Teaching at La Jolla Country Day School

Faculty/Staff Directory

Department

Grade

Last Name

Jeremy Bank

Educator, MS Science and Design and Innovation Grades 5/6

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by pushing students to improve every day. In all areas of life, small and incremental steps can translate to large changes over time. I ensure that students are striving to continually develop their skills in all subjects so that small progress over time can lead to large growth.”

Jeremy Bank believes that Earth science should be about observing and analyzing the world around us. As an eighth-grade Earth science teacher, Mr. Bank’s goal and mission is to provide a safe and mentally stimulating environment where students can learn how to not only understand the world but to realize change.

Mr. Bank graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering. He worked in the fields of data analysis and energy efficiency before transitioning to a career in STEM education. He has been teaching children and adults in the fields of 3D printing, computer programming and robotics for five years.

Mr. Bank enjoys reading, movies and yoga. “The Martian” by Andy Weir, “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card and “Battle Royale” by Koushun Takami, are some of his favorite books.
Caroline Becker

Educator, Middle and Upper School Choir

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by providing my students the opportunity to become articulate musicians, performers and communicators. I create an encouraging classroom atmosphere for my students to take risks and find their voice. Students who can tell a story through their voice will inspire others to do the same and become the leaders who will help impact the world around them.”

Caroline Becker believes that all music should tell a story and make someone feel like dancing. Without this basic concept, the beauty of a musical performance is simply lost to both the performer and their audience. Ms. Becker has taught and modeled this concept from the first day she stepped into the classroom.

Ms. Becker spent the first 24 years of her career teaching music education in the Upper Midwest, where she directed choral programs, orchestras, musical theater, jazz vocal and award-winning competitive show choir programs. She moved to San Diego in 2013 and loves everything about it.

Ms. Becker loves walking on the beach, singing, playing the piano, watching football and spending time with her three daughters, Kaila, Kelsey and Kylie. She is honored and thrilled to be a part of the LJCDS family.
Christa Bentley

Educator and Team Lead, MS English Grade 6; Coach - Lacrosse

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Bio

“I inspire greatness by encouraging and empowering students to believe that they have greatness within. I believe everyone has a light and a gift that can be shared to make the world a better place. I try to spend my time speaking less and listening more to understand and respect each student for who they are as an individual.”

After coming to LJCDS to coach girl's lacrosse in 2017, Christa Bentley recognized the passion, love for education, and emphasis on character building that Country Day embodies on a daily basis. She believes LJCDS holds a welcoming atmosphere that accepts everyone for who they are while helping students reach rigorous goals. She is extremely grateful and proud to have been teaching sixth-grade English at LJCDS since 2019.

Christa is originally from Westwood, Massachusetts, and is an avid New England sports fan. Before teaching in California, she taught classrooms ranging from K-5th in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Elementary Education from Keene State College, a Master of Education in Moderate Disabilities from Lesley University, and a Master of Education in Literacy & Digital Learning from the University of San Diego.

Christa is a firm believer in making learning hands-on and highly engaging while building personal connections and fostering positive relationships with each student to thoroughly support their overall growth and success.
Matthew Bessler

Educator, MS Science Grade 6

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by empowering students to take control of their own learning. I want to foster well-balanced, caring, and open-minded individuals. As a science educator, I encourage students to ask questions and be curious about the world around them.”

Matt Bessler, M.A., joined LJCDS in spring 2021 as a long-term substitute teacher and started the 2021–2022 school year full-time. It did not take long for him to feel a connection to the students and his colleagues. Mr. Bessler loves teaching Middle School students because every day is a new adventure. Their needs change often, and he likes the challenge of figuring out how to empower them to be successful learners.

Mr. Bessler earned a B.A. in business marketing from Franklin College in Indiana and his M.A. in teaching from Point Loma Nazarene University. He has taught middle school science to sixth through eighth-grade students since 2010 and helped design and implement a successful STEM lab at his previous school. He was twice recognized as Teacher of the Year by The Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair.

Mr. Bessler loves to be in nature. He enjoys hiking, stand-up paddleboarding and golfing. He is also an avid sports enthusiast. During the fall, you can often find him cheering on his favorite football teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mr. Bessler has a 10-year-old son who shares his love of sports.
Celeste Bilbao

Educator, LS and MS World Language

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by conveying to my students the value of learning about the Spanish-speaking culture as well as connecting them with meaningful experiences to learn a second language in a safe and caring environment where everybody participates.”

