Student Services Staff

Health Center

Resource Center

P.E.

Transportation

Becky Bombgardner
Student Services Secretary



John Newman
Dean of Students

John brings twelve years of experience in private school education to the dean’s office at Idyllwild Arts Academy. As a teacher, coach, advisor, and administrator, John has committed his professional life to working with young people in private schools.

John was named Dean of Students in 2006 after serving as Associate Dean of Students and Humanities Department faculty at IAA beginning in 2003, during which time he taught Honors Senior English, American Literature, Classics of Western Civilization, and a senior elective in Contemporary Poetry. John has been a dorm parent, a dorm head, and a judicial committee chair; he was an active contributor to the school’s Scheduling Committee that designed and helped implement the modified block schedule adopted by the school in 2005. He continues to work closely with the IAA faculty, staff and administration to inspire a community committed to positive personal growth. He co-founded the Idyllwild Arts Academy Honor Council in 2005 and serves as its advisor.

His love for boarding school life began when he was a student at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, where he graduated in 1991 with honors in music. He earned his BA from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA where he was active in the arts. John was also the top singles and doubles player for Bucknell’s men’s varsity tennis team, which he captained in his senior year. He has been a professional jazz musician throughout his life and continues to enjoy sitting in with students at IAA. John lives on campus with his wife, Molly Newman.



Mark Kets
Associate Dean of Students

MFA Design & New Media, University of Cape Town, South Africa; BA Fine Art, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Marc has taught English as a second language in both Taipei and Manchester. From 2002 to 2005 he taught learners of various levels and ages with an emphasis on TOEFL preparation and Academic placement tests for local universities in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2005, he relocated to Manchester, England along with his wife and taught learners of various nationalities working towards their IELTS and TOEFL exams. In addition, he taught elderly Chinese students learning the basics of the language at a local community center. Marc has run his own design company in his native South Africa and has worked with clients such as Red Bull, Levi's, British American Tobacco and Nike. He also has vast experience in conceptualizing and organizing a myriad of successful events from art gallery openings to larger music events in South Africa, Malawi, Taiwan and England.



Kevin Sullivan
Director of Residential Life

Kevin Michael Sullivan is a native of and still calls Providence, RI home. He is, and has been since the summer of '04, the Director of Residential Life at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Brunswick, ME. Kevin has taught and been a dorm parent at Lyndon Institute and Oakwood Friends School and also taught at Providence College, The Moses Brown School, and was Composer in Residence at West Warwick High School ('96,'99). In March 2004 Kevin was a Guest Artist at the Beijing Contemporary Music Institute, China.

As a composer Kevin's work has been performed in a wide variety of venues including Jordan Hall; The RI School of Design Film Festival (1995 and 1997); Brown University; The Public Broadcasting System; live on WCDB 91.3fm, Albany, NY; The New England Collegiate Dance Festival; The International Festival of Street Performers, Halifax, Nova Scotia and CBGB's NYC. Kevin has appeared in ensembles and as a soloist throughout the United States, China, Canada, the Bahamas and Europe. In 2001 Kevin had the honor of performing with legendary pianist Cecil Taylor.

Kevin's articles and reviews have been published in Sonus: The Journal of Global Musical Possibility, The NICEPAPER and The Pawtucket Times.
M.M. in Music Theory, B.M. in Jazz Studies (composition) studio instruction with Pozzi Escot, Hankus Netsky and William Thomas McKinley, New England Conservatory of Music; Studies at the Community College of RI (Music and Jazz Studies); Extensive private study with Hal Crook

Health Center:


Debbie Paris
Health Center Administrative Assistant

Debbie has 30 years experience as an Administrative Assistant (25 of those years with private boarding schools). She has worked at Idyllwild Arts for the past 15 years and is most happy to be a part of the Health Center team.

E. Keith Froehlich
Counseling Coordinator

Keith has been an adolescent and adult psychotherapist for 43 years after completion of his MTH at the Claremont School of Theology and his MSW at Fresno State University. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker in California he spent 10 years on staff at the Brentwood VA Hospital in Los Angeles and has been in private practice since 1971. He has worked with Idyllwild Arts students and faculty since 1993.



