Biography

Wil Cwikiel is currently the superintendent-principal of Beaver Island Community School. Located in northern Lake Michigan, Beaver Island is one of the most remote schools in the contiguous United States. During the summer, the island is served by a ferry (2 hour ferry ride) and air service (15 minute plane ride), but for 5 months out of the year, Beaver Island is only accessible by plane. Before moving to Beaver Island, Wil was the principal of Harbor Springs Middle School, located in rural northern Michigan. Prior to his career switch to education, he briefly worked for the State of Michigan as the Chief of the Land and Water Management Division of the Department of Environmental Quality and before that he served 16 years as the Policy Director for the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. He has an education specialist degree from the University of Michigan, a master's degree from Grand Valley State University in Education Leadership, a master’s degree in Management, Planning and Policy from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and a Bachelor of Arts from U-M’s LSA Honor’s College. Wil is married to Gail Gruenwald and has two daughters, Kate and Sadie.