in class thinking, ‘When am I ever going to use this?’ I want to demystify all of that for kids, because I think it helps create a much more fulfilling experience when you can see what you’re learning and its connections to life outside Hun,” she says.

Ms. Tillman brings more than twenty years of business experience to the Board. She is the chief marketing officer of Capitolis, a financial technology startup. Previously, she served as chief marketing officer at the software company SAP, and spent ten years at American Express. In her time as a C-Suite executive, she has seen how leaders use some of the same skills students learn in

the classrooms at Hun. She's looking forward to helping students connect what they are learning in the classroom to how they will use those skills in their future careers.

“I want to make sure that what’s most needed out of leaders

in society today is the foundation for how we’re both educating and creating an environment of collaboration, strong values, and purpose for all of the students who come through Hun,” she says. “Now, more than ever, we will create a place that's relevant in the context of preparation for a fulfilling life.”