Meet Our Faculty and Staff

Name: Steve Hagee
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him
Title: Director of Facilities & Transportation
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2022
What school(s) did you attend? Kutztown University
Why did you want to work in a school? 
I absolutely love to watch the kids grow and expand their horizons.
What continues to inspire and drive you to work in a school? 
There are numerous times during any given day, when watching the kids interact with each other and/or their teachers that you get to witness one of those "AHA" moments. I find this absolutely inspiring. 
What’s your favorite thing about working in a school? 
The ability to help shape an environment that allows teachers to thrive and to concentrate on developing the hearts and minds of those that will become this planet’s future.

Name: Andrea Lopez
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her
Title: Accounting Manager
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2021
What school(s) did you attend? 
California State University, Stanislaus - B.S. in Business Administration with a Concentration in Accounting
Why did you want to work in a school? 
During my public accounting career, I started to work with non-profit organizations, including schools. I absolutely loved working with these organizations and being indirectly involved in helping with each school’s mission. 
What’s your favorite thing about working in a school? 
I love that, although I am in the business office, I am part of such an amazing organization and get to indirectly have an impact on the students. 
What has been your experience at Marin Horizon so far? 
I have felt so included and welcomed by the entire faculty and staff. I really feel like part of a team, all working towards the same goal, no matter what department you are in.

Name: Sean How
Preferred Pronouns: he/him
Title: Upper School Math Teacher
Grade(s) Taught Currently at Marin Horizon: 5th, 6th, and 8th
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2021
What school(s) did you attend? Loyola Marymount University, BA in Classics
Why did you want to become a teacher? 
I didn't set out to become a teacher early on. I was living in Los Angeles, playing in multiple bands when a call came from a professor of mine that a private school in the Pacific Palisades needed a Latin teacher a month into the school year (their previous teacher took a job at UCLA). I got the job, confident in my Latin skills but not really knowing anything about teaching middle school. But I soon realized how much I loved teaching challenging material to kids and how much fun it was getting them excited about a dead language. I was also able to incorporate some of my music background into my teaching. I performed with an 8th grade band for the annual Winter Festival performance.
What continues to inspire and drive you to teach? 
For me, it's that there is always something new happening in the classroom. Whether it's a new way to teach an idea, a new perspective, a new question...no day is the same. And the kids are so open to pushing themselves. As adults, we sometimes can lose track of how challenging it can be to learn something new. But the kids do it for hours a day, every day. Being a part of that keeps me motivated to always push myself, too.

Name: Stephanie Godfrey (previously Aschenbrenner)
Preferred Pronouns: she/her
Title: Database Manager
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2016
What school(s) did you attend? I attended California State University, Chico and graduated summa cum laude with a major in exercise physiology and a minor in nutrition. 
Why did you want to work at a school? 
My parents both chose teaching as their second careers in life. They always spoke of the impact they made on kids and the joy they experienced in their jobs. After college, I dipped my toes in substitute teaching as well as working as a paraprofessional. The job was rewarding but I was not utilizing my strongest qualities. After working at a tech start-up then in clinical research, I realized I can utilize these experiences in database management and client services in a school environment and have the best of both worlds.
What continues to inspire and drive you to work at a school? 
The fact that I can indirectly impact children inspires me each and every day. I may not be there with them through each step but I know the work I do only helps make their education an experience they will always remember. 

Name: Annie Scribner
Preferred Pronouns: she/her
Title: 4th Grade Co-Teacher
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2021
What school(s) did you attend? 
BA - U of Wisconsin, Madison, MAT - Columbia College Chicago
Why did you want to become a teacher? 
I was a camper and counselor in northern Minnesota for many years. I loved working with kids, especially the upper elementary and middle school ages. I taught sailing and swimming and loved being outside teaching. 
What continues to inspire and drive you to teach? 
I really enjoy developing and tweaking curriculum each year–whether it is trying out new technology, differentiating to the needs and interests of my students, and/or just reading a new read-aloud.
What’s your favorite thing about being a teacher? 
Besides working with kids and awesome teachers every day, I love the cadence of a school year. Each part of the year is different and adds to the excitement and challenge of working at a school. I also love that every day is different. You never know what the day will bring when you are spending it with twenty 4th graders! 

Name: Ben Fussiner
Preferred Pronouns: He/Him
Title: Director of Upper School
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2021
What school(s) did you attend? B.S., Southern Connecticut State University, Ed. M., Harvard University
Why did you want to become a teacher? 
My mom was a preschool director. I used to go to her preschool on my way home from middle school and I would help out with the students in the afternoon. When I was 19, one of my mom's former teachers remembered that I was good with little kids and hired me to work in the after-school program she directed. The rest, as they say, is history.
What grade(s) have you taught?
After working as an after-school teacher, I became a 3rd grade teacher, then a 5th grade teacher, then a middle school director.
What continues to inspire and drive you to teach? 
When students have an even better answer than the best answer I was even considering.
What’s your favorite thing about being a teacher? 
The low-level hum of joy that constantly permeates the air.
Why Marin Horizon? 
I have only ever wanted to work in schools that value learning for the sake of learning, and it felt to me that Marin Horizon was dedicated to this value.

