Posted October 02, 2026 in Life at Lawrence
The Board of Trustees of Lawrence School is thrilled to announce the unanimous selection of Brenda A. Petersen as Lawrence’s next Head of School, effective July 1, 2027.
Brenda was selected following an extensive nationwide search that engaged our entire community and drew candidates from across the country—and we are delighted that the search ultimately led to an accomplished leader already connected to Northeast Ohio. Brenda currently serves as Associate Head of School at Western Reserve Academy in nearby Hudson, where she and her husband, fellow educator Sean Dwyer, reside.
Brenda will succeed Doug Hamilton, who is retiring at the conclusion of the 2026-27 school year after 38 years of extraordinary service to Lawrence, including the last nine as Head of School.
Click here to watch a video message from Brenda Petersen.
Brenda brings more than 25 years of educational experience to Lawrence across independent, international, and boarding schools. Her career began in the Peace Corps in Papua New Guinea and includes leadership roles at Baltimore City College, Friends School of Baltimore, Graded School in São Paulo, Concordia Shanghai, and Western Reserve Academy.
At Western Reserve Academy, Brenda led the transformation of the Academic Center from a traditional tutoring model into a comprehensive student support program, adding a Director of Learning Support, executive functioning courses, peer tutoring, and a refined testing process.
“Throughout my career, I have been drawn to schools that help students understand not just what they learn, but how they learn,” she said. “Lawrence’s 50-year commitment to that idea—and to helping every student discover their strength—is a mission I already call my own, shaped in part by watching people close to me go unseen by schools that weren’t built to recognize how they learned.”
As Brenda engaged with our community throughout the process, her interest in listening deeply and connecting with individuals resonated with the Committee. Brenda brings a relationship-based leadership style and a philosophical focus on students’ strengths that will help guide Lawrence into this new chapter. Most importantly, Brenda’s professional focus and her personal sense of purpose align directly with Lawrence’s mission.
The Board of Trustees extends its sincere gratitude to the many members of the Lawrence community (faculty and staff, parents, alumni, students, and trustees) for their active engagement in this process and for the insights that guided this search, as well as national search partners Educational Directions for their expert guidance.
We look to Lawrence’s future with great optimism and excitement as we welcome Brenda and Sean to the Lawrence family!