My name is Richelle Augustine, and I’m honored to be joining the Salt Lake City School District. I bring over a decade of experience in secondary education. Before transitioning into school administration, I was a high school English teacher, where I had the joy of teaching grades 9, 10, and 12, along with Creative Writing, Shakespeare, Mythology, and AP Literature.

I’ve also had the privilege of serving as a teacher mentor—something I value deeply, as I love celebrating educators and supporting their professional growth. I’m passionate about building a school culture where every voice is valued, and I believe that diversity is our strength in creating rich, meaningful learning experiences for all students.

I look forward to building strong relationships, collaborating with staff, students, and families, and working together with a shared purpose and high expectations.

Outside of school, my husband and I enjoy traveling and spending time with our three wonderful children.

My name is Yan'tu Barber. I’ve been in education for over 15 years, and it has been a rewarding journey dedicated to supporting students both in and out of the classroom. During my teaching career, I’ve had the privilege of teaching 4th, 5th, and 6th grades—years that truly shaped my passion for education and student development.

In more recent years, I served as a Culture and Diversity Specialist, a role that allowed me to help foster inclusive, and equitable environments in schools. I am also proud to have served as the Safe School Specialist for our district, where I focused on building safe, supportive spaces that helped every student feel seen, respected, and protected.

Outside of work, I’ve been happily married for 26 years, and together we’ve raised 8 wonderful children. Right now, we’re enjoying life with our high school sophomore at Granger High and our energetic twin girls in kindergarten. Fall is my favorite season, and in our house, football is more than a game—it’s a tradition. LET’S GO IRISH!

Mr. Jason Beach is thrilled to join the Wasatch and Ensign Elementary teams as the new Assistant Principal. He brings over 25 years of experience in education and higher education, having served as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, principal, school board member, educational trainer, and mentor to both students and staff.

Mr. Beach holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and two master’s degrees—one in Educational Leadership/Administration and the other in Elementary Education. He is deeply committed to fostering a positive school culture where students and educators feel valued, supported, and empowered to succeed.

His leadership philosophy centers on building strong relationships, servant leadership, and working in partnership with families to support every child's growth. He believes that all students deserve to feel safe, experience joy, and be actively engaged in their learning every day.

Originally from Arizona, Mr. Beach recently relocated to Utah with his family. Outside of school, he enjoys early morning runs with his wife, staying connected with his adult children, reading, brainstorming his next book, and making homemade pizza, salsa, and popcorn. One of his all-time favorite classroom activities is dramatically reading aloud to students.

Mr. Beach is honored to be part of the Wasatch and Ensign communities and looks forward to working alongside staff, students, and families to make this school year a truly great one.

Never a bad day!

My name is Laura Cheney, and I’m an educator committed to equity and academic opportunity for all students. I believe that all students are capable of rigorous academic work, and I’ve worked to ensure that access to advanced coursework—like AP and dual enrollment—reflects the diversity of our school communities.

I bring experience as a middle and high school math teacher, academic coach, testing coordinator, and Advanced Placement (AP) coordinator, with a career that spans both North Carolina and Utah. Each of these roles has deepened my commitment to creating inclusive and academically challenging learning environments for all students.

I look forward to my new position as the assistant principal of Bonneville and Uintah Elementary Schools, where I will continue to advocate for equitable practices and help build school communities where every student is seen, supported, and empowered to thrive. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my two boys and all things outdoors!

Dr. Bri Conley is the incoming Director of Educational Equity and Access. She began her career in education as a secondary teacher in another Utah school district before joining Salt Lake City School District, where she has served in a variety of roles. Her experience includes working in the district’s assessment department, supporting data-informed decision-making, and serving in school leadership positions—most recently as principal of Whittier Elementary and previously as assistant principal at Emerson Elementary.

Dr. Conley is deeply committed to providing access to high-quality education for all students and ensuring the necessary supports are in place to enhance their educational experiences. 

She holds a doctorate in Education, Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah, a master’s degree in Educational Technology from Utah Valley University, and a bachelor’s degree in History from Brigham Young University.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and children, ’90s and early 2000s music, gelato, and family game nights—even when she doesn’t win at Farkle.

Dr. Torilyn Gillett brings over 20 years of experience in education, with a strong background in school counseling, behavior support, and mental health awareness. Her passion for supporting students in fostering a path to academic, social, and behavioral growth and success has led her to the role of a school administrator. Her doctoral research focused on how school administrators can effectively support students from underrepresented populations. Dr. Gillett is passionate about creating inclusive, supportive learning environments and is excited to join the Liberty Elementary community.

