Thomas (Tom) W. Sheppard joined Chadwick as Interim Head of School in July 2021. Before joining Chadwick, Tom served as Head of School at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Ridgeland and Jackson, Miss., where he led the school through a strategic planning and visioning process, "Our Vision for the Future," which brought about programming initiatives and campus infrastructure improvement projects. Simultaneously, Tom led a comprehensive effort to reaffirm St. Andrew's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by growing the Office of Inclusion and executing "Together Saints," an undertaking that brought together constituents from across the St. Andrew's community to develop clear objectives being implemented at St. Andrew's. Tom has more than 22 years of experience in senior leadership positions, including Head of School, Dean of Enrollment Management, and Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, and 5 years as an independent school teacher. He has served in leadership roles at Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, N.Y.; Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, Calif.; and The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J. Tom's work in education has taken him across the country and around the world, enabling him to appreciate a rich tapestry of cultures and educational models in numerous U.S. cities and more than 20 countries. He began his educational career as a teacher, dorm parent, coach and student advisor at Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pa. Outside of his work for his own schools, Tom served as a trustee at the Storm King School in Storm King, N.Y., and has held leadership positions for the Enrollment Management Association.

Tom earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Washington and Lee University and his Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University. Tom and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of two children: Olivia, who is attending boarding school, and Zachary, who is attending college. Tom's interests include gardening, fishing and taking long morning walks. He was born and raised in a small ranch town in Hawaii, and was first introduced to the world of education through his parents, who worked at a school in Hawaii.

Elizabeth Imende-Cooney joined Chadwick School as the Assistant Head of School in August 2020. The founder and director of Advancing Educators, USA, Elizabeth has led more than 2,000 educators and administrators in multi-year, school-based professional development programs to deepen teaching pedagogy, support student learning and promote a culture of continuous improvement. In addition to her work in public and private schools in the U.S., Elizabeth has consulted for schools in South America, East Asia, Europe and Africa on topics such as school leadership and coaching, enactment of strategic plans, peer observation, curriculum planning and design, student-centered instructional approaches, and creating school climates that celebrate cultural diversity.

Elizabeth began her 22-year career in education in the classroom, teaching literature to high-schoolers in Boston, then English at an international school in Germany and later freshman courses at Northeastern University. She was previously the Director of Teaching, Learning and Innovation at the American International School of Cape Town and Senior Consultant with Research for Better Teaching in Massachusetts. In those roles, Elizabeth led weekly professional development for PreK - 12 faculty; provided instructional coaching; developed a digital platform for school-wide curriculum; coordinated the implementation of the strategic plan; and designed and facilitated custom, adult-learning programs for the faculty at more than 50 schools across the country, including Brentwood School, Harvard-Westlake School and the Archer School for Girls, locally.

Elizabeth holds a Master's in Education, dual-focused on Teaching and Learning and Adult Development, from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and a bachelor's degree in English from Wake Forest University. 

Elizabeth is a Pasadena native, three-sport varsity athlete, arts enthusiast and long-time advocate of service learning. She lives in Palos Verdes with her husband and two children. 

Mark Wiedenmann — affectionately known on campus as “Wieds” — joined Chadwick School in 1981 as a member of the history department. While continuing in that capacity, he became the Upper School Dean of Students in 1987 and the Upper School Director in 1992.

During his time at Chadwick, Mark created Chadwick’s community service program which, in 1988, was recognized by U.S. News & World Report and IBM as one of the six best community service programs in the country. Mark also created Chadwick’s Wellness Program, developed Chadwick’s teacher evaluation program and initiated Chadwick’s approach to curriculum design based on Grant Wiggin’s Understanding By Design. 

His tenure at Chadwick also includes coaching cross-country and teaching AP U.S. History, Democracy and Ancient Greece, History of India, Comparative Religion, and Philosophy of Religion. He is currently teaching an Upper School history class. Before coming to Chadwick, he taught at Thacher School in Ojai, California. 

Mark grew up in northeastern Ohio, attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in history at the University of California at San Diego, a Master of Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity at Yale Divinity School. Mark lives with his wife, Sue, and their son, Henry, who is currently a Chadwick fifth-grader.