Debi Lastinger
Student Counselor

Debi L. Lastinger has been a part-time therapist at Idyllwild Arts Academy since November of 2005. A native Georgian, she came to California by way of Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas and Bulgaria. She has a M.S.Ed in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kansas and did her Ph.D. course work there. She is currently a M.F.T. intern in the state of California.



Cara Wilkerson
Student Counselor

Cara graduated in 2005, Suma Cum Laude, from California State University San Marcos, with a Bachelor degree in Psychology and a minor in Criminology. In 2008, she graduated with a Master degree in Counseling Psychology from California Baptist University, specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy. Cara began working in the field in 2004. She has experience working to rehabilitate sex offenders; working with emotionally challenged and mentally handicapped adolescents; working in the field of substance abuse, dependence, and recovery; working with victims and perpetrators of abuse; victims of sexual abuse; trauma; and working as a school counselor. In the above fields she has worked with individuals, couples, family and groups. Cara has been employed with Idyllwild Arts Academy since August 2007.



Becky Sandlin
Health Center Coordinator and Lead RN

Experience in healthcare: 33 years. Bachelors in nursing, California State, San Bernardino; Masters in nursing, California State, Dominguez Hills. Hobbies: Needle arts and flameworking. Becky has been professionally fulfilled in her 9 years at Idyllwild Arts and is looking toward many more.



Sandra Hazeldine
Health Center Nurse

Sandra is a registered nurse with 23 years expeprience. She graduated from Golden West College and has past experience as a Parenting Class Instructer. She began working in Idyllwild Arts Health center 3 years ago. Sandra's hobbies are hiking, reading, and volunteering for the American Red Cross



Kirsten Cunio
Health Center Nurse

Kirsten graduated with her BSN in 2000. She is a loving mother of 2 daughters and loves working with the talented Idyllwild Arts students.



Cassaundra Dunbridge
On-Call Nurse

Cassaundra graduated from University of San Francisco in registered nursing with emphasis in patient teaching. Experience: 8 years, emergency, orthopedic surgery, and school nurse. Hobbies: raising two little boys, pedestrian cook and baker, and writing juvenille children stories. Currently working on her second year at Idyllwild Arts and looking forward to helping the kids stay healthy in the years ahead.

Jackie Rechtfertig
Medication Nurse

Resource Center:


Shannon Smith
Resource Center/Learning Specialist

Physical Education:


Dave Hahn
Physical Education Coordinator

B.S. Education, University of Wisconsin – Platteville, Wisconsin.
Dave graduated Magna Cum Laude from UW-Platteville, with a degree in elementary and middle-level education. He was a four-year letter-winner and four-time NCAA All-American in the hammer throw and 35 lb. weight throws during his career at UW-Platteville. Having met with such success, Dave decided to pursue coaching and just completed his seventh year as the leader of one of the most successful throws programs in the United States. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's throwers ranked number one in the nation for three of those seven years ('04, '05, '06) based on their successful performances at the NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships. While coaching the Warhawks, Dave's athletes captured numerous conference and national honors. Seven individual National Champions, two National Runners-Up, and six Third-Place National finishers were produced under the watchful eye of Coach Hahn. The Warhawks dominated the men's hammer throw in national competition by winning the individual title three out of the past five years. Over all, Dave coached thirty students to All-American honors. Dave, in addition to his coaching duties, also worked as an admissions representative for UW-Whitewater, and has been a certified personal trainer. He is joined by his wife, Mimi, who teaches ESL and Spanish.

Transportation:


Tucker McIntyre
Transportation Manager



Betty Bailey
Assistant Transportation Manager

A print and broadcast journalist by trade, Betty earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications Studies from UCSB and a Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University. She is the mother of 2 sons, Kevin and James, who have graduated college and one daughter, Dakota, who is a third-year (junior) dance major at Idyllwild Arts Academy. At IAA, she helps Tucker McIntyre handle the transportation needs of students, faculty and staff.