Scott Salk
Managing Director
Mr. Salk joined Rancho Solano during the 2015-2016 school year with 14 years of private school administrative experience. While specializing in the areas of admissions and marketing, he also has school experience in operations, finance, facilities management, and development. Mr. Salk has a BS in Marketing from the University of Arizona and earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix.
Gordon Brown
Associate Head of School/Upper School Principal
Mr. Brown has been teaching for the last 26 years including public, private, and community college schools. Mr. Brown holds a BA in Biological Sciences as well as Physical Education and earned his Master’s Degree from Northern Arizona University in Exercise Physiology. Mr. Brown joined RS in the fall of 2010 from Glendale Community College. Prior to becoming the Upper School Principal, he taught IB Biology and Anatomy Physiology.
Erika Goethe
Associate Head of School/Middle School Principal
Mrs. Goethe joined Rancho Solano in 2015 with 25 years of experience in Middle School education and holds a BA in Political Science and a MA in Education. It is her passion and absolute joy to work with middle school-aged children. Mrs. Goethe has successfully built schools based upon best practices in education, which are founded in adolescent development.
Dr. Martha Braly
Lower School Principal
Dr. Braly has been an educator for over 30 years. She has been a pricipal of a K-3 school, a K-8 principal, and a high school principal. During her time as principal, she has assisted in building three schools. Dr. Braly also served as an Associate Dean at Ottowa University for 5 years. Dr. Braly is excited to be a part of the Rancho Solano family.
Dr. Braly has been an educator for over 30 years. She has been a pricipal of a K-3 school, a K-8 principal, and a high school principal. During her time as principal, she has assisted in building three schools. Dr. Braly also served as an Associate Dean at Ottowa University for 5 years. Dr. Braly is excited to be a part of the Rancho Solano family.
Dr. Theresa nabavi
Pre-K Coordinator
Dr. Nabavi joined Rancho Solano in 2021 with over 15 years of experience in PK-12 private education. She is a three-time graduate of the University of Florida earning a Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Prior to her role as PK Coordinator, Dr. Nabavi was an administrator at Windermere Preparatory School in Windermere, Florida. Dr. Nabavi began her career in education as a Kindergarten and First Grade Teacher.
Juli Jeffers
Chief Financial Officer
Mrs. Jeffers joined Rancho Solano in March of 2018 with over ten years of accounting and finance experience. She holds a Master of Accountancy from Arizona State University and is a Certified Public Accountant. During her master’s program, she was a Teacher’s Assistant for an Introduction to Financial Accounting class and was asked by the Professor to teach the summer school program on behalf of the Professor. Teaching has always been one of her passions. After that endeavor, Juli accepted a position at Heinfeld & Meech, Inc. performing Audits and Consulting work for school districts and non-profit organizations. She leveraged the knowledge she obtained in this job to jump into the corporate world at Republic Services, a waste company with over $10B in annual revenue. She worked up the ranks within the organization by obtaining experience in the field and at the corporate finance level. She helped to build the company’s quarterly and annual financial statements, and managed the largest liability of the company- their landfills. Near the end of her term with Republic, she managed all the accounting and finance aspects of an $80M/year in revenue division of the business. Mrs. Jeffers is very excited to be a part of the Rancho Solano community!
Aaron Trigg
Director of Athletics
Coach Trigg joined Rancho Solano in 2013 as Athletic Director and Head Boys Basketball Coach. Since his arrival, the Athletic Department has grown into one of the top small school programs in Arizona. In the past seven years Trigg has led the addition of seven new sports and each year the program has set new records for participation. On the playing field, the Mustangs have seen incredible success in winning four State Championships, and 20+ team and individual State Tournament appearances. As the Boys Basketball coach, Trigg has led one of the largest program turnarounds in Arizona history, taking the program from a 2-20 record in his first season to winning two State Championships (2018, 2020), while assisting numerous athletes to play collegiately. Coach Trigg is passionate about the role athletics plays in the overall education of all students and his goal is for all athletes to become Scholar-Athletes of high character prepared for lifelong success. Trigg is a graduate and Hall of Honor member of Gordon College (B.A. Finance and Business Administration) and of the DeVos Sports Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida (MBA; MSBM). While at UCF Trigg was a member of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports and Co-Authored two “Racial and Gender Report Cards” with world renowned social justice pioneer Dr. Richard Lapchick.
Academic and Professional staff
kaitlyn myzwinski
Admissions
lindsay
fitzpatrick
College Counselor
erin
joyce
Lower School Reading Specialist
viktoria
patzer
Upper School Counselor
Ashley
Martinez
Lower School
Office Admin
Office Admin
Kristen Liley
Registrar
Jill Babcock
Lower School Counselor
Jackie Martin
Upper School Nurse
Kim Kaplan
Lower School Nurse
Judith
Crane
Upper School Admin
ryan mcleod
Math Chair
carmen sanchez
World Language Chair
ted
strickland
History Chair
Dane
spencer
English Chair
Chris
Kotila
Science Chair
chris brown
Director of Educational Technology
marco garbino
IB Coordinator
Brandon
Zale
Fine Arts Chair
gayle avenell
P.E. Chair
dallin payne
Assistant Athletic Director
Vicki
Dereszkiewicz
Sports Medicine and Athletic Trainer
Joe
Lower School Security
Ashley
Lower School Security
FACULTY
myeisha
johnson
Pre-K 2
Genesis
Gordon
Pre-K 2
Debbie
Petras
Pre-K 3
Tina
KHalil
Pre-K 3
Samantha
Reisinger
Pre-K 4
JEssica
Dang
Pre-K 4
Stephany
McMahon
Pre-K 4
Jeannette suarez
Teacher Assistant
quinn
madow
Teacher Assistant
carrie caruso
Pre-K Music and Orchestra
teena
dennis
Teacher Assistant
Makenzie mcginnis
Teacher Assistant
patricia
grant
Teacher Assistant
Lamei hu
Teacher AssistantKelsey
Lambert
Kindergarten
sydney
wahl
Kindergarten
Sara
paulson
Kindergarten
kelly
roberts
1st Grade
kristen
roden
1st Grade
erin
Savarese
1st Grade
denise robinson
2nd Grade
sheena
barton
2nd Grade
tamy ramsey
3rd Grade
rachel smith
3rd Grade
megan
rasmussen
4th Grade
jessica robertson
4th Grade
Priscilla ferry
5th Grade
roxanne scoville
5th Grade
kristin
perdomo
Spanish 2nd-5th
Wendy
Hagge
Spanish PK 3-1st
elynn colaianni
Lower School Art
Lyttia Cancinos
IT/STEM 2nd-5th
christopher webb
Lower School Music & Band
Ben Paulson
P.E. 2nd-5th
kimberly
nyabela
IT/STEM PK3-1st
paul zukowski
Upper School Physics
carla munger
Middle School Math
Jim
Berman
Upper School Math
nicole cochran
Middle School Math
yukari bromfield
Upper School Math
Brian
Dempsey
Middle School Science
jean
witty
Upper School Biologykaren martinson
Middle School Science
Jenny Bryanis
Upper School HistoryDr. Jennifer bryant nagel
Upper School History
MIchelle blincoe
Middle School HistoryMolly
Lawson
Upper School History
Ellon
Sears
Middle School English
pamela
mccarty
Upper School Englishshasta
Phillips
Middle School English
Charlie Drummond
Upper School English and Epics
Kathleen wyrowski
Middle School Englishclaudia descloux-peisl
Upper School French
Wilson
Moreno
Upper School Spanish
richard
cao
Upper School Mandarin
Cristina correas
Upper School Spanish
Cecile
mahieux
Middle School French