Whitney Walters-Sachs
Whitney Walters-Sachs, Ed.D., is a visionary educational leader, attorney, and scholar with more than 25 years of experience advancing institutional growth, governance, and community engagement across independent schools and higher education. She most recently served as Vice President of School and Legal Affairs at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a PK–12 independent school with two campuses, where she was a key member of the executive leadership team overseeing high-level administrative, legal, and operational matters. In this role, Dr. Walters-Sachs led the development of the school’s 2024–2029 Strategic Plan, strengthened faculty recruitment and retention initiatives, directed accreditation efforts resulting in successful re-accreditation, chaired the Core DEI Committee, and chaired the school’s COVID-19 Response Team. Known for her collaborative leadership style and strategic vision, she worked closely with the President, Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and families to advance mission-aligned priorities and foster a culture grounded in excellence, inclusion, and community trust.
A systems thinker and community builder, Dr. Walters-Sachs has guided complex initiatives spanning human resources, risk management, student support services, and governance. She supervised large multidisciplinary teams across health, security, transportation, and educational support services, ensuring that students and employees received comprehensive care and resources. Her leadership also extended to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, strengthening parent and alumni engagement, and serving as an institutional spokesperson on critical issues affecting school life. In addition to her administrative leadership, she currently serves as an adjunct professor and capstone advisor in Vanderbilt University’s Independent School Leadership program, preparing future school leaders to think strategically and lead change grounded in research and best practice.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Walters-Sachs was a partner at an international law firm and a federal judicial law clerk, experiences that sharpened her skills in negotiation, governance, and organizational leadership. She remains an active contributor to the broader educational community through board service, accreditation work, national conference presentations, and publications on topics including trustee responsibility, school culture, and leadership. Dr. Walters-Sachs holds degrees from Vanderbilt University (Ed.D.), the University of Virginia, Brooklyn Law School, and Georgetown University. Widely respected for her integrity, intellectual rigor, and commitment to student-centered education, she brings a deep belief in the power of schools to cultivate curiosity, character, and a sense of belonging for every member of the community.
Dr. Walters-Sachs is supported in this work by her wife, Sandy, and their eleven-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, the former who is a sports fanatic and the latter who is passionate about musical theater, and who all share the joy, curiosity and love of school life.