Terri Hamer

Terri Hamer joins the Lick-Wilmerding High School community as the business office’s Interim Director of Operations. She manages many of the backbone departments at LWHS: facilities, the kitchen, the reception area and emergency services. She also deals with any logistical problems that occur.

The role of the Director of Operations at LWHS is a new position and continues to be modified. Hamer is building her role as she takes on various responsibilities, while she supports the Cheif Financial Officer (CFO), Jeanette Moore. Though she has a set role of managing various departments, her job is dynamic, and she enjoys the ingenuity and spontaneity of the role.

She lived on the East Coast but moved to the Bay Area in 2019. Although she appreciates the opportunities of the Bay, she cherishes any chance to return to the East Coast and visit her family and friends. Her daughter, Nala, recently moved into college in New York State, while her son Sekou lives in DC.

Before coming to LWHS, Hamer worked as the CFO at The San Francisco School, a preschool through 8th grade institution. The difference between working with younger and older kids is very prominent to her. To her, younger kids require a lot of physical activity and work. “Pick me up, put me down, tie my shoes, I’m hot, I’m cold,” Hamer said, listing off the little jobs that kids gave her at her old job.

Hamer noted that while working with high school students, the job suddenly becomes more than just helping students tie their shoes. It’s a more thoughtful job, and the problems become more complicated as high schoolers are granted more independence and opportunities, while they also have to balance responsibilities with their schoolwork and social problems. “With older kids, the problems are more like navigating the world,” Hamer said. “You need more mental and emotional energy to deal with these problems.” As Hamer starts her new position at LWHS, she’s excited to dive into this new challenge.

Hamer is eager to get to know a new community at LWHS and already recognizes its openness and acceptance, especially of people in the LGBTQ+ community. “The way we approach how people identify is magical,” she said, and hopes these values will soon be prevalent throughout the country.