I’m excited to join the Highland Park community and wanted to take a moment to introduce myself!

I graduated from UW Oshkosh with a degree in Early Childhood Education and later earned my master’s degree from the University of Utah. I’ve had the opportunity to teach in Wisconsin, Texas, and Utah—working with students in kindergraten through 8th grade. Over the years, I’ve also served as a PLC lead, new teacher mentor, curriculum writer, and an Assistant Principal at Bonneville, Wasatch, and Uintah.

Outside of school, I love spending time outdoors including hiking, skiing, roasting s'mores by the campfire or simply enjoying the fresh air with my family. I'm also a new mom, which has been a joyful and exciting adventure!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out. I'm here to support you and collaborate as we serve our students and community.

I am excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the Meadowlark team. I have been in education for 11 years and have taught grades K-6. I love being in classrooms and chatting with students, teachers, and the community. I look forward to getting to know everyone at Meadowlark and continuing my journey in Salt Lake School District! 

I am Dr. Patrick Jefferies, and I am excited to rejoin the Salt Lake City School District as the new Assessment Supervisor in Assessment & Evaluation. I started my career as an educator 25 years ago, and I come from a long line of Utah educators, including many who have worked in SLCSD.

I earned my doctorate in education from the University of Utah, with a focus on Educational Leadership and Policy, specifically in teacher evaluation and quality. I earned my master’s at the U and my bachelor’s from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington (GO ZAGS!)

I am looking forward to returning to SLCSD and Assessment & Evaluation, where I worked as a teacher specialist until 2012. My work has taken me across the country, where I have collaborated with diverse communities to foster sustainable success for all students. I have served as a principal and assistant principal, with experience in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools, in both Utah and Oregon. As a principal at a school primarily serving families who identified as Latino/a/x, I was recognized by the University of Notre Dame Latino Enrollment Institute (LEI) for building communities that ensured the success of all students. I was part of the leadership team and a principal mentor for LEI for many years, working alongside school leaders across the country.  

I spent time in the non-profit sector, managing fatherhood education and positive masculinity programs, which included working with students at SLCSD and other clients across the state. I taught courses in both the master’s and bachelor’s programs at the College of Social Work at the University of Utah. Most recently, I worked at Matheson Junior High in Granite to enhance instruction and improve student outcomes.

Kristy, my partner, and I have been together for 26 years, and we have two wonderful children, aged 15 and 12. I enjoy baking bread, cooking, traveling, and I am an enthusiastic soccer fan. I am honored to join all of you in working to help students become the best version of themselves.

My name is Dr. Vanessa Jordan, and I’m honored to return to Whittier Elementary as the Principal. I bring a student-centered approach and a strong belief in the power of family-school partnerships.

I earned my educational doctorate in leadership and policy from the University of Utah; I focused on parent inclusivity in the IEP process. Over the past five years, I’ve served as an Assistant Principal at both elementary and middle schools, following six years as a teacher and one year as a literacy coach.

Outside of school, I enjoy the outdoors with my family and our three French Bulldogs—Gilly, Frida, and Lou—and I’m a lifelong soccer fan and former college player.

I’m excited to be back and look forward to collaborating for a great year ahead.

I started my leadership journey as a Language Teacher Specialist supporting middle schools in Jordan School District, with a focus on systems that support multilingual learners. Over the past two years, I’ve served as an assistant principal at Dilworth and Indian Hills and am excited to return to secondary. Before that, I taught high school language arts—AP, IB, Co-taught, and ELD—and took on various leadership roles. I’m passionate about building inclusive school communities through collaboration with teachers, families, and students. Outside of school, I’m a proud mom to a 7th grader and enjoy softball, pickleball, hiking, and reading.

I’m excited to begin my new role as the Literacy Supervisor for the Salt Lake City School District. For over 25 years, I’ve had the privilege of working in education as a classroom teacher, Title I coordinator, literacy specialist and coach, and school administrator. Across every role, my passion has remained the same: advancing literacy and strong instructional practices to support meaningful learning for all students.

I’ve taught 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades and served in four different districts across two states, giving me a broad perspective on the diverse needs of students and educators. In Salt Lake City School District, I’ve worked as a literacy coach at Bennion and Rose Park, assistant principal at both Rose Park and Newman, and most recently as principal of Wasatch Elementary.

Throughout my career, I’ve led with a student-centered mindset and a commitment to equity and excellence. I believe that literacy is the foundation for opportunity, and that strong instructional leadership can transform learning outcomes. I look forward to partnering with schools and educators across the district to strengthen literacy instruction and empower every student to thrive.

