Welcome, Interim President & Principal, Dr. Caryl Hess '74

On behalf of the Our Lady of the Elms Board of Trustees, I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Caryl Hess '74 as Interim School President and Principal, effective July 1. 

Dr. Hess, a 1974 Elms graduate and longtime donor to the school, has served on the Our Lady of the Elms Board of Trustees for three years. She retired from Cleveland Clinic as the Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Academy. Prior to the Clinic, she served as Assistant to the President at Case Western Reserve University and ran an educational leadership consulting firm. Dr. Hess is licensed in the State of Ohio as an academic leader at a non-profit school and, early in her career, taught mathematics at Walsh Jesuit High School. Her interim appointment has been enthusiastically approved by our School Sponsor, Dominican Veritas Ministries, and the Superintendent of Schools for the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

Developing Women Leaders

At the Elms, leadership isn’t a title; it’s a journey that begins the moment a girl walks through our doors. As the only all-girls, faith-based K–12 school in Summit County, we create space for girls to lead with confidence, speak with conviction, and grow into the kind of women the world needs: bold thinkers, compassionate doers, and joyful change-makers.

As proud members of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools and part of the Dominican Veritas Ministries, we are united with a global network committed to forming ethical, visionary leaders grounded in faith and purpose. Rooted in Catholic values and inspired by the limitless potential of girls, our education lights the path toward futures in medicine, law, engineering, the arts, public service, and beyond.

This is where girls become leaders for life.