Rowland Hall is pleased to highlight the Upper School’s leadership team for the 2025–2026 school year.

Stacia McFadden has been named head of Upper School after serving as the division’s assistant principal since 2023. She’s joined by Natosha Washington, who started her role as assistant head of the Upper School this summer, and Dr. Nate Kogan ’00, who has been named the Upper School’s first dean of academics.

Stacia, Natosha, and Nate look forward to connecting with students and families this year. In the meantime, we asked them to share a bit about themselves so you can start getting to know them.

Read more stories about new arrivals and staffing changes for the upcoming school year:

• Get to Know the Middle School Leadership Team
• Get to Know Assistant Head of School for Academics Brittney Hansen
• Warm Welcomes 2025–2026

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Stacia McFadden, Head of Upper School

If there’s one thing Stacia McFadden is grateful for as she takes the reins as head of Upper School, it may just be the two years she spent building relationships with students as the division’s assistant principal.

“I got the opportunity to know who students are as learners and people,” she said.

As assistant principal, Stacia focused on anything affecting students, from researching a requested class to coaching someone who broke a community norm. A friendly and approachable educator who prioritizes community-building, Stacia used her time as assistant principal to build an even more welcoming, safe place for upper schoolers, and to deeply understand what it’s like to be a teen today.

“Life is more complex—students have so many more inputs,” she said, including the pressures around social media and AI. “I was able to see that from their lens for two years.”

Stacia recognizes the real value of this perspective: it puts her in a place where she’s already known and trusted. That’s a benefit she doesn’t take lightly, and one she’s determined to maintain, even in her new, more teacher-facing role. “I still want students to be able to approach me,” said Stacia, and to know that her understanding of who they are as learners and people guides her day-to-day decisions—all of which are made for their benefit.

It’s hard not to fall in love with this place. I love this community.—Stacia McFadden, head of Upper School

Stacia is also looking forward to applying her perspective to her partnerships with faculty. She sees herself as teachers’ supporter and resource, and, like students, wants them to know she’s available to them. One exciting area she’s thinking about is identifying ways to remove pressure on teachers’ time. She’s already taken the step of adding a dean of academics position to the Upper School, which will help streamline the division’s approach to certain tasks, such as grading policies and curriculum development, as well as define processes like designing new classes in areas faculty are most passionate about.

“This new role distributes leadership a bit more, letting teachers excel in other areas and allowing them to be more front and center with kids,” she said.

It’s all the beginning of a new era for the Upper School, and Stacia is honored to be leading the way for a community that means so much to her.

“It’s hard not to fall in love with this place,” she said. “I love this community.”

Learn a little more about Stacia…

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask them?
He’s not a historical figure by most accounts, but he is to me. It’s my maternal grandfather, Carl Edwards, Sr. He served in WWII, owned a farm in South Carolina, and raised 11 children with my grandmother, who was a housewife. While he didn’t have a formal education past high school, he made sure all of his children learned how to play instruments, were exposed to more than their small-town surroundings, and went to college. He passed away when I was one year old, and I have so many questions for him. But primarily I would ask him about his dreams for his family and his descendants, a legacy I’m so proud to be part of.

If you could give your younger self one piece of advice about work or life, what would it be?
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is full of ups and downs. Learn from your mistakes, celebrate the wins, and don’t forget to have fun. You’ll be 50 before you know it.

What's one innovation in education that excites you?
Believe it or not, AI. As with many other disruptors (i.e., the Internet, Google, iPads, laptops, cell phones, etc.—I’ve been around a while), it makes us think deeply about our current teaching practices and whether we are truly developing people the world needs. We need to embrace disruptors, not run away from them, and find ways to incorporate and learn from them.

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Natosha Washington, Assistant Head of Upper School

Those who know Natosha Washington will likely describe her as a dance educator and choreographer. What they may not know is that she didn’t originally plan to be either.

When Natosha began college, she was looking forward to studying sports medicine, and, like many students, working to get her general education classes out of the way. So when she enrolled in a modern dance class to meet her fine arts requirement, she couldn’t have known that decision would change her life.

