Dr. Scott Erickson is an independent school leader and has been Head of School at Phillips Brooks School (PBS) in Menlo Park, California, since 2011. He has launched several initiatives to strengthen institutional advancement. He designed and implemented PBS’s first-ever comprehensive campaign to invest in faculty with creative solutions for talent retention, program innovations, and enhanced campus spaces. He successfully led a study to launch a new brand, increased enrollment and market demand, built strong school finances, and developed a successful annual giving program that consistently exceeds goals, including during the pandemic. Scott is currently leading a capital giving effort to build a new endowment that funds an enhanced faculty-staff salary plan, stay bonuses, and workplace benefits.  
 
Scott has also been responsible for designing a formal curriculum review process and a school-wide focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. He believes that educational institutions are at their best when there’s a high sense of belonging and when community members see their identities as an asset in their roles and as a strategic advantage for their institutions. Scott received positive feedback for his effective leadership during the pandemic. Looking to the future, he partnered with the board to extend the school’s lease through 2062 and develop a new strategic plan for 2022-2027. As a leader, he is committed to data-informed decision making as well as actively soliciting regular feedback from constituents. An updated and improved PBS Dashboard, established in 2022, measures success metrics across all school functions.  
 
A frequent conference and workshop speaker, Scott serves as Secretary of the CASE District VII Cabinet. He is helping establish a cohort for LGBTQ+ advancement professionals among CASE-affiliated independent schools and a cohort for those new to the advancement profession in CASE District VII. He is on the Board of Directors at Common Sense Media and the Heads Advisory Group for Independent School Management. He founded and continues to convene the Peninsula Heads Group as a collaborative peer community among 50 independent schools on the Bay Area Peninsula. Prior to moving to San Francisco, Scott was Middle School Director at the National Cathedral School for Girls in Washington D.C. and was teacher, chaplain, and humanities department chair at St. Paul’s School, a co-educational boarding school in New Hampshire.