Leadership

Julia Putnam, Principal

Ms. Julia became one of the cofounders of the Boggs School and later the principal after spending her adolescence and young adulthood under the mentorship of James and Grace as well as the other influential founders of Detroit Summer. She is a proud Detroiter and received each of her degrees from local universities: a bachelor's degree in English from Michigan State University, a master's degree in liberal studies from University of Detroit-Mercy, and a master's degree in education and teaching certification from Wayne State University. She is the proud mom of Henry and Lucia (a "pioneer student" who graduated from the Boggs School in 2021) and wife of fellow educator, Peter. Her favorite thing about working at the Boggs School is how kind and supportive everyone is of one another, including the students!

Amanda Rosman, Executive Director

Ms. Amanda is a cofounder and the executive director of the Boggs School, which was dreamed up in 2008 at a big table in Grace Lee Boggs's house and brought to life in 2013. She holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Cornell University, a master's degree in education and teaching certification from the University of Michigan, and a law degree from Wayne State University. She was a teacher for eleven years in Detroit schools and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. She lives with her partner, Todd, and their blended family of three teenage boys; her sixteen-year-old son, Ajani, a "pioneer student," graduated from the Boggs School in 2018. Ms. Amanda's favorite things about the Boggs School are being able to be in close community with every child and every family and getting to hear the brilliant, self-aware, hilarious, outrageous, empathetic, and fierce things that Boggs kids come up with every day.