Celeste Bilbao began teaching at LJCDS as a long-term substitute for the Heritage Spanish class in Middle School. She felt a strong connection and motivation with the school's vision, care for the students and sense of community. She is grateful to be part of this nurturing community where each person has a voice.

Ms. Bilbao was born in Santiago, Chile, where she earned her university degree as an ESL teacher. Before starting her professional path in Chile, she flew to London to experience living in a foreign country. This nurturing life experience made her recognize the importance of being a global citizen, which she is now passionate about instilling in her students. Back in Chile, Ms. Bilbao taught different age groups and one-on-one lessons in language institutes. Her most enriching career development was the 14 years teaching lower and middle school students at St. Ignatius El Bosque. During those years, she continued learning different strategies to teach languages and received training in Visible Thinking Routines and project-based learning.

Ms. Bilbao and her family are pretty new in the USA so she enjoys traveling around her new home, going to the beach, dining out on Mexican food, as well as surfing the web to learn more about second-language acquisition.
Laura del Moral

Educator, MS World Language Grade 7/8

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by creating an awareness of the trend toward cultural blending and encouraging multicultural perspectives. Ethnicities are blending as we reshape a new global identity. I provide opportunities to connect the students to our local and global communities, making each student more multiculturally aware.”

Laura del Moral, M.E., believes that the Middle School world language department prepares students to be part of our global community. Ms. del Moral’s role is to provide authentic and unique experiences in Hispanic languages and cultures to develop multicultural thinking.

After graduating from Humboldt State University, Ms. del Moral began teaching Spanish and English in France. At the World Trade Center of Marseille, she was part of a dynamic environment as her European students were from various cultural backgrounds and were multicultural thinkers. Ms. del Moral built innovative, dynamic language-teaching strategies to suit the blend of cultures and interests. Ms. del Moral had the privilege of teaching European Union members, who benefited from her engaging approach. Since 2010, she has developed the Spanish program at La Jolla Country Day School by implementing real-life projects and introducing appropriate Spanish novels into the curriculum. She greatly enjoys teaching Middle School students, whom she finds clever and unique.

Ms. del Moral enjoys reading studies on language acquisition and bilingualism. As a professional goal, Ms. del Moral shares the research with the English, history and world language departments along with the Learning Resource Center. These studies help her stay current with the most recent research on how we learn languages.

Ms. del Moral has been teaching for over 20 years and continues to have an immense passion for the field.
Alexis Grinbold

Educator, US Ceramics and MS Visual Arts

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Bio

“I inspire young artists to engage with the process of making art. It is unreliable, absurd, delightful and invigorating. It is everything and nothing, direct and meandering. It is important that young artists recognize these permanent and fleeting notions because it is here in these moments when the adventure of exploring art begins.”

Alexis Grinbold teaches young artists in both Middle and Upper School with a focus on ceramics. She earned a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego. After graduating, Ms. Grinbold worked in an environmental design studio in San Diego with a small group of designers fabricating custom ceramic tile for residential and commercial developments. This led her to pursue an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where she began teaching in both the ceramics and C.O.R.E. program and also served as the ceramics lab tech assistant.

After graduating from SAIC in 2013, Ms. Grinbold moved back to San Diego and started substitute teaching at LJCDS while maintaining a strong studio practice and acting as an exhibition committee member at the nonprofit art organization Space4Art. She implemented a ceramic program there, installing a kiln and glaze lab for the community. Ms. Grinbold taught full-time at LJCDS, building the ceramics program and teaching AP Art History before moving on to teach at a community college in Palm Desert, CA. There, she started a partnership with the Desert Institute for the Joshua Tree National Park Association, teaching wilderness cooking and baking workshops. Ms. Grinbold returned to LJCDS in 2021 after teaching art and art history at the University of Redlands, Crafton Hills College, College of the Desert and San Diego City College.

When she is not teaching or working in the art studio, Ms. Grinbold is reading or watching anything related to sci-fi, ancient civilizations or animation. She also loves baking and being in nature with her son who inspires her to be an explorer in the world.
Liesl Hansen

Educator, MS Band

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Bio

“Music is an essential part of our humanity. I inspire greatness every day by exposing middle school students to the hard work, dedication and teamwork it takes to make that music happen. These remarkable students will go on to become even more remarkable adults, and my hope is that wherever life takes them, they are able to look for and appreciate the culture and beauty around them.”

