About

Faculty & Staff Directory

  • Photo of Joel Maki
    Joel Maki
    Music Teacher
    Bio
     
    Mr. Maki began teaching at HDS in 2018 and has been teaching music for grades K-12 in Southern California since 2013. Previously residing in New York City, he worked as a professional musical theater actor and vocalist, performing in national and international productions. Mr. Maki particularly enjoys lending his professional experiences of the past while working with the Eighth grade in preparations for their musical.
    Mr. Maki holds a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance/Jazz Studies, as well as a Master's degree in Music Education. He also holds a California K-12 Single Subject Teaching Credential in Music. He feels lucky to be a member of a school community that encourages the life-long learner and is constantly researching innovative approaches to music education, music technology, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work through music.
    Mr. Maki believes that every student is a growing musician with unique talents to be both discovered and nurtured. He is passionate about finding creative ways to introduce students to diverse musical experiences that serve as both a window to the outside world and a mirror that represents their own identities and uniqueness. 
  • Photo of Robyn Manion Leon
    Robyn Manion Leon
    Middle School Music Teacher
    Bio
     
    Ms. Manion joined Harbor Day School in 2022. She holds her bachelor’s degree in theater arts with an emphasis in directing from California State University, Fullerton. For the past 15 years, Ms. Manion has worked as a private music teacher throughout Orange County, as a Music Director in several educational and professional theaters, and as a professional singer in a variety of venues, her favorite being with Heavenly Voices Productions, a company featuring The Christmas Belles, The Boo Belles, and The Nightingales (an Andrews Sisters tribute) and that she now has the immense pleasure of owning and running. Via all of the above, Ms. Manion has and continues to work with musicians and actors all over Southern California, many of whom have credits performing on national tours, cruise ships, and on Broadway. 
     
    As a passionate music educator, she brings these experiences in the professional field to create a well-rounded, enriching, and individualized education for her students. She gives young learners a glimpse into the various avenues through which they can discover their own unique talents and passions as both music participants and appreciators. It is her goal to cultivate a motivation in her students to be engaged members in the arts community.
  • Photo of Sean Rowe
    Sean Rowe
    Woodshop Teacher, 3-D Design, STEAM
    Bio
     
    Dr. Rowe is looking forward to another year of teaching at Harbor Day School. He teaches woodshop to second, third, and fourth graders. Also, he will continue teaching an Introduction to Engineering in kindergarten and first Grade, a class in 3-D Design to seventh graders, and an eighth grade elective. An alumnus of the school, Dr. Rowe graduated from the University of California, Davis, completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1998, and holds a doctoral degree in visual studies from the University of California, Irvine in 2011. In the time between earning his graduate degrees, Dr. Rowe spent two years working as an apprentice wood worker at Troscan Furniture in Chicago. Since 1995, Dr. Rowe has taught classes in art history, media studies, fine art, and woodworking at various colleges and universities including The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, San Diego State University, and Occidental College. Most recently he has been an adjunct professor of art history at Santa Monica College. He lives in Long Beach with his wife and two children.
  • Photo of Dayna Sable
    Dayna Sable
    Middle School Art Teacher
    Bio
     
    Ms. Sable joined the Harbor Day community in 2022 as a Middle School Art Teacher. Ms. Sable grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she attended and graduated high school from the nationally recognized Cranbrook Schools. She earned her bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design and photography from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, her Art Education Certification from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a master’s degree in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College. Ms. Sable has taught art at the elementary and middle school level for over 17 years in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. She became a teacher because she wanted to work with people, especially young people. "I love their energy. I love helping them, watching them grow as artists, and getting to know them as individuals."  Ms. Sable moved to Costa Mesa in the summer of 2022 and has been spending her free time hanging out and exploring Southern California with her son and little pug, George.
  • Photo of Leslie Yagar
    Leslie Yagar
    Art Teacher
    Bio
     
    Ms. Yagar has been teaching visual arts at Harbor Day School since 2011. Her previous teaching experience includes working as a district art specialist for kindergarten through sixth grade in the Irvine Unified School District and teaching art at Fountain Valley Montessori to preschool through third grade students. She has also taught art in programs for special needs students ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. Ms. Yagar received a bachelor of fine arts and a kindergarten through twelfth grade teaching credential from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Additionally, Ms. Yagar is a working artist and has exhibited her work in both galleries and museums throughout Southern California. She brings her professional experience in contemporary art and merges it with her passion for art history to create a dynamic art program for the students at Harbor Day School.
  • Photo of Courtney Zarrilli
    Courtney Zarrilli
    Ceramics Teacher, Art Associate Teacher, Technical Theater Manager
    Bio
     
    Ms. Zarrilli is a graduate of Harbor Day School, Corona del Mar High School, and the University of San Diego. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in theater. She wears many hats around Harbor Day School, and has enjoyed her time here, starting when she was a kindergartner! Ms. Zarrilli loves teaching wheel throwing ceramics to seventh and eighth grade students. She also enjoys teaching handbuilding projects to the lower school classes. When not in the art room, Ms. Zarrilli can be found stage managing the eighth grade musical or in the control booth during holiday productions and weekly assemblies in the theater. Her special passion is teaching after school classes in movie production for the budding actors and actresses in the school. Outside of school, Ms. Zarrilli has a second job exercising horses. She spends any spare time with family and friends, her Tennessee Walking Horse, her dog, and her two Siamese cats.
3443 Pacific View Drive
Corona del Mar, CA 92625

Phone (949) 640-1410
Fax (949) 640-0908

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Harbor Day School

3443 Pacific View Drive
Corona del Mar, CA 92625 Phone<title><script type="mce-text/javascript"> (function(a,e,c,f,g,h,b,d){var k={ak:"984895077",cl:"EfBCCP-Fv3UQ5ZzR1QM"};a[c]=a[c]||function(){(a[c].q=a[c].q||[]).push(arguments)};a[g]||(a[g]=k.ak);b=e.createElement(h);b.async=1;b.src="//www.gstatic.com/wcm/loader.js";d=e.getElementsByTagName(h)[0];d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a[f]=function(b,d,e){a[c](2,b,k,d,null,new Date,e)};a[f]()})(window,document,"_googWcmImpl","_googWcmGet","_googWcmAk","script"); </script><head><body>1-949-640-1410<html></html></body></head><br><br><br>
949-640-1410
Harbor Day School is a co-educational private independent K-8 school established in 1952.
Harbor Day School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, or other programs administered by the School.

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