Meet our Teams

As Head of The Riviera Ridge School and a native Californian, Chris brings 28 years of independent and private school experience to our community. She holds a BA in Psychology from Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles and a M.S. Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Scranton. She is also an alumna from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, where graduated from the Conservatory Program in Musical Theater Performance. She went on to serve as the Director of Performing Arts at Turning Point School in Culver City, California, designing and implementing a new performing arts curriculum and after-school programming.  Chris was later appointed the Assistant Head of Middle School and Dean of Students at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas in 2007, serving more than 400 middle school students, and selected to serve on both the Diversity & Inclusion and Strategic Planning Steering Committees. After completing the NAIS/EE Ford  Fellowship for Aspiring Heads in 2011, Chris was quickly recruited to her first Headship at Notre Dame de Sion School in Kansas City, MO where she served for six years.  Before her arrival to The Riviera Ridge School in the summer of 2018, Chris also studied independent school finance at the Kellogg Institute of Northwestern University. In 2019, Chris was one of twenty Heads of School, internationally, to be selected for the  Klingenstein Center Head of School Fellowship at Columbia University. She is the proud wife of John, and mother to Cassidy and Jack who both attend Bishop Diego High School.

Molly Seguel has worked in education for twenty years in California and abroad. She graduated from Georgetown University with a BA in psychology and played volleyball for the Hoyas. She has an active role in the Alumni Admissions Program and interviews local students applying to Georgetown. Molly has worked at the American School of Madrid and San Domenico in San Anselmo, CA, both K-12 independent schools.  In 2009, Molly returned to Santa Barbara with her Chilean husband, Hector, to be closer to family. Molly and Hector are proud to be raising two Marymount/The Riviera Ridge School 'lifers’.  Molly is an alum of the Katherine Harvey Fellows, and on the Board at Storyteller Children’s Center. 

Drea Dowdy came to work at The Riviera Ridge School’s Middle School and Athletic department in the fall of 2017, and in 2018, Drea was named The Riviera Ridge School’s Athletic Director overseeing our 4th-8th grade athletic program. Originally from Santa Barbara, Drea received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Virginia while attending on a full volleyball scholarship. After graduation, Drea was the Associate Head Volleyball Coach at Division 1 University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Drea then began her career in education teaching 3rd-8th grade Physical Education and overseeing the volleyball program at The Steward School, an independent school in Richmond, VA. While in Virginia, Drea also worked for the Richmond Volleyball Club overseeing all of their developmental youth and outreach programs with over 650 athletes. She enjoys spending time with her husband Brian, and two daughters, Ashton and Kendall. 

Jaime leads The Riviera Ridge School’s communication department, managing our learning management systems, and overseeing the development of our brand and marketing initiatives.  With a BA in Organizational Communications, a minor in Human Resource Management and an MA in Education, Jaime began her career as a Marketing Specialist prior to her work in education. Over the past nine years, Jaime has served in many capacities within Admissions and Marketing at The Riviera Ridge School. Jaime is a skilled writer, copy editor and webmaster.  As a member of the Administrative team, she continues working side by side with the Admissions office as well as supporting our important PR initiatives. Jaime and her husband, Jason, have two children and enjoy spending time together outdoors in beautiful Santa Barbara.

Originally from the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, Brianna received her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. She returned to the Central Coast to begin her teaching career in Math and Reading Intervention in 6th grade at Peabody Charter School in 2014. After three years, she transitioned to Notre Dame where she taught Kindergarten through 8th grade, specializing in Math, Science and Project- Based Learning. She took a brief break in 2018 to teach English Learners abroad in Prague and Taiwan.

Brianna is very excited to be joining the Riviera Ridge Community. Outside of the classroom, she can be found spending time with her family, hiking, kayaking, or reading a book on the beach. She is passionate about traveling, yoga, and the great outdoors.

Laura comes from a family of educators: her grandmother taught 3rd grade and her mother taught 5th grade. With a passion for teaching starting at a young age, Laura graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in History and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. She has taught for eight years throughout Santa Barbara County with experience in Kindergarten-6th grade. Throughout her teaching career, she has developed cross-curricular units with other schools throughout the country/world that she has used in her classroom. She thrives on giving her students a worldwide perspective to other cultures, promoting critical thinking, and being mindful of others. 

Laura lives in Goleta with her husband, Josh, and son, Benjamin who is 4 years old. She is on the PEP (Postpartum Education for Parents) Board as a Director of Training and Baby Basics and spends her summers facilitating new parent groups. Finding ways to connect with others and share experiences is very important to her. Laura also loves to read and ballroom dance in her free time. She is very excited to start her second school year at The Riviera Ridge School.

Melanie has been a classroom lead teacher for 37 years. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Diversified Education, and her California, Preschool-8th, Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, from Mount Saint Mary’s College, in Los Angeles. She has taught in California private schools in the cities of Inglewood, Long Beach, Ojai, and Santa Barbara, and her primary focus as an educator has been in Kindergarten through second grades, but 30 years has been in Kindergarten.

After 23 years of teaching, Melanie decided to have a new adventure and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where she taught Kindergarten in an intercity public school. She lived and taught in the beautiful Arizona desert in a poverty-stricken area. Many of the families were refugees from various countries. Despite her love for this culture and unforeseen circumstances, Melanie moved back to Santa Barbara and was hired by Marymount to be the Kindergarten Lead Teacher, of which she served for 13 years. 

In 2020, Melanie decided to retire from teaching. But due to her love of the children and Marymount and missing the classroom experience, her retirement lasted only three months. She was then rehired to be a floating substitute teacher in grades JK-4. At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, Melanie was offered the position of Junior Kindergarten Associate teacher, which she readily accepted.

Melanie believes in educating the whole child, physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Her goal is to bring her wealth of experience and knowledge to the JK classroom and to serve the Riviera Ridge community to the best of her ability.

Reanna is thrilled to join The Riviera Ridge School as a Co-Lead Teacher in 5th grade. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Boston University, and after teaching for three years in Los Angeles, Reanna attended UCSB where she earned her M.A. in Religious Studies, a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and a Master's degree in Education. With 18 years of experience as a classroom teacher, Reanna brings a wealth of knowledge to The Riviera Ridge School in all academic subjects. She has formal training in contextual mathematics instruction, Restorative Justice strategies, inquiry-based learning, and many additional instructional models that she weaves into her teaching. 

 

When she is not in the classroom, Reanna enjoys reading fiction, boogie boarding, and spending time with her two sons, Luca and Leo, and her husband, Nate.