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Dear Members of the Sidwell Friends School Parent Community;


After nine years of distinguished service at Sidwell Friends, our
Assistant Head of School for Institutional Advancement, Patty Carocci,
has left us to become the Assistant Dean for Alumni Relations and
Development at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University
of Maryland. In her leadership of our Advancement team at SFS, Patty
contributed so much to the stunning success of the Call Us Friends
capital campaign and helped to set the stage for the dramatic
improvements in school facilities over the past decade that we enjoy
today. We wish her every success as she embraces this new opportunity
and challenge, and we will always feel a debt of gratitude for the
professional support and guidance she provided to our advancement
efforts.


Patty informed me of her new opportunity in February, and today I am
pleased to announce that we have completed the search for a new Director
of Institutional Advancement. After an extensive international search,
Mary K. Carrasco, for the past decade the Assistant Head of School for
External Affairs at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, has accepted
our offer to lead our advancement department at Sidwell Friends. She
will be available to begin her service here in early June.


Mary has broad experience in the world of institutional advancement and
development. She has served in a variety of advancement roles at
Georgetown University, Maret School, and the Community Foundation of
Washington, DC. She is widely recognized in the field as an expert in
donor relations, strategic planning, and, more recently, in cultivating
support from families overseas. The Search Committee members, and, in
fact, all who met Mary during an extensive visit and interview at
Sidwell Friends, found her to be a superb communicator with exceptional
organizational and personal skills. Those who have worked closely with
Mary in the past expressed enthusiasm for her appointment at Sidwell
Friends as we aspire to continued institutional leadership and to
develop the resources to implement the Long Range Priorities in the
years ahead.


I have thanked the members of the Search Committee for the many hours of
time and effort and the thoughtful consideration and deliberation that
they put into this search. The search was focused and intense. The
candidates were well-qualified and enthusiastic about the prospect of
coming to join our community in this vitally important role. Their
experience throughout their grueling interview days was positive, and
they all looked forward to the possibility of working with our strong
team of advancement professionals.


Mary is thrilled to be coming to Sidwell Friends, to be returning to
Washington, DC, and yet remaining in the independent school world, which
was her hope all along. She looks forward to getting to know our
volunteers, our alumni body, and many new colleagues and friends as we
travel the path ahead together.


During the weeks between Patty's departure and Mary's arrival in early
June, I have asked Josh Wolman to serve as Acting Director of
Institutional Advancement. He will remain in the Admissions Office, but
will assist with organizational oversight in Advancement now that
another wonderfully successful admissions season is nearly complete.


Sincerely yours,


Tom Farquhar

Head of School