is the founder of The Miami Sudbury School in Miami, FL and an active member of Sudbury International. She spent two weeks at the Open School during a Sudbury “staff swap” in November 2024 and was delighted to connect in person with the dynamic Open School community. She has been an educator since 2005, working in both traditional and nontraditional school settings in Missouri, California, Florida, and internationally in Haiti, where she continues to support her nonprofit MPM Haiti. She did her Masters work in Secondary Education and Spanish and discovered the Sudbury Model while reading Free to Learn by Peter Gray. She believes in providing and supporting civil and human rights for young people.

is the membership-elected board member for the 2025-26 school year and is the parent of a current OS student in the virtual program. She has spent much of her professional career in arts education as a creative writing teacher and theater education program developer. She graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with an MFA in Writing for Film and Television and from Kenyon College with a BA in Drama. She has served on the boards of several nonprofit educational and arts organizations, served as Executive Director for Theater 150 in Ojai, California, and was the inaugural Managing Director for the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Liz resides in Los Angeles County and is currently an active volunteer for WriteGirl, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles that provides free creative writing mentors to at-risk teenage youth.

is passionate about understanding and creating effective systems at the intersection of industrial psychology, education, and vocational training. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in these fields, and her time in Boston and on the West Coast allowed her to collaborate with leaders in industrial psychology while earning postgraduate degrees. Currently, Chelsea serves as the Senior Director of Operations Services for a hospitality group, where she focuses on developing systems and environments that enhance company culture and productivity. Under her leadership, her team has been recognized as one of the best companies to work for in 2022 and 2023. Chelsea also volunteers with No Kid Hungry and the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA). Chelsea Etter is serving as an Auxiliary Director

found her passion for working with children and families in Orange County 29 years ago, beginning her work in the field as an aide in a toddler room through a ROP course offering. She currently works as a professor at Fullerton College in the Child Development & Educational Studies department. Ms. Kinkel regularly volunteers as an advocate for children through her work with the Orange County Reggio Roundtable, the Orange County Child Development Planning Council, the Early Childhood Sub-Committee of the Fullerton Collaborative and as a Board Member for The Open School. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Behavior at the University of California, Irvine, and earned her Master of Arts degree in Human Development at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena. Ms. Kinkel became a licensed foster parent eight years ago and is now the solo parent for her seven-year-old adoptive daughter and the foster parent for her infant sister.

is a Partner at The Schutz Company, a boutique consulting firm that specializes in organizational transformation. He began his career on the Wall Street trading floor before discovering a passion for organizational culture and performance. For the last decade, his focus has been on leadership, strategy, and the human dynamics of business. He spends his free time with his wife, 2-year-old daughter, and two cats in their home in San Diego. He has self-published two books of poetry and numerous essays on philosophy, spirituality, politics, and business.

serves as the Board Treasurer and is an Open School OC parent who thought traditional education was just fine until she became a mother of a student it would actually affect.  Now she is a true believer in the philosophy and results of open and democratic education.  She has worked in Accounting & HR for 20 years and is currently the CFO of a manufacturer of environmental monitoring equipment.  In her limited free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, baking, all things nerdy pop culture and obsessing about ASOIAF.

is the Board President at The Open School and has focused her career on working with children and families in the fields of childcare, camps/recreation, education, and mental health. She has her bachelor’s degree in Human Services (with focus on mental health and early childhood education), and her master’s degree in Sociology. Sarah is passionate about working with the community and is happy to be involved in efforts to raise awareness about The Open School and democratic education.