Leigh Moss
​Head of School

Leigh is thrilled and honored to join the St. David’s Episcopal Day School community as the newly selected Head of School. She migrated to Austin, TX in 1998, after graduating with a Masters in education and a focus in early childhood development. Because of her experiences in a more progressive school, she sought out play-based education models and took her first job teaching in preschools for this reason. As a preschool lead teacher, she was fortunate to be able to develop and implement a classroom with an emphasis on meaningful choices, exploration, story-telling and the arts.

The next 19 years of her career were dedicated to enriching opportunities for students and families in the public education realm of charter schools. In 2005, she and several of her colleagues co-founded a local K-8 charter school. She wore many hats at this school, from teacher to curriculum coach to most recently as Head of School.

Colette Dunlap
Assistant Head of School

THE TEAM

The teachers at St. David's Episcopal Day School are the foundation of our success. They are all NAEYC certified and always put your child's education, safety and well being first

Krisana Castilla
​Younger Threes Lead Teacher

Krisana began teaching at St. David’s Episcopal Day School in January 2020. She has 11 years of teaching experience, during which she taught bilingual and dula language kindergarten, 2nd and 3rd grade. Krisana holds two educator certifications, bilingual generalist EC-4 and secondary Spanish 6-12 and holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology. Krisana is grateful to be a part of St. David’s, she loves that the school feels like a family and has felt welcomed since her first day.

Lauren Waters
Younger Twos Lead Teacher

Lauren began teaching at St. David’s Episcopal Day School in August 1998. She left the Day school when her daughter Frances was born but eventually returned and continued to work in the St. David’s Childcare program. She has been the Lead teacher in 2's class since 2005 and is loved by both children and their parents. Prior to teaching our 2's Lauren was  the Lead teacher in our Toddler 1’s class for three years and received her CDA in 2012.

Julie Johnson-Carson
Lead Montessori Teacher 

Julie received her B.A. from Austin College in 1974 and her certificate in Contemporary Montessori Education in 1987 from The Albanesi Educational Center in Dallas, Texas. She began teaching the Montessori Mother's Day Out program at SDDS in 1997. Miss Julie feels blessed each day through the children and their parents.  She believes it is a privilege to be with you at St. David's Episcopal Day School.

Kenndall Stone
​Teacher's Assistant Ones Class

Kenndall has been at St. David’s since 2019 and is the 1's class assistant teacher. She is a graduate from the University of Texas, and has years of experience working with young children. She is excited to begin her career at St. David’s and loves educating children at this age level. She hopes to eventually travel and teach other young children all over the world. Her favorite part of teaching at St. David’s is seeing the development of her students during their time in her class.

Maria Duarte 
Montessori Class Assistant 

Maria moved to Austin in 2014 and became a volunteer In 2018. She was soon invited to be a part-time teacher in the toddler 1’s class and is currently the teacher’s assistant in the Montessori Class. Maria has the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in a foreign language, one year of graduate-level credit in secondary education, and Post-Graduate in Higher Education. Maria thinks children at this age enjoy learning if they feel teachers love them and understand every stage in their lives. Maria enjoys teaching Spanish to them whenever the opportunity arises.

Helga Veirs 
​Pre-K Lead Teacher 

Helga has been at St. David’s since
August of 2018. Her favorite thing about teaching at St. David’s is the precious children! She feels blessed to be able to do what she loves and is so passionate about. Before moving to Austin in 2018, Helga was a Kindergarten teacher and has a teaching degree in Elementary Education with certifications in  Early Childhood Education and  Gifted and Talented Education. She has also done Graduate work specializing in Reading Instruction. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her two beloved dogs, Foxy
and Woofie.

Tasha Stewart
Pre-K Lead Teacher

Tasha has been teaching at St. David's since 2004. She started in the Toddler Class as an assistant and gradually transitioned to lead teacher. Along the way, she has earned her CDA in Early Childhood Education. Tasha is a native of Austin and is married with 3 children and one granddaughter. She is a “die hard” Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys fan, and also enjoys baking, “Do It Yourself” projects, shopping and watching television.  

