Jefferson Burnett is a strategic advisor to independent school heads and board chairs. He was formerly a vice president at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) where he led its global education, government relations, environmental and financial sustainability, advocacy, and accreditation work over his 30 year tenure. Jefferson was a governance and leadership resource for NAIS and the liaison to the association’s Board Governance Committee.He also served on the boards of the Independent School Association Network (ISAnet) and the International Council Advancing Independent School Accreditation (ICAISA). Before joining NAIS, Jefferson was Vice President for Independent Schools at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Jefferson is currently on the board of the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Association of Secondary School International Students and Teachers (ASSIST) as well as aCouncilor-at-Large at the International Council Advancing Independent School Accreditation. He is a former trustee at the Washington International School (Washington, DC), where he wasvice chair, co-chair of the Governance Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee and Strategic Initiatives Task Force. He is a past Board member of the Edmund Burke School (Washington, DC) and the Advisory Board of the Klingenstein Center at Teacher’s College, Columbia University (New York).
Jefferson has an A.B. in anthropology from Columbia University, Columbia College (New York) and an M.Phil. in social anthropology from the University of Cambridge, King’s College. He is a graduate of St. Michael’s Country Day School and St. George’s School, both in Newport, Rhode Island as well as the Sherborne School in Dorset, England. Jefferson is an avid alpine hiker, zengardener, and cooking enthusiast.