EM:POC SUMMIT FACULTY
EM:POC - Head of Programs
Claude Anderson
EMforSchools.com Founder and a trailblazer in education marketing and enrollment management has been in the education arena for over 4 decades, he’s held various roles, including dean of enrollment, dean of students, director of financial aid, counselor, teacher and coach, across different school settings. His innovative approaches in enrollment management and marketing have profoundly influenced the field. A sought-after speaker, Claude has developed “The Five Pillars” strategy for marketing to full-paying families and chaired the Admission Training Institute at the Enrollment Management Association for over a decade. His Advancing Scholars and Leaders program, started at Northfield Mount Hermon, significantly catalyzed the success of students of color in and outside the classroom and in college placements.
Claude’s consulting work has impacted over 1200 admission professionals across the country. His achievements earned him the prestigious Everett E. Gourley Award from the EMA, and he’s served on the board of the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals, solidifying his status as a leading expert in enrollment management.
EM:POC - Program Director
Dr. Susan Emery
Director of Enrollment Management at Kingswood Oxford School, brings a rich blend of experience, having worked across various educational contexts including boarding and day schools. Her career in admissions and enrollment management is marked by her entrepreneurial efforts in establishing an international boarding school in Los Angeles and her impactful roles at Whittle School & Studios in Washington, D.C. This puts Susan in a unique position of not only promoting schools, but understanding what a program needs to be excellence, how one needs to engage with the faculty to maintain their focus in messaging, and the time and energy that the admission office needs to complete the job.
Dr. Emery, holding an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from USC and an Ed.M. from Boston University, is celebrated for her strategic leadership and innovative approaches in admissions, making her a valuable addition to the EMPOC Summit and Kingswood Oxford community.
EM:POC - Program Director
Jan Abernathy
Chief Communications Officer at The Browning School in New York City, stands out in her field for her profound commitment to education communications and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Beyond her role at The Browning School, she leads Jan Abernathy Strategic Communications, a consulting firm dedicated to offering expert communications and DEI counsel to educational institutions and non-profits. Abernathy has shared her insights at various prestigious conferences, including those sponsored by the New York Association of Independent Schools and the National Association of Independent Schools, among others. She has also held significant leadership positions, chairing and co-chairing key conferences: the CASE-NAIS Conference in 2022 and co-chairing the NYSAIS Institutional Advancement Conference in 2022 and 2023. As president of New York City Independent Schools Communications Professionals and co-founder of the Black Advancement Networking Group, she works tirelessly to improve representation and professional opportunities for Black individuals in independent schools. Abernathy has authored articles on vital topics such as crisis communications and diversity on Boards of Trustees for renowned publications, such as the Independent School Magazine and Connections Quarterly. A CASE Laureate and Northwestern University alumna, her governance roles include trusteeships at Grace Church School and Tessa International School, and a notable 13-year board tenure at Stevens Cooperative School.
EM:POC - Consultant
Dr. Ara Brown
Senior Search Consultant for Strategenius, has worked for over 20 years at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. He started his career in 2000 as the Program Coordinator at the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. He then moved into independent schools and served in many positions including Director of Student Activities, Diversity Director, Associate Director of Admissions, Dean of Students, Head of Middle School, Head of Upper School, and Assistant Head of School. His career has brought him to boarding and day schools in western Massachusetts, southeast Michigan, southern California, and Washington D.C. where he helped found a K–12 private school. Ara has presented nationally on DEI issues, made a documentary on the experiences of people of color in independent schools, and has published articles on topics including pedagogy, recruitment practices, and pathways to headship for people of color.
He served as a faculty member at the Kingswood-Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color (KOLIEC) and the inaugural Building Opportunities for Leaders of Diversity (BOLD) Summit, both of which are dedicated to supporting educators of color advance their careers within independent schools. He also served as an editor for The Color of Excellence: Hiring and Keeping Teachers of Color in Independent Schools and as chair of the editorial board for Independent School magazine. Ara earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology at Ursinus College, an M.A. in Organizational Psychology and an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.
EM:POC - Consultant
Mary Rose Fernandez
VP for Recruitment, Partnerships, and Strategy, joined Strategenius in the spring of 2015. She started her education career as a teacher at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, TX. She then became the Western Regional Director of the Multicultural Alliance, an initiative by independent schools to develop a pipeline of diverse teachers through internships and fellowships. Mary Rose later co-founded and directed the TEAMS Program (Teacher Education for the Advancement of a Multicultural Society) at the University of San Francisco to recruit, train and develop teachers of color for urban public schools across California and Washington State. Serving 400 teachers a year, TEAMS was the most diverse teacher development program in the country.
Mary Rose has served on several non-profit and charter and independent school boards, including currently serving on the French American International School and International High School in San Francisco. She has a BA from the University of San Francisco and a Master’s Degree in Social and Cultural Studies from UC Berkeley. She met Orpheus 20 years ago at a job fair where he recruited her for her first independent school teaching job. She has two daughters in independent schools and lives with her family in San Francisco.
EM:POC - Consultant
Orpheus Crutchfield
President and Founder, has almost 35 years of experience working in and with independent schools across the country, and globally. His career has been devoted to helping independent schools work towards equity and inclusion, diversifying and training their personnel and boards, as well as cultivating and mentoring diverse educators for success and leadership. Orpheus’ experiences as a teacher, nonprofit administrator, trustee, parent of an independent school alumna, and as an entrepreneur give him a unique perspective on, and a deep understanding of, the needs of independent schools. He is presently serving on the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco Board, and has served on six independent school boards, over thirty years. His network of teachers, administrators and school leaders is vast and relationships go deep.
Orpheus has appeared on CNN, in the San Francisco Chronicle and on NPR for his work in attracting underrepresented groups to independent schools. He has a BA from UC Berkeley and “all but thesis” Master’s work in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco.