Kate Terrell
Ones Lead Teacher

Kate Terrell has been teaching since 2007. She joined St. David’s in the winter of 2019 as a floater and is now the lead toddler teacher. Kate has a B.A. in history from the University of Texas at Austin and has spent her teaching career working exclusively with toddlers and twos. She loves reading, music, museums, traveling/exploring, baseball (GO CARDINALS!), and spending time with her nieces and nephews. Kate loves teaching toddlers and twos because of their joy and curiosity for discovery and the world around them – St. David’s provides a wonderful community for that.

St. David's Day School Board of Directors

Audrey Ench, President: Audrey Ench is a member of St. David's Episcopal Church and Technical Recruiter at Google. Her oldest son, Lucca, attends SDDS and can be found bouncing through hallways on the way to Ms. Kate's Ones classroom. Her youngest son, Dylan, a very recent addition to the family, also keeps her quite busy. Audrey is deeply invested in SDDS and loves the sense of family the school offers by providing a play based education in a faith based setting. She brings an interesting perspective to the board as a member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce Talent Council and Austin Young Chamber. As President of the board, she is committed to SDDS's mission and core values. When she's not working, attending a board meeting or changing a diaper you can find Audrey helping her husband (who is a culinary instructor) in the kitchen and enjoying his delicious creations.

Jennifer Glass, Vice President: Jennifer Glass is a member of St. David's Episcopal Church and professor at the University of Texas, where she researches the impact of work-family policies, like affordable child care and telecommuting, on parents' and children's well-being. She has been a board member for the past three years, serving first as the Vestry designee to the Board. While her own children are grown now, Jennifer remembers her years searching for affordable high quality child care, and understands the range of needs that contemporary parents have. Her vision is to support St. David's as a family center for the greater Austin community, of which the Day School is an integral part.

Briana Shepard, Secretary: Briana Shepard is a mom to two daughters, ages 8 and 5, who started their education at St. David's Day School and now attend St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. She holds a Masters in Advertising from the University of Texas and a B.A. in PR from SMU and was previously an Account Manager at an advertising agency. She and her husband were married at St. David's in 2007 and in addition to being a Board Member is actively involved in both her girls' school as well as other philanthropic activities.

​Sarah Kapostasy, Treasurer: Sarah Kapostasy is a member of the Vestry, the governing body of St. David’s Episcopal Church. She was proud to serve as the chair of the search committee as we selected our new Head of School. As a former educator and a working parent, Sarah believes strongly in access to quality early childhood education. She is a licensed professional counselor and the clinical director of a local non-profit.

Kris Monson, Rector’s Designee: Kristofer Monson is a member of St. David’s Episcopal Church and recently served as a Vestry member. He earned a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2002. He is currently the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the State of Texas. Kris has faithfully served on the Day School Board of Directors for several years, beginning when his children participated in the program.

​Marcus West: Marcus West is a member of St. David's Episcopal Church and a manager at the Texas Legislative Council, where he oversees the quality assurance review of draft legislation for members of the Texas Legislature, as well as performing many engrossing and enrolling duties for the Texas House of Representatives. In addition he oversees the agency's delivery assistants, many of whom are mentored through an internship program. He has been a board member for the past four years. He has two sons, the eldest is a graduate of St. David's Day School, and the youngest will begin attending in the coming fall.

Caitlin Maher: Caitlin Maher has been involved with the St. David’s Family for a year and a half. This relationship began with the enrollment of her daughter Grace and later, her son Adam at the St. David’s Day School. Caitlin, Travis, Grace and Adam began attending services at St. David’s this past year. On Thursdays, you can find Caitlin, a regular volunteer, at The Trinity Center. Caitlin holds a Master’s in Art Education. She was an elementary school art teacher for ten years before deciding to stay home with her children. Caitlin and her family have found a home at St David’s. She was honored to join the board in January and is excited to work with the community to continue to create a warm, safe, loving and educational environment for all.

Taylor McDowell: Taylor McDowell joined the Day School Board in May of 2019. He also serves on the Board of Directors for El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission, a Texas non-profit corporation that operates a primary care clinic for underserved populations in Austin. Taylor is a transactional attorney in the Corporate & Securities, Healthcare, and Investment Funds practice groups at Jackson Walker.