Natosha remembers walking into the studio on the first day, unsure of what to expect. “I remember thinking, ‘Modern dance … is it like hip-hop?’” she laughed. When the instructor began leaping across the floor (definitely not hip-hop), she wondered, “What have I gotten myself into?” and even considered dropping the class. Luckily, she didn’t, because by the end of the semester, Natosha had not only fallen in love with modern dance—she had decided to make it her major.

In the years that followed, Natosha immersed herself in dance, even teaching master classes and choreography, which sparked an early interest in education. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Natosha founded her own dance companies (The Penguin Lady and RawMoves with Nicholas Cendese), choreographed professionally across the state and country, and taught dance at the elementary through collegiate levels, including in the Salt Lake City School District. As someone driven by a love for young people, she was overjoyed to have found a way to share her passion with them, as well as to help them learn to love and accept themselves through artistic expression.

I present myself in my most authentic way because I want kids to feel they can be their most authentic selves.—Natosha Washington, assistant head of Upper School

“Dance makes students feel confident inside their own skin and bodies,” said Natosha, which is important in developing confident learners. “If you don’t feel comfortable, you can’t truly be successful in other places.”

After years of developing students’ confidence as a teacher, Natosha was ready to reach and lead students in a different capacity. Encouraged to explore school leadership, she earned a master of education and her administrative license from Southern Utah University, then became assistant principal at Salt Lake’s East High School, where she committed to amplifying student voices, fostering safe relationships, and building belonging through example.

“I present myself in my most authentic way because I want kids to feel they can be their most authentic selves,” she said.

It’s an approach Natosha will continue at Rowland Hall, a community she’s gotten to know over the years, thanks to opportunities to substitute teach and guest choreograph for dance classes (she even once helped chaperone an Interim trip to New York City). “I was so enamored and impressed with Rowland Hall, with the conversations students were having,” Natosha remembered. “I thought, ‘I would love to work at a place like this.’”

Now that she’s officially part of the team, Natosha is excited to get to know students, faculty, and staff on a deeper level, and to play a role in Rowland Hall’s continued success. Above all else, she’s excited to get to know and to advocate for students, essential work that she believes benefits her just as much as those she mentors.

“Students have no idea how much they have taught me,” said Natosha. “I am a better human being because of what they teach me.”

Learn a little more about Natosha…

If you could swap jobs with anyone else in the world for a day, who would it be and why?
Just one day to swap jobs? That’s barely enough time to take it all in—but if I had the chance, I’d jump at the opportunity to switch places with none other than Ohad Naharin, the legendary choreographer of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company.

Ohad’s work is nothing short of electric. His dancers are incredibly powerful and intentional—every movement packed with power and purpose. Watching them perform is like being pulled into a visceral and all-consuming storm of emotion. You don’t just see the dance … you feel it. You want to move and immerse yourself in the choreography itself. 

Imagine getting to set a brand-new premiere on the Batsheva company—collaborating with such passionate, fearless artists. It would be an unforgettable, awe-inspiring adventure that merges movement, music, and meaning. One day? Let’s be real—I’d want a whole week!

If you could give your younger self advice about work or life, what would it be?
Don’t wait until you’re older to fully love yourself.
Don’t wait for permission.
Don’t wait until someone else tells you you’re enough.

This body—your body—is not a project to fix.
She is a gift. A miracle in motion.
She carries your joy, your pain, your laughter, and breath.
She holds you through every heartbreak, every moment of gratitude, every quiet moment no one else sees.

Thank her.
Love her fiercely, now—not someday.
You don’t have to change a single thing to be worthy of that love.
You my dear … are love.

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Dr. Nate Kogan ’00, Upper School Dean of Academics

Rowland Hall’s Upper School is growing.

With the opening of the Richard R. Steiner Campus on the horizon, the division is preparing to welcome an additional 100 high schoolers—a task that requires thinking through all aspects of the student experience, including expanding the transformative areas of study the Upper School is known for and ensuring faculty have the support they need to create deep learning opportunities.

Knowing this, the Upper School’s leadership team recently created the dean of academics position, filled by history teacher and alum Dr. Nate Kogan. Nate was identified as the clear choice for the position thanks to his time as a strategic leader (he’s played key roles in accreditation efforts, cross-divisional collaboration, and advancing academic integrity practices) and passion for learning and growth.

