Above Board: Spring 2025
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As I come to the end of my board service after nine years as a trustee—the last five years as board clerk—I have been reflecting on why I said yes to leading Friends Select’s board. |
In the fall of 2019, when board clerk Sandra Williams was coming to her term limit and I was asked if I would consider being her successor, I said no. I was encouraged to reconsider. I could think of lots of reasons to stick with the no but when I looked deeper and asked myself if I felt a calling to step into this kind of leadership, I realized that the real answer was yes. I didn’t understand why, and it wasn’t a matter of intellectual reasoning. It was an act of faith. And what a leap it was!
I became clerk in May of 2020 while a raging COVID-19 pandemic challenged our norms and best practices in running a school. It was quite a learning curve for everyone. Everything felt risky, and we made it through because we put the work in, challenged and trusted each other, and always kept the mission and future of Friends Select at the center of our decisions.
One of the things I am proudest of is that we didn’t get small or retreat from our potential. We were opportunistic in the best sense. Thanks to a number of generous donations from our community members, as well as a low-interest loan that we were able to secure, we could redesign the Parkway Building’s first floor and front entrance, centering our students and terrific teachers, and purchase 1520 Race Street, transforming it into the STEAM Building for our upper school. Last year, we updated our strategic plan, Advance Friends Select, by adding Environmental Sustainability as a pillar. These are just some of the most visible things that the board has been involved in over the past several years.
Five years ago, I didn’t know why I felt called to accept the nomination to be clerk, but I now feel clear that I was the right person, in the right place, at the right time. This is not about ego but a recognition that not every decision is an intellectual one or one where we can make a chart of pros and cons. Sometimes we have to listen and be accountable to a different voice deep within and trust that the yes will become clear in time.
I leave the board with total confidence in our trustees and the rising clerk, Nancy van Arkel. I couldn’t have been successful in my role as clerk had it not been for Nancy. In her role as clerk of the committee on Trusteeship, she became my thought partner on most aspects of supporting the board. I have relied on her expertise as an educator with 43 years in Friends education as a teacher, librarian, and middle school principal; her understanding of and engagement with Quakerism as a lifelong Friend; her sharp intellect; and her big heart.
I don’t know how many hundreds of hours of meetings I have been in over these past five years, but I can say not one of them was wasted time, and I am proud to have been part of such a high-functioning board of deeply committed, smart, generous, and caring individuals. I have grown, the board is strong, and the school is thriving. I’m glad I said yes.
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By Ingrid Lakey '89, P'27, board clerk
