Message from the Board of Trustees Chair

Message from the Board of Trustees Chair

As a Mayfield Senior School alumna and now a parent, too, it is a great honor to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees. I see a school with an incredibly strong foundation, rich in history and success to build upon into a future filled with unlimited potential. Although hope and optimism may be dampened by the unprecedented challenges we’ve been facing, I have found that, in this time of crisis, we can see Mayfield’s greatest blessings even more clearly.

Our incredible leadership, faculty and staff are at the top of that list. We are lucky to have a leader like Kate Morin as our Head of School. Her positivity, resilience and calm in a crisis have been more evident than ever this year as she has kept our community united and provided the best education possible in the face of COVID-19. We are blessed to have Kate’s radiating warmth; her obvious passion for the students and their wellbeing is at the forefront of her every move.

Likewise, our highly experienced and engaged trustees have been hard at work in the stewardship of our school, focused on our mission, financial sustainability and forward-looking strategic plans. We have accomplished so much together, and I want to thank our Board for rising to the occasion throughout this pandemic. I’m inspired by this team’s dedication and our ability to make decisions together that further our legacy.

I would like to highlight some of our current Board initiatives:

• The Board quickly establisheda COVID-19 Tuition Relief Fund to help families who have been financially impacted by the pandemic. I am happy to report that we have maintained full enrollment, keeping our community stronger together.

• Over the past year, we havebeen working on a Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic initiative as part of our Holy Child Mission Effectiveness goals. We are grateful for the insights from our Mayfield community and we are in the process of developing a Board Diversity Statement and an action plan for change.

• One of the Board’s greatest endeavors is the Strub Hall Master Plan, which will restore our spectacular 100-year-old home to meet 21st-century learning, safety and efficiency standards, while preserving her timeless character and beauty. Our Master Planning Task Force, led by trustee Jim Muenzer, parent Willy Marsh and former trustee Anneke Osterkamp Greco ’99, has dedicated immense brainpower and expertise to this effort, and we are nearly ready to launch the Master Plan. If you see these champions, please thank them for their tireless efforts.

This year, as I officially become a Mayfield parent, my perspective of this beloved school only continues to deepen. My daughter, Penelope ’24, starts as a ninth grader this fall, and I see her future as full of opportunities. Mayfield alums agree that there is something special we take away from our time at 500 Bellefontaine. I’ve heard it best explained as confidence and a “can do” spirit. With this devastating pandemic and the historic movement for social justice playing inextricable parts in their high school experiences, I believe that today’s Mayfield student body is destined to become the most thoughtful, just and resilient group of young women this school has ever seen. I am grateful to bear witness to their inspiring journeys.

God Bless,

Kelly Nelson Nakasone ’93