Lee Burns serves as headmaster of Presbyterian Day School (PDS), an independent school serving over 630 boys in grades PK-6 in Memphis.

A Chattanooga, Tennessee, native, Burns graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, and he earned his master’s degree in educational administration at Harvard. He has also studied at the London School of Economics and worked at a law firm in New York City. Prior to being appointed PDS headmaster in 2000, he served as a teacher, coach and administrator at Christ School in North Carolina and as the Director of Day Student Admission at the McCallie School in Chattanooga. He currently serves on the Executive Committee and as Vice-President of the Elementary School Headmasters Association (a group of approximately 200 headmasters around the country), and he is a member of the Country Day School Headmasters Association and the Visionary Heads Group. He served as a task force member to help the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) develop Principles of Good Practice for Middle School Educators. He has been a presenter at annual conferences of the National Association of Independent Schools, the International Boys’ School Coalition, and the Elementary School Headmaster Association.

Mr. Burns has been an avid tennis player, winning six state championships as a junior or adult and is a former All-American player. He still enjoys tennis, squash, and most any sport, as well as reading and writing. He has authored a book on a boy’s journey to manhood, Flight Plan: Your Mission To Become A Man.

He is married to Sarah, and they have three children. They are members of Second Presbyterian Church, where he serves as a deacon.