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Women in Leadership

This month’s Lens spotlights Women’s Leadership as we celebrate the first year of Executive Director, Sara Wilson, and Board Chair, Lise Charlier’s, leadership at AISNE. We also spoke with Lise, Sara, and AISNE Board member, Danielle Heard, to hear their personal journeys and insights.

Sara Wilson, Executive Director | AISNE

Sara Wilson didn’t chase titles—she followed the work. A former teacher at both independent and public Montessori schools, as well as traditional public schools, she built a reputation for seeing systems clearly and helping schools move through meaningful change. That clarity led her into accreditation and eventually to her current role as Executive Director of AISNE. “I never pictured myself as the face of an organization,” she says. “But I knew the work, and I knew our schools.” 

Sara leads by listening first. Her approach is grounded, collaborative, and shaped by a full sense of self—educator, introvert, mother, Black woman. She doesn’t try to fit a mold that was never made with her in mind.

Instead, she focuses on creating space for others to lead on their own terms. “Representation matters—but it’s not just about being seen,” she says. “It’s about shifting the conditions so more people can step in, speak up, and lead with confidence.” Her leadership isn’t about volume. It’s about presence, perspective, and persistence. In a field still grappling with what inclusive leadership truly means, Sara offers a model that’s not performative—it’s personal, and it’s powerful.

Danielle Heard never imagined she’d be a Head of School. Her path started with coaching and teaching, then led her into leadership through a series of challenges that demanded more than just management—they required vision. Along the way, she had mentors who pushed her, helped her stretch, and reminded her that leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about being willing to grow. “You shouldn’t take a job you’re 100% ready for,” her mother once told her. That stuck. She’s carried that advice through every leap, including the biggest one: believing in herself before anyone else did.

Today, Danielle leads with that same mindset—seeing people, making space, and paying it forward. Whether it was a school head who called her a year after a cold introduction or a colleague who urged her to “go out on top,” Danielle’s leadership story is shaped by people who followed through, saw potential, and extended opportunity. Now, she does the same. “Leadership isn’t about being loud,” she says. “It’s about looking ahead, lifting others, and remembering that if no one’s following, you’re not really leading.” Her approach is grounded in sponsorship, not just mentorship—and in making sure others get their shot, too.

Lise Charlier, Head of School | The Cambridge School of Weston

Lise Charlier’s leadership story begins in Haiti, where she was surrounded by strong, capable women—vendors, shopkeepers, teachers, and her own mother, who managed a medical practice and worked as an OR nurse. “I had a lot of women leaders, but they weren’t recognized as leaders,” she reflects. “Nobody ever said, ‘You could be one of them.’” That changed when Lila Lohr, then interim head at Friends School of Baltimore, tapped her for a women’s leadership conference. “She called me into her office and said, ‘I have a conference I want you to go to,’” Lise recalls. That moment was a turning point—“the first time anyone saw something in me and said it out loud.”

Lise describes her path as one of initiative, not entitlement. “I kind of had a street master’s,” she says. “Where I saw need, I stepped in without being asked.” She warns against today’s “overcorrection,” where people won’t do work outside their job description: “It’s foolish… it’s a place to be curious and to learn.” Her advice is both practical and grounded: “Practice listening. Observe people whose style you admire. Most of the skills we need, we already have — we just forget how to apply them. But they’re there.”

Three Takeaways on Enhancing Women's Leadership in Education

Jennie Weiner, Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Connecticut and recent keynote speaker at AISNE’s Women’s Leadership Symposium, shared powerful insights on how to enhance women’s leadership in education. Her reflections highlight key ideas that speak to the challenges women face and offer practical ways to foster growth and collective change:

• One of the most powerful tools for change is radical truth telling. When women share their stories and experiences in leadership and life it helps us all feel less alone and more connected.
• As women we are socialized as independent problem-solvers, often taking the responsibility to address issues (even if they aren’t ours), frequently with solutions that include additional (and unpaid) labor. We need new ways to frame problems that situate the solution in collective action and systems level change (e.g., evaluation systems that capture and reward care work).
• Courage is a muscle – it is neither finite nor an inborn characteristic. It can be cultivated and grown through small exercises in disruption and freedom. These actions matter and make us stronger over time.

AISNE's 2026 Women's Leadership Symposium will be held April 9 – 10 at the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in Whitefield, NH. 

This communication is sponsored by Blackbaud.