Contacts & Directions

As an active member of the Santa Barbara community and local schools, Tina has played many roles. She has served on numerous Parent Auxiliary Boards and committees, as well as assisted in the classroom. Tina comes to Laguna with an extensive background in event coordination and project management, working for the Santa Barbara Triathlon, as well as a local interior design company. She also has experience in office administration, accounting, and volunteer management.

A UCSB graduate, Tina earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art History. She most cherishes her time with her husband and three children and enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, and design. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, Ursula Chan, started at Laguna Blanca in 2018 as the Lower School Spanish Instructor and Fourth Grade Teaching Assistant and began her work as DEI Coordinator in 2020. Chan holds a B.A. in Feminist Studies from UCSB and a Master's with honors in American Studies, deepening her expertise in history, society, culture, and critical theory.

Nissa Hales is a fourth-generation Santa Barbaran and third generation graduate of Santa Barbara High School. Throughout her fifteen-year tenure as lead sixth grade instructor at Laguna, Nissa assisted the Director of Technology and served on the Technology Committee to design and implement the one-to-one Laptops for Learning program in the Middle School. During that time, Nissa served as fifth and sixth grade technology instructor as well as adjunct Educational Technology instructor at Antioch University. In the fall of 2015, Nissa transitioned out of the classroom to become Laguna’s Instructional Integration Coordinator, responsible for helping students and teachers integrate technology into their curricula.

Colleen Murray serves in our college counseling office as the Director College Counseling. She has more than 28 years of experience in college counseling, and she returned to Southern CA after serving as the Dean of College and Academic Advising at The Bear Creek School in Redmond, Washington. Colleen has overseen and successfully built college admissions programs at secondary boarding and day schools in California and Washington. She is an active member of NACAC, WACAC, PNACAC and has served on the Baylor University College Counselor Advisory Board. Colleen provides a comprehensive and personalized college counseling process for students and finds joy in getting to know her students well as she guides them along their college path. “It is extremely rewarding to come alongside students and families in helping them feel comfortable on this pivotal journey. It is incredible to see a student’s face light up as one is equipped to embrace strength, confidence, calm, and excitement in the college process. I look forward to shepherding students along their paths to college and beyond. It is a privilege to be a member of the spectacular Laguna Blanca community!” Colleen’s educational background includes a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling from San Diego State University. She has her Pupil Personnel Services Credential from San Diego State University and Certificates in College Counseling from the University of California, San Diego, and the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions. Colleen grew up in San Diego, where, as a young girl, she met her next-door neighbor: her future husband, Reid. They are now empty nesters to three lovely daughters.

Jessica K. Tyler was born in the San Fernando Valley, and moved to Santa Barbara in 2004 to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and Society. In 2012, she earned her Juris Doctor degree from the Santa Barbara College of Law. Jessica brings to Laguna an extensive legal background, working for over ten years as a legal assistant and paralegal, focusing on family law.

Jessica leads Laguna’s Mock Trial team, which is an extracurricular activity offered in the Upper School. She enjoys sharing the American Judicial system and the litigation process with students as they work on a fictitious case to compete against other Santa Barbara County schools each year at the Santa Barbara Superior Court. 

When not at Laguna, Jessica lives an active lifestyle, hiking, running, and skiing. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and is a cheerful and enthusiastic supporter of our Laguna community, always welcoming the opportunity to know all students and their families.