Bea Fuller

A certified and experienced leadership coach, Bea is motivated to guide clients to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for their unique strengths and draw on them to be intentional, thoughtful, and energized leaders in all aspects of their lives. During her time with C@A, Bea has coached school leaders at many levels, including Head of School, associate head of school, CFO, division directors, admissions directors, academic deans, and DEI leaders.

In her more than 35-year career in independent schools, Bea has served as a high school principal, director of college counseling, Leadership teacher, English teacher, art teacher, and athletic coach at a wide range of schools, including Severn School, Georgetown Day School, Barrie School, and Holton-Arms in the Maryland/Washington, D.C. area, and boarding schools: Northfield Mt. Hermon in Massachusetts and Midland School in California. In every school, she has focused on building strong community spirit by inspiring clear communication across constituents.

A graduate of Williams College, Bea was a double major in English and studio art and a three-sport captain in field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse. She earned a Master of Science in Education degree from Johns Hopkins University, including a graduate certificate from the Association of Independent Maryland Schools in Educational Leadership and Supervision for Independent Schools, while working full time and raising three sons. Her young men, who attended Landon School and graduated from Severn School, all currently serve in the military: two are first lieutenants in the US Navy and one graduated West Point and is deferring his service commitment to play professional rugby. Her partner is also a life-long educator and has served as Head of School for 23 years.

My sessions with Bea enabled me to pause and reflect, which was rare given the crisis management that was frequently required of me due to the pandemic. Being able to process situations in a nonjudgmental setting was especially valuable, and I often left our meetings with concrete action steps that I could immediately begin. Bea was very supportive and offered patient guidance as I discovered answers to questions and made plans to be even more effective in my role.

As a leadership team, we benefited both from the individual work we did with our coaches and the shared experience provided by Coaching@Altitude. We grew as leaders by adding this incredible skill and learned a lot about ourselves in the process. I am confident that Berwick Academy will continue to benefit from being part of the Trailblazer Cohort. Personally, working with Bea has been extremely productive. She is an experienced and talented educator who understands both the dynamics of working in a school environment and how to help her clients make the most of their coaching sessions.

The schedules of administrators can be overwhelming, yet Bea took the time to have a lengthy conversation with me to understand how one can help build a school community. Bea built a culture within the Severn School centered on authentic relationships between faculty and students that allowed the community to truly understand one another, and I hope to follow this lead moving forward in my career.

As a coach, Bea Fuller supports me to find and forge my own path. Our work is authentic because I am able to move in the right direction for me as I discover it for myself. Bea helps me by asking the right questions and providing useful tools for me to use to learn and grow in my career and in my life.

Bea is a dynamic leader, talented teacher and caring adult. Bea respects the experience, wisdom, and mistakes of every child and adult with whom she interacts and works tirelessly to bring out the best in every individual. Her intuition is phenomenal and her patience admirable.

As an educational leader, Bea is a remarkable blend of head and heart. While keeping positive relationships and collaboration at the center of her work, she balances big picture issues with attention to detail. With wisdom acquired over her decades-long career, she understands the flow and pacing of the school year while capitalizing on opportunities for growth.

Bea’s unique ability to connect on a personal level and maintain a professional relationship was instrumental in shaping my career as an educator at Severn. She not only pushed me to improve as a professional, but her example also taught me how to lead others. Having known and worked with Bea has made me a better professional and a better person.