Meet the Team

Dr. Barry R. Groves has been President of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges since 2018. Before that, he was a Superintendent of Schools in Santa Clara County in California for 23 years. He has written extensively on school accreditation, leadership, and teacher evaluation. Over his career, he has also served as a high school and college teacher, principal, and consultant. His latest book, co-authored with Dr. Marilyn George, is Connecting the Dots of Accreditation: Leadership, Coherence, and Continuous Improvement, published in 2022 by Rowan and Littlefield. His doctorate is from Stanford University in Administration and Policy Analysis.

As the executive vice president, her responsibilities for the entire ACS WASC worldwide region include: working with international, national and state governments, ACS WASC partner associations, school districts and individual schools in developing and refinement of overall policies, understandings, and detailed procedures; creating/ refining accreditation criteria, materials and processes; developing/ conducting/ facilitating training for all visiting committees/school leaders; training of trainers; supervising and organizing visiting committees and improving related office operations; advising and working with educators and professional associations; and assisting the president with numerous tasks/issues.

Dr. Margaret Alvarez, Director of International Accreditation

Dr. Alvarez is currently based in Singapore. Prior to joining WASC, she served as the Head of School of ISS International School, Singapore. Dr. Alvarez has extensive experience in accreditation, having worked in the field for nine years. During this time she engaged in research in school improvement processes, worked with government agencies, contributed to the development of accreditation protocols, trained educators and administrators in successful accreditation practices, managed processes, and supported numerous schools around the world.

Natalie Merritt began her teaching career as a Primary School teacher working in South Wales, U.K. She then spent 16 years working for the largest K-12 international school in Singapore, gaining experience as head of department, a member of leadership, and living within the residential community.

Dawn Rock joined WASC after 23 years in international education as an elementary teacher, a middle and high school math teacher, and, mostly recently, as a high school principal for twelve years. She has extensive experience as a team member and as chair for school visits, testament to her commitment to the development and growth of all schools.

Stephen Massiah is based out of Bangkok, Thailand. Prior to WASC, Steve held positions in international schools in Doha, Qatar; Seoul, South Korea; Bangkok, Thailand; and Hong Kong. Prior to this he was a principal in Toronto, Canada; an adjunct instructor at the Faculty of Education, University of Toronto; and an interim position (secondment) with the Ontario College of Teachers.

Barbara Parker has worked in international schools in Southeast Asia, Pakistan, Africa, and the Mediterranean for almost 30 years. She was formerly the director of the International School of Beihai. She recently designed and developed curriculum for several new international schools in China and the Asia-Pacific region.

ALANASTEWARD, International Consultant

After beginning her teaching career in her native Canada, Alana has been teaching and leading in schools in various countries for the past 19 years. She has traveled extensively with her family and has worked in countries including Macau, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Austria, and Japan.