Tacoma, Wash. – Charles Wright Academy’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Matt Culberson will be the next Head of School. Mr. Culberson will succeed current Headmaster Robert Camner, who retires in June after serving in the role for 20 years, and will assume the position on July 1, 2016.
“I am so honored and beyond thrilled,” says Mr. Culberson, currently Head of School at the McGillis School (K-8) in Salt Lake City. “From my earliest visits with the students and faculty, I knew Charles Wright Academy was a school community of which I would like to be a part. I am excited for the opportunity to help shape and lead a vision of the future that builds upon the incredible excellence so firmly established in the DNA of CWA. What an incredible place to be a student, to be a teacher, to be a Head of School. I cannot wait to get started.”
Charles Wright leadership established a search committee comprising faculty, parents, alumni, and Trustees who, in partnership with Dallas-based Brigham Hill Consultancy, conducted a national search and vetted dozens of candidates before inviting six finalists to campus for community meetings throughout late 2015 and early 2016. The Board unanimously voted in favor of extending the offer to Mr. Culberson.
“Matt Culberson is very excited for the opportunity to lead CWA,” says CWA Board Chair Joe Mayer ’88, who also chaired the search committee. “He is eager to get back to a junior kindergarten-12th grade program, loves our community and campus, and can see great potential for CWA’s future. Mr. Culberson has been a teacher, a division director, a college counselor, and an academic dean in charge of curriculum at K-12 schools where he helped evaluate, refine, and improve programs.”
photography by Jasper Xin ’18
Mr. Culberson has been Head of School at the McGillis School since 2006. He was previously assistant Head of School and academic dean at Oakley School, a boarding high school outside of Park City, Utah, and he spent 12 years at the Waterford School (PK-12) near Salt Lake City as an Upper School English and philosophy teacher, coach, middle school dean, and college counselor. Earlier in his career, Mr. Culberson served in various teaching and administrative roles at the University of Denver, Belmont Hill School, and Storm King School.
The Board of Trustees sought a visionary leader for CWA who could raise the profile of the school in the greater Pierce County area; bring a fresh perspective to the curriculum and help grow and develop the academic program; and embrace the school’s philosophy of blending and balancing academics, the arts, and athletics.
“Rob Camner and Matt Culberson have known each other for many years through their leadership on the Board and Accreditation Committee of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools,” says Mr. Mayer. “The Board of Trustees will work closely with both of them to ensure that the transition of the school’s leadership will be handled with great care.”
Mr. Culberson holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Washington and Lee University and a Master of Arts in philosophy from the University of Denver. He is a former vice president of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools’ Board of Governors and a former President of the American Mountain Guides Association in addition to having served on a number of other boards.
Between 1984 and 1992, he was a professional mountain guide and a senior staff member of American Alpine Institute in Bellingham, in which role he worked, traveled, and climbed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. “Mr. Culberson’s background as a nationally renowned mountain guide and adventurer will energize the Outdoor Education program at CWA—a hallmark of our school,” Mr. Mayer says. An avid mountain runner, backcountry skier, and climber, Mr. Culberson has made seven expeditions through the Alaska Range, 14 trips through the Andes, and four trips through the Himalayas. He was awarded the Presidential Gold Medal by the American Mountain Guides Association in 2010.
“Beyond Mr. Culberson’s extraordinary skill sets and experiences, our committee found him to be a genuine human being who relates very well with people representing all sectors of our school community,” says Mr. Mayer. “We felt that his style—warm, thoughtful, engaging, down-to-earth, and driven by his passion for greatness—reflects the best in us as a community.”
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