Every year as part of Friends Council’s Annual Spring Meeting, we say thank you and farewell to outgoing members of our Board of Directors. This year Friends Council is saying good-bye to three directors – Matt Glendinning, John Baird and Sisi Kamal.

Matt Glendinning

Matt, head of Moses Brown School, has served as the clerk of the Friends Council Board of Directors since 2016. Executive Director Drew Smith did the honors of recognizing Matt’s service and lifting up highlights and memorable moments. Among other things  Drew credited Matt for his leadership around Friends Council’s strategic visioning process in 2017 and his ability to clerk and lead from afar (the school Matt leads is in Rhode Island.) 

 

 

 

John Baird

John, former head of Westtown School and Carolina Friends School, has served on the Board of Friends Council since 2013. Board member and fellow North Carolinian Mike Hanas spoke poignantly about John’s impact on Mike’s own career and on so many. Specifically, Mike lifted up John’s adeptness at holding “real conversations” that “create space for people to change.”  “John is like a lighthouse,” said Hanas, “reminding us of what matters most.” 

 

 

 

Sisi Kamal

CFO and COO of Friends Seminary, Sisi has served on the Friends Council Board since 2013; she has served on the finance committee since that time and has been assistant clerk since 2018.  Board member Shu Shu Costa honored Sisi’s tenure. “My colleagues on the executive committee hold up her skills and contributions as a thought-partner and strategist, and someone who can step back and name that which is unclear...As one board member so eloquently put it, 'Sisi helps us to aim high but keep our feet on the ground. She is a good steward of both our resources and our aspirations.'" 
 

 

 

 

Friends Council extends our deep gratitude to Matt, John and Sisi for the service to Friends Council and Quaker education. We will miss you!