About

Luke Schnell President

Luke’s family joined Great Oak School in August of 2014. He began attending Board Meetings in June 2016 and officially joined the board in September 2016. Luke studied Philosophy at Lon Morris College; Creative Writing at the University of Houston; and English Literature/History at Sam Houston State before joining the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1997. For the last 16 years he has worked in various Operational and BD roles in both the Chemical Transportation and Oil and Gas Service industries. His roles have included West Texas Operations Manager and North American Operations Manager for Weatherford Directional Drilling, Director of Business Development for Archer Well Company and President of Archer Directional Drilling. Today Luke is the Chief Operations Officer for QES Directional Drilling. Luke and his wife Lindsey have four children (Erik, Ethan, Sylvia and Margo).

Dave Tegtmeier Secretary

Dave’s family joined Great Oak School in Winter 2009. He joined the Board as Vice President in May 2013. Dave holds a BFA in Theatre Design & Technology from Stephen F. Austin State University and MFA in Arts Management from Western Michigan University. Dave is currently a Project Manager at Edwin Jones Company, a rep agency for lighting controls. His previous work experience is in production management and project management for theatrical systems.

Paul Tilton Treasurer

Paul is the father of two children – Claire and Jack. He and his wife Marianne first became involved in GOS in 2015. Paul began attending board meetings in September 2018 and officially joined the board in December 2018. Paul holds a B.A. in Chinese and a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society which emphasizes the liberal arts and sciences. He works in Product Management for Gardner Denver Nash. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family, playing guitar, and being outdoors.

JR Batek Member at Large

JR’s family joined Great Oak School in August of 2014. He co-chaired the FUNdraising committee in 2016 and joined the board in 2017. JR studied accounting and management information systems at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and has a Master’s in Business Administration from Rice University. JR has held various positions with manufacturing companies including auditor, pricing manager, SAP systems lead, marketing manager and finance and reporting manager. He has two children at Great Oak, Jack and Cecelia.

Andrew Bombassaro Member at Large

Bio coming soon.

Dawn Coe Faculty Representative

Dawn received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas and her Waldorf teacher certification and Master’s in Education from Rudolf Steiner College in California. For her Master’s Capstone project, Dawn created a math curriculum based on origami for grades one through eight. Dawn feels that her greatest accomplishment has been in the homeschool education of her five daughters that spanned two and a half decades. Having tested Waldorf methods in her own home laboratory, Dawn became convinced early on that it is the education of the future. The top two items on Dawn’s bucket list are living long enough to celebrate her 80th wedding anniversary and assisting the birth of an accredited Waldorf school in the Houston area. Dawn also created and currently teaches a series of adult education classes to help parents learn more about the philosophy behind Waldorf education. Dawn’s favorite artistic media are fiber arts, sandcastling, origami and photomontage; and she recharges by gardening, dancing with her husband, and hacking up stacks of magazines to feed her photomontage habit.

Hayley Kay Haynes Faculty Representative

Hayley joined Great Oak School in the Spring of 2014 as a child shadow in the 1st and 2nd grade classes. Since then she has worked 2 years as an early childhood assistant and approximately 2 years as an assistant for 1st through 6th grade. She has led a 1st grade play and a 6 grade play. She has also taught movement, handwork, and substituted in every grade level throughout the years. Hayley has her Bachelors of Arts in Child and Adolescent Psychology and has started her Master’s of Education and Waldorf Certification in the summer of 2018. Hayley enjoys drawing, hand work, obstacle course training, theater, and working with children.

Buck Holden Member at Large

Buck’s family joined Great Oak School in Spring 2015. He formally joined the board in December of 2018. Buck holds BA’s in Psychology and Sociology from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, has a CPMR designation from Arizona State University and studies Electrical Engineering through Penn Foster. For the past 18 years, he has owned and operated Holden Technologies Inc, a technical sales and design company primarily focused on the Oil and Gas and Military/Aerospace sectors. Buck was born in Texas and grew up in The Woodlands. In his free time he enjoys training and competing in triathlons and is an avid cyclist and swimmer. He and his wife, Beth, have three children at Great Oak School (Travis, Wyatt, and Silas).

Zuzana Leckova Member at Large

Zuzana has a BBA in Accounting from Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, MBA in Managerial Accounting from Pace University, New York, NY and MS in Taxation from Fordham University, New York, NY. She is a CPA in the state of New York. Zuzana’s accounting and tax experience ranges from Big Four Accounting Firm, VP of Tax in The Royal Bank of Scotland plc to most recently working for a local CPA firm. She has served on the Board of Directors of Great Oak School as the Treasurer from January 2010 until becoming a full time staff member at Great Oak School in November 2014. Zuzana joined the board back in September 2016. Zuzana’s two daughters joined Great Oak School in September 2009, when the school first opened its doors. Zuzana loves photography, traveling, tennis, skiing and music.

Britney Maxwell Shirk Member at Large

Britney holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Akron University. She also works part-time as a child and family counselor. Britney and her three children found Great Oak School in 2012. They fell in love with the community and have been happily connected ever since that time. In free time, Britney enjoys yoga, her artistic endeavors, cooking, traveling and the outdoors. Britney is grateful for the opportunity to connect children, families and teachers together at Great Oak School. Britney joined the board in September 2016.

Jessica Tan Member at Large

Jessica is a Waldorf graduate, who attended K-12 at Highland Hall in Northridge, California. During her 10th grade year, she also spent 7 months on a foreign exchange program in the Freie Waldorfschule Freiburg – St. Georgen. She graduated as valedictorian of her class and went on to University in Durham, UK where she earned her BA with Honours in Psychology. Jessica has worked in a variety of roles from Human Resources and Risk Management, and is currently the Risk Manager for Cast & Crew Entertainment Services where she manages a team focused on preserving shareholder value by analyzing, mitigating, and insuring risks to the organization’s operations. Her Waldorf experience inspired a commitment to lifelong learning, and Jessica has continued to learn throughout her career, both on the job and in classroom settings. Jessica is applying her experience and love of learning to share opportunities with future Risk Managers through a Spencer Educational Foundation sponsored internship and by giving guest lectures to Risk Management students.