Lilli-Mari Andresen believes in the transformative power of an LJCDS education to inspire young hearts and minds to grow into their best selves and become the ethical, creative and innovative thought leaders of our future. As the major gifts officer in the philanthropy department, her role is to connect prospective donors to the school’s most pressing needs and opportunities for support at the leadership level and beyond. 

Ms. Andresen brings 25+ years of experience working in the arts, museum management and philanthropy in New York City, Los Angeles and San Diego at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego Museum of Art, The New Children’s Museum and the Orange County Museum of Art. 

Ms. Andresen graduated from Scripps College with a bachelor’s degree in studio art and a minor in French culture & civilization and earned her master's degree in post-war and contemporary art from The Sotheby’s Institute in London and The University of Manchester, England. 

Together with her husband Alex, Ms. Andresen has a daughter, Paige ’25, who started LJCDS as a Tiny Torrey in 2010. In her free time, you’ll find Ms. Andresen enjoying quality time with her family, catching a barre class or taking a long walk with a friend in the fresh air.

Dana August helps students access and globalize their strengths to overcome obstacles in and out of the classroom. She supports Middle and Upper School students as independence and metacognition become central to academic success. Ms. August believes in system-based instruction, requiring students to zoom in and out of the topics they are being taught, helping them to connect to their prior knowledge, personal motivators, and the ever-elusive “why.” She helps students find confidence in themselves and better understand when and how to advocate for themselves, allowing them to take more ownership of their learning and recognize their progress.

After obtaining her undergraduate degree in biology from Fairfield University, Ms. August began teaching in 2011 in various academic settings in Manhattan, Austin, Beverly Hills and Surkhet, Nepal. She has instructed on research vessels and within aquarium settings and is an active SCUBA instructor. Ms. August earned a master’s degree in special and science education from Manhattanville College, focusing on students with learning differences, specifically dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and other visual/auditory processing disorders. She joined the LJCDS community in 2023.

When she is not at LJCDS, Ms. August can be found anywhere outdoors—she enjoys long bike rides, hiking, and snorkeling and diving along our beautiful coastline. 

 

Daniella Aviles aims to create an environment where students are excited to discover the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking world. She encourages students to speak a second language because that will allow them to understand and respect different perspectives. She hopes that students in her classes gain a cultural understanding of the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world as well as students’ very own communities.

 

Originally from Lima, Perú, Ms. Aviles studied Spanish and history at San Diego State University. She had the opportunity to study culture and language at the University of El Salvador in Argentina. Ms. Aviles participated in Tsinghua University’s Summer Service Program in rural China and spent the summer traveling and learning about Chinese culture. She received the TINKER grant to conduct research in Perú in 2010 and earned a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from the University of California, San Diego. She started her career in education at UCSD, teaching Spanish.

 

In her spare time, Ms. Aviles likes to spend time with family and watch movies. She enjoys baking sweet treats and traveling to different places around the world, where she can meet different people and try new foods.