The Laboratory Schools administrative team will be shifting in the coming weeks to welcome a director of communications and change the director of information technology, while the executive assistant will depart.

Valerie Reynolds will begin as director of communications March 21. Prior to coming to Lab, she was communications director for the University of Chicago’s Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health. Ms. Reynolds has an MBA from American InterContinental University, M.S. from Roosevelt University and B.A. from Ohio State university. She is also a Lab parent.

This summer, the department of information services will combine with the department of registrar services and information management, which will be led by Brian Hewlett. Mr. Hewlett is currently serving as executive director of finance and operations and previously served as the director of information services. Under his leadership, Lab is planning to restore the IT positions laid down during the pandemic, for the support of educational technologies, help desk services and audio-visual services. 

“My hope with a change of that nature is that the ‘customer service’ experience of being a student, parent, being a teacher will be improved — that people’s needs will be met more efficiently and better,” Laboratory Schools Director Tori Jueds said. “By this, I do not mean to say that this particular change is the response to some glaring problem. It’s looking at two departments that are doing really well and thinking, ‘They’re going to be, in fact, better off with working more closely together.’”

Additionally, Kiel Gray, executive assistant to Director Tori Jueds, will depart March 11 to coordinate corporate governance for a family trust and investment firm in Chicago. Mr. Gray has been at Lab since 2016.

The administrative changes were announced in a Feb. 23 email to the community from Ms. Jueds.

“It’s always fun to have new colleagues,” Ms. Jueds said, “and it’s always sad to say goodbye to old colleagues.”