Isabelle David
Un leader visionnaire doté d’un esprit curieux, d’une boussole morale solide et d’un dévouement inébranlable aux valeurs de SDFAS telles que l’ouverture d’esprit, la curiosité intellectuelle, l’intégrité, l’empathie et la résilience.
Isabelle David possède une licence ès lettres de l’Université Sorbonne Nouvelle et un master de l’Université d’Angers (tous deux avec mention). Elle est totalement trilingue – français, anglais et allemand – et possède des connaissances en espagnol, en italien et en russe. Elle a vécu en France et en Autriche. Elle vient de l’École Franco-Américaine de Chicago (EFAC), une école de la maternelle à la terminale où elle est directrice depuis onze ans. Parmi ses nombreuses réalisations, elle a été élevée au rang de Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (décerné par le Ministère de l’Éducation de France pour services rendus à l’Éducation et à la Culture françaises).
Elle est également la présidente de l’Association des Écoles Françaises en Amérique du Nord (AEFAN), un rôle qu’elle occupe depuis 2016, et entretient des relations étroites avec la Mission Laïque Française.
Gouvernance
L’Ecole franco-américaine de San Diego est une société à but non lucratif (501©(3)) et une école indépendante dirigée par un conseil d’administration. Le conseil d’administration est entièrement composé de bénévoles qui consacrent leur temps à la supervision et au soutien de l’école et qui apportent au conseil d’administration une grande variété d’expériences et de compétences professionnelles. Le conseil d’administration est composé d’un président, d’un vice-président, d’un secrétaire et d’un trésorier, et fonctionne selon un règlement intérieur. Une grande partie du travail du conseil d’administration est effectuée par l’intermédiaire de ses comités.
- Définir l’orientation stratégique de l’école ;
- Sélectionner, superviser et évaluer le chef d’établissement ;
- Superviser la santé financière de l’école.
Aaron Brennan
Chair of the Board; Chair of the Head Support and Evaluation Committee
Aaron Brennan joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in 2021. He is a California native and has been in San Diego since 1990. His children have attended SDFAS since preschool starting in 2010. Aaron is a recently retired San Diego City Firefighter and a currently serving officer in the US Navy Reserve. He has a BS in Finance from San Diego State University and an MA in Public Leadership from the University of San Francisco.
Zac Cole
Vice-Chair; Chair of the Committee on Trustees/Governance/Finance
Zac joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in 2022. He has two children who started at SDFAS in PK-1 in 2017. Zac lived in San Diego most of his childhood, returning finally in 2017 primarily to join SDFAS. Zac began his career as an aerospace engineer in 1997 designing, building, and flight testing jet engines around the country and overseas, until co-founding an engineering and manufacturing consulting business in 2015
Jane Kaggwa-Snow
Trésorière
Jane Kaggwa Snow joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in 2023. She
has been a parent at the school for more than five years. Jane possesses
more than 20 years as a finance professional and 10 years as a business
owner. She holds a BS Finance from Northeastern University and MBA
from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Emiline Cairncross
Secretary of the Board, Chair of the Strategic Initiatives Committee
Emiline Cairncross joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in 2019. She has a son in PK2 and a daughter in PK0. Emiline is half French, half Italian, and she grew up in the countryside outside of Lyon, France. She speaks English and French. Emiline is an attorney, but is not currently practicing. She received her B.A. in psychology and French from UCLA and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Ann Amukele
Chair of the Development Committee
Mony Liquard
Chair of the Audit Committee
Mony Liquard joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in 2021. She was born in Cambodia, immigrated to America at the age ten, and is fluent in Cambodian, Chinese, French and English. Mony is a financial services executive with 20+ years of experience in New York. Her husband is French and their three children have all attended the French American School of New York prior to relocating to San Diego. Her family has been exposed to diverse private and public schools in New York, Melbourne, Australia, and San Diego. Mony received her Bachelor of Arts from Willamette University and her Master of International Affairs from Columbia University in New York.
