LaSaundra Owens, Beacon Director at John Muir Beacon Community School

Born and raised in the Bay Area, LaSaundra is a vibrant character whose passion is to enhance the lives of young people by bridging innovative and engaging youth development strategies with tangible educational outcomes. She has a Bachelor's Degree in History from California State University, Easy Bay and currently pursuing a Master's of Business Management with a concentration in Public Administration at the University of Phoenix. LaSaundra has been with YMCA of San Francisco for 14 years, where she climbed the ladder to become Beacon Director of the Western Addition Beacon Center at John Muir Elementary School.Here are some appreciations from her Executive Director, Principal, and the San Francisco Beacon Initiative:

"I appreciate LaSaundra for her dedication not just to run the Beacon at Muir, but her tenacity in doing more than the minimum. This means that she is always looking for ways to improve the quality of the program and address the needs of the John Muir Community. She is a total partner in the Community Model." - Rodney Chin, Executive Director of Buchanan YMCA

"Ms. LaSaundra is a Beacon of light. She always bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to challenges. She is dedicated to ensuring that Muir is serving the whole child. Just this week she sat in with me and a couple of families to do a Restorative Circle and she was able to help me lead a meeting where voices were heard and harm was repaired. We make a good team!" - Shawn Mansager, Principal of John Muir Elementary School

"LaSaundra brings positivity, expertise and leadership to every space she inhabits. She offers great wisdom and advice to the Beacon Network, and great humility about the challenges to her work. Her resilience is inspiring and it is an honor to work with her." - Sally Jenkins-Stevens, Associate Director of SFBI

Thank you for your dedication, LaSaundra!#coordinatorsrock #coordinatorappreciationweek#beacons#sfbeacon#sfbeacons #community #communityschools#beacondirectors #beacondirectorsrock#appreciations#thankyou