The Purpose Lab: A Cohort for Mid-Career Educators

Erin O’Connell is the Director of Professional Growth and Mentoring at The Pennington School. For over 10 years, Erin has been a faculty mentor, working with her team to onboard and orient new faculty, intentionally focusing on School culture, building community, and well-being alongside pedagogical and reflective practices. More recently, she has been expanding the mentoring program, adding professional development, feedback, and reflection, and consultation for all faculty. Erin has been teaching English for over 30 years. She draws on the work of the Institute for Writing and Thinking at Bard to center her reflective, student-centered, and exploratory practice in the classroom and extends these practices to adult learners. She has directed a successful peer-to-peer leadership program where seniors orient, welcome, and mentor ninth graders. Erin has led workshops on building relationships, fostering strong learning communities, and deepening reflective practices– all at the heart of her own professional practice. She believes remaining a classroom teacher is integral to her work. Erin draws on her training and experience to create programming for adults that supports professional and personal growth, for she knows that teachers who are engaged in their own learning, growth, and reflection are more poised to positively impact the students they serve and the professional communities in which they find themselves.

Rebecca Zug utilizes her experience to support schools and school leaders deepen their mission alignment and mission-centered practice. As an experienced division director, workshop facilitator and consultant for independent schools, Rebecca helps individuals and teams improve culture and decision-making. She designs customized leadership searches and executive coaching. Prior to working at Wilmington Friends School in Wilmington, DE, Rebecca served as Assistant Principal of the upper school at Sidwell Friends in Washington, DC. She taught history at Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania and Colegio Internacional de Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela. Rebecca is an adjunct faculty member with Independent School Management (ISM) teaching leadership skills to new division directors. She sits on the board of Sidwell Friends School, and is a former board member of Friends Council on Education and Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, New York. Rebecca has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.