Thom Greenlaw

Principal, Creative Independents

As Founder of Creative Independents, a Sandwich, MA based consulting practice, Thom Greenlaw specializes exclusively on the needs of non-profit organizations, including independent schools, colleges, faith-based communities, and membership-based organizations. Thom is now Connor Associates’ Strategic Partners for Finance, Operations, and leads executive-level search services.

Thom Greenlaw created the first long-range sustainable modelling in 2008 and this work was so successful that it was built out for TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) and NBOA and continues to be in use by these organizations today.

Thom is well connected in the independent school community. He served as President of Independent Schools Compensation Corporation (ISCC) from 2012-2021, a member-based self-insurance group which serves 180 Massachusetts-based independent schools, colleges and cultural organizations. He also served for over twenty-five years in varying senior roles in independent schools. He most prominently was Special Assistant for Strategic Initiatives at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (BB&N) from 2017-18 and Assistant Head for Operations/CFO 2001-2013. In that role, Thom oversaw all financial non-academic operations of the school.  In between stints at BB&N, he served as COO and Assistant Head for Strategic Initiatives at the Ethel Walker School.

Prior to his employment at BB&N, Thom served as Business Manager at the Dana Hall School for 6 years and was a university and hospital administrator for twenty years.

In his spare time, Thom serves as a volunteer for SCORE where he directs the organization’s not-for-profit practices. He also served as an Elder of the Skidaway Island Community Church and as an active Trustee Emeritus and former Chair of the Board of Trustees at Summit Montessori School. He previously served as a Board member of Thacher Montessori School, the Association of Independent Schools Admissions Officers (AISAP), and the National Business Officers Association (NBOA), earning the Will Hancock Unsung Hero Award in 2008. His Financial Model developed for NBOA and TABS has been widely adopted in the independent school world.

Working with Thom Greenlaw is Deb Tyrell, HR Consultant.

Deb Tyrell, Human Resources

Deb has been a strategic partner in the Human Resources consulting field for over 25 years. As Co-Founder and Owner of Innovative People Solutions, a project-based human resources services and solutions company, Deb’s approach to HR consulting involves building strong strategic relationships and partnerships with her clients, creating thoughtful, sustainable and effective programs, policies & systems to maximize human potential within the organization.

For the past 16 years, Deb has worked exclusively within the field of academia, partnering with leadership to create an environment that ensures a safe, healthy and productive work environment for all members of the community. As Human Resources Director for Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N) for over 14 years, Deb was responsible for managing all people policies and procedures throughout the employee life cycle, including hiring, compensation, performance management and termination. She was recently a member of the Senior Leadership Team at New England Law | Boston, where she partnered with the Dean and her team on issues involving employee relations, compliance, professional growth & development and training. Deb is currently consulting with Kingsley Montessori School (KMS), an independent day school serving Toddler through Grade 6 in Boston's Back Bay in downtown Boston.

Deb has two children and lives in Marblehead, MA with her husband and 2 dogs (and a cat).