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.