Announcing two Co-Heads for the 2015-2016 school year:
Rick Juliusson comes to MFS with a rich variety of non-profit management and fundraising experience. As Executive Director of a Canadian non-profit society, Rick managed the operations of twelve primary schools in rural Kenya as well as construction of 4 new schools, high school scholarships, and a health and gender program. His international experience also includes seven years in Africa with Habitat for Humanity, teaching ESL in Costa Rica, running a rural orphanage in Guatemala, and co-operative development in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Rick speaks Spanish and is a practicing Quaker. After work hours , Rick enjoys music, soccer, writing, storytelling, and outdoors time with his 2 boys and wife, Sarah, who also look forward to joining the Monteverde community.
Debbie Galusha serves as the Co-Head of School at Monteverde Friends School. Prior to joining MFS, she retired from teaching science in an alternative program for expelled students for the Omaha Public Schools in Nebraska, US. She is a member of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) where she served as clerk for the Omaha Friends Meeting and as clerk for the School Committee for Scattergood Friends School outside Iowa City, Iowa for many years until coming to Costa Rica. She also taught math and science many years ago at Scattergood. She was an agricultural researcher in sustainable agriculture before returning to teaching, switching from being an English teacher to science. She holds a degree in English, a Masters of Science in agronomy/soil science, a Masters of Arts in Educational Administration and Supervision, and a doctorate in the same area. She continues to teach astronomy online for a community college consortium. She has a son in Copenhagen going to graduate school, and a daughter in Omaha who has a son and a daughter.
