About Us
Our Team
Head of School and Leadership Team
Head of School Megan D. Cover
Megan D. Cover became the 10th head of school at Girls Preparatory School in July 2021. A lifelong educator, she has led the school into a new era of student-focused programming to include a learner-centered culture while initiating and redesigning programs and spaces to best support how girls learn in mind, body, and spirit. This devotion to the whole girl drives her leadership strategy and serves as the guiding principle of her headship.
Since assuming headship, Megan has taken the lead on a strategic design process that focuses on Empowering Girls for a Changing World in alignment with campus master planning to evaluate and reimagine key areas on campus, including the complete transformation of the Mills Complex lobby and adjacent areas, the relocation of the school store, updating the Upper School humanities classrooms, a new Health and Wellness Center, and the Tennis Center. Additionally she prioritized the health and wellness initiatives by expanding and officially naming a new Center for Teaching and Learning and a Health and Wellness Center to include a full-time school nurse.
While continuing to seek excellence for each GPS student with an emphasis on community, connection, and belonging, Megan realigned faculty and staff roles to include new deans of health and wellness, teaching and learning, and outdoor leadership, and created a role for a Director of Security.
Megan also refocused the efforts of College Counseling to prioritize each girl’s journey beyond high school to support her academic and career aspirations, and empowered the Curricular and Program Design Team to scaffold a learner-centered program with an emphasis on academic excellence and adjusted grading practices to be more reflective of a girl’s overall knowledge and understanding.
In partnership with Development and Admission, Megan has built relationships with alumnae and current and prospective parents to realize and exceed annual fundraising goals and significantly bolstered the incoming Class of 2030 admission enrollment, making the sixth-grade class for the 2023-24 school year the largest since 2017.
Prior to her arrival at GPS, Megan spent more than 20 years at the Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Delaware, as a teacher, coach, department chair, dean, and Head of Upper School. Throughout her tenure, she was instrumental in launching signature programs in experiential learning, summer experiences for new students, and new faculty support. Additionally, she facilitated improvements to service learning, environmental initiatives, social justice, and student wellness programs.
An alumna of the girls’ school Agnes Irwin, Megan experienced for herself the transformative power of an all-girls education. Megan holds a B.A. from Denison University and M.A. from Middlebury College and West Chester University. She is a member of the 1911 Group (formerly known as The Head Mistresses Association of the East). She also serves on the TAIS Board of Directors and was a member of the McCallie School Strategic Planning Advisory Committee.
Megan has presented at multiple conferences, most recently at the fall 2022 TAIS Conference on The Winding Road to Headship; and the summer 2023 ICGS Conference on Mind, Body & Spirit: Reimagining Your Campus to Support the Whole Girl, and will speak at the fall 2023 SAIS Conference on Canceling Cancel Culture to Restore Conversation Culture. In spring 2024, Megan will serve as a faculty fellow at the Head’s Network Women’s Leadership Seminar.
Megan and her husband, Ted, have three daughters who are students at Washington & Lee University.
Leadership Team
List of 11 items.
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Beth Creswell Wilson ’96, PhD, Head of Upper School
Beth Creswell Wilson ’96, PhD, became the Head of Upper School in 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Davidson College, a master’s degree in rhetoric and composition from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and a certificate in school management and leadership through a joint program from Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Business School. She earned her doctoral degree in discourse studies and pedagogy from Old Dominion University.Read More -
Kathryn Outlaw, Head of Middle School; Director of Academic Support Services
Kathryn Outlaw came to GPS in 2017 after a 13-year career in Hamilton County Schools as a licensed school psychologist. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and an education specialist degree in school psychology from the University of Tennessee. She is currently completing a certificate in school management and leadership through a joint program from Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Business School. A native of Memphis, Kathryn attended the day school St. Agnes Academy for Girls.Read More -
Andrew Reich, Director of College Counseling, Dean of Faculty & Staff Recruitment
Andrew Reich joined GPS as Director of College Counseling in 2022; he added Dean of Faculty & Staff Recruitment to his role in 2023. Andrew attended Worcester Academy, an independent school in Massachusetts, and holds a Master of Philosophy in comparative and international education from the University of Oslo (Norway) and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Beloit College (Wisconsin), where he was a standout on the football team and ran track, setting conference and school records.Read More -
Jay Watts, Director of Athletics
Jay Watts was named GPS Director of Athletics in 2017. He graduated from the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Virginia) with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. He then completed his master’s degree in education/sports administration from Georgia State University (Atlanta). Jay also holds a Certified Master Athletic Administrator certificate from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. He has served as a guest lecturer in the Sports Administration departments at both Georgia State and Kennesaw State University (Georgia), and is an adjunct professor in the Health and Human Performance department at University of Tennessee ChattanoogaRead More -
Lauren Lawrence Swanson '09, Director of Belonging and Community Engagement, Dean of Freshman Class
Lauren Lawrence Swanson ’09 became the Director of Belonging and Community Engagement in 2022. She obtained her bachelor's degree in early childhood education with a special education endorsement from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2013 and her master's in educational leadership from Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tennessee) in 2022.Read More -
Ali Gant, Chief Advancement Officer
Read MoreAli Gant joined GPS as Chief Development Officer in June 2019 with two decades of development experience in higher education, independent schools, and human services. Ali holds both a bachelor’s degree in English and master's in Public Administration & Policy (MPA) from the University of Georgia. She is also a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). -
Alice Smith Harris '03, Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid
Read MoreAlice Smith Harris, Class of 2003, received her Bachelor of Science in hospitality management from the University of Mississippi in 2007. Working for almost 10 years at The Episcopal School of Knoxville (ESK) in Knoxville, Tennessee, a Pre-K 3 through eighth grade school, Alice served as a classroom assistant, development associate, Director of Special Events, and the Director of Admission. She also coached middle school cross country, girls basketball, and coed soccer and helped start the school’s chapter of the national program Girls on the Run. -
Caitlin Riddle, Director of Communications and Marketing
Caitlin Riddle started at GPS in May of 2018 as our graphic designer and was promoted to Associate Director of Communications in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication with a minor in marketing from Middle Tennessee State University. Caitlin quickly leveraged her magazine and promotional experience and consultant and marketing skills to elevate the design of our school’s marketing.Read More -
Lisa Reynolds Shanahan '83, Director of Development
After volunteering in the GPS Development office for more than 15 years and serving on the Board of Trustees, Lisa Shanahan's love for GPS and passion for fundraising led her to the GPS Development team in June of 2018. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and a master's degree in organizational psychology from St. Mary's University.Read More -
Mark Vosskamp, Chief Financial Officer
Mark Vosskamp holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Duke University, where he was a cum laude graduate certified to teach high school math. He then later pursued his Master of Business Administration degree (with a focus on finance) from ACC rival University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He remains a devoted Blue Devil basketball fan.Read More -
Pamela Hammonds, Senior Communications Specialist
Read MorePamela Hammonds started her GPS career in 2017 along with her daughter, who joined the Class of 2021 as a freshman. Initially hired as the Senior Writer, she also held titles of Marketing and Communications Manager, Associate Director of Communications, and Director of Communications and Marketing before becoming the Senior Communications Specialist in 2023.
