Our People

A New Leader For A New Century

Mr. Paul Burke was unanimously named the seventh head of school at Nightingale and took on the role in July 2012. Mr. Burke, like Miss Nightingale and Miss Bamford before him, embraces the philosophy that educating girls is a matter of both mind and heart and that girls’ schools educate girls best. He believes that a school where everyone is known encourages students to take intellectual risks and establish their own voices.

Going Beyond Barriers

Mr. Burke’s time as the head of Nightingale’s Upper School provided him with rich relationships within the Nightingale community, which gave him a robust understanding of the strengths of its past and the needs of its future.

This experience continues to guide his leadership. Under his direction, Nightingale completed a transformative Schoolhouse expansion that added 20% more space and reimagined nearly every corner of the building. With the expansion complete, he led the creation and launch of a strategic plan in 2017. As Nightingale entered its second century, Mr. Burke helped usher in a new era: one where every student is known, every voice is heard, and every member of the community is encouraged to bring their full self to school each day. In 2024, he launched Nightingale's first-ever athletics strategic plan, which laid the groundwork for the announcement of a landmark new athletics facility, set to open in fall 2027, that reflects Nightingale’s bold vision for the future. This dynamic new space for Nightingale athletics will redefine opportunities for girls in sports and inspire the next generation of leaders to go beyond.

“The Nightingale of today is crowding out all that does not matter by making a clear investment in our students and the people who dedicate their professional lives to them. We evolve, but we do so with intention, and always in service of what matters most.”
— Paul A. Burke

The Journey to Nightingale

Mr. Burke’s path to Nightingale took him through various academic institutions that shaped his worldview and leadership style. He graduated from Williams College, where he majored in American history and American studies. He began his career as a college counselor at the Salisbury School, an all-boys boarding school in western Connecticut. After three years, he returned to school to earn a master’s degree in educational administration through the prestigious Klingenstein program in private school leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. While there, he was inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi honor society. After Columbia, Mr. Burke joined Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, where he spent eight years as a college counselor, history teacher, and for his last five years there, a dean of students.

Mr. Burke and his wife are proud parents to three children—twin sons and a daughter, a member of Nightingale’s Class of 2027. He and his wife co-teach a leadership seminar for the political science department at Williams College. When he’s not running a school or teaching, Mr. Burke can be found playing early morning pick-up basketball, enjoying live music, or seeking New York’s best pizza.

Professional Associations:

Mr. Burke is a member of the Board of Trustees at Don Bosco Preparatory, his high school alma mater, as well as the Board of Leadership + Design. He is a Commissioner and former President of the Board of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS), and previously served as the President of the Board of the Independent School Admission Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY). In addition, he has served on the Boards of Packer Collegiate Institute, The Browning School, and as a founding Board Member for Riley’s Way Foundation and Summer Steps. He also previously served on the advisory committee of the 92Y Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact.

Dr. Rebecca J. Urciuoli has been the head of the Lower School for four years. Dr. Urciuoli has a long and distinguished relationship with Nightingale. She arrived at the school in 1994 as an Interschool fellow and assistant Kindergarten teacher and has held many roles, including Class IV homeroom teacher, learning specialist, director of counseling, interim co-head of Middle School, and associate head of Lower School. A graduate of Princeton University, Dr. Urciuoli also holds an EdM and PhD in school psychology from Columbia University. In her years away from Nightingale, Dr. Urciuoli worked in the Lower School at two different independent schools and a Catholic high school in the Bronx.

She and her husband are the parents of two Nightingale girls, Jane '19 and Nina '23. When she is not overseeing the Lower School, Dr. Urciuoli proudly cheers for the Yankees, enjoys attending live music performances, and happily cares for her family’s six pets.

Ms. Shazia Durrani joined Nightingale as Head of Middle School in July 2025. She brings more than two decades of experience in middle school education and has held leadership roles at several prominent independent schools, most recently at the Hackley School. A passionate advocate for the middle school years, Ms. Durrani is committed to creating an environment where students are known, challenged, and supported, and where faculty are empowered to do their best work. She earned both her undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in educational administration from New York University.

Ms. Durrani is energized by the mission of girls' schools and the vibrancy of life on the sixth floor at Nightingale. Outside of school, she enjoys baking, watching basketball, spending time with her family and scoping out all the local ice cream shops.

Mrs. Nichole Foster-Hinds began her tenure as head of the Upper School in July 2022. She joined Nightingale after serving as the Head of Middle School for five years and the Director of Health & Wellbeing for Social & Emotional Learning for two years at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition to serving as a divisional director, Mrs. Foster-Hinds has close to twenty years of experience as a math teacher, having served as a math department chair for two different schools. She has also led diversity, equity, inclusion and social and emotional learning efforts across divisions, championed the review and renewal of curriculum and emphasis on competency-based curricular across subject areas, and helped develop and lead her former school's signature Learn Well, Live Well, Lead Well programming. Mrs. Foster-Hinds received her undergraduate degree from Purdue University along with two graduate degrees: an MBA from Penn State University and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Mrs. Foster-Hinds inspires a culture of connectedness, focused on creating a community where students feel linked to each other, their teachers, and the world around them. She thinks hard and well about the many ways in which schools need to align to support their students.

Ms. Johara Sealy has spearheaded Nightingale's strategic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives for the past four years. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Ms. Sealy believes in the transformative power of empowering young girls and women and is committed to creating spaces where all students are seen, heard, and valued. Ms. Sealy also holds a master’s degree in educational leadership politics and advocacy from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education.

Having received a comprehensive education and cross-cultural exposure through attending an international school during her formative years, Ms. Sealy is a living testament to the benefits of an inclusive and multicultural learning community; she credits her passion for equity work to her educational experiences. Ms. Sealy is committed to collaborative change and is passionate about leveraging the multiplicity of voices and experiences in our community to build and sustain positive relationships amongst our community.

Ms. Sealy guides the members of our community into a clearer understanding that everyone has roles to play in the pursuit of equity and justice. She encourages and motivates our community members to be positive and effective agents of change on this journey.