Organization & Leadership
Who We are
At the Waldorf School of San Diego, we believe that the process of how we work together is as important as what we learn in the life of a school community. Because our organization is not hierarchical, governance primarily depends on healthy interpersonal and intergroup relationships. We strive to promote healthy relationships, so it is essential to understand collectively, our mission, vision, values, and goals as a school community.
We intentionally embrace shared, collaborative governance not only because it is effective, but also because it helps people and communities to grow. We invite every member of our school community to join the conversation by reflecting on this document and offering any ideas, comments, or other responses that you wish to provide. Please be open to engaging in one of the avenues of volunteering (parent association, committees, subcommittees, and the like) that we have mapped out together.
Leadership Council
The three governing entities – Administration, Board, and Pedogogy – assume distinct governance responsibilities and strive for consensus on major policy decisions. This system of shared governance supports the development of a strong and healthy community from which students learn and grow. The Leadership Council is also responsible for monitoring progress of the Strategic Plan work delegated to the various spheres of the school. Overall, the Leadership Council will work to continually improve school-wide governance.
Pedagogical Group
The Pedagogical Group (PG) is a group of faculty and staff, which serves as the governing body of the school’s pedagogy. It concerns itself with pedagogical research and study as well as assuming responsibility for the pedagogical well-being of the school. They meet on a regular basis to ensure they are providing guidance to the faculty as a whole.
Sara Gomes
Member
Elizabeth Heald
Member
Veronica Connaughton
Member
Mary Carmichael
Member
Johanna Laurelin
Member
Kevin Patrick
Member
Jeremiah Johnson
Member
Anthony Thomas
Member
Mayra Sandelin
Member
Meet the Board
Within the collaborative leadership model, the Board of Trustees is responsible for the legal and financial health of the school. This means that the Board is striving to be a visionary, forward-thinking leadership body, tasked with the ongoing work of creating a Strategic Plan, cultivating a culture of openness in our community, and deepening their collective understanding of Waldorf schools and pedagogy and of Board best practices.
Sarah Kleven McGann
President and Trustee
Sarah Kleven McGann has her BA from Point Loma Nazarene University (1999) and her JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (2003). After law school, she clerked for the Alaska State Supreme Court in Anchorage Alaska. She has practiced civil and criminal law in Washington D.C. and California. She volunteers with Reading Legacies, a program that allows parents separated by incarceration to connect with their children through reading.
Sarah has been at the Waldorf School of San Diego since 2014 when her oldest child started kindergarten. She now has three children in the grades.
Sarah is an avid reader of fiction and baker of cookies.
Marie McDonald
Vice President and Trustee
Marie McDonald is a certified Life and Business Coach, certified Integrative Change Worker, public speaker, and creator of the Bloom Your Mind Podcast. She has a BA from UCSD, an MFA in art criticism and conceptual studio art, and 15 years experience as Vice President leading an innovation education company. Marie has led a national company through culture, HR and operational strategy, change management, scaling, founding and leading a headquarters team. She has written and led over 100 retreats and over 500 workshops on topics under the umbrellas of DEI, communication, values driven culture, and leading as a whole human with authenticity and candor.
Most of Marie’s professional work has been centered around using innovation and design thinking to help B-Corp leaders, educators, kids, and now her own clients to envision and create a better world by turning their ideas into real things. She now helps women bring their ideas to life in community through her group program, the Bloom Room.
Marie and her husband Max have been community members for seven years, and have two kids Lux (6) and Luca (10) currently attending the school. They love Waldorf, making music and art, urban homesteading, and finding new bodies of water to swim in together.
Marie volunteers around San Diego to support mental health, female entrepreneurship, sustainability and DEI. She is excited to contribute to the evolution, reinvention, and homecoming of the Board.
Rozzi Hafner
Secretary and Trustee
Rozzi recently retired from a 23+ year career at AVID Center, a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college and career readiness and success. During her time there, she created the Events Department and the Editorial Department. Her last role was Director of Editorial and Brand, overseeing a team of editors and creatives.
Rozzi’s two children attended The Waldorf School from 1991-2003. Rozzi served on the Waldorf School Board of Trustees and was President for one year.
For the past 12 years, Rozzi has volunteered with Karen refugee families in City Heights who came from refugee camps in Thailand. In the beginning, she helped them to understand what living in America is like by teaching them English, showing them the city, helping with doctor appointments, paying bills, helping the kids with their homework and much more. Over the years, she has spent time taking them ice skating, roller skating, on hikes, camping trips, to the mountains to experience snow, dozens of beach days and many other adventures.
Knowing the value of a Waldorf education, Rozzi talked to one of the kids, who was not satisfied with the choices she had with her neighborhood schools, about attending the Waldorf High School. She is now a student at The Waldorf High School.
Eric Doan
Treasurer and Trustee
Eric Doan got a BS degree for Business Administration/Accounting from San Diego State University in 1986. He is a retired CPA and retired as the Chief Financial Officer of over 20 years with Harvest Meat Company, Inc. Eric has one child at WSSD in 12 grade.
Anthony Thomas
Faculty Representative and Trustee
Coach Thomas has his certification in Spacial Dynamics from the Spacial Dynamics Institute. He was born and raised in City Heights, and athletics have always been a part of his life.
When he’s not being the Waldorf High School Athletic teacher, he enjoys reading Walter Mosley and listening to Louis Armstrong.
Coach Thomas joined WSSD in 2012.
Tyler Hale
Trustee
Tyler has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Washington State University. He has spent the last 20+ years in the industry as a Lender, Banker, and Investment Advisor. He is currently a Vice President and Relationship Manager at one of the largest banks in the United States.
Tyler joined the Waldorf community in 2022, when his daughter started first grade. His youngest will be joining the school in the coming years.
When he’s not in the office, Tyler is wrenching on his old pickup truck or exploring San Diego with his wife and kids.
Ricardo Dias
Trustee
Ricardo Dias has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Federal University of São Carlos (Brazil). After working as Research Associate at The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA) and at the University of Zurich, Ricardo started his corporate career as an R&D Scientist and Project Manager at Swiss biotech Polyphor AG. He later transitioned to executive roles with people management responsibilities in Switzerland and Brazil, and more recently founded a small business (wholesale distribution of food and nutraceutical ingredients) in California.
Ricardo has two children at WSSD – Ana (10th) and Samuel (8th), with whom he and his wife Luciana started the “whole-family Waldorf journey” over ten years ago in Brazil. As a member of the school community in Brazil, Ricardo had the opportunity to be a class representative, and member of both the Parent Association and the Finance Committee. At WSSD, Ricardo joined the Finance Committee and Tuition Adjustment Committee during the 2022-2023 school year.
The opportunity to live in multiple countries, experience different cultures and work in very diverse roles has enabled Ricardo to fully acknowledge the beauty and challenges of a diverse school community such as the one we have at WSSD. Ricardo truly believes that the collective capability of the WSSD community is spectacular, but the realization of its potential can only be achieved through the empathetic collaboration amongst its members with a dash of technical guidance.