Alexandra Halladay Appointed Director of Enrollment Management

Dear Cranbrook Schools Community,

It is my sincere pleasure to share with you today that, following an extensive national search, Alexandra (Alex) Halladay will be joining Cranbrook Schools as our next Director of Enrollment Management, effective July 15. Throughout the search process, Alex revealed herself to be a school leader whose values and temperament align powerfully with Cranbrook’s mission and our ambitious aspirations for our students. Her appointment follows news of the pending retirement of Drew Miller, who has served Cranbrook with incredible distinction for thirty-one years. We are deeply grateful for Drew’s extraordinary service and will be celebrating him for his many contributions to our community later this spring.

Alex brings to Cranbrook a broad and deeply relevant professional background in enrollment and admissions-related administration. She currently holds the position of Director of Admissions & Enrollment Management at The Northwest School in Seattle, and institution that, like our own, is both day and boarding. She previously served as Director of Admissions at Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences and before that, was the Director of Admissions & Financial Aid at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor. Across these multiple roles and institutions, Alex has earned a stellar reputation for her data-informed strategic thinking, clear communication, and genuine care for students and families.

Nationally, Alex has been recognized as a leader in her field. In 2023, she was the recipient of the Enrollment Management Association’s (EMA) Rising Star Award (coincidentally, that very same year, Drew Miller was the recipient of EMA’s William B. Bretnall Award for his extraordinary career). In addition, Alex served as a longtime faculty member for the National Association of Independent Schools’ annual Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), where she helped guide and support student leaders from independent schools across the country. 

Academically, Alex brings a distinctive combination of social science and educational leadership training to her work. She received her B.A. in comparative human development from the University of Chicago, which is where she also began her career in undergraduate admissions. She also holds an M.Ed. in independent school leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. 

In addition to her impressive professional credentials, Alex also has deep personal ties to Southeast Michigan. An alumna of University Liggett School and proud native of the city of Detroit, she knows our local independent‑school culture from the inside out. And through her previous work at Greenhills—one of Cranbrook’s key peer institutions—Alex has a keen, insightful, and very well-developed knowledge of the regional admissions landscape. 

As Alex herself says of her new appointment:

I am thoroughly excited to welcome Alex to Cranbrook and am confident that, in partnership with our students, families, faculty, staff, and alumni, she will help build an enrollment program reflecting our highest aspirations for the young people we are so privileged to serve.

With very best regards,

Jeff Suzik, Ph.D.

Director of Schools