Our Staff
Sarah Wilson
Executive Director
Sarah began her career in education with Teach for America in Atlanta, GA and then became a boarding school devotee while teaching at Asheville School in Asheville, NC before going on to earn her master's degree at the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University. Prior to joining TAIS, Sarah served as the Upper School Director and then the Director for Laurel's Center for Research on Girls at Laurel School in Shaker Heights, OH. Sarah currently serves on both the Nonpublic Schools Advisory Council and the Committee of Practitioners for the Tennessee Department of Education as well as the Girls on the Run Memphis Board, working in each of these roles to forward equity and access for all students in Tennessee.
As Executive Director at TAIS, Sarah works to advise and support independent school educators and leaders through trainings and retreats, professional development offerings, membership benefits, and advocacy work. She especially enjoys working with leadership teams and faculties at independent schools on change management, program development, curricular revision, support for students and families, and leadership structures. In working with students, Sarah focuses on authentic student voice and leadership, mentorship, the power of students' sense of purpose in education, and skills-based approaches to equity and inclusion and civil discourse.
Sarah lives in Memphis with her husband and their three children.

kara vaughn
Associate Director

melissa lawmaster falks
Partnerships and Special Projects Director
Melissa will start her work with TAIS in July 2026.
