Shady Side Academy President Bart Griffith Jr. '93 has announced the appointment of Trixie Sabundayo as the Academy's next head of the Senior School, effective July 1, 2020.

"A highly accomplished and inspiring educational leader, Trixie's combined commitment to academic excellence and the whole child have helped her make a profoundly meaningful difference for students and families at a range of exceptional independent schools across the country," said Griffith. "Her appointment sets the stage for continued growth, innovation and community building at the Senior School – and further enhances our efforts to fulfill our mission and prepare students for a changing world."

Sabundayo currently serves as head of the upper school at Princeton Day School, a PK-12 coed independent school in Princeton, NJ, where she leads more than 400 students and 70 faculty in grades 9-12. Her responsibilities include strategic planning, faculty professional development, student support, and a range of projects aimed at enriching community life at the school.

Prior to PDS, Trixie spent 14 years at Marin Academy, a co-ed independent day school with 400 students in grades 9-12 in San Rafael, CA. There she held a number of leadership roles, including English department chair, dean of equity and inclusion, sophomore class dean, and faculty representative to the board of trustees. Earlier in her career, she taught and coached at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, and Isidore Newman School in New Orleans.

A native of Maryland, Sabundayo earned a bachelor's degree in English from Johns Hopkins University, where she captained the field hockey and lacrosse teams, and she holds a master's degree in English from Middlebury College.

"My family and I are overjoyed," said Sabundayo. "In Shady Side we not only have found an extraordinary institution, one that genuinely values the minds and hearts of students; we also have found an incredibly inspiring community, a community we are so thrilled to call home."

The appointment of Sabundayo is the culmination of a national search for a successor to Sophie Lau, who will depart SSA at the end of June to become head of school at her alma mater, Lincoln School in Providence, R.I. Lau has been at SSA since 2014, serving as the Senior School's assistant head and dean of faculty for two years before becoming head of the Senior School in 2016.

Located on a 130-acre campus in suburban Fox Chapel, Shady Side Academy Senior School serves a coed population of nearly 450 day and boarding students in grades 9-12, with approximately 85 teachers and staff.