The Ellis School Board of Trustees announces Tambi Tyler as the next Head of School, effective July 1, 2024. She will succeed Macon Finley, who joined The Ellis School as Head of School in 2017 and will retire in June 2024.
"We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Tyler to The Ellis School,” said Tomar Pierson-BROWN '97, Chair of Ellis’ Board of Trustees. "She brings a wealth of experience and expertise across many areas of independent school management. The Board and I are excited for this new chapter for Ellis and for what Ms. Tyler’s leadership will bring to our community. Ellis has enjoyed tremendous growth under Macon’s wise direction and vision. We’re confident that Ms. Tyler will build on the strong foundation Macon has established and will continue to grow and strengthen The Ellis School.”
Most recently, Ms. Tyler served as the Head of School for The Colorado Springs School. Her work at CSS included leading a financial model overhaul with strategic priorities, streamlining marketing language and branding, and formulating collaborative work groups for future work. The school also increased enrollment and fundraising year over year under her leadership.
"I am delighted to be the next Head of School of The Ellis School,” Ms. Tyler said. "Ellis has a long history of empowering girls and young women to be bold, authentic changemakers and all-girls education is the elixir. It sets a solid foundation for grit, achievement, and confidence. This has been part of Ellis’ mission since the school’s founding, and I am excited to be part of the continuing success and bright future of Ellis and its students.”
Ms. Tyler began her teaching career in Des Moines Public Schools, where she worked for 19 years. She held multiple leadership roles, including teacher, Middle School Dean of Students, K-8 School Improvement Leader, interim Human Resources Director, and Middle School Vice Principal in an International Baccalaureate program. She then joined the faculty of Atlanta International School (AIS), a co-ed independent day school serving 1,200 students in preschool through grade 12. At AIS, she served five years as the Upper School Principal and Deputy Head of Secondary Education. While leading at AIS, Ms. Tyler conducted student-led assemblies and held the pulse of culture and climate. She sought to ensure a challenging and rewarding student experience through all school programming by training and mentoring faculty as well as monitoring ongoing student progress, and she worked closely with board members and the parent body, cultivated relationships, and supported the Head of School with various initiatives. She also pioneered equity and inclusion initiatives at the school, creating an E&I (Equity and Inclusion) leadership task force, providing professional development for faculty and staff, and helping to model and define the first full-time E&I leadership position at the school.
Born in Mississippi and raised in both Mississippi and Iowa in a close-knit family with five brothers, Ms. Tyler said her mother’s emphasis on education and her tireless message of "think for yourself” allowed her to always see herself as independent and courageous among her peers. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary English Education from Grand View University in Des Moines and a Master of Science in Effective Teacher Learning Leadership from Drake University in Des Moines. She has also completed doctoral work in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies through the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
More information about The Ellis School’s Head of School search can be found on the Head of School Search page of the Ellis website.
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