The Bryn Mawr School will begin next school year with a new leader.
Dr. Rachael Flores has been named Bryn Mawr’s 11th Head of School. She will start in the new role July 1, 2027.
“I am deeply honored to be named Bryn Mawr’s 11th Head of School,” Flores said. “My visit to campus left me feeling so connected to this extraordinary community—from the vibrant conversations with students and faculty to the genuine warmth that greeted me at every turn. I have long admired Bryn Mawr’s national reputation for balancing academic rigor with genuine joy. The school’s founding legacy reminds us that when young women come together, they create lasting, transformative change. Returning to Maryland, a state I love and consider home, makes this opportunity all the more meaningful.”
Flores will succeed Sue Sadler, who has led the all-girls private school since 2017. Shortly after stepping into the role, Sadler reflected on the importance of teaching leadership skills to girls.
“We (women) tend to want ourselves to be perfect before we put ourselves out there – we are doing that to ourselves! Which is why we need to be teaching girls how to solve problems on the fly, to ask questions, and to be willing to step-up and take charge,” Sadler said in her 2017 Big Fish interview with Baltimore Fishbowl.
The search committee for Sadler’s replacement comprised alumnae, trustees, parents and faculty, who worked with the firm Carney Sandoe & Associates. The search yielded more than 130 national and international candidates.
Starting in the spring, Bryn Mawr community members were asked for their input through surveys, feedback forms, and campus visits. The committee ultimately received more than 370 community feedback submissions.
After attracting a pool of national and international candidates, the committee interviewed nine semifinalists on campus in late August. They then narrowed those candidates to four finalists, who met with students, parents, faculty, staff, alumnae, and trustees in September.
The search committee unanimously recommended Flores to be the next Head of School and the board of trustees unanimously voted to appoint Flores to the position.
School officials cited Flores’s “profound alignment with Bryn Mawr’s mission, her deep devotion to girls’ education and well-being, and her infectious warmth” among the reasons behind their decision.
“From the outset, we sought a visible, mission-driven leader who could honor Bryn Mawr’s rich tradition of academic excellence while navigating the future—from AI integration and programmatic innovation to faculty recruitment, equity, and fiscal stewardship,” shared Board Chair Ellen Smith Dew ’01 and Search Committee Co-Chairs Redonda G. Miller and Jamila Webb in a community letter.
They continued, “Rachael rose to the top because she lives these priorities every day. With two decades of independent school experience, a track record of leading complex divisions and strategic initiatives at top girls’ schools, and a remarkable ability to create and support communities of belonging, Rachael is extraordinarily prepared to guide Bryn Mawr into its next chapter.”
As Head of School, Flores will oversee Bryn Mawr’s ongoing $25 million “Bryn Mawr, Beyond: Imagining Tomorrow” campaign. As part of that campaign, Bryn Mawr broke ground this summer on a new Upper School building.
Flores brings more than 20 years of independent schools experience and 11 years within all-girls environments.
She will come to Bryn Mawr from The Spence School in New York City, where she has served as the Head of Upper School since 2020. In that role, she has overseen divisional leadership, daily operations, and budgets, as well as supervised more than 50 faculty members.
Flores also teaches ninth-grade Global History and serves on The Spence School’s Board Strategic Planning Committee and AI Task Force.
Previously, Flores served as Director of Diversity and Multicultural Education at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. She also spent eight years at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where she held roles as Dean of Institutional Diversity, Grade Dean, Dorm Head, and History Teacher. She began her teaching career at Asheville School in North Carolina.
Flores earned an Ed.D. in Human & Organizational Learning and an M.A. in History from The George Washington University, as well as an A.B. in History from Princeton University. She and her husband, Barlow, have three children.
