Isaacson, Miller Assists Folger Shakespeare Library with CFO Search
September 8, 2026 – Boston-based Isaacson, Miller has assisted in the recruitment of Wendy Lin as the new CFO of Folger Shakespeare Library. Dan Rodas led the search with Stephanie Simon, and Robin Dougherty. Her arrival coincides with the start of strategic planning at the nearly 100-year-old organization, and she will guide financial analysis and operational execution under the leadership of Folger director Farah Karim-Cooper. Ms. Lin will be a key member of the Folger’s senior team, overseeing financial operations across the organization and advising the board of governors.
“As the Folger looks to map out its second century, it’s essential that our finance culture be transparent and responsive,” said Dr. Karim-Cooper. “Wendy has the talent, discipline, and collaborative spirit to create a financial strategy that will ensure the long-range success of our vision to build authentic citizenship through Shakespeare and the humanities. I am thrilled to welcome her to the leadership team at the Folger.”
Ms. Lin previously served as CFO at First Book, a national non-profit focused on educational equity for children in need. At First Book, she was a strategic advisor to the CEO and oversees the organization’s financial strategy, multi-million-dollar operating budget, and a diverse funding portfolio. Prior to First Book, Ms. Lin spent more than a decade with Laureate Education, advancing through senior leadership positions spanning finance, pricing strategy, business operations, and product innovation. She brings more than 20 years of experience in financial strategy, organizational leadership, and sustainable growth to the Folger.
“The Folger is remarkable in that it brings together scholarship, education, performance, and public engagement in a way few organizations can,” said Ms. Lin. “I am honored to join an organization with such an extraordinary legacy and exciting future, and I look forward to helping advance its mission and impact in the years ahead.”
The Folger boasts the world’s largest collection of printed works of William Shakespeare, an array of rare materials from the early modern period, and both physical and electronic resources related to the understanding and interpretation of Shakespeare and his time. It offers advanced scholarly programs, national outreach to middle and high school students and educators, Shakespeare-inspired performances and programming, and workshops and activities.
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A nationally recognized search firm focused on recruiting transformational leaders for mission-driven organizations, Isaacson, Miller has conducted thousands of placements over more than three decades. More than half of the firm’s work has been in academia, involving university presidents, college chancellors and deans. The firm has filled top leadership posts at Wellesley College, Washington State University, Miami University, Howard University, Bowdoin College, Dartmouth, NYU, Virginia State University, and the University of North Carolina, among others.
Finding Mission-Driven Leaders
John Isaacson, the firm’s chair, founded Isaacson, Miller in 1982. He has led searches in many areas of the firm’s practice. Mr. Isaacson has helped the firm develop its cumulative knowledge of the craft of search and has attended, with increasing interest, to the missionary purposes of institutions, the political and economic disciplines of specialized markets, and the emotional and intellectual learnings that leaders acquire in a committed working life.
Mr. Rodas, partner, joined the firm in 2013 after a career in higher education spanning over two decades. At Isaacson, Miller, he has built a multi-faceted search practice, leading recruitment assignments in higher education, academic medicine, research institutes, independent schools, and other non-profit organizations. He has a track record of recruiting financial and operational leaders for leading institutions nationally. Mr. Rodas has also led searches for department heads, deans, and provosts, as well as leaders in numerous functional areas, including enrollment management, information technology, human resources, facilities management, procurement, data analytics, institutional research, emergency management and public safety. Prior to joining the firm, he served as vice president for planning and VP for human resources at Long Island University, as well as provost of Southampton College.
Ms. Simon became an associate in 2021. She joined Isaacson, Miller in 2016 as executive assistant to Mr. Isaacson, and served as managing search coordinator in Boston. Ms. Simon has managed president, provost, and dean searches in higher education along with executive-level searches within arts and culture.
Ms. Dougherty is a managing associate who joined Isaacson, Miller in 2018 with 25 years of experience in the higher education field. She has served many higher education clients in successful provost, vice provost, dean, university librarian, student affairs, CFO, CIO and executive director recruitments. Her clients span public institutions—such as flagship land grants like Penn State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Maryland—as well as regional comprehensive institutions like Bowling Green State University and Wichita State University, and both small and large private universities, including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Scranton.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
