Jen Cardillo has joined the dean office after 25 years of working in the education system, replacing upper school Dean Kyle Graham.
Cardillo studied history and English at Harvard University and John Burroughs High School. She worked at Phillips Academy as a teaching fellow and at Thayer Academy as a dean and teacher.
Before coming to Harvard-Westlake, she worked at Concord Academy in Massachusetts for 19 years as an English teacher and director of admissions and financial aid. She also worked on the community and equity program, which worked to plan events for students to support religious, gender and race based affinity groups on campus.
“We were really trying to think about the experience of students at school and we are also thinking about larger issues in the world and how to help students become good activists for causes they care about,” Cardillo said.
She then made the transition into college counseling, for the past four years.
“That was one of the easiest transitions in my career,” Cardillo said. “I loved admissions work. I think the only thing I didn’t love about it was that my relationships with my students was so short term.”
Cardillo said college counseling allowed her to assess the compatibility between student and institution, while still maintaining the aspects of her previous positions.