School Leadership

Kerin facilitated Brewster’s COVID Task Force, working with the senior leadership team in the face of great uncertainty to rapidly adapt and develop protocols in order to reopen campus safely for the 2020-21 school year.

She has also applied her steady leadership to Brewster’s strategy process, an approach designed to push strategy work deeper into the organization and engage a wide variety of stakeholders in generating innovative new ideas to serve students ever better. Since 2016, this vanguard approach to strategy has allowed the Academy to effectively translate its vision into actionable enhancements to its programs. This has ensured that as Brewster has continued to refine its practices and evolve in service to student growth, it has maintained an unwavering focus on Brewster’s mission.

As Head of School in Wolfeboro, Kerin has worked with the leadership team to expand academic offerings for students, supporting the launch of new trimester elective offerings, new Advanced Placement offerings, Global Scholar and Arts Scholar certificate programs, and new athletic and co curricular offerings including intramural volleyball and e-sports. Kerin developed and affirmed the Academy’s community core values of Respect, Responsibility, Independence, and Interdependence. Brewster updated its recognition program to align with those core values and further promote character development in its students. 

“I am so grateful to work alongside a remarkable leadership team that is mission-driven, wholeheartedly committed to the growth of students, and innovative in its approach to future planning and problem solving. All success that I have enjoyed as Head of School is shared with the leadership team I have the pleasure of working alongside – and the input they receive from their respective teams,” said Kerin. “Brewster is truly a team-based school. We work together, we are clear about our mission, and we aren’t afraid to do things differently when a change is in service to students’ best interests.” 

Formerly an internationally ranked high jumper, Kerin competed in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, and was inducted into the NCAA Division III Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. She lives on campus with her spouse David, their three children, Matthew ‘26, Daniel '28, and Joanna.  

With his undergraduate degree in biology, Gemmell began his career as an independent school educator in 1988. “What was to be a one-year break before medical school turned into my life’s work because I saw the powerful role great education can play in shaping the course of students’ lives,” he recalls. He taught biology at the Pomfret School in Connecticut, USA, and later began 21 fulfilling years at Groton School in Massachusetts, serving in a host of administrative capacities. He then made the choice to join Brewster Academy, a decision he often describes as life-changing. “I saw how powerful Brewster’s particular approach to education was. I was—and am still—convinced that Brewster’s approach should be made available to as many students as possible.” 

Gemmell notes that his multi-layered job allows him to support ongoing excellence at Brewster’s New Hampshire flagship campus while ensuring alignment and innovation across the global network. “Having such oversight will ensure that our student-centered approach remains at the heart of our work,” he adds.

Along with his deep experience running independent schools, Gemmell remains a devoted science and place-based educator and delights in teaching students of all ages out in the field. In his free time, he is studying Spanish and working steadily toward fluency.