Susan Kilbane will take over as principal of St. Cecilia’s Catholic School this summer. Longtime principal Liz Chamberlin will be retiring, the school announced Monday.

Kilbane brings 22 years of professional educational experience to her new post, including serving in an administrative role for 12 years. The school’s new leader most recently served as the principal at New Field Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois.

The new administrator is fluent in Spanish and also has extensive experience in curriculum development, integrating fine arts, grant writing and school management.

Among the many interesting projects Kilbane has tackled during her career to date, she co-created curriculum for the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Chicago as part of a Fulbright-Hays Project Abroad.

Chamberlin is leaving the school on a solid foundation. She guided the school through construction of a new elementary school, state accreditation and oversaw the formation of the St. Cecilia Catholic School Endowment Fund.

The school also said Chamberlin was very proud of the establishment of strong, meaningful extracurricular programs, and noted that students recently took first place in both the Senior and Junior Divisions in the 58th annual Washington State Science and Engineering Fair for 2015 and both the boys cross country and girls volleyball teams earned conference championships in the fall.

Chamberlin hopes to soon see a repeat of last year’s Kitsap County Law Day essay contest. In spring 2014, all three prizes were brought home by St. Cecilia Catholic School students, the first time all winners have been from the same school.

Kilbane will start in her new position July 1.

In her leisure time, Kilbane enjoys running, reading, listening to live music, serving on the board of Go Run for Girls, playing Scrabble and spending time with her extended family on the island.