The Clearing
January 28-30, 2027Helen, Georgia (near Atlanta)
A Gathering for Women Leaders and Changemakers in International Schools
The Concept
Taking place in late January 2027, in a literal clearing in the North Georgia Mountains near Atlanta, The Clearing bring together women leaders in international schools and changemakers in the supportive ecosystem around them who will participate at the annual AAIE Leadership Conference in Atlanta in early February. This is an opportunity to gain clarity, calm and connections - with your ideas tested, your thinking sorted, and people in your corner - prior to plunging into the bounty of AAIE. It’s a chance to bring new ideas forward for effecting positive change in schools and the leadership landscape for women. It’s timed at the midway point of the school year, with much in the rearview mirror to reflect on and release, and possibilities ahead to ponder and pursue.
The Clearing is where you prep for your experience at AAIE – whether that’s as first-timer, presenter, learner, and/or connector, sort out what’s worth carrying into the second half of the year and what’s worth leaving in the woods, and arrive at the conference with more focused intention and a few fellow travellers already in your corner.
Clearing:
An open space, usually between trees
Removing objects or obstacles
Making or becoming more clear
PRACTICALITIES
Who is The Clearing for?
Women leading in international schools (in a head/senior leader role) or leading change in the supportive ecosystem (coaches/ consultants/ other co-conspiratorial roles), who plan to participate at the AAIE conference.
Space is limited to 15 participants.
When does it take place?
Thursday afternoon, January 28 through late morning Saturday, January 30, 2027. Plenty of time to get you to Atlanta and prepared for AAIE pre-conferences on January 31.
What is the agenda?
What does it cost?
• Thursday is arrival. We’ll welcome you starting at 4 pm, get you settled, and invite you to respond (or not) to individual reflection prompts that help you set aside what you arrived with. Dinner together, then an evening of lightly facilitated and enjoyable conversations that help us build connections.
• Friday is The Clearing itself. Facilitated group activities and conversations to share observations, opportunities and challenges inherent in today’s leadership landscape, particularly for women. Opportunities for those presenting at AAIE to test-run ideas and get clear feedback and support. A possible opening for a collective vision to take shape. We’ll build in time for exploring the natural location in which we are gathered. Evening meal with stories and ideas for onward action when we individually and collectively plunge back into the forest.
• Saturday is prepping for re-entry. One last session to select what travels with you from The Clearing onward to AAIE and back to your leadership life (and what you're happily leaving behind), and we're all on the road by 11.
Where does it take place?
Bison View Lodge in Helen, Georgia (about 90 minutes from Atlanta). A lovely lodge in a literal clearing.
$1,950, which includes: accommodations (single room occupancy) all meals (dinner Thursday through breakfast Saturday), materials, program costs.
Not included: travel to/from Bison View Lodge. We will coordinate options for getting there from the Atlanta Airport and onward to the AAIE Conference.
The Clearing Facilitators
Bridget McNamer
Bridget McNamer, Founder and Chief Navigation Officer of Sidecar Counsel, has spent her life seeking adventure, shaking things up, and supporting leaders who refuse to accept the status quo, including in the corporate, philanthropic and education sectors. She spent 7 years recruiting talent for international schools through Search Associates prior to starting Sidecar Counsel, where she serves as champion and wayfinder for women leaders in schools who are traversing a leadership landscape not particularly friendly to their gender. She lives in France, coaching courageous souls from her laptop dashboard (aka her sidecar) and keeping her daring spirit alive through regular comfort-zone challenges.
Rachael Thrash
Rachael Thrash is the author of Let the Learners Lead: Empowering Student Voice to Co-Create School Culture (Routledge, 2026) and Senior Director of Education and Innovation at Big Bad Boo Studios. A master teacher, instructional coach, and school leader with more than two decades of experience in international and independent schools, she has partnered with organizations including the Big Questions Institute and ECIS to help school communities engage every learner as an active participant in shaping culture. She supports schools and their leaders in realizing their most essential mission: transforming schools into laboratories for a healthier future.
Amanda Sunderman
Dr. Amanda Sunderman has worked in education for over 20 years and has 12 years of senior leadership experience in international schools in the United States, Brazil, Egypt, Nepal, Taiwan, Turkey, and Lithuania. She completed her doctoral degree at the College of William and Mary where she studied Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership. Her doctoral research focused on the impact of informal mentoring on belonging and well-being from adolescents to octogenarians. She is currently the Director at the American International School of Vilnius, an intentionally small school that is deeply committed to cultivating an inclusive community where every member is known and valued. Her passion for international education, building capacity in her team, and empowering students guides her leadership.