Administration
Liz Seabury is thrilled to be the new principal at Novato High School. She has worked in the field of education for over 25 years and knows that Novato High is the perfect place to bring her strengths to build on the amazing school community we all love. Dr. Seabury completed her undergraduate work in Politics at UC Santa Cruz, then completed a teaching credential program at Sacramento State in secondary social studies teaching. Her master’s work in Educational Leadership was completed in 2005 at San José State and finally completed her Ed.D. in 2021 in Organizational Change and Leadership from USC. Dr. Seabury is a lifelong learner and loves to spend time in the classroom engaging with students in their learning journey.
Dr. Seabury began her career teaching Social Studies, coaching Mock Trial, and directing the student activity programs. During her twelve years as a classroom teacher, she also was employed with Teacher’s Curriculum Institute as a History Alive Professional Development coach for social studies instructional strategies. She opened a new high school in Scotts Valley, California, where she also began working with the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Her love for the IB led her to an administrative position at San José High Academy and working for the IB Organization as a professional development coach and school consultant for North America and Europe. Her administrative career allowed her to lead several high schools in San José and finally brought her to Marin County, where she currently resides.
Through her leadership, Dr. Seabury focuses on student centered instruction where engagement and visible learning is the expectation for all students. She has been deeply invested in developing schools to improve their student achievement outcomes for their marginalized populations, with a focus on dismantling racist and discriminatory structures and policies that can restrict students from success in schools she leads. Her focus on instruction is at the core of her leadership and her strength is supporting teachers create learning environments that are conducive and exciting for students to learn. The special combination of Novato High AND Marin School of the Arts, along with our other amazing programs provides the perfect school environment where all student dreams can be realized. Dr. Seabury cannot wait to make dreams come true with the NHS student community.
Michelle Cortez serves as both MSA Director and Novato High School Assistant Principal overseeing arts, wellness, and equity. At Novato High, she oversees students and faculty in the MSA program; the English Language Development classes and teachers; and the Wellness Campus team and efforts. In addition, she coordinates ELPAC testing coordination, MTSS supports, professional development and Career Technical Education funding including MSA and MCP pathways.
Cortez earned her BA in English and Theatre Arts from Sonoma State University and her MA in Organizational Leadership from Claremont Lincoln University. She has worked in education and arts management throughout her career with a focus on developing projects and initiatives that bring educators, artists, and community members together to explore relevant social issues and engage young students and artists.
She taught drama, English, AVID, and College Readiness first at O’Farrell Community School and later at Aspire California College Preparatory Academy where she also worked on leadership teams and supported student advocacy groups. In 2011, she joined the Aspire Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy in Oakland, CA where she served as Principal for six years and built out their acclaimed school-wide literacy and Career Technical Education programs. During her time in Oakland, she also worked with the National Equity Project in their year-long fellowship program training educators on facilitation of equity initiatives. She currently serves on the board of Novato Community Television, NCTV.
Michelle is committed to asset based educational systems that help students develop their identity, purpose, and passion. She loves the way MSA creates “a wide range of normal” at Novato High School and feels grateful for the way students, staff, and families collaborate to create an artistic haven in the region. She also appreciates the strong Novato community and works hard to collaborate within NUSD to develop more inclusive and student-centered supports. In her free time, Michelle loves traveling and hiking with her family, doing yoga, and experiencing art in the community.
Allie Greene is currently serving as the Assistant Principal of Novato High School. She comes to us with a vast array of experiences in education. She began teaching at the University of California at Irving in Classics, where she was working on a PhD, and then shifted to teaching high school English. She taught at San Marin for a number of years, where she also served as an Instructional Coach and Department Chair.
Allie was an intercollegiate athlete and coached high school rowing for many years after her athletic career ended. For the last 8 years she has been an Assistant Principal and Vice Principal in Sonoma County. In 2020, she became the Principal of Alternative Education in West Sonoma County, but wanted to come back to serve her home community and started at Novato High School in 2022.
Allie lives in Novato with her partner and three children, all of whom attend Novato schools. She is a proud member of the Hornet community and is dedicated to providing access and opportunity to all of our Novato youth.
Allie oversees Student Leadership, Math, Science and our Multi Tiered Systems of Support.
Jim Larson is in his fifth year as an Assistant Principal at Novato High and is a proud HORNET! Mr. Larson supports the Counseling Staff, Athletics, Special Education Dept., Custodial Staff, Facilities, and Discipline & Attendance for non-MSA students’ last name: L – Z. Mr. Larson was raised in Novato attending; Lynwood Elementary, Lu Sutton Elementary, Sinaloa Middle, and San Marin High, graduating in 1996.
Mr. Larson attended College of Marin after high school where he was an all-league Water Polo player and Swimmer, and during those early years at COM he began coaching youth swimming, which he continued for many years. He transferred to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, after COM and graduated from Cal Poly in 