Longtime, dedicated Sidwell Friends School volunteer and leader Jamie Hechinger ’96, P ’27, ’29 became Clerk of the Sidwell Friends School Board of Trustees in July 2024. Along with newly appointed Vice Clerk Belinda Nixon P’17, ’23, Jamie and the board will help shepherd the School through the completion of the new Upper School and, ultimately, through the reunification of all three School divisions on one campus.

“This moment extends well beyond any new physical buildings but exemplifies all we are building from and towards,” says Hechinger. “Our enduring Quaker values open possibilities for how we educate and learn from each other. As an alumna, I am excited for my life-long friends to reconnect to the places and spaces that will educate generations to come. As a parent, I am excited to watch this benefit blossom for our children. What can our PKers and Seniors teach us?  What can they teach each other?  And what unforeseen connections and opportunities will come with campus reunification?”    

In what might be considered one of those unforeseen connections, Hechinger’s mother, Debbie Hechinger ‘68, and her father, John Hechinger, Jr. ’68 were part of the first freshman class to move into what is now the current Upper School building later named in memory of former Head of School Earl G. Harrison — the building that will be transformed into a brand-new Lower School once the new Upper School opens in 2026.

Hechinger shares her love of Sidwell Friends not only with her parents but with numerous family members all of whom are members of Friends Forever, a special affinity group at Sidwell that recognizes families with three or more generations of Sidwell students. “There are many ways to serve our school community, to give back, and to pay it forward. It’s an honor to do so in this deeply meaningful way as clerk of the Board of Trustees. I’m humbled to be in this role as Sidwell prepares our students not just for today but for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.”

For close to a century, the Sidwell Friends Board of Trustees has been guiding the School according to the principles of Quaker education and decision-making. Hechinger and Nixon carry that torch forward. “We sit in the nation’s capital and Sidwell Friends anchors future leaders in Quaker philosophy, it is a timeless mission,” says Nixon. “I am grateful to be able to witness the fruition of the vision of past trustees.” 

She adds that the strength of the board’s clerks rests in the strength of the board itself. In Quaker tradition, it is the role of the clerk to get a sense of the meeting. “Jamie listens,” Nixon says. “As a trustee, an alumna, and a current parent, she is immersed in so many facets of our community and that’s important.”

Sidwell Friends School was founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell and incorporated as a nonprofit institution in 1934. Under the terms of Sidwell’s will, governance of the School passed to a Board of Trustees in 1936. The board guides the School according to the principles of Quaker education and decision making. A Quaker education is rooted in the belief that there is “that of God” in everyone.