Dr. Alan Phan is the Associate Head of School at The Evergreen School in Seattle. Prior to joining Evergreen, he was the Founding Head of School at North London Collegiate School Ho Chi Minh City (NLCS HCMC) in Vietnam. His extensive career includes serving as Principal at Shanghai American School, American International School Chennai, American School of Barcelona, and ACS Hillingdon International School. He also worked as a counselor at Antwerp International School and as an assistant principal at the American School Foundation in Mexico City.
Dr. Phan began his educational career teaching 3rd grade, middle school math, and EAL in public schools in California and Washington, DC. He then spent over 20 years working in international schools. During this time, he observed a significant lack of diversity in faculty and leadership positions, which inspired his doctoral research on the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and leadership in international schools. As an openly gay Asian American leader, he also experienced firsthand the lack of inclusivity and resources for individuals from marginalized communities in these schools. These experiences motivated him to advocate for transformative change, focusing on the roles of gender, sexual orientation, and race in hiring practices. This led him to found the Diversity Collective, a recruiting and consulting agency dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusivity in international and independent school systems.
Dr. Phan currently serves on the Boards of The Evergreen School and the People of Color in Independent Schools Northwest (POCIS NW), an organization that fosters connections among people of color in Northwest independent schools.
Dr. Phan holds a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of California at Irvine, an M.A. in Counseling from Trinity University, a certificate in International School Leadership from the Principal Training Center in London, and a doctorate from the University of Bath, England.