Name: Nicole Schoentag
Preferred Pronouns: she/her
Title: Kindergarten-4th Grade Learning Specialist
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2021
What school(s) did you attend? UCSB - Bachelors in Literature, Fresno State - Masters in Education, CA State Multiple Subject Credential, CA State Single Subject Credential - Art, CA State Administrative Credential
Why did you want to become a teacher? Growing up, I never thought I'd be a teacher. It was only after I graduated college that I realized how much I loved school and wanted to continue to be in school. Schools are a place of inspiration and discovery. I feel so lucky to be able to come here every day.
What continues to inspire and drive you to teach? 
The students, of course! In the last year and a half, I have been particularly inspired by kids’ emotional resilience in the face of COVID. They often remind me to stay positive and go with the flow.
What’s your favorite thing about being a teacher? 
I love the pace of life at a school. I'm busy all day–I never look at the clock and wonder when the workday will be over. I look at the clock and am shocked by all the time that has flown by. I love laughing along with kids, making discoveries with them, and celebrating their hard work. Dream job!

Name: Julia Ripperton
Preferred Pronouns: She/her
Title: 1st Grade Teacher
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2019
What school(s) did you attend? University of San Francisco, B.A. Psychology, Multiple Subject Teaching Credential; Masters in Teaching
Why did you want to become a teacher? I love helping children develop a love for learning. I think it is so important to be a lifelong learner and any part I can play in helping my students find what they love is special to me. 
What continues to inspire and drive you to teach? The joy on kids' faces when they have an "ah-ha" moment inspires me to be the best teacher I can be. 
What’s your favorite thing about being a teacher? I love to teach children how to read. It is such a magical process to witness. I say it is my superpower!

Name: Kathy Piscioneri
Preferred Pronouns: She, her, hers
Title: Art Teacher
Grade(s) Taught: K-8
What year did you start working at Marin Horizon? 2018
What school(s) did you attend? CUNY Queens College, BA Fine Art. Parsons School of Design, Paris, Independent Study, Painting. CUNY Queens College MSEd. Elementary Education, Specialty: Children’s Literature
Why did you want to become a teacher? I was surrounded by teachers and I loved all the stories they told about their students—I wanted to have my own stories like that!

Name: Olivia Thomas
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her
Title: Preschool Teacher associate, Horizon Community School
Grade(s) Taught: Preschool 
Where did you grow up? All over but mostly in Marin.
Where do you live now? Marin
What school(s) did you attend? Whitman College 
Who do you live with? Partner, progeny, pet, plants? Pets and plants.
Why did you want to become a teacher? My dad was a teacher and he was my role model. 
What continues to inspire and drive you to teach? I love the children that I work with every day. 

Name: Katelyn Wellnitz
Preferred Pronouns: She/her
Title: Middle School Math Teacher
Where did you grow up? Philadelphia area
Where do you live now? San Francisco—Inner Sunset
What school(s) did you attend? Arcadia University
Who do you live with? Partner, progeny, pet, plants? Partner, Alex, and my dog Koopa (and several unhappy plants who aren't getting enough attention) 
Why did you want to become a teacher? I realized how much I enjoy working with kids during my years working at a summer camp in college. It was an incredibly rewarding experience. 
What continues to inspire and drive you to teach? I enjoy the fact that the job changes every day, that I can help students become critical thinkers and engaged citizens, and that I can help students build confidence in their math work. 
What’s your favorite thing about being a teacher/working at a school? My favorite thing about being a teacher is building relationships with my students. 
Do you have any hobbies? I enjoy playing soccer, running, hiking, rock climbing, and reading. 
Why Marin Horizon? I enjoy the small size and the community feel. 
What has been your experience at Marin Horizon so far? It has been great—I feel like teacher voices are heard, teams support each other, and students are enthusiastic and friendly.  
Which of our Pillars resonates with you the most and why? (We are insatiably curious, We are complex thinkers, We embrace challenge, We are active community members, We have a voice) We are complex thinkers—it is a complex world right now and teaching students to look at things from multiple perspectives is important.

Congrats to Middle School Humanities teacher and Marin Horizon alum Jesse Pearson, whose piece "Seeking a Pandemic Alternative to Tough Love" was just published by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Independent Ideas blog. As Jesse writes, "How am I—or any of us—supposed to know how to get through this?" 

Click here to check it out.