California native Jeff Mercer began his rich Chadwick School career in 1996 as a Middle and Upper School history teacher. He served as the Interim Head of the Middle School in 1997-98, as the Assistant Head of the Middle School from 1998 - 2000 and as the Upper School Dean of Students through the 2007-08 school year before being named Director of the Middle School in September 2008.

Jeff was appointed to the newly created position of Chadwick Assistant Head of School for the 2010-11 school year, serving as a liaison between Chadwick and Chadwick International schools, with a focus on developing the shared curriculum, educational philosophy and school culture of Chadwick’s two campuses. He next served for two years as the Head of School at Chadwick International (CI) in Songdo, South Korea, where he oversaw school operations, including the successful opening of CI’s Upper School and Outdoor Education Program. Jeff returned to Chadwick School as Director of the Middle School in 2013. He then served as the Interim Head of School for the 2018-2019 school year before returning to the Director of the Middle School role. 

Throughout his tenure at Chadwick, Jeff has been actively involved in character education, working with the Upper School Student Council in 2002 to reintroduce an honor code on campus to align with and help advance our Core Values. He has also worked extensively on diversity initiatives, taught senior history electives, and coached baseball and girls basketball.

Jeff earned his Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Master of Arts in teaching from Duke University. Along with his wife, Noelle, he is the parent of twin sons, Joshua and Dylan, who are currently eighth-grade students at Chadwick School.

Deborah Levy will be the Acting Director of the Village School, effective July 1, 2020. Currently, Deborah is the Assistant Director of the Village School, a position she has held since July 1, 2019. Now in her 15th year at Chadwick School, Deborah previously served as the Director of Academic Technology and Sixth-Grade Dean. She worked with Chadwick's Center for Innovation and Research to map out the future of education technology for the school, and she oversaw the K-12 curriculum for tech education and digital citizenship. In her role as Dean, she led the sixth-grade team of teachers and advisors, providing administrative and logistical support as they transitioned students from the Village to the Middle School.

Deborah previously worked in education technology at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, as a teacher at the Santa Monica Montessori School, and developed educational software and toys, including "Math Blaster" and "JumpStart." She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Pomona College and an M.A. in Education from Harvard University.

Deborah and her husband, Beny, have two children attending Chadwick: Sammy, a WOW and 12th-grader, and Eliza, a 10th-grader. In her free time, Deborah is an avid theater-goer, crocheter and board-game player.

In commenting on her new role, Deborah shared the following message:

"Since starting my Chadwick tenure 15 years ago, my heart has always been in the Village. As a parent, I watched my two children thrive from kindergarten through sixth grade under the watchful eyes of the experts that are our Village faculty and staff. For me to have the opportunity to lead the Village team, to continue to create a safe, nurturing and joyful space for the youngest members of our community to learn and grow, is an incredible gift. I will continue to bring my admiration for our faculty and staff, my love for learning, my sense of humor and fun, and above all, my deep commitment to making the Village the absolute best it can be for our community. The Chadwick faculty is by far the most committed, talented and dependable group of professionals I have ever been fortunate enough to work alongside. The students are motivated. The families are supportive. Leading this type of community is truly a dream come true."

As Dean of Admission and Executive Director of College Counseling, Bruce oversees efforts in both offices. Over the course of his 40-year career, Bruce has cultivated invaluable skills and experience in roles such as Vice President and Dean of Admissions at Pomona College and Associate Dean of Admissions at Wesleyan University.

Bruce’s other professional affiliations include various positions serving on the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, the U.S. News and World Report College Advisory Board, as a former member of the College Board SAT Committee, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Center for Student Opportunity, a senior advisor to the Global Leadership Incubator and a member of the Board of Academic Advisors for QuestBridge. His writings have been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Newsweek and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Bruce’s media appearances include The Today Show, NPR, Southern California Public Radio and Bloomberg TV and Radio.

Bruce earned his A.B., in Government and English at Oberlin College and his Ed.M. in Administration, Social Policy and Planning at Harvard University.