“I’m really excited and grateful for the support to create this type of position,” said Nate, who will also continue to teach and to chair the Upper School’s History Department. “With a growing student body, it’s important to get more people involved to support our program.”

Students are doing great work at all ages, and there are so many cool potential partnerships.—Dr. Nate Kogan, Upper School dean of academics

As dean of academics, Nate will partner with faculty and administrators to strengthen the Upper School’s academic program (especially around strategic priorities), further support student learning, and guide curricular innovation in preparation for the campus move. He’ll also work with faculty to create consistency across processes, as well as team up with Assistant Head of School for Academics Brittney Hansen to identify more opportunities for cross-divisional collaboration.

“Students are doing great work at all ages, and there are so many cool potential partnerships,” he said, like providing Upper School mentors to third graders working on their biography projects or to fifth graders learning about colonial history. “Older students can build their confidence and use the lenses they’ve developed in classes, while younger kids can get excited about this future, one day guiding and supporting younger students themselves.”

We’re grateful to Nate for spearheading this important work and look forward to the impact it will have across Rowland Hall.

Learn a little more about Nate…

What's the most unusual or interesting item in your workspace, and what’s the story?
I’ve got a lot of wacky stuff on my shelves that I’ve accrued in my 20+ years teaching. Last spring I received not one, but TWO, US flags with my oversized image emblazoned in front of the stars and stripes. It’s a bit odd to see oneself in a larger-than-life format juxtaposed against such an iconic image, but I learned that TikTok had induced AP US History students to create such objects for their teachers as part of a wider trend last year. TikTok is a party that I’m not invited to, so I learned about this in a roundabout way, but these flags will definitely leave me with some warm and hilarious memories of the class of 2026, whose gifts will now be the centerpiece of my estate planning.

I’ve also got a Build-a-Bear version of myself squirreled away on a lower shelf, which was a gift from a group of students that I taught at Fort Worth Country Day. This great group of kids (all of whom are now in their 30s!) went to the mall and thoughtfully designed this stuffed animal, which they dubbed “Kogie Bear.” The bear has all sorts of teacher accoutrements, like a school bag and a ruler, and it also has myopia, so it gets to wear glasses, just like me! My daughter has always been a big fan of this tchotchke and seeing it makes me think of some of my favorite classes from my early teaching career.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask them?
I spent years during my dissertation research studying and writing about an 18th-century abolitionist named Benjamin Lay. To put it mildly, Lay was a fascinating person. He was a dwarf who stood approximately 4’7” and made his unique body the centerpiece of his public and dramatic attacks on the institution of slavery. As a result, his cantankerous behavior got him kicked out of many Quaker meetings and he essentially became a hermit, living inside of a cave outside of Philadelphia in Abington, Pennsylvania. Given how much time I’ve spent thinking about Lay, I’d be fascinated to ask him how he perceived the role that his body played in his abolitionist advocacy. However, I’d keep my expectations low on the hospitality front given that my time-travel wish would land me in a cave dining with a man who grew all his own food and seemed to enjoy the company of books more than other people.

What's one innovation in education that excites you?
I’m excited about what appears to be a pendulum shift in education back toward embracing more of the analog elements of learning. I’ve always been excited about the role of technology in education and have embraced all sorts of tech tools and activities in my classroom during my teaching career, but I think these all have an appropriate time and place. While many techvangelists had pushed classroom technology as a universal good, I’ve always thought there were many aspects of the classroom community and learning experience that technology actively undermined. When the pandemic and online/hybrid learning made the classroom technology time and place “always” and “everywhere,” I think we saw how technology can have unintended and adverse consequences on student learning and school communities. To that end, over the past few years I’ve enjoyed collaborating with colleagues as we’ve worked to figure out how to help students feel the ways in which non-tech experiences can be rich and fulfilling. How do we talk and listen to one another in the classroom? How can we enjoy being in spaces socializing in ways that don’t involve technology? How can we verbally explain our arguments and respond to questions based on what we know, and how can our gaps lead us to new questions? How can we feel a flow-state in deeply reading and researching a question that we find genuinely fascinating? I think these types of pedagogical and school culture questions are ones that highlight the ways in which we’re craving rich face-to-face interactions and working to create school spaces that fulfill these desires for long-term thriving.