English

Charlie Aslesan (Mr. A) comes to Laguna Blanca from St. Paul, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Education & Family Studies from Saint Olaf College where he was also the Co-Captain of their basketball team. Mr. A has over five years of teaching experience in Middle and Upper School Social Studies and English courses, including seventh grade Geography. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Saintly Service Halo Award, which goes to two educators in the entire state of Minnesota, recognizing excellence in the development of students.

Victoria was born in South Africa, where most of her extended family still lives. She has lived in France, England, Botswana, Switzerland and Greece. Victoria began teaching at the University of San Diego in the ESL Adult program. Immediately after university, she joined the Peace Corps and taught English in Mahalapye, Botswana where she developed a school library, created the Form 1 and Form 2 English Examinations in accordance with the Ministry of Education Requirements as well as a national competitive English team and essay competition. After her adventures in France and England, she taught Language Arts & Humanities to grades 7-12 in Seattle, Washington in both public and private schools; domestic and ELL; and standard, honors and AP classes. In 2005, she finished her master’s in teaching degree, and in 2009 she obtained National Board Certification. Driven to further master not only her writing skills, but also her instruction of writing, she earned an MFA degree in 2017. 

Victoria is thrilled to return to the beach after so many years in rainy Seattle. She enjoys daily runs with her two Weimaraner dogs. She is excited to join the Owl family and to become a part of the Santa Barbara community.

Prior to joining LBS in 2002, Ms. Hill taught English at Santa Barbara City College and Allan Hancock College. She has a Masters in Comparative Literature from UCSB, where she also worked as a Teaching Assistant and a Reader. While teaching at Laguna, Ms. Hill earned her Master's in Clinical Psychology and also works as a intern therapist at Santa Barbara Community Counseling Center. Ms. Hill speaks Serbian and Italian fluently, and she won an award at a National Latin Language Competition in (former) Yugoslavia.


Ms. Hill is a passionate teacher of literature and writing and is dedicated to helping students succeed. Her interests include music, theater, fitness, dance, yoga, and meditation. She studied violin and piano and was a member of the Santa Maria Symphony. Ms. Hill's favorite theater experience was playing the role of Rosalind in the SBCC's English Department performance of Shakespeare's "As You Like It." She also wrote theater reviews for the SB Independent. Ms. Hill is the proud mother of son Brandt and daughter Alexandra.

When Mayumi was studying Tibetan in Lhasa, she saw a shop sign that read, “Strange Magic Place.” She thought this sign could as easily describe much of the natural world and human endeavor as it did the souvenirs for sale in the shop. Discovering the depths of this world’s strangeness and magic has also motivated much of her formal study, which has led to her BA in English Literature from McGill University and her current PhD candidacy in Religious Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Mayumi was born and raised in Los Angeles but has lived in Japan, Mongolia, India, and Nepal. Before joining Laguna, she taught undergraduates at UCSB as well as grades 7-12 at Anacapa School. Prior to teaching, she worked as a writer, researcher, and arts administrator in the non-profit sector. She loves being in the classroom and aspires to inspire in her students the same curiosity about and careful inquiry into the world around them that she is grateful to have learned from her own teachers. 

Master Journalism Educator Trish McHale currently teaches Journalism, Advanced Journalism and Public Speaking. A former member of the Board of Judges for Columbia, she has over 25 years of teaching experience and serves as the adviser of "The Fourth Estate," the national award-winning student newspaper and its website. Trish’s newspaper staff won a CSPA Silver Crown Award in 2011 and an NSPA Online Pacemaker finalist award this year.

As the director of the Senior Project Program, Trish helps prepare the seniors for their presentations, and she coaches students who participate in the Lions Club Speech Contest and the Optimist Club Oratorical Contest. She is also the Interact Club facilitator, a student club sponsored by the Santa Barbara Rotary Club.

Trish leads the School’s community service program, which she helped to develop in 1994. Ms. McHale is credited with starting a number of programs for the School, including the student club program; the Humanitas Service Honor Society to recognize and involve students who excel in service leadership; the Middle School Media Literacy Program; the Mock Trial program; and the School’s debate team.

She was honored with the School’s distinguished Walk of Fame Award in 2010, the highest award recognizing remarkable long-term dedication, generosity and commitment to Laguna Blanca. She is also the recipient of the Windward District Teacher of the Year Award, Kailua, HI.

A member of the Santa Barbara Cinema Society, Trish enjoys film and supports the arts by attending interviews with directors, cinematographers and actors.

Kendra Oleson returned home with her husband and two sons Dean and Dylan, after teaching in the Bay Area for 12 years. She has a B.A. in English from the University of San Diego and a Master's in Education from UCSB. She teaches English in both the Middle School and the High School and has made it her mission to have her students leave class with a new appreciation for reading and writing. In her free time, she loves taking her kids to the beach, scuba diving, and traveling. 

In addition to serving the LBS community at the Isham Library & Nylen Academic Research Center, Al is currently completing his Ph.D. at UC Santa Barbara in religious studies. He specializes in the history and philosophy of American religion and is writing his dissertation on the late American author David Foster Wallace, specifically on Wallace’s famous Kenyon College commencement address, This Is Water. Al taught academic writing at UCSB for over four years, and works with students as an educational coach/tutor. Before coming to Santa Barbara, Al worked as a biomedical researcher & laboratory manager (cancer biology) at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania--an experience which greatly developed both the breadth and depth of his educational skills.

Many Laguna families knew Ashley Tidey as a wonderfully capable and personable independent tutor of writing, reading, and test preparation for Grade 7-12 students here in the Santa Barbara area, but what they didn't know is that before starting a family, she served as a lecturer within UCSB’s Writing Program for five years, and before that as an associate instructor of English at Indiana University. Ms. Tidey grew up in independent schools, her father having been the long-time Head of Sacramento Country Day, and she went on to earn her B.A. at Williams College and her Ph.D. from Indiana University in Bloomington, both in English.