We are  pleased to announce Heather Willis Daly as our newest head of school, effective July 1, 2025. She is the first woman to hold the role.

In a recent letter to the community, Daly wrote, “Pomfret’s mission to empower students to pursue lives of purpose and meaning resonates with me deeply. Generations of Pomfret students have experienced the impact of this transformational boarding school under the care of an immensely talented and deeply committed group of faculty and staff. I am grateful to the Board of Trustees for entrusting me with the privilege of leading Pomfret into its next chapter and am excited to build on the legacy of those who have come before me.”

On Friday, September 26, 2025, Pomfret will host an installation ceremony on Clark Memorial Chapel lawn to formally recognize Daly as Pomfret’s thirteenth head of school. Current and former faculty, current and former trustees, friends and family, and students will be in attendance. A small invitation-only luncheon will follow in Hard Auditorium.

Daly’s appointment follows a thoughtful, thorough, and rigorous search process led by Board Chair Daryle Bost ’89 that yielded a number of highly qualified school leaders. The search committee was ably supported by RG175, an executive search firm consisting of former heads of school with deep experience in national independent school leadership searches. 

“Heather is, quite simply, a superstar,” Bost says. “She is a savvy, authentic, and gracious leader who prioritizes integrity and collaboration, and constantly keeps the big picture in mind.” 

A graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Daly has spent thirty years living and working in independent schools. Notably, she is the former chair of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Financial Aid Advisory Task Force, which advises school leaders on developing sound financial aid policies and best practices.

Before coming to Pomfret, Daly was the associate head at Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, where she oversaw admissions, marketing and communications, athletics, college counseling, health and safety, food service, signature programming, summer programs, and sustainability. She was also the driving force behind Laurel’s newest strategic plan. 

Prior to Laurel, Daly was the dean of admissions and financial aid at St. Andrew’s School in Delaware. There, she increased applications by 40 percent, achieving all-time high selectivity rates. Before St. Andrew’s, Daly spent a decade at Hawken School, where she helped put Hawken at the forefront of a national conversation related to competency-based learning and the Mastery Transcript Consortium. 

Heather is married to Brendan Daly, who will teach science at Pomfret. Together, they have three children: a son at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a daughter at the University of Richmond, and a daughter at Davidson.

Over the past year, as part of a long-term succession plan, Daly has worked hand-in-hand with Board Chair Daryle Bost ’89, former Head of School Tim Richards P ’15, and members of Pomfret’s senior leadership team to ensure a smooth transition.

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