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Following a global search, Lake Forest Academy’s Board of Trustees and the Head of School Search Committee are excited to announce the appointment of Tom Johnson as the 32nd Head of School. Johnson served as Interim Head of School during the 2024-25 academic year and brings nearly three decades of experience at boarding/day schools as a student, faculty member, and administrator including the last eight years at LFA.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the Head of School Search Committee we are thrilled to welcome Tom Johnson as our next Head of School,” said LFA Board of Trustees Chair Jessica Douglas ’96. “Throughout this highly-competitive search process led by our consultants Carney Sandoe & Associates, Tom’s plan and vision for the future of the Academy stood above the rest of the field. The input and feedback from across the LFA community proved to be invaluable and we are grateful for the participation from our faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and parents of alumni during this process.”

Since 2017, Johnson has served as LFA’s Dean of Faculty before assuming the Interim Head of School role prior to the start of the 2024-25 academic year. He has also taught in the History and Social Sciences department, served as a residential faculty member, and coached girls basketball and boys swimming. Prior to LFA, he spent 17 years at The Hill School in Philadelphia first as Director of Student Activities and then Dean of Faculty while also teaching a variety of courses as an Instructor of History.

“I came to Lake Forest Academy in 2017 because I was attracted to the talented student body, the dedicated faculty and staff, the global makeup of the school, and the close community that exists here,” said Johnson. “My affection for LFA has grown with each successive year, and I am proud to call this school home for me and my family. LFA has built an outstanding reputation in the boarding school world, and it has been a great privilege to get to know the school’s alumni and families, and hear each of their stories of how the school has transformed their lives. I am honored to lead the school into its next phase as a hallmark of global education, and extremely grateful for this opportunity.”

Johnson is a 2000 graduate of Princeton University and earned his graduate degree in Educational Leadership from Villanova University in 2005. Prior to Princeton, he gained his first boarding school experience as a student at Deerfield Academy.

A diverse nine-member search committee was created to lead the process supported by one of the leading search consultants in the educational field, Carney Sandoe & Associates. The committee was made up of seven trustees as well as two invaluable members representing LFA’s faculty, administration, and staff. The Committee consisted of the following members:

• Bruce Anderson ’70: HOS Search Committee Co-Chair, Trustee, Past Parent
• Tameka Carter-Richardson: LFA Modern & Classical Languages and Global Concentration Teacher
• Jessica Douglas ’96: Trustee (Board Chair)
• Ned Jessen P’01, ’05: Trustee, Past Parent
• Ted Kovas P’21: Trustee, Past Parent
• John Marlatt ’65: Trustee (Vice Chair)
• Margeaux McReynolds ’02: HOS Search Committee Co-Chair, Trustee
• Leslie Rosen P’25, ’25, ’27, ’27: Trustee, Current Parent
• Ben Wetherbee: LFA Associate Dean of College Counseling

Johnson will officially begin as permanent Head of School at Lake Forest Academy on July 1, 2025.