With the advent of the 2022-23 school year, AWHS has not only welcomed a new class of students, but a new flock of new staff as well. 

Out of the 13 new additions, three are returning staff in different positions; Alan Nealley is returning as the Dean of Student Success, Cathy Sarkisian is returning as an English teacher, and Sonya Carrillo is returning as a Special Education teacher. The remaining 10 are staff members who are beginning their first year at AWHS. This includes Suzanne Blunk, George Dickerson, Katie Ludin, Amy Luck, Kaki McLachlan, Anna Lemon, Ginnie Chu, Weldon Miller, Kokayi Postell, and Amy Thwaite. 

Suzanne Blunk (Ms. Suz, they/she):

Suzanne Blunk, or “Ms. Suz”, is the new Administrative Assistant at AWHS. Blunk attended college at Northern Kentucky University and has previous work experience at a charter school located in Santa Rosa. Throughout the year, she will help run the school by assisting Principal White.

“I’m looking forward to experiencing a whole high school year…being around during the hubbub and hustle and bustle for graduation [and] for any of the upcoming school dances,” Blunk said.

George Dickerson (George, he/him):

George Dickerson, a new AWHS paraeducator, works with resource classrooms and helps teach students one-on-one. 

He graduated from the University of Oregon and recently moved to Marin. Aiming to work in the education field and hearing good things about Tamalpais Unified High School District [TUHSD], Dickerson joined Archie staff.

He’s also looking forward to learning more about fly fishing in the bay. 

Katie Ludin (Ms. Ludin, she/her):

Katie Ludin, or “Ms. Ludin”, is an education specialist, who works with students who need extra academic support. Ludin went to school at Dominican University, and, knowing she wanted to help kids and young adults achieve their best work, took a job at Pleasant Valley Elementary before coming to Archie. Although Ludin is excited to learn the high school curriculum as a teacher, she wants to help kids achieve their absolute best. 

“With the proper [resources], kids can grow up and really do great things,” Ludin said.

Amy Luck (Ms. Luck, she/her):

Amy Luck, or “Ms. Luck”, is a resource specialist working in Special Education and academic workshops. Luck attended UC Santa Cruz, Dominican University, Sonoma State, and San Francisco State to receive her undergraduate, teaching credentials, and masters. After working at San Jose Middle School for 18 years, she decided to teach at AWHS.

“It all just sounded like completely the right thing for me and so I did it, and I love it, and it’s totally where I was meant to be,” Luck said.

Kaki McLachlan (Ms. Mac, She/Her):

Kaki McLachlan, or “Ms. Mac”, is the new Assistant Principal at AWHS. She attended Sewanee University of the South, as well as Sonoma State and San Francisco State, earning  a graduate degree and two masters degrees before coming to the Tamalpais District. Previously, she worked at Tam High School for three years, but because of her love for the community built in San Anselmo and at AWHS, she chose to transfer.

“[AWHS] has done a lot of work on itself in the past couple of years…so I’m excited to continue that work because it’s not done,” McLachlan said. “It seems like the foundation has really been laid… so I’m excited to really dig into that.” 

Anna Leemon (Ms. Leemon, she/her):

Anna Leemon, or “Ms. Leemon”, is a new chemistry and biology teacher at AWHS. She received her Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Michigan, then went on to earn her masters in education at Stanford University. She loves the puzzles that science presents and enjoys working with kids, so becoming a science teacher seemed like a perfect fit. 

Leemon previously worked at Rancho Cotati high school in Rohnert Park and was a student teacher at San Mateo high school before coming to AWHS. Leemon chose to take a job at AWHS because of her love for Marin County and the supportive programs it provides. 

“ …I’m really looking forward to building those relationships and finding my people here,” Leemon said.

Sonya Carrillo (Ms. Carrillo, she/her):

Sonya Carillo, or “Ms. Carrillo”, is taking up a new position this year at AWHS as a teacher in special education. She was previously a paraeducator at AWHS, someone who works one on one with students who need extra support, but she decided to finish her credentials and now is working with the bridge program full time. She attended Sonoma State University and earned her masters in multicultural education at the University of San Francisco. 

Before working at AWHS, Carrillo taught at Valencia elementary school, Miller Creek middle school, and in China for a few years. 

“[I’m] really looking forward to getting to know my students and making sure that they know that there’s a safe place… in [my] room,” Carrillo said.

As the 2022-2023’ school year starts, AWHS’ new staff look forward to learning more about the AWHS community.