Sara Brookshire joined the Upper School Dean Team after Beth Slattery assumed the position of Head of Upper School.

Brookshire served as the Director of Admission at Brandeis University for the past six years. She previously worked at Emerson College as the Director of Admission. In addition, she is an Elected Board Director for the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

After her work at universities, Brookshire said she is excited to connect with students on a more personal level.

“I hope that this can be an opportunity to dial it back,” Brookshire said. “To be a part of a smaller place that is more hands on, more collaborative, where at the end of the day, students are going to the center of all the work that I do.”

Brookshire speaks about her new role as a dean

Brookshire said she admires the work Slattery does and is eager to work with her new students.

“Being able to assume an entire person’s case load of students, essentially, is going to be a challenge,” Brookshire said. “Getting to know, especially my seniors, quickly enough to forge a relationship that can be grounded in trust and mutual respect [will be challenging] . I know that that stuff doesn’t come overnight. It takes a while to get to know someone.”

Brookshire said she feels comforted by the fact that she is working with a supportive and collegial group, especially after transitioning from a university to a high school environment and moving from the East Coast to the West Coast.

“I am looking forward to being in a new secondary school community and joining a really collaborative team, the [dean] team,” Brookshire said. “It’s a really unique model, pretty specific to Harvard-Westlake. I am looking forward to having so many knowledgeable and down to earth colleagues that I hope, one day, I can call friends. Definitely I consider [them] mentors already. I think it’s going to be a really great professional opportunity for me.”