Desi Cameron

Academic Dean & HS Director

Prior to her start as SLOCA’s Academic Dean and HS Director, Dr. Desi Cameron worked at Westside Neighborhood School for the last 15 years serving as the Curriculum Coordinator for grades 5-8 and the Director of Visual and Performing Arts—even receiving an Eddy Award for being one of Los Angeles' best teachers! Prior to that, Dr. Cameron taught and mentored hundreds of teachers at NYU, Pepperdine, and UCLA to discover their strengths, build a strong classroom community, differentiate instruction, and integrate the arts into their curriculum.

Growing up mainly in Europe speaking German with her father, English with her mother, and French at school and with her brothers, Desi’s youth was filled with story—from her rigorous education to her mother’s storytelling to ‘teaching’ her stuffed animals. Her passion for exploring real and imagined places through travel, books, and art led her to the United States where she received her BFA in Performance (University of Miami), MA in Education (University of South Florida), Ed.M in Arts in Education (Harvard), and finally her PhD in Education through NYU. Her vast experience and values align deeply with SLOCA’s mission and has moved her to the Central Coast with her husband and son, who has begun his own educational journey in Kindergarten here at SLOCA.

While she’s inspired to continue to explore the world, meet new people, and learn as much as she can, Desi can still be found reading under the covers with a flashlight way past bedtime.