About

Leadership Team

Elizabeth English

Head of School

Elizabeth English is the Head of School at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles. She has served as an educational leader in both independent and public schools across the country for over 25 years, with a focus on building ethical school culture and excellence in teaching and learning through research.

Elizabeth holds a B.A. in English from Skidmore College. She earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University, and her Master of Education in School Leadership from Harvard University.

She began her career as an English teacher at the Emma Willard School in New York, one of the oldest girls’ schools in the country and since then has been a passionate and devoted advocate for girls’ schools everywhere. She writes and speaks about education, parenting and the issues facing girls today. She has been the Head of School at Archer since 2008.

A native of Boston, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two daughters, and two golden retrievers.

Karen Pavliscak

Associate Head of School for Teaching & Learning

Karen Pavliscak has served Archer for over two decades as an English teacher, instructional leader, Division Director, and currently the Associate Head of School for Teaching and Learning. She is an educational leader and school culture expert who specializes in designing and implementing innovative systems to support transformational teaching and learning. Described as a "serial innovator," she empowers teachers to be thoughtful designers of learning rather than planners of content. Karen has presented at conferences across the country on innovative school culture, growth-focused supervision, and research-based teaching practices.

She holds a B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Masters in Teaching with an emphasis in English from Loyola Marymount University.

Jane Davis

Associate Head of School for Finance & Operations

Jane Davis began her career as a CPA in public accounting. Subsequently, she worked in various financial leadership roles in technology, advertising, real estate, and entertainment. Prior to joining Archer, Jane served as CFO of a non-profit organization for nine years.    
 
Jane grew up on the East Coast and graduated from Bryant University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. She holds a CPA license from the California Board of Accountancy. Over the past two decades, Jane has served on several nonprofit boards.
 

Reed Farley

Middle School Director

Reed Farley is the Middle School Director. Reed joined the Archer community in 2009 as a Performing Arts teacher. Since then, he has been an educational leader in the community serving as a Grade Level Dean, Department Chair, Director of Visual & Performing Arts, Director of Summer Programs, and Director of Academic Programs. Reed has been integral in the development of many of Archer's signature programs including the Institute of Film & Video Literacy, Archer Film Festival, and Archer Summer.
 
Prior to Reed's career in education, he worked as a director and choreographer for Off-Broadway and regional theatre companies across the nation.

Reed holds a B.F.A. in Drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and an M.Ed. from UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

Samantha Hazell-O'Brien

Upper School Director 

Dr. Samantha Hazell-O’Brien joined Archer as the Dean of Student Life, Equity, and Inclusion in the 2021-2022 school year. In 2023, Samantha became Archer's Upper School Director. Samantha has taught English and worked in public and independent schools across the country for the past 11 years. Most recently, she served as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Marymount School Los Angeles where she also taught English for the past six years.
 
Samantha hails from Virginia where she received her B.A. in English from William and Mary College. She also holds an M.S. from Pace University and just completed her doctoral degree in educational leadership at UCLA.

Felicia Paik

Director of Admissions

Felicia Paik joined the Archer community in 2010. A graduate of Stanford University with a degree in communications, Felicia was a journalist for almost 20 years and has written for numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Forbes.

Felicia is a girls' school graduate, having attended The Westlake School for Girls and her alma mater, Castilleja School. She serves as a member of the Castilleja Alumnae Executive Committee.

Felicia's daughter, Sabrina '22, is a sophomore at UC Berkeley. Her son, Ryan, graduated from Harvard College and is attending UC Berkeley School of Law. Felicia and her husband live in her hometown of Santa Monica.

Sarah Rooney

Director of Advancement

Sarah Rooney is the Director of Advancement at The Archer School for Girls. Sarah began her career in development a decade ago, working for two nonprofits in the Washington, DC area before coming to Archer in 2017. Most recently, Sarah served as the Associate Director of Advancement, overseeing the Archer Fund and assisting with the Capital Campaign. 

Sarah grew up outside of Baltimore and has a B.A. in English from Virginia Tech and a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential. She lives in Brentwood with her husband and son.


Rachael Uriarte

Director of Communications and Strategic Marketing

Rachael Uriarte joined the Archer community in 2022 as the Director of Communications and Strategic Marketing. With over 13 years of experience, Rachael began her career in communications and journalism in the European luxury goods and fashion industry before focusing on education and non-profits after moving to the United States.

Rachael grew up in London and holds a B.A. in Journalism and History from Queen Mary, University of London, and a Master of Liberal Arts in Journalism from Harvard University. She lives in Brentwood with her husband, son, and dog.
The Archer School for Girls admits students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin, sexual orientation or other legally protected status in its hiring or in the administration of its educational policies and programs, admissions policies, financial aid programs or other school-administered programs. 

The Archer School for Girls’ mission is to educate students in an environment specifically designed for girls. As such, the school will consider any candidate for admission who identifies as a girl. Once admitted to Archer, all students in good academic standing who abide by Archer’s code of conduct and who meet requirements for graduation will be eligible to receive an Archer diploma, regardless of any change in sexual identity or other legally protected status.