Robert Imholt

Dr. Robert Imholt has managed the West Coast region as a Senior Associate since joining Search Associates in 2017, and he arrived by one of the more unusual routes in our network. Before he ever set foot in a classroom, he spent thirteen years as a military combat arms officer and six years as executive director of a large hunger relief nonprofit. Twenty years in international education followed, and that whole range, military, nonprofit, and school leadership, shapes how he reads a school and how he talks with the educators considering one.

His academic career began in the Pacific Northwest, where he earned a B.A. and a Master’s in Teaching from The Evergreen State College, later completing a Ph.D. in K-12 Educational Leadership at Touro University. His move into international education opened a two decade run across six international schools, where he held nearly every major leadership title there is, from teacher and athletic director to vice principal, middle school principal, K-12 principal, deputy director, and director. There are few positions in a school he has not held himself, and few problems in one he has not had to solve. Back in the U.S., he directed the International Graduate Program for Educators at Buffalo State, leading academic growth for 1,800 graduate students working in international schools worldwide.

Beyond his recruitment work, Bob’s own life is bound up with the expat experience. Alongside his wife, Jennifer, herself a Senior Associate, he spent years living and working overseas while raising their son, a true Third Culture Kid. That experience means he can speak to what a move abroad asks of a family as readily as what it asks of a teacher.

Now based back in the Pacific Northwest, he works with educators across Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada, and is glad to be home among the mountains and coastline. When he is not working with them, Bob enjoys travel, the outdoors with his family, and perfecting his barbecue and smoked meats.