In July 2025, when James P. Willis II, then SCC vice president for education, and Nancy Garcilazo, then SCC associate superintendent, moved on to new endeavors, it was only a few months into Wayne Dunbar’s tenure as associate superintendent. Dunbar had recently joined the SCC education team from La Sierra University, where he served as the vice president for strategic engagement, enrollment, and marketing. Dunbar, although new to the department, was soon invited to fill the vice president of education role.
Meanwhile, his and Garcilazo’s transitions had created vacancies in the associate superintendent positions, so as he settled into his new position, his first task was to build a team—and the start of the school year was getting closer and closer. He was blessed to welcome Angel Nair and Mary Greene to the team later that summer. Now, Dunbar, Nair, and Greene share oversight of the SCC schools, with each of them assigned to a group of the schools for more hands-on support.
Nair stepped into the associate superintendent role with more than 36 years serving in various roles as teacher, principal, and teaching principal. “Just to be a teacher is difficult enough, but to be a teaching principal—all my schools have teaching principals—there are so many demands,” she said, noting times where it can feel like the principal is wearing all the hats, tending to emergencies at the facility (no matter what time of day or night they happen), visiting family members of students in the hospital, and so much more.
When asked what she most enjoys about her role, she spoke about streamlining the information principals need, making sure they are well equipped to meet important regulations and protocols, and giving guidance and moral support. “What I’m really enjoying is just to be that support for them and help them excel and do what they do,” she said.
Greene brings a finance background to the new associate superintendent for school finance role, and she’s eager to continue enriching her education background. While she previously served in various roles including public accounting and auditing, her experience on the education side comes from five years serving as the business manager at Oakwood Academy.
“As I looked at this position, I thought to myself, ‘If I had someone like this when I was a business manager, my life would have been so much easier,’” Greene shared. “So being on this side of it, being able to pour into the business managers, understanding what they’re going through and the struggles that they’re having, I wanted to be able to be that support for them.”
As Dunbar, Nair, and Greene visit with the principals and business managers and support their work at the local schools, Nelly Martin keeps business running at the office. Martin is the registrar and executive assistant to the vice president of education. Having served in the department since December 2018, her historical knowledge of SCC schools is invaluable. “She’s the glue that keeps us together,” Dunbar said. “She helps us maintain a bigger picture of the collective.” She supervises important processes on behalf of the schools, like setting up the schools in the system to facilitate their standardized MAP testing and much more.
The core purpose of the department is to support our teachers, principals, and school boards. “The people we meet with most often are principals, so any opportunity to help them and facilitate them doing their job better, differently, or having them think about it differently is what we aim to do and certainly from a biblical Adventist Christian perspective,” Dunbar said.
When asked what makes our schools special, Greene said it’s “the love that our teachers have for our students. I can see the sacrifices that our teachers and principals are making. With my kids, when I know that the teacher loves them, then I know that they’re in a safe place, and I know that they’ll get what they need academically.”
“You go to all of our schools and people say it feels like a family,” Nair added. “There’s caring, there’s nurturing, there’s that push to help people to excel. I think they just reflect what’s great about God’s character and presence. You just sense that in our schools, and I think that’s what our schools are about, because if they reflect Christ, they’re going to reflect quality in all areas—physically, emotionally, spiritually, academically, mentally. That’s what I find on our campuses. The research shows our students excel beyond what they’re predicted to do, and that’s the God factor.”
Dunbar sees value in the often-recognized small class sizes, Christian teachers, lifelong friendships, and our denomination-wide Adventist education system that provides structure and support. “Beyond these features, our schools ultimately exist to introduce students to Jesus,” Dunbar pointed out. “I don’t think anything will grab and hold a kid more than having their own experience with Him.”