POMFRET --- Jamie Feild Baker, who on July 18 assumed her post as the first director of Pomfret School’s newly established Grauer Institute for Innovation and Excellence in Education, said that when she read the profile of the job—and became more familiar with the school and its mission—she felt an almost immediate connection. “You have to pay attention to the things that find you,” she said.  “It was uncanny how the job description lined up with my experience and skill set.” 

Thanks to a $3 million gift last fall from former Pomfret Board President Peter Grauer and his wife Laurie, the Grauer Institute transitioned from strategic vision to formidable reality. The Grauers are also past parents (their daughters graduated in 2002 and 2010). Peter Grauer is the former CEO of Bloomberg LP, its current chairman, and a recognized philanthropist. He said at the time that the school’s “mission and vision, outstanding leadership, [and] commitment to excellence” were what convinced him and his wife of the worthiness of the gift.

Prior to her new position with Pomfret, Baker was the executive director at the Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence in Memphis, Tenn. She characterizes herself as a “leader, communicator, activator, and connector.” As director of The Grauer Institute, her primary role will be to support the implementation of the School’s new strategic plan by overseeing all aspects of the academic life of the school. When Head of School Tim Richards announced the appointment last March, he said that Baker had “a deep history of working with schools, helping them develop greater cultures of innovation, always within the framework of those institutions’ values and history.” 

A 1984 graduate of Georgetown University with degrees in economics and finance (including a stint as an intern in the Reagan White House), Jamie’s career includes more than 10 years in investment banking and institutional sales, entrepreneurial ventures in hotel and real estate development, and establishing herself in the independent school world as a nationally recognized and sought-after expert in innovation and school transformation.