Alexis Nahama
Trustee
Alexis Nahama joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in January 2020. He is a proud global citizen – French by filiation (parents), born in Trinidad & Tobago, and childhood hopping around South America (Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico). He is married to Andrea (Brazilian from Rio) and has two children (Lucas and Camille) in 1st grade (twins). Portuguese, English, and French are the languages spoken at home. Tash, a Havanese dog, adds a flair of Cuban character to the family mix! Alexis is a veterinarian by training, with a vast experience in clinical drug development, business development, commercialization, and international operations. He currently holds a senior executive role in charge of the neuro-therapeutic (pain) business unit at Sorrento (Nasdaq: SRNE), a local San Diego biotechnology company. In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Alexis has served on multiple non-profit boards, scientific councils, and industry trade organizations.
Paula Marra
Trustee
Paula Marra joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in 2023. Originally from Brazil, she came to the United States in 2008. She is Director of an Elementary School in Point Loma, and previously served as Director of Enrichment at SDFAS, which since then has held a place in her heart because of its people, its culture and the school’s vision. She has been an educator for over 25 years and has a broad range of experience as an educator, from teaching assistant to class teacher, grade-level coordinator, chief academic officer and director of enrichment. Outside the classroom she is an educational consultant for curriculum design, teacher training and teacher coaching in the USA and China. She founded the STEAM Special Interest Group at the European Collaborative of International Schools; has been a Design Thinking Coach with the Teachers’ Guild; co-led the 2016 Beating the Odds Summit at the White House; and has co-led workshops at the Stanford d.School, Harvard University Graduate Schools of Education and Design, NYSAIS and the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
Jordan Gold
Trustee
Jordan joined the SDFAS Board of Trustees in the summer of 2023. He was born and raised on the East Coast in Watertown, Connecticut. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS in Business and Engineering, he worked in New York for a year before moving to Chicago where he worked as a trader for 20 years. Drawing from Jordan’s 20+ years in financial markets, he contributes invaluable insights to strategic decision-making and long-term planning. He moved to San Diego with his wife and daughter in 2020. His daughter started Kindergarten at the Lycée de Chicago in 2018, and has continued at SDFAS since moving to San Diego.
Sophie Lelievre
Trustee
Sophie Lelièvre became a member of the Board of Trustees at SDFAS in 2023.
Originally hailing from France, she was raised there and spent approximately two
decades in Paris before making the move to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2011. In her
initial years in the United States, her first child attended the Silicon Valley International
School until their relocation to San Diego in 2021. Subsequently, both of her boys
commenced their educational journey at SDFAS, enrolling in PK-0 and Kindergarten.
Drawing upon a professional career spanning over 20 years, Sophie is an accomplished event planner specializing in luxury events, with a solid foundation in the hospitality industry. Her expertise and skills acquired over the years contribute to her role as a valuable board member.
Driven by a deep passion for education and a dedication to cultivating a positive learning atmosphere, Sophie brings a wealth of experience to the SDFAS school community. Her commitment to enhancing the educational environment aligns
seamlessly with the mission and values of the school.
Priscilla Sands
Trustee
Dr. Sands has nearly thirty years of experience as a Head of School, most recently as the Head of the prestigious Marlborough School in Los Angeles. Dr. Sands is an incredibly experienced and respected school leader, and now author and podcast host on the topic of parenting.
Damien Tournoud
Trustee
Damien has two children who started at SDFAS in 2023. A computer engineer by training, Damien received a Master of Science and Executive Engineering from Mines de Paris – PSL in 2003, and started his career in Paris before moving to San Diego in 2018. He currently leads the technical strategy at Platform.sh, a cloud application platform for developers, which he founded in 2010.
Ana Walsh
Trustee
Ana has been a parent at SDFAS since 2019 and has volunteered with the school since then. She attended international schools as a child and studied abroad in college and law school, finding herself drawn to different languages and cultures. Ana is an attorney and Realtor. She received her B.A. in Sociology from UCLA, and her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law.
Cole Godvin
Trustee
Cole is a devoted educator having taught art at numerous prestigious independent schools, currently teaching at Francis-Parker and was personally involved in the formation of a new high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to becoming an educator, Cole’s career was in communications. Cole is mother to a 3rd grader at SDFAS, and studied in Paris for two years.
