Announcing HMI's Next Head of School
October 6, 2022
Dear HMI Community,
It is my great pleasure to announce that the Board of Trustees has selected Sam Critchlow to serve as HMI’s next Head of School, to begin July 1, 2023.
After a comprehensive and thoughtful process over the past six months, culminating in the visits of a strong group of finalists who met the HMI community over multiple days, the Search Committee and the Board believe Sam is uniquely well suited to lead HMI into its next chapter. Sam had broad and enthusiastic support from across the HMI community, and we are thrilled to welcome him as Head of School.
Sam comes to us from the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, a residential magnet school in northern Maine, where he serves as Executive Director. Sam has previously worked at public and private schools in both the Intermountain West and New England, including spending four years teaching math at HMI from 2007 to 2011. Sam knows HMI well, but he will also bring important new perspectives from the schools where he has served in the years since he was last with us. Sam has a deep passion for education, a lifelong love of the outdoors, and a demonstrated commitment to diversifying the educational communities in which he has worked.
Although you will have plenty of time to get to know Sam once he takes his position as Head, we asked him to share a few words to introduce himself to the community:
“I am overjoyed to be returning to HMI! My recent visit to Leadville confirmed my memories of the school: a place of natural beauty, deep values, engaged learning, and matchless community. During my visit, the impressive growth and development of the past decade were apparent; so too were the founding vision and inspiration I knew first-hand from Christopher and Molly Barnes. I look forward to reconnecting with the HMI community in the coming months, and returning next summer in my new role!”
As the search concludes, I want to thank all of you for your engagement throughout this process. The Search Committee truly appreciates the thoughtful feedback you provided, and it has been a joy to connect with so many of you through the search.
With that, I hope you will join me in welcoming Sam into his new role and supporting him in this exciting transition. The Board is incredibly pleased to be taking this step, and we look forward to seeing what the future brings!
With gratitude,
Whitney Leonard, Chair, Head of School Search Committee; Semester 7 Alumna
Mo Copeland, Chair, Board of Trustees
Latest Update from Head of School Search Committee
September 2, 2022
Dear HMI Community,
I want to share the latest updates from the Head of School Search Committee, which has been
busy with the search process over the course of the summer.
First, thanks to all of you who shared your thoughts on what you would like to see in HMI’s
next Head of School, either by attending a listening session or filling out the survey we
circulated. It was exciting to hear the enthusiasm and the range of ideas that everyone
contributed. Working with our team at Storbeck Search, the Search Committee used that
feedback to develop the position statement for the Head of School job, which is available here.
Our search team then spent several months reaching out to education leaders across the country
to recruit a strong and diverse pool of applicants for the Head of School position. On the Search
Committee, we were excited to see such breadth and depth in the pool—it is a testament to
HMI’s past and present leaders that the school is in a position to attract such strong candidates…
View the Head of School job posting
May 25, 2022
The HMI Head of School job posting is now live on the Storbeck website. For best consideration, application materials should be submitted no later than July 31, 2022. This position will begin on July 1, 2023.
Head of School Search Committee announced; search firm hired
April 28, 2022
Dear HMI Community,
I’m told the snow is finally starting to melt in Leadville, so spring is on its way and Semester 48 will be drawing to a close next month. As you know, Danny O’Brien will be moving on from HMI at the end of this academic year, and Amy Roberts—who is currently HMI’s Associate Head of School and the Semester Program Director—will be serving as Interim Head of School for the coming year. We are grateful to Danny for his outstanding leadership over the past nine years, and we know that HMI will continue to thrive with Amy at the helm for the 2022-2023 school year.
I am writing now to share information about the search process for HMI’s next Head of School, who will lead the school starting in 2023. The search will be a far-reaching process with the goal of identifying a Head who shares HMI’s core values and brings vision and passion to the task of leading HMI’s next chapter….
New video pays tribute to Danny O'Brien's impactful tenure at HMI
April 15, 2022
HMI administrators, teachers, and trustees describe Danny’s long tenure at HMI and the legacy he is leaving behind.
Head of School Danny O'Brien will depart after 2021-22 school year; Amy Roberts to serve as Interim Head for 2022-23
October 18, 2021
Dear HMI Community,
As you all know, the High Mountain Institute has been fortunate in its leadership. Danny O’Brien has served as HMI’s Head of School for nine years, and before that taught and engaged with students in both the classroom and Admissions Office as an experienced and dedicated educator. We have been incredibly lucky to have his expertise, commitment, and spirit at the school, in this important role. This fall, during a well deserved sabbatical, Danny spent time thinking about his future and the future of HMI. He made the difficult decision to start looking for the right next opportunity and has since accepted a position as Head of The Putney School starting next summer, July 2022. It is particularly poignant and meaningful that Danny will lead Putney—and what a remarkable full circle—as the co-founder of HMI, Christopher Barnes, was my student at Putney in the early 80’s.
We are thrilled for Danny and for Putney. Thanks to Danny’s hard work and commitment, HMI is in a strong position to attract an experienced, forward looking, and dynamic head. We are grateful to him for that, and for all that he has done to strengthen the school financially and programmatically, building both school infrastructure and the capacity of the HMI team. Our school has grown immensely through Danny’s leadership, and we are grateful to him and his family for all they have put into making HMI the amazing community that it is….