Brenda Crawley

Brenda Crawley served as the Head of Plymouth Meeting Friends School in Plymouth Meeting, PA from 2019 – 2025. Prior to headship, she was Head of Lower School for 8 years at Sandy Spring Friends School and Head of Lower School for 7 years at McLean School of Maryland in Potomac, MD, where she began her independent school career as a music teacher, department chair and diversity coordinator. Brenda holds a BMus. in Music Education/Piano from Manhattanville College and a M.S. in Organization Development from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School.

Brenda served as a faculty member/facilitator for the Eastern Educational Resource Collaborative Summer Institute on Diversity and Multicultural Education; a facilitator/trainer for the National Coalition Building Institute; and Leader of the (AISGW) Beginning Teacher Institute program for the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington. She is a former board member of Adoptions Together, Inc., United Friends School, and ADVIS. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Friends Council on Education (The National Association of Friends Schools) and on the founding Board of Directors of Schooling for Hope, a non-profit that provides affordable consulting & support to private schools and summer camps serving predominantly students of color.

With over 40 years of independent school experience as a teacher and administrator, Brenda mentors and coaches aspiring administrators, newly appointed and seasoned school leaders and leadership teams as they work to gain insight, examine systems & processes, prioritize and plan next steps with clarity and confidence.