The Board of Trustees is responsible for establishing the School’s mission and long range vision, broad priorities and policies for the operation of the School; and regularly monitoring the School’s progress. The board is also responsible for setting and approving the School’s annual operating budget, including tuition rates.
The Board is comprised of current parents, former parents, administration, and members of the larger community who believe in The Laurel School’s mission. Standing committees of the Board are Building, Program, Development, Marketing, Finance, Audit, and the Committee on Trustees. Board committees, in most cases, include broad participation: trustees, parents, faculty, administration, and other community members.
Maureen Harrington, President †
Maureen A. Harrington has been a partner in the San
Francisco office of the boutique litigation law
firm of Trepel Greenfield Sullivan & Draa LLP since January 2000,
where her practice focuses on business litigation
before state and federal courts. She has tried
cases in the areas of real estate, intellectual
property and corporate governance, representing
both local and international companies.
Maureen received a B.A. from Boston College in 1990, and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1997. Maureen and husband Robert Singer reside in San Francisco with their son Timmy, who has been a Laurel student since kindergarten.
Jennifer J. Atkins, Vice President
Jennifer Atkins is the Head of the Marketing Committee at The Laurel School and has been a Board member since 2008. Her professional expertise is in marketing strategies, database marketing, and marketing technologies.
Jennifer began her career in management and technology consulting. She worked for Accenture in San Francisco as an Associate Partner for 13 years, working with Fortune 500 financial services and consumer retail companies to develop and implement marketing strategies. Jennifer is now a Senior Vice President for Wells Fargo’s Internet Services Group and manages online marketing and marketing execution. She earned a B.S. and M.S. from Stanford University. Jennifer and her husband, Luke Atkins, live in San Francisco with their son and daughter.
Elizabeth W, Walton, Treasurer †
Elizabeth Walton is an experienced accounting professional with a strong background
in banking, investments, and accounts payable. She is currently Assistant Director
of Financial Services at California College of the Arts. In this role, she
is involved in every aspect of the school’s
accounting and reporting processes. The college currently has 1,600 graduate
and undergraduate students, with an operating budget of $50 million. Elizabeth
has a BS in Accounting from Lehigh University. She has a son attening Laurel School.
Cary Bernstein
Cary Bernstein is an architect who started her practice in New York in 1991 and opened a San Francisco office in 1995. Cary is a
member of the 1% Solution, providing a minimum of 1% of her firm's working hours to assist non-profit organizations with design
and planning. She has completed residential, commercial and health care projects in California, New York and Moscow.
In addition to her work in architecture, Cary is an educator who has taught Russian language and jewelry
fabrication at Dartmouth College, philosophy at Yale University and architectural design at U.C. Berkeley. She is currently a
Senior Lecturer of Architecture at the California College of the Arts and Program Chair for the SFMOMA A + D Forum.
Cary’s work has been honored by many organizations. Her most recent awards include AIASF House Tour & Exhibition: Liberty
Street Residence, 2009, IIDA-NC Merit Award: Ridge House, 2009 and AIASF Special Achievement Award: Slow Food Nation -
Charcuterie Pavilion, 2009.
Cary Bernstein graduated from Dartmouth College in 1984 with a B.A. in Philosophy and Russian Literature. She
received a Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture in 1988.
David Dossetter †
David Dossetter is a Senior Managing Director at Bernstein Global Wealth Management, where he is responsible for the firm’s West Coast offices. He joined the company in 1992 as a financial advisor and was responsible for a substantial private client practice in the Bay Area, assuming management of the San Francisco office in 1997. Prior to joining Bernstein, David was a senior sales representative for Sybase, Inc., general manager of the West Coast and Asia for Alcar Group, Inc., and a product-marketing engineer at Intel Corp. He earned a BS from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Northwestern University.
Julia Harris, OTR/L
Julia Harris is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist who sees patients in her San Francisco-based private practice. She consults with families and their children, gives evaluations and focuses on sensory integration, fine & gross motor activities, perceptual enrichment and interactive metronome programs. She also does school and individual screenings as well as leads in-service programs for educators and parents.
Before starting her own practice, Julia worked as an Occupational Therapy Aide for five years. Previously, she worked at CPMC’s Child Development Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center and at the San Francisco VA Hospital.
Julia continues her training by participating in educational seminars on topics such as The Writing Triad: Brain, Eyes & Hands, Sensory Defensiveness: A Comprehensive Treatment Approach, and Dyslexia: Symptoms, Causes & Solutions.
Julia earned a B.S. in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University.
Hal Hensler, Interim Head of School
Hal Hensler joins Laurel in the 2011-12 school year with a one-year appointment as Interim Head of School. He brings a wealth of experience to Laurel, not only to the
faculty, families and students, but to the Board of Trustees as we steer Laurel to become an even greater asset to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Hal Hensler earned an MS from Pepperdine University and a BA in chemistry and biology from Chapman University in Orange, CA. He also earned a teaching credential in
physical and life sciences from the University of California Irvine. Most recently, he was Head of School at Blue Oak School in Napa, CA. Mr. Hensler has had
various teaching and administration/leadership roles during his 30 year career in education. He has served as head of school, science department head, math and
science instructor as well as baseball, basketball and football coach. He has not only completed the Schools Attuned training but also implemented it for faculty
at Blue Oak School.
September Jarrett †
September Jarrett is the Deputy Director of Interagency Planning for the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco. She brings more than 20 years of experience in a wide range of public sector projects and programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. September's professional experience spans policy analysis, program planning and management is an experiences nonprofit and public policy professional, working in areas of housing, youth and family services, and community development.
September earned a B.A. in Urban Studies from San Francisco State University and an M.S. in Management and Urban Policy from the New School for Social Research. September and her husband Eric Cuneo live in San Francisco with their son who is attending The Laurel School.
Marcia Spitz, Founder & Faculty Member ‡
In 1965, Marcia Spitz was busy with a full-time job and also tutored young students. Noticing that kids with learning differences had a real need for special teaching techniques, she decided to do something about it—and The Laurel School was born. As she was launching the school, she also adopted her son Russ, who is now the Business Manager at Laurel.
Ms. Spitz currently teaches 6th and 7th Grade at Laurel, using a structured teaching model with plenty of fun mixed in. She loves working with children who have learning differences, and gets great satisfaction from seeing them develop their potential. Ms. Spitz has a BS in Education from Trenton State Teachers College and a Masters Degree in Education from University of San Francisco.
Caitlin Storhaug
Caitlin Storhaug is director of marketing and communications at Accenture where she works primarily on global environmental programs and domestic corporate citizenship initiatives. She has been at Accenture for nearly nine years in a variety of marketing and media relations roles.
Previously, Caitlin led media relations and communications for the National Restaurant Association where she served as the spokesperson for consumer, economic and legislative issues and was featured on outlets such as CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, and USA Today.
During the first Clinton administration, Caitlin worked on the launch of AmeriCorps and promoted service initiatives such as the Foster Grandparent program. In addition, she developed public education campaigns for government clients such as FEMA, the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Caitlin earned a B.A. in Communications with a minor in Psychology and graduated with honors from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.
† Parent of current Laurel student
‡ Parent of former Laurel student
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