Wellness in K–12 | Chadwick School

Marisa Ryan joined the Chadwick community in 2019 as the Village School counselor, working with grades K-5. She previously served as a child therapist in various schools and districts, including the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, the Long Beach Unified School District and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Marisa is passionate about highlighting her students' strengths, and believes that everyone has unique qualities that can make the Chadwick community flourish. She really enjoys collaborating with others to ensure a safe and valuable space to support Chadwick's faculty, students and families. Marisa received her bachelor's degree in Psychology from USC and her master's degree in Social Welfare from UCLA. When Marisa is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends outdoors, trying new restaurants and exploring new places.

Yvette Lopez de Luna joined Chadwick in 2021 and currently serves as the Sixth-Grade and Middle School Counselor. She has experience in private psychotherapy practice, community mental health, nonprofit family services and public child welfare. Yvette is proud to bring her clinical skills and holistic, whole-person perspective to her work with Chadwick students and families. She is trained in a number of evidence-based practices, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy, that provide effective interventions and build up student support systems. Yvette earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UC Riverside, and her master’s degree in Social Welfare from UCLA. She enjoys her Orangetheory fitness classes, building sandcastles with her two little boys at the beach and traveling.

Rosemarie Steinhoff joined Chadwick School in 2021, and is currently Chadwick’s Upper School Counselor. Previously, she was a therapist for children and families with Children’s Institute — a Los Angeles County agency where she provided therapy for children with severe mental illnesses. Rosemarie advocated on their behalf, working as a clinical expert on IEP teams across Greater Los Angeles. She has been an ambassador for the MAC VIVA Glam HIV/AIDS foundation, a special education para-educator and an executive assistant at the Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from University of Phoenix and an M.M.F.T. from the University of Southern California. Rose is an avid artphile, home chef, baker and espresso aficionado.

Wyatt Gitlin joins Chadwick as a Village School Learning Specialist. He previously worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District and at the John Thomas Dye School in Bel Air, gaining valuable experience in special education and student support across the achievement spectrum. Wyatt holds a master’s degree in special education from Loyola Marymount University and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Denver. In his free time, he enjoys surfing, and watching football and basketball.

Alison Chang joined the Chadwick team in 2022 as the sixth- through eighth-grade Learning Specialist. Most recently, Alison was in private practice as an Educational Therapist and also worked as a clinician for Lindamood Bell. Additionally, she served as an Educational Therapist intern at St. Francis School in Pasadena. Alison has a B.A. in Psychology and Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.A. in Special Education with an emphasis on Educational Therapy from Cal State Northridge. Alison is also a certified yoga instructor and meditation teacher, a women's group workshop facilitator, and an outdoor enthusiast.

Sara Mactavish joined Chadwick in 2021 as the Upper School Learning Specialist. She previously served as the Academic Services Coordinator for the middle and upper schools at Wildwood School in Los Angeles. Prior to that, she was the Upper School Learning Specialist at the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. Sara’s work centers around the belief that individuals are not straightforward, and that as educators, we must be prepared to work with them, emphasizing their strengths, supporting their stretches and continually challenging them to go beyond expectations — all while providing a structure for this development to occur. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College, and two M.A.s — one in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, and the other in Mental Health Counseling — from Boston College. Sara loves spending time at the beach with her two daughters, is a “Friends” fanatic and is always on the lookout for the perfect sandwich.