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Wanda Marie Holland Greene CC'89, TC'91, TC'21

Head of School, The Hamlin School
Columbia University Trustee
2020 John Jay Award Honoree

To be honored March 2, 2022


Wanda Marie Holland Greene CC’89, TC’91, TC’21’s educational and social experiences at P.S. 68 in Ridgewood, Queens, provided the foundation for her two years in junior high school in Brooklyn at Meyer Leven Junior H.S. 285. After two years there, Holland Greene moved to The Chapin School, an independent, K–12 school for girls in Manhattan.

Wanda Holland Greene

Wanda Marie Holland Greene CC’89, TC’91, TC’21 is head of school at The Hamlin School in San Francisco, a mission- driven institution dedicated to best practices and innovation in the education of girls and young women. She is nationally recognized and respected as an experienced leader in education with a passionate voice and powerful presence that inspire communities to achieve equity and excellence for all children. For 30 years, Holland Greene has focused her professional time and attention on a wide and varied range of issues in education: mental health and emotional well-being; anti-racism and cultural competency; neurodiversity and learning differences; gender inequity and stereotype threat in the classroom; effective performance appraisal systems for teachers; and global citizenship. She has taught, mentored and inspired thousands of children on the East and West Coasts, and her writing, speeches, seminars and professional presentations have permeated the educational and political landscapes from San Francisco to Cape Town.

Prior to her tenure at Hamlin, which began in 2008, Holland Greene was for 11 years a senior administrator at The Park School in Brookline, Mass. She began her career in education in New York City at The Columbia Greenhouse Nursery School and continued thereafter at The Chapin School, where she was a teacher and the school’s first director of student life. Currently, she is a vice-chair of the Columbia University Board of Trustees, a member of the Board of Regents for Bishop O’Dowd H.S. in Oakland and a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow at The Aspen Institute. She is a former trustee of Head-Royce School, Concord Academy, The Chapin School, Lick-Wilmerding H.S. and Hamilton Families. A former faculty member of the National Association of Independent School’s Aspiring Heads Fellowship, Holland Greene continues her mentorship and advocacy for new heads of school as an executive coach.

A proud Brooklyn native, Holland Greene graduated from The Chapin School in 1985 and majored in English literature with a minor concentration in psychology at the College. She earned an M.A. in curriculum and instruction (1991) and an M.Ed. in private school leadership (2021), both from Teachers College.

Holland Greene was the 1995 recipient of the Alumna Achievement Award from Columbia College Women, was named one of San Francisco’s Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business in 2014 and in 2015 was awarded a Women Making History Award by the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women.

Mary Oliver poetry, novels and memoirs by women of color, SoulCycle bike rides, live music at SF Jazz, performances at Berkeley Repertory Theater, journal writing and travel provide much-needed rejuvenation and quiet pauses between Holland Greene’s commitments to her profession and to her spouse, Robert L. Greene Jr., and their sons, David and Jonathan.

Back to the 2022 John Jay Awards Dinner

John Jay Dinner

2022 John Jay Awards Dinner

The annual John Jay Awards Dinner honors five accomplished Columbia College alumni for distinguished professional achievements and raises funds for the John Jay National Scholars Program.

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Photo from John Jay Awards Dinner
John Jay Awards

The John Jay Awards honor alumni for distinguished professional achievement.

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