Introducing Wy'East's New Interim Head of School
Dear Wy’East Mountain Academy Families,
I am happy to announce that Mike Hanley, current Global VP of Performance Adventure for We Are Camp, is named as Wy’East Mountain Academy’s new Interim Head of School. Mike has a long and successful history at Wy’East Mountain Academy having been one of the academy’s founders in 2009. He holds bachelor’s degrees in History and French from the University of Utah as well as a master’s degree in Early Medieval Ecclesiastical History from Swansea University in Wales. As a high-performance coach, Mike took several athletes to the Olympics for the United States (including several academy alumni), New Zealand, and other nations.
About Mike
After growing up in Southern California, Mike went to high school in Park City, Utah where he began his career in freestyle skiing for the United States. This led to a short-lived professional career following a diving scholarship in the NCAA system, which is where he learned the time management skills to balance high performance sport with academia. Setting goals that seemed beyond reach ended awarding Mike with academic scholarships to study in Switzerland, France, and Spain while also working for the Undergraduate Studies Department to help create student schedules designed to optimize success. He used these same skills as a coach to bring athletes to podiums at the X-Games and Dew Tour by the time he was only 24-years old. After getting married and completing graduate school, Mike began teaching and coaching back in the United States with two separate academies before finally settling down in Oregon with his wife and two daughters.
Head of School Search
Along with being responsible for the overall wellbeing of our students and staff, Mike will work closely with myself and our Head of School Search Committee. Mike’s founding vision and day-to-day experience with the students and staff will be critical in selecting the right person to lead this academy throughout this next decade.
Departing Headmaster, Successful Transitions
We are grateful for the incredible position in which departing Headmaster, Ann Scott, is leaving the school. Under her leadership our school gained accreditation, its ability to issue visas for our international students, club certification with US Ski and Snowboard, expanded our licensed school capacity, and implemented myriad trainings and protocols to improve the student experience. We are further grateful for her eagerness to work with Mike and Jaime Vincent, our classroom teacher, throughout this next academic year to ensure proper class enrollments and accurate transcripts leading to our goal of a 100% university acceptance rate. Our alumni are the exceptional students each university seeks to recruit, so Mike, Jaime, and Ann will work hard to tell your student’s unique story ensuring a successful transition to life after Wy’East.
Wy’East’s future could not look brighter as an extremely solid foundation is in place for an enduring learning institution with a passion for student engagement and success. On behalf of our staff, administration, and board of trustees, I thank you for being part of this incredible journey.
Very truly,
Kevin English
President