“I feel so lucky to have come into the work as it transformed,” Ms. McFeely says, reflecting on a career that began not in schools, but in community mental health. With 15 years of experience supporting clients outside the classroom, Ms. McFeely first encountered the power of school-based counseling by chance.

“I instantly loved how creative you could be in support of mental health for young people, when you were working with them in the place they spend so much time.”

She brought that creativity—and clinical depth—with her when she joined Nightingale in 2013. At the time, counseling departments in independent schools were just beginning to expand beyond referral systems. Ms. McFeely envisioned something more: a proactive, integrated, deeply human approach. “With consistent, intentional leadership support, we built out our program to include a dedicated counselor for each division,” she says. “This allows us to both identify critical concerns early, destigmatize mental health support, and most importantly, begin to educate our students for skills and experiences that support good mental health all the way through.”

Ms. McFeely’s work helped position Nightingale as a leader in wellness and student support among girls’ schools. What began as a single role expanded into a comprehensive, departmental structure: full-time counselors in each division, a deeply rooted advising system, integrated wellness education, and peer leadership models. These weren’t just programs—they were values in practice. Her efforts made mental health feel visible, supported, and essential to the student experience.

Her approach was shaped by her training as a social worker and her belief in meeting students not just where they are emotionally, but physically—in the place they already spend so much of their time. She helped establish frameworks that addressed anxiety, trauma, and depression while also nurturing joy, laughter, and connection. She brought research to life, embracing the concept of ‘mental health nutrition’ to highlight the vital role of play, creativity, and community care.” “There is just about nothing I could do as a counselor that would provide as much benefit as that joy and sense of relationship in community.”

A key part of Ms. McFeely’s work was supporting the Upper School advisor program. As the demands on students and advisors increased, she saw an opportunity to create structure and shared purpose. “Out of these conversations, Wise Guides, the US advisors handbook, was born,” she explains. “It seeks to provide a practical and supportive map to the process of advising and, most importantly, to help advisors find support for their work from others working to support students.”

Ms. McFeely’s legacy is also deeply imprinted on the Peer Leadership program—one of her favorite parts of Nightingale life. “I ‘heart’ Peer Leadership!” she beams. “My absolute favorite secret about Peer Group is that the seniors get as much out of it as the ninth graders. The opportunity to connect and be of service to others is a huge mental health ‘vitamin.’”

It’s clear that Ms. McFeely’s gift lies not only in her clinical skill, but in her deep belief in possibility. “To get to be a part of changing this experience has been a huge privilege,” she says. “I deeply love working by a student's side to put the puzzle pieces together for a recalibration towards peace and a return to the engagement they seek with friends, family, and school.”

Ms. McFeely’s tenure makes one thing unmistakably clear: Nightingale doesn’t treat counseling and wellness as an afterthought. Under her leadership, Nightingale has become a model for how to approach student well-being with intention, depth, and joy. Her work helped embed these priorities not only into programming, but into the culture itself—ensuring that every student is known and supported.

As she prepares to retire—though not to slow down—Ms. McFeely will continue her work in mental health through online therapy and may eventually build a private practice. But first: “a long vacation,” time with her sons, and a visit to the cold waters of Cape Cod, where she’ll dive in, as she says, “with a bit of abandon.”

What she leaves behind is more than structure—it’s belief. “I hope that I will have encouraged a sense of hope around the mental health of all of our students, even at the hardest of times,” she says. “I think of Nightingale as a place of hope and I would love to have contributed to an endowment of hope for all the Nightingale students to come and for the community that teaches them and cares for them.”

This article recently appeared in the summer issue of The Blue Doors.