Liesl Hansen is the Middle School band director at La Jolla Country Day School and takes students from producing their very first notes in fifth grade to being ready to join the Upper School program when they are finished in eighth. Ms. Hansen has been the director since 2007 and has watched the program grow to be an integral part of the culture, not only of the Middle School but of the community as a whole.

Ms. Hansen began her training when she was in fifth grade, when she chose to play the French horn, and music has been a part of her life ever since. She received her bachelor’s in music education from Michigan State University, where she was a member of the Spartan Marching Band for five years. She also spent a semester studying horn performance abroad in Vienna, Austria, and had the honor of studying with Wolfgang Tömbeck, principal horn soloist for the Vienna Philharmonic.

Ms. Hansen performs with various community ensembles, is an avid member of Hornswoggle, an all-French-horn ensemble, and is also a member of the orchestra for San Diego Musical Theater.

Ms. Hansen enjoys spending her free time with her husband and two young sons, Legos and parks being some of their favorite activities to share.
David Hill Ph.D.

Educator, MS Math

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Bio

“I inspire greatness by focusing daily on developing character, helping connect to real-life applications and math-forward situations, and cultivating confidence and enthusiasm for math learning.”

Dave Hill’s desire to challenge students with mathematical thinking and to apply their learning to everyday life stems from using math extensively in his career before teaching in schools. He conducted academic research in infectious diseases (primarily pediatric HIV). He served in local government public health roles (communicable disease epidemiology and health policy) before he discovered the wonderful world of middle school math and science.

Dr. Hill studied as an undergrad at Stanford and earned a master’s degree from Emory and a doctorate from Stanford Medical School. Before joining LJCDS in 2024, he taught at Crossroads Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, Menlo School in the San Francisco Bay area, and Graland Country Day School in Denver.

As a parent to Mason, Walker, and Avery, Dr. Hill values LJCDS’ focus on the inherent worth of every human and a welcoming and diverse community. He’s thrilled to be back by the ocean following a 6-year stint near his native Boulder, Colorado mountains.
Marisol Irwig

Department Chair, MS World Language; Educator, Spanish Grade 8

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by educating with a creative, lively and purposeful perspective to benefit student’s academic and personal goals. I believe that genuine care and respect for our community will help students to understand the importance of their daily contribution to our school and society.”

Maria Irwig, M.A.Ed., believes that giving full attention to everyday details in the classroom will help students to understand the processes of learning based on trust and meaningful teacher-student relationships. As the MS World Language Department Chair & 5-6 Spanish Teacher, Mrs. Irwig’s role is to provide the tools to understand the function of the Spanish language and its interconnections with our immediate and extended communities.

Mrs. Irwig’s career as an educator began in Mexico over 15 years ago. She has served as a performing arts and world language teacher in various schools. Before joining LJCDS in 2019, Mrs. Irwig created and established a Spanish language curriculum for a K–8 school, as well as a performing arts program that included Grades 4–8 concert band, Grades 5–8 jazz band and marching band, and K–8 musical theater.

Mrs. Irwig enjoys spending time with her two daughters and husband at all Disney vacation destinations. She also loves to bake and cook.
Dan Lenzen

Director of Design & Innovation

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by teaching our students to empathize with the difficulties others face and how to be proactive problem solvers. Human-centered design requires a deep interest in how others experience the world, a sharp analytical eye and the courage to try to improve the world. I teach students the technical and human skills that will allow them to tackle problems of any size.”

Before to coming to LJCDS, Dan Lenzen earned his Master of Science in cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego, where he designed methods to study gesture and sign language with the Microsoft Kinect and taught design to undergraduates. This work built on his interest in how cognition exists in our mind and bodies that began when he earned his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Colorado College (with a focus on social psychology). He spent three years as a researcher at the University of Chicago, investigating the role of gesture in learning in middle school students. These experiences provided Mr. Lenzen with skills in human psychology, research design, web design and computer programming.

Mr. Lenzen is the director of Design & Innovation and teaches courses in the Upper and Middle Schools.

As a native Chicagoan, Mr. Lenzen has joyfully embraced the San Diego lifestyle—surfing, hiking and actually enjoying the months between October and April.
Lori Long

Educator, MS Math Grade 7

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Bio

“I teach students first and content second. I believe the connection and bond I form with my students is critical to their success, and I pride myself on getting to know each and every student and learning how to maximize each student’s potential.”

