Jeanne E. Amster '77

2008-2013

Jeanne Amster graduated from Mount Holyoke College and earned Masters' degrees from Stanford University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her Doctorate,also from Harvard, explored the strengths and limitations of meritocracy in American schooling and higher education. Jeanne joined Phillips Academy as a teacher of history and economics in 1977 and became their Dean of Studies in 1983. In 1987 she went to Harvard to work as Special Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School of Education reviewing issues of institutional and public policy while completing her Doctorate. In 1990, Jeanne taught History of Education at Brown and worked for the Aspen Institute. In 1991, Dr. Amster was appointed Director of the three campus Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools. In July of 1997, Dr. Amster moved to the West Coast to assume the position of Head of School at the San Francisco University High. In recent years, Jeanne has served as a consultant and coach for a variety of for profit and non-profit clients as well as a participant in an entrepreneurial start up. She specializes in strategic planning, leadership coaching, and education technology. Jeanne's non-profit Board work includes: Mount Holyoke College, 1993-2004, Vice President; San Francisco Day School, 1998-2005; NYSAIS (Vice President); NAPSG (Treasurer). She and her husband, Ken Arnold, have two children and reside in San Francisco, California.