Meet Karen Cumberbatch

Karen has a 29-year career in independent school administration including 25 years in Quaker schools. She is currently the head of school at Carolina Friends School. Before that she worked at Sandy Spring Friends School, where she was Head of Upper School. Karen has led school-wide strategic planning and implementation, clerked numerous school committees, and organized and developed a wide range of student leadership and staff professional development initiatives. Karen grew up in Jamaica, New York in a family deeply committed to education. She received her BA in Africana Studies from Cornell University, and an MA in Afro-American Studies from UCLA. She also earned a Graduate Certificate in Independent School Leadership from Johns Hopkins University and completed the Institute for Engaging Leadership with the Friends Council on Education. She is currently also serving on the boards of Friends Council on Education and North Carolina Association of Independent Schools.