Just over halfway through her first year at Athenian, we sat down with Amy Rasner Clulow, Director of People and Culture, to learn more about her role and how it was created to support the school’s strategic priorities. The idea for a dedicated People and Culture position grew from the multi-year work on our strategic vision, Boldly Athenian and was formalized in parallel with a cultural assessment conducted last year. Amy joined the community in July to support the school’s culture work, namely the support, growth and continued development of our adult community. When asked about her priorities in this first year, Amy says, “I’ve been listening and seeking to understand the historical context and underpinnings of current employee experiences and organizational structures through an equity lens. My focus also includes supporting the retention and professional growth of our adult community and outreach and hiring efforts.” Amy has spent countless hours in listening sessions with faculty and staff and evaluating current systems and practices in both hiring and retention. She adds, “the path forward will require a combination of introspection and collective effort to dismantle systemic barriers to building and sustaining an authentically equitable and inclusive community.” 

While Amy’s role is focused on how our campus adults – faculty and staff – contribute to our school culture and sense of community, many stakeholders contribute to the culture of Athenian. “While my initial efforts focus on culture and community building for our campus adults, this extends readily to the broader Athenian community of parents and guardians, alumni trustees and former employees.”
As we begin hiring season, Athenian welcomes alumni partnerships in sharing job postings and referring candidates to our job board. Please join our Alumni LinkedIn group and watch for job postings in the coming weeks. 

More About Amy

Amy joined the Athenian community in July 2021 as the inaugural Director of People & Culture. She joins us most recently from The Hotchkiss School, a boarding and day high school in Connecticut, where she served as the Director of Multicultural Outreach for the admission office. In addition to her enrollment responsibilities, Amy served as a faculty mentor and student advisor and contributed to several working groups and committees, including Student Support, All Gender Housing, DEI Curriculum Review and Mission Review. Amy also served as the project manager on an institutional research partnership to reveal market position, utilizing the data to improve admission outreach and brand positioning efforts. She went on to lead the development and launch of the Hotchkiss Bridge program which provides transitional support for historically underrepresented students. 

Amy spent her early career working in human resources, specializing in recruitment and organizational development. She has carried her HR experience forward into each of her various roles since. Amy’s commitment to equity and inclusion has been a constant, anchored by her own interest in continued growth. Among her DEIS commitments, Amy launched and co-facilitated SEED for Hotchkiss and extended the program to neighboring public and private school educators. She also initiated and co-facilitated a white antiracist affinity space for Hotchkiss adults and serves as an affinity group leader for NAIS. Her past non profit engagement has included support for low cost K-8 enrichment programming (SOAR) and awareness building and support for victims of relationship violence (Women’s Support Services). Amy also serves as a mentor for families of transgender youth.

Amy received her BA from University of California, San Diego and her M.S.Ed. in School Leadership from University of Pennsylvania. She presently lives on campus with her partner, Mike, their youngest daughter, Frankie ‘25, and their older children, Hudson and Charlotte, when they are on break from college.