CONTACT US

YEARS IN BUSINESS

22

LOCATED IN

Colorado

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

37

NUMBER OF BOARDING SCHOOLS WE SERVE

Schools

Mission Minded

Mission Minded is a branding firm that works with nonprofits, foundations, and schools. We believe that a brand that sets you apart is essential to an organization’s success. Every day we guide organizations to uncover the big, bold idea that will attract more people to their work. Because in today’s world, a worthy mission is not enough. You’ve got to communicate what makes you unique at every opportunity.

WHY BOARDING SCHOOLS CHOOSE US

Boarding schools choose Mission Minded because we have a passion for helping schools communicate their value, and for unlocking creative ways of telling our clients’ stories in unexpected ways. We love to engage schools and their entire community, from alumni of every age to current families, to become part of the collaborative work we do together to cement their school as the best in what they can do. Schools nationally (and globally as of recent!), choose us because we are enthusiastic and passionate collaborators committed to working with schools in a long-term partnership. Amplify the Good isn’t just our tagline, it’s how we cheer each other, and our clients, on to greatness.

OUR MISSION

To guide good causes to have greater impact through branding.
"We launched yesterday! We blasted it all over FB and Instagram and the positive response has been overwhelming! Everyone loves the video and the website! We’ve had a few prospective moms in the Admission office cry after watching the video and tell her son that she’d like him to go here! Amazing job! It was such a great experience working with and I learned so much! Thank you!"
Rachel Rodriguez, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications at Army & Navy Academy
"You made it so easy on us. We appreciate how you quickly became experts about our institution. You took the time to get to know us and this relationship with Mission Minded has been so easy. You really get us and we could not be more happy.”
Patrick Coyle, Director of Marketing & Communications at Georgetown Preparatory School
“The more I see our visual identity work, the more I want to see it blasted everywhere. Truly.”
Rachel Connell, Rector at Chatham Hall
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Youtube

Boarding School Alliance Partners

GET IN TOUCH WITH TABS

Curious to know what other schools are doing, thinking or facing?

Send TABS your suggestions for member-wide surveys.

Email Your Suggestions
Close

WILLIAM GILYARD

Will Gilyard is in his 19th year of working in independent schools. In 2020, he returned to his alma mater Choate Rosemary Hall to take on the roles of Form Dean, and Alumni Engagement Associate. Will joined Choate after nine years at the Kingswood Oxford School (KO), a 6-12 independent day school located in West Hartford, CT, where he served as Dean of Students, an upper school math teacher, assistant football coach, and faculty advisor for the United Students club and Boys of Color group. At Choate, Will is the faculty adviser to Choate Afro Latino Men (CALM), and Girls Who Code (GWC).

Will also serves as a core faculty member and helped create the curriculum for the Institute for New Teachers of Color in Independent Schools, created in 2020, the Interschool Leadership Institute, created in 2013. Will also served as a core faculty member of the Kingswood Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color (KOLIEC) from 2011-2018 and helped create the curriculum for the mentoring/advising circles for institute participants.

Before joining KO, Will was the Head of the Upper School at the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine in New York City. He serves on the board of advisors for the IDEAL School, also located in New York City. He is passionate about the role of educators in independent schools, specifically in the lives of students of color. Will has attended numerous workshops, conferences, and institutes related to leadership in independent schools and anti-racist education. Will had the honor of being a member of a think tank for the CARLE institute. 

Will has his B.A. in Psychology from Williams College and his M.A. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Joseph. Will is thrilled to be a part of the TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) team and looks forward to working with energized and focused individuals who are interested in being change agents in the residential life sphere.

Will and his wife, Afton, ALP/Enrichment Teacher in Stratford Public Schools reside in Wallingford, CT with their two sons, William (10) and Maxwell (8).
Close

RYAN PAGOTTO

Associate Head of School Ryan Pagotto ’97 joined Blair’s faculty in 2002 and is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the School on matters related to student and residential life, including health and counseling services, athletics and co-curricular programs. He runs Monday School Meeting and, among other things, is known for greeting students in the morning at the Clinton Hall doorway and offering freshly picked apples from his office during the month of October. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Ryan serves as a member of the history department and teaches Global Issues. He also authors the monthly e-newsletter From Hilltop to Home, a communication designed to help new boarding-school parents navigate the ins and outs of the Blair experience.

Over the course of his time at Blair, Ryan has served as a history teacher, head tennis coach, a dorm head and Dean of Admission. He completed his undergraduate work at Dickinson College, where he captained the men’s tennis team, and earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Columbia University. Before joining the faculty at Blair, Ryan taught at the Taft Summer School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He also spent three summers as program director of the Cambridge Prep Experience at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University.

In addition to his roles in schools, Ryan has served as a faculty member for the TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) Summer Session and is a regular presenter at national boarding and independent school conferences on student and residential life.

Ryan and his wife, Jennifer, performing arts department chair and Director of Instrumental Music at Blair, live in Grullon House with their children, Jack, Will, Ella and Addison, and their dog, Teagan. The Pagottos enjoy opening their home to Blair students, faculty and staff members throughout the year.
Close

SUSAN BALDRIDGE

Susan served as a professor and leader at Middlebury College for over 25 years, most recently as Executive Vice President and Provost, leading Middlebury’s academic programs across multiple campuses – Middlebury, Bread Loaf, Monterey – as well as study abroad locations around the world. Prior to her Provostship, Susan served as Vice President for Strategy and Planning, Dean of Planning and Assessment, and Dean of the Faculty. She is a tenured Professor of Psychology and taught throughout her time at Middlebury.

Susan began her consulting firm in 2018, advising schools, colleges, non-profits and foundations in the areas of strategy, planning and governance; and coaching senior administrators to build leadership capacity and support change management. This led her to partner with TABS in 2019, in the development of TABS current strategic plan.

In addition to consulting, Susan co-authored the book, The College Stress Test, an analysis of educational markets and tools for helping schools to identify their place within market trends. The book was named one of the best books on higher education in 2020 by Forbes Magazine. Susan has presented extensively on topics relating to human sexuality, social psychology, and the psychology of women and gender. She received her B.S. with highest honors in Psychology, Phi Beta Kappa, at Denison University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology at UCLA.