The Milton Medal

Bradley M. Bloom P ‘06, ‘08

Member of the Board of Trustees, 2004–2015
President, 2009–2015

On May 5, the Board of Trustees honored former Board member (2004-2015) and former president (2009-2015) Bradley M. Bloom with its highest honor, the Milton Medal, recognizing him for his leadership of a wide range of crucial institutional advances—from faculty relations; to enhanced board governance and oversight; to the identification of bold strategic priorities; to launching a critical capital campaign.

In sharing her reflections, Board of Trustees President Claire M. Hughes Johnson ‘90 noted, “It is profoundly clear to me—as I hope it will be for all of you—that Brad’s service to Milton Academy and the progress he achieved have evolved from ‘leadership’ to ‘legacy,’ resonating for our Board, our broader Milton community, and for students now and into the future.”

The Milton Medal recognizes extraordinary service to the school. Throughout his 11-year tenure, Bloom devoted himself to advancing Milton’s tradition, mission and capacity to lead through his board service. His vision of Milton was a school with inspired direction, a will to excel, boundless energy and the financial capacity to fully realize our best plans.

As board president, he was among the handful of architects who developed and chartered the Faculty Council Liaison Committee, which assured direct communication among trustees, administrators and faculty. This Committee set a transformative dynamic in motion, allowing time and space at each board meeting for the groups to listen to each other, achieving understanding and new awareness. He also was instrumental in guiding a strategic planning process marked by comprehensive scope and the full participation of every Milton constituency. Driven by analyses and the educational vision of administration, faculty and staff, the Plan, which was adopted by the board in January 2013, charted a bold course and at the same time, affirmed Milton’s core values. Milton made great progress implementing initiatives across K–12, in faculty professional development and curriculum assessment and renewal. Trustee-led campus master planning and technology advisory groups completed significant and impactful work, and the board endorsed a faculty compensation initiative that broke new competitive ground for faculty compensation.

Bloom’s unique mix of creativity, pragmatism and respect for people and process helped propel Milton forward. We thank Brad deeply for his outstanding contributions.

Bloom is a co-founder and current senior advisor at Berkshire Partners, a private equity firm based in Boston. He began his career at the First National Bank of Boston and was later a partner at the Thomas H. Lee Company before co-founding Berkshire in 1986. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.