Mr. Theodorick (Todd) B. Bland is Milton Academy’s twelfth head of school. Since his arrival on July 1, 2009, Mr. Bland has engaged the Milton community in celebration of the Academy’s strengths and in planning for bold, inspiring educational leadership for the future.

Mr. Bland leads comprehensive strategic planning at Milton, in collaboration with the Board of Trustees and the insight of faculty, staff, and administration, and has reinvigorated the School’s long-standing commitment to nurturing a diverse community where all members can thrive. He fosters teaching excellence and is immersed in the life of the School, connecting with students regularly across campus, in classrooms, and on playing fields and performance venues.

Each year, Mr. Bland teaches every grade in the school (K–12). In addition to being one of the most enjoyable parts of his role, this classroom time allows him the opportunity to build relationships with students as both an educator and the head of school.

Mr. Bland’s career has been devoted to independent education—teaching, coaching, and serving in administrative leadership positions. He began at Belmont Hill School, teaching history and coaching. He taught Spanish and coached the following year at Beaver Country Day School, before returning to Belmont Hill where he assumed a number of different roles. For eight years, he taught history in grades 7–10, advised ninth grade students, and coached varsity lacrosse. As an administrator, he oversaw admissions, financial aid, and public relations.

In 2001, Mr. Bland moved on to The Seven Hills School, a K–12 school in Cincinnati, Ohio, to serve as assistant head of school. In 2002, he assumed the role of head of the upper school and later interim head of school.

Mr. Bland was born in Boston and grew up in Brunswick, Maine; Washington, DC; and San Francisco. He attended St. George’s School where he was prefect, a three-sport varsity athlete, and lacrosse All-American. He graduated from Bowdoin College with a double major in history and Spanish and a minor in government and legal studies, and was a four-year letterman in lacrosse, captain, and MVP. He earned his master’s degree in education with a focus on administration, planning, and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

His ties to Milton extend back decades: Mr. Bland’s parents both graduated from Milton in 1958. His father, James, was a professor of colonial American history at Bowdoin; his mother, Sherrell, was a teacher of United States history in Massachusetts public schools. Mr. Bland’s father died when he was a child, and is memorialized in Milton’s Apthorp Chapel.

Outside of Milton, Mr. Bland serves as a board member for the Steppingstone Foundation, a program that prepares Boston students for education opportunities that lead to college success, and as head of the board for the National Network of Schools in Partnership, an organization that fosters collaboration across public and private schools. Mr. Bland was also elected into the Headmaster’s Association in 2011, an organization that brings together heads of independent schools and public school superintendents across the United States.

Mr. Bland lives on campus with his wife, Nancy Frost Bland, who has been a teacher, advisor and coach (Lawrence Academy, Pingree School, and St. Xavier High School). The Blands have three children: Nick ’13, Maggie ’14 and Emily ’14.