Several diocesan schools welcome new leadership ahead of the 2022-23 school year:
Adrianne Jewett, principal of Linton Hall School in Bristow, earned her bachelor’s in biological sciences, and two master’s in education: in administration/supervision Catholic school leadership, and curriculum and instruction. She worked for 18 years at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna, in that time serving as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.
Robert Loia, principal of the Basilica School of St. Mary, studied philosophy and history at The Catholic University of America in Washington. He earned a master’s in curriculum and instruction at Loyola University of Maryland in Baltimore and a master’s in school administration from the Remick Leadership program at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He taught in Baltimore before becoming head of the middle school at St. Anselm’s Abbey School in Washington. He also taught and served in administration in New Jersey, Arkansas and South Carolina.
Erica Palaza, principal of St. Leo the Great School in Fairfax, earned her bachelor’s from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and a master’s from Kean University in Union, N.J. She was in New Jersey and Georgia and then moved to Virginia, where she began teaching at Sacred Heart Academy in Winchester and was later assistant principal. In 2020, she became principal.
Laura Swenson, head of school of St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, earned a bachelor’s from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., a master’s from the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Conn., and a certificate in school management and leadership from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Previously, she taught in Connecticut and Tennessee, and served as the academic dean and principal of Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Robin Williams, principal of Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Vienna, earned a bachelor’s from St. Francis College in Loretto, Pa., and a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Marymount University in Arlington. Before becoming principal, she taught second grade and middle school religion.
