After 23 years in the Academy English department, Lisa Erb Stewart is moving into a new role this fall as dean of the Class of 2017. The Kane‘ohe native and creator of the Arts and Letters and Words R Us courses is mother to Emma Stewart ’16. In addition to serving as the current chair of the Academy Curriculum Committee, Stewart’s previous leadership positions include technology resource teacher and coordinator, Academy English Department Head and co-director of the Mentoring at Punahou (MAP) program. Last year Stewart also completed a research project on peer mistreatment with Dean Rick Tune ’93.

“I'm looking forward to getting to know my students in a more complete way,” says Stewart, who is eager to explore the counseling aspect of the dean’s post. “I have a good sense of how to help students get what they need from the Punahou experience, and because this school has so much to offer I really like the idea of individually matching kids to opportunities.”

Stewart also is enrolled in the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work certification program in animal-assisted therapy.