Lori Long aspires to help students acquire conceptual understanding of mathematics through problem solving. She uses problem solving as an opportunity for students to apply their mathematical thinking skills not only to the academic world but to the real world around them. Because students are formulating opinions about their math abilities, it is her goal to help create a positive attitude about math so that students leave her class believing they are capable of success in the subject. Nothing is more heartbreaking to Ms. Long than to hear an adult say, “I was never good at math!” To this she always responds, “You just didn’t have teachers who inspired and encouraged you,” because Ms. Long believes all individuals are capable of success in math when they have good instruction.

Originally from California’s Central Valley, Ms. Long is a graduate of California State University, Fresno, and Fresno Pacific College, where she received her K–8 teaching credential and earned her Master of Arts in math and science education and an administrative credential. Before coming to La Jolla Country Day School in 1996, she previously worked in a public school district in Fresno as both a teacher and administrator. She has worked at all levels, from second grade through high school. When asked which grade she enjoys most, she says whichever one she is currently teaching!
Elvia Martinez

Educator, MS World Language Grades 5/6

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world by motivating my students to be open to the world of possibilities and connections that are made available by the acquisition of a second language. My role at La Jolla Country Day School is to become a facilitator of growth, collaboration and effective communication through immersion in the Spanish language. My goal is for my students to not only be bilingual but also to be exposed to other cultures and traditions of Spanish speakers around the globe. That is essential for any citizen in this global society.”

Elvia Martinez has been an educator since 2005, working with students from K–8 in diverse cities of San Diego County. Her background includes teaching in general education classrooms and offering specialized services to students with special learning needs. She has also worked as a tutor for after-school programs, as a certified tax preparer and as a certified Spanish legal interpreter.

Ms. Martinez is the mother of two girls and enjoys family time and trips with her husband. She describes herself as a strong person who is open to changes, opportunities and challenges. Ms. Martinez embraces life fully, as that is the best gift one can possess.
Ciara Rafferty

Educator, MS Art

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Joe Rowling

Educator, MS Strings and Orchestra

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Bio

“I inspire greatness for a better world through music. I motivate students to strive for excellence and inspire them to recognize their greatness individually and collectively.”

Joe Rowling believes that music education is important for the sake of music. As the Middle School orchestra director at La Jolla Country Day School, Mr. Rowling’s role is to teach students perseverance, dedication, teamwork, beauty and creativity through playing a string instrument. Students in Mr. Rowling’s classes hopefully leave with a lifelong love and appreciation of music.

Mr. Rowling was born in San Diego. He began studying piano and violin at age 7, and later the viola. Growing up, Mr. Rowling was a member of several school and youth orchestras around San Diego County. After “messing around” on the piano one day, he gained an interest in composing. This led to him entering and winning a few young composer competitions.

Mr. Rowling continued his education at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where he studied music education. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s of music. While studying in Los Angeles, Mr. Rowling participated in USC’s Outreach program, where he taught free after-school music classes to local elementary schools that did not have music programs of their own.

Mr. Rowling started at LJCDS in 2007. Besides teaching, Mr. Rowling is currently principal violist of the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra, does quartet and duet gigs with colleague Joan Diener, and works as a real estate agent for his family’s company. When Mr. Rowling has free time, he enjoys seeing friends and family, traveling, and playing disc golf.
Robert Wagner

Director of the Arts

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Bio

“Through an arts education, is an education in the human condition. Through painting, building, singing, performing and shaping, students learn to understand themselves and the world around them. I inspire greatness by ensuring students have a safe place to discover their true selves as they experiment with how to create art which shapes, reflects and challenges the world around them.”

Robert Wagner received his Bachelor of Arts in theater and dance from Muhlenberg College. He founded a nonprofit high school performing arts program for inner-city youth in Allentown, Pa. and served as the manager of education and outreach for Muhlenberg College’s Summer Music Theatre.

Mr. Wagner started at LJCDS in 2012 and has taught Middle and Upper School dance and drama and choreographed and directed all of the theatrical productions. In 2022, he became the director of visual and performing arts.

Professionally, Mr. Wagner performed with the Enchantment Theatre Company’s national tour of The Velveteen Rabbit, sang and danced his heart out in countless summer stock productions on the east coast, and choreographed and assistant-directed the La Jolla Playhouse W.O.W. Festival productions of Heaven on Earth and Under Construction. He has served on the board of the international nonprofit Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, Inc., and was the director of performing arts at the Swain School for four years.

In his free time, Mr. Wagner loves playing with his Goldendoodle, Midas, and traveling with his husband Brent.