I am a Salt Lake Schools Alum (Lowell and West High) and a 3rd-generation educator. I started teaching in Washington, D.C., but have spent the last decade back in Utah. I’ve taught 3^rd grade, middle school math and science, and special education. I’ve also been an instructional coach and was the assistant principal at Matheson Junior High in Magna last year. I love the outdoors, running ultramarathons, playing chess, and my lovely wife and dog. I also love the occasional evening of video or board games. I’m so excited to come back to the Salt Lake City School District!

I am excited to be joining the team at West! This is my 24th year in education and before that I worked in a forest service conservation program in Oregon with high schoolers. For the past six years, I have been the principal of Indian Hills here in SLCSD, and before that I was as an assistant principal at Nibley Park K-8 and Mary W Jackson. I have a strong background with second language learning and have even taught English as a second language abroad for a couple of years. My own kids are SLCSD students or alum where they both have attended Emerson Elementary, Clayton Middle School, and Highland High. 

Selene brings over a decade of experience as an educator and leader committed to equity, student achievement, and community collaboration. Her career spans roles as a bilingual and general education teacher and most recently, Assistant Principal at Highland Park Elementary, where she championed inclusive instruction, data-driven professional learning communities, and school-wide systems to support student success.

Selene is especially passionate about literacy, equitable learning outcomes, and developing systems that elevate student voice and academic growth. She holds dual master’s degrees in educational leadership and educational psychology, with an emphasis in reading and literacy, and thrives on partnering with teachers to improve instructional practices and student outcomes.

Having previously taught at Mountain View Elementary, she is excited to return and continue working alongside the community, students, and families she knows and admires. Her work has contributed to increases in student proficiency and attendance, and she is eager to support ongoing initiatives in reading intervention, math discourse, and inclusive practices.

Outside of school, Selene enjoys baking, playing video games, and spending time with her two dogs and two goats. She looks forward to deepening relationships within the Glendale community and supporting every student in reaching their full potential.

I moved to Park City in 1990 when my family relocated from Southern California. After graduating from Park City High School, I attended St. Mary’s College and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Soon after, I earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Westminster College and a license in K-12 administration from Southern Utah University. I am currently in my third year of a doctoral program studying school leadership at the University of Northern Colorado. I have taught English Language Arts to fifth graders up to seniors, and for the past three years have been at West High. Prior to this experience, I was a school principal for six years at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

I live in Rose Park with my husband, two stepchildren, three dogs and five lizards. My interests include writing screenplays; studying history; reading; camping; running; gardening; traveling.

I am excited to begin my 20th year in education at Meadowlark!

Over the years, I’ve held many roles in education, but the constant thread has always been a deep commitment to ensuring that each and every student receives the support they need, when they need it. Most recently, I served as Associate Dean of the School of Education at Western Governors University. I earned a PhD in Psychology and master’s degrees in both Special Education and Leadership and Policy. My husband Colby and I are proud parents of two high school students, Reuben and Helen, and we share our home with two dogs, Rocket and Honey. I’ve had the opportunity to work out of state, for the Utah State Board of Education, and in several local districts, including Granite, Jordan, and Canyons. I am thrilled to join the Salt Lake City School District as the principal of Indian Hills Elementary School.

I am thrilled to join the East High School team as the new assistant principal. I bring years of experience in education, having taught band at both the middle and high school levels in Virginia, Ohio, and Utah. Most recently, I served as the principal of Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, a master’s degree in Arts Administration, and a graduate certificate in Educational Leadership.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors and traveling with my husband, Mark, and our three children—Caroline, Nicholas, and Jonathan. My other hobbies and interests include listening to movie scores, reading, playing the clarinet, watching sports, and cross-stitching.

I look forward to getting to know and working alongside the East High School community.

Rebecca Powell is honored to serve as the new Assistant Principal at Rose Park Elementary. For the past four years, she has worked alongside Rose Park’s incredible staff and students as the school’s Literacy Content Area Specialist. Rebecca has a love for reading and writing and is passionate about partnering with educators to ensure all learners have access to high-quality instruction. She has served as a literacy coach at both Rose Park (K–6) and Ensign Elementary (3–6) and previously spent most of her classroom teaching career at Mountain View Elementary. Rebecca is currently pursuing a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy, deepening her commitment to equity, community engagement, and meaningful school leadership. She is excited to continue supporting the Rose Park community and looks forward to working alongside families, staff, and students in this new role.

April Reynolds is the incoming Administrator for Special Education Inclusion and Co-Teaching. She has spent 33 years in the Salt Lake City School District serving in a variety of roles. April has worked as a special education teacher at Northwest Middle School, district level special education consultant, assistant principal at Edison Elementary School, and most recently as the principal of Emerson Elementary. 

