Student Support

List of 4 items.

• Lyn Beecher, Learning Specialist 

  Lyn Beecher has over 10 years of experience as a teacher and an administrator at the elementary and secondary school levels, and she is a full-time member of our Student Support Team as a Learning Specialist as well as Chair of our Fitness and Wellness Department. 

  
  Lyn was born and raised in Upstate New York. She graduated from Wells College and earned a B.A. in Psychology. She moved to California soon after graduation, and went on to earn her Master of Arts in education at Claremont Graduate University and her Administrative Credential from Point Loma Nazarene University. Lyn describes her training “as being focused on preparation to be a catalyst for positive change.” It was grounded in the understanding that “teaching and learning happens best in engaged communities that foster every student’s intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual gifts.” 

  
  As an educator and a mother, she instinctively approaches life as a teacher and a learner. She is deeply committed to high-quality education for all ages and all learning styles keeping expectations high, practices fair, and content accessible and engaging.

  
  Lyn’s two daughters, Kate and Grace, were her first introduction to the Holy Child educational approach, both attending Mayfield Junior School. Raising her children gave her the opportunity to volunteer at school, at church and inside the community. She served as MJS Parent Board President and as Benefit Co-Chair, Past President of the Pasadena Area Chapter of the National Charity League, and she currently serves as an Elder and Mission Coordinator for Trinity Presbyterian Church.
   
  Family remains a cornerstone in Lyn’s life. Her daughter Kate is a sophomore at Wellesley, where she competes on their volleyball team. Grace is an active sophomore at Polytechnic High School, pursuing her interests in horseback riding, musical theatre and volleyball. “As a family, we love to travel far and wide and the more remote the more appealing,” says Lyn, “If we can scuba dive even better. We are a family that strives to dive!”

  
  Lyn brings boundless excitement to the Formation Of Self (FOS) team, and is thrilled to train and work with our team of instructors to continue to fortify the FOS curriculum with timely topics and relevant skill building opportunities for all of our students.

• Ann Bussard, Learning Specialist

  Ann Bussard was drawn to Mayfield by the school’s Holy Child mission “to help others to believe that God lives and acts in them and in our world, and to rejoice in the divine presence.” She served for 16 years as Mayfield’s Director of Guidance, using her professional skills as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist to help our students express and discover themselves. She has long embraced opportunities to support students with learning differences, which prompted her to investigate how people learn. In her new position as Mayfield’s first learning specialist, Mrs. Bussard ensures that all our students who learn differently receive the scaffolding they need for academic success. The powerful and relevant field of educational therapy piqued Ann’s interest, and she earned a certificate in educational therapy through the UC Riverside Extension program. Mrs. Bussard received her B.A. in Art from Marylhurst College in Oregon, her Master’s in Clinical Art Therapy from Loyola Marymount University, and her M.A. in Counseling and Guidance from Point Loma Nazarene University. She also holds a Pupil Personnel Services Credential.

• Cathy Cota, School Nurse

  Cathy Cota, RN, the mother of two Mayfield Senior School alumnae (Rachel ’04 and Carolyn ’06), created the school’s Health Office and Health Department from the ground up six years ago, putting her definition of nursing—“Nursing Is Caring”—into action. Now, when a student says “Thank you for taking care of me,” she knows she has succeeded. Mrs. Cota graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and a Public Health Certificate from California State University at Los Angeles. She brings over 35 years of pediatric nursing experience with her to Mayfield. She also worked as a Certified Personal Trainer for over 10 years. Returning to Mayfield Senior School as its School Nurse has allowed her to share her love of nursing with the community she chose for her own daughters more than 20 years ago. She is happy to be back and caring for our girls!

• Erika Mastrobuono, School Counselor

  Erika Mastrobuono, LCSW has lived and worked in the Pasadena/Altadena area as a mental health counselor and therapist in the Pasadena Unified School District for over 10 years, and in private practice as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in South Pasadena. 
  
  

  When Erika first encountered the “Holy Child Approach” section on the Mayfield website, she found a deep resonance with it all. She stumbled on this phrase describing Holy Child education as: "love of learning, commitment to service, a strong sense of self, a joyful spirit, and true respect for the inherent worth of every human being,” and was amazed how much this approach perfectly aligned with the principles she lived by, especially as she gave young people the tools to value and enrich their own mental health.
  
  

  In addition to supporting every student with an authentic and holistic approach that nurtures empowerment, connection and growth, Erika is also thrilled to be able to embrace the values that she loves about social work: service, social justice, dignity and worth of every person, importance of relationships, integrity and competence. Erika is grateful to be joining this community, and looking forward to getting to know all of the students and their families. 
  
  

  Erika was born in New York City. Growing up in Brooklyn gave Erika a unique perspective about the importance of diversity and a love of community. Erika came to Los Angeles in 2003 with a theater company and never quite made it back to New York—now considering the West Coast her second home. Her passion for social justice issues led her to earn her Master’s in Social Work from USC in 2012. Since that time she has become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) providing individual and family therapy, as well as facilitating support groups for adolescents and parents.

  
  Erika lives with her amazing husband, brilliant daughter and their very expressive dog. Although she misses her big family in New York, she is so blessed to have their unconditional love and support, and loves going to NYC to visit them as often as possible.