By Sammy Roth

Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Eli Goldsmith is leaving Harvard-Westlake to attend graduate school at Harvard, sparking a host of position swaps in the Admission and Advancement offices, Chief Advancement Officer Ed Hu said. Goldsmith will enroll in the fall at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for a one-year program in Education Policy and Management.

Moving into Goldsmith’s position will be Susan Leher Beeson ’96, who has been the campaign coordinator in the Advancement Office since 2006. As campaign coordinator, she has helped raise money for the new middle school campus, among other projects.

Beeson will be replaced by Casey Kim, who has been Assistant Director of Annual Giving since 2007.

Kim’s role in the Advancement Office will be filled by Admission Administrator Whitney Althouse, who began working in the Admission Office in 2007.

Hu said that Althouse’s transition will be eased by the fact that she already filled in for Casey during her maternity leave.

Finally, middle school receptionist and secretary Bobbie Jo Dobbs, new to H-W this year, will take over for Althouse.

Dobbs said that the Admission Office is familiar territory for her, as she has occasionally helped out there this year.

“[Dobbs] has been a wonderful welcoming face and voice of the Middle School this year and we enthusiastically welcome her into her new position,” Hu said. 

These changes were brought about by the departure of Goldsmith, who started working at Harvard-Westlake four years ago. He said that he has considered enrolling in a master’s program for the last few years because he has enjoyed working in education.

This program at Harvard, he decided, was the right one for him.

“It’s a one-year master’s program, which is very cool,” he said. “It’s just nice financially. It’s only a one-year tuition versus two.”

Goldsmith said that after he gets his masters he might return to working in independent schools or fundraise for nonprofit organizations. As assistant director of alumni relations, he has organized alumni events, worked on the Senior Gift and coordinated Junior Career Day, among other duties.

“I’m going to miss my colleagues, and I’m going to miss the alumni I’ve met,” he said. “And I’m especially going to miss the students.”