April is committed to removing barriers and providing access to high quality instruction for all students, including those with disabilities. She developed the special education hub school model at Emerson with collaborative classrooms in a co-teaching model in the upper grades. April holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Utah and a Supervisory and Administrative endorsement from Utah State University. 

In her free time, April enjoys University of Utah football, San Francisco Giants baseball, catching live music, and spending time at her cabin. She lives in Sugar House with her spouse and a big orange cat named Buster. 

Greetings! I am so excited to work for the flagship school district in Utah. I am entering my 16th year in education, and what a ride it has been.  I started as an alternative routes to licensure teacher in Vernal Utah, and in the my 5th year was Uintah High School's Teacher of the Year. Since then I have been a state specialist for USBE (Secondary ELA and Early College), and 6 years as an administrator (4 years AP at Tooele High School, and 2 years principal at Ecker Hill Middle School). I am thrilled to begin my work for SLCSD and bring with me a BA in English, M.Ed. in Secondary Education, and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction. I have five kids so I am always busy! 

Dr. Analis Carattini-Ruiz, born and raised in Puerto Rico, has served in K-12 education for the past 22 years. Her experience includes roles as a Special Education Teacher, Elementary Education Teacher, Associate Director, and Director of Federal & State Programs, and, most recently, Executive Director of Educational Opportunity and Student Support. She earned her Ph.D. in 2020 from the University of Utah’s Department of Education, Culture, and Society. Dr. Carattini-Ruiz is married to Jose Antonio Ruiz and is the proud mother of three daughters—Isamar, Ciara, and Adriana—and grandmother to Julian and Nova West.

Hillary Stacey joins SLCSD as a school administrator with a strong commitment to equity, innovation, and preparing all students for success beyond graduation. She brings experience as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and district-level leader, where she led initiatives in personalized, competency-based education, educator development, and systems that support student achievement.

Her work has focused on expanding access to high-quality learning experiences, supporting inclusive instructional practices, and building college and career readiness pathways for all students. She is passionate about using data and collaboration to drive continuous improvement and create learning environments where every student is valued and supported.

Hillary holds advanced degrees in education and leadership and contributes to state-level efforts around personalized learning and school improvement. She is especially excited to support and grow Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities that help students explore pathways and graduate ready for college, career, and life. 

Lichelle Watne brings 28 years of experience in public education and a strong commitment to instructional excellence, equity, and student success. She holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Principal License, and has served in leadership roles including principal, assistant principal, instructional coach, and state-level consultant.

Throughout her career, Lichelle has led efforts to improve teaching and learning through data-driven instruction, professional development, and school improvement planning. She is deeply passionate about curriculum, early literacy and numeracy, and creating inclusive learning environments where all students can thrive. As an instructional leader, she is known for her collaborative approach, clear communication, and dedication to continuous growth.

Julianna Wing is ecstatic to begin her new role as the CTE Business Development Coordinator for Salt Lake City School District, where she will connect industry partners with CTE programs across the district. Her career in education has been driven by a strong commitment to expanding career opportunities for students. For ten years, Julianna taught business and marketing classes and led successful FBLA and DECA chapters, building meaningful connections between students and industry partners to make learning practical and relevant. As a CTE Coordinator, she expanded this work across all CTE pathways, emphasizing workforce readiness, industry certifications, and real-world application. Most recently, she served as an assistant principal, continuing to champion CTE programs and student opportunities. Julianna’s passion lies in CTE—enhancing career pathways that empower students to explore professions, develop skills, and succeed beyond the classroom. Her favorite role is wife and mother of three adventurous boys.

Tony Zani brings over 25 years of experience as an educator and school leader dedicated to literacy, equity, and building thriving school communities. His career includes roles as an elementary teacher, instructional coach, and most recently, Assistant Principal at Rose Park Elementary, where he focused on fostering strong relationships, supporting teacher development, and creating inclusive, engaging learning environments.

Tony is especially passionate about literacy instruction, educational equity, and the development of systems that promote teacher leadership and student growth. As President of the Utah National Board-Certified Teachers Coalition, he works to support educators across the state as they pursue rigorous professional certification and leadership opportunities.

Tony is thrilled to serve as Principal of Wasatch Elementary. He is inspired by the school’s strong academic traditions, rich arts programs, and commitment to student voice and collaboration.

Outside of school, Tony enjoys hiking Utah’s scenic trails, spending time with family and friends, reading, and exploring creative projects. He looks forward to partnering with the Wasatch community to support joyful, challenging, and meaningful learning for all students.