Catalina welcomes new faculty for the 2023-24 school year

Santa Catalina School welcomed several new faculty and staff members for the 2023-24 school year.

Jane Burton teaches Algebra 1 and Geometry and serves as a sophomore advisor. She has more than 20 years of teaching experience, including a previous 12 years at Catalina. She returns to us most recently from Palma School, where she taught for the past six years and served as the math department chair. Burton holds a B.S. in applied mathematics with an emphasis in electrical engineering and physics from the University of Colorado.

Frances Verga-Lagier Cook ’99 joins the Upper School art department after teaching for the past four years in the Lower and Middle School. She teaches Art 1, Digital Media, and 3D Media, serves as a freshman advisor, and oversees the yearbook. She holds a B.A. in art and art history and religious studies from Colgate University and an M.A. in pastoral ministries from Santa Clara University.

John Daniel teaches all levels of French, serves as a freshman advisor, and oversees the mock trial club. He holds a B.A. in French Language and Literature from the University of Mary Washington and an M.A. in French from UC Santa Barbara. He has more than 20 years of teaching experience in French, Spanish, and theater at the secondary and university levels, including at schools in Switzerland and France. Locally, he has taught at York and Stevenson schools, receiving a Teacher of the Year award at each.

Wyatt Fabian teaches U.S. history and is a junior advisor. He holds a B.A. in history and government from Franklin and Marshall College and an M.A. in history from Millersville University in Pennsylvania. He comes to Catalina from The Hill School in Pennsylvania, where he taught history, served as a dorm parent, and coached the boys soccer team. He and his wife, McKenna Edwards, are resident faculty members in the freshman dorm.

McKenzie Floyd teaches chemistry and is a sophomore advisor. She has a B.A. in art conservation from Scripps College, an M.S. in chemistry from The George Washington University, and an M.S. in museum studies from the University of Glasgow. She has taught at three different universities, including most recently at CSU Monterey Bay. In addition to teaching, she is an artist and a curator at the National Steinbeck Museum.

Allison McHenry is Santa Catalina’s new director of health and wellness. She teaches the freshman Introduction to Health class and the sophomore Concepts of Well-being class. She has a B.S. in kinesiology and exercise science from CSU Monterey Bay and an M.S. in health administration and management from Colorado State University. A certified personal trainer, she has been the wellness coordinator for Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula for the past five years.

Fable Moncure teaches physics and serves as the faculty advisor for the robotics team. They hold a B.A. in mathematics from UC Santa Cruz, a teaching certificate from University of Central Florida, and a master’s degree in education media and technology from Full Sail University in Florida. Moncure has more than 20 years of teaching experience, including for the past six years at Palma School.

Connie Riley returns to the resident faculty team in Greer Dorm, having previously worked at Catalina as director of resident life. She has a B.A. in sociology from the University of Delaware and an M.A. in religious studies from Saint Louis University. She has lived and worked on campus since 2006, and is married to religious studies teacher Blake Riley.

Ned Stork was a member of the Santa Catalina faculty for 19 years and he returns this year as the Dean of Academics and the school’s first Director of Engineering. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Santa Clara University and an M.S. in structural engineering from UC Berkeley. He worked as a structural engineer in both the Bay Area and London before earning a postgraduate certificate of education from the University of Cambridge and embarking on a second career as a math teacher. He and his wife, Joanna, have five children, all of whom attended the Lower and Middle School; his three daughters graduated from the Upper School.

The admission office also added two new staff members. Marissa Bruno ’16 has joined the team after serving as executive assistant to the head of school for the past two years. She holds a B.A. in business administration and an M.S. in education from Portland State University. Emma Roffler ’18 returned to Catalina this summer having recently earned a B.S. in human resources management and an M.S. in management from Marquette University. She is a member of the resident faculty.