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SOCIAL MEDIA

I was late to the game when it came to using LinkedIn. Like many of my peers in school leadership, I liked to use Twitter (now X) to highlight my professional journey and post about the great things happening within my district. It’s where I shared with the world that I would be Charlottesville, Va.’s new superintendent and where I later posted a photo of my husband and me at the Charlottesville High School prom.

Twitter was a fun place to be … until it wasn’t. This past year, I began to look elsewhere. I was initially reluctant to turn to LinkedIn. Honestly, it didn’t strike me as a space for educational leaders. It seemed corporate and focused on private-sector job seekers. But then I noticed some superintendent colleagues using LinkedIn thoughtfully and strategically (shoutouts to John B. Gordon III and Matthew Gutierrez). I started following their lead.

Who would have guessed? I’m now a LinkedIn guy. When I got a new headshot, I took it to LinkedIn, adding a reflection about how I’ve grown in the five years since I had my last professional portrait. I appreciated having the space to be authentic, even vulnerable, as a leader.