Founders
Nick Stoneman
Nick has spent the last 30+ years working as a teacher, coach, and school leader in a variety of independent schools. Nick’s deep educational convictions are rooted in the belief that fostering a student’s intellectual, artistic and creative growth, within a setting offering meaningful support and thoughtful structure, lies at the essence of impactful education.
Nick brings these convictions to bear in his approach to leading an organization. As a natural entrepreneur and innately innovative thinker, Nick’s ability to take ideas and transform them into reality for students has been borne out time and again during his 24 years as a Head of School. He solves problems by creating opportunities, and embraces ideating and imagineering as essential ingredients for the development of successful school communities.
Prior to entering the classroom, Nick spent five years on Wall St., and then transitioned to the challenges of life as a carpenter – both experiences of which have served him well in his work as an educator.
Nick received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Bowdoin College, and an M.A. from Columbia University in Private School Leadership.
Matthew Ruby
Matt is an innovator and experienced leader building on his experience in the U.S. Navy and Schneider National, as a teacher and head of school, and as an education leadership consultant.
Growing up working in the family restaurant and then in world-class organizations, Matt developed a deep understanding of the critical roles of focused leadership, agile and creative organizational culture, and efficient operations.
Matt served as Academic Dean at Breck School, Associate Head of School at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, and Head of School at Gould Academy. During his tenure, Gould doubled its endowment, quadrupled auxiliary program revenue, and developed leading edge blended and distance learning programs.
Most recently, Matt served as the Chief Operating Officer at SSM Educational Services where he worked with investors and partners to develop new brick and mortar campuses and a digital learning platform. Matt received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Carleton College and a master’s in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota.