Board of Trustees
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).
Buck Holden Vice President
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).
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.
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 her Master’s of Education and Waldorf Certification. Hayley enjoys drawing, hand work, obstacle course training, theater, and working with children.
Vanessa Williams Faculty Representative
Vanessa joined the Great Oak Staff in the fall of 2018. She holds two degrees, a bachelors in piano performance, and a masters in music history. She has taught in the classroom for 15 years and has devoted her last 7 years to teaching music to families with young children and developing music and movement curriculum for several preschools. She holds music certifications including Kindermusik and Smithsonian World Music Pedagogy. She has also studied yoga through several organizations earning her RYT 200 in 2018, and enjoys teaching both children and adults. Currently she is working on her Waldorf certification through The West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy. Vanessa lives in the Woodlands with her husband and two sons. Her other hobbies include rock climbing, camping, hiking, and writing folk songs for children.
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.
