Lick-Wilmerding High School is a private school with public purpose, serving 550 students in grades 9-12 in San Francisco. Since its founding in 1895 as a vocational school, Lick-Wilmerding has built upon a long tradition of valuing and integrating the liberal arts, sciences, technical arts, visual arts and performing arts to offer a robust college-prep curriculum. Today, the LWHS curriculum is both a catalyst and a vehicle for civic engagement, and the Public Purpose Program offers students the opportunity to contribute their time, talent, and treasure through partnerships with community organizations. Students demonstrate an unparalleled commitment to their communities, the motivation to deeply explore their interests, and a desire to positively impact the lives of others. Despite many changes over the past four years — a global pandemic, leadership transitions, and a campus-wide remodel — LWHS has retained its vibrancy and commitment to being a private school with public purpose.

With a new head of school having just started in July of 2023, the director of strategic communications was going to be instrumental in ensuring that there would be a cohesive vision and narrative to the school’s messaging, while sharing the successes of the school’s programs on a national and global level. Taking a holistic approach to managing internal and external communications would ensure that all community stakeholders remained engaged with and connected to the school. This position reports directly to the head of school and supervises the associate director of communications.

LWHS was thrilled to welcome Monica Alatorre to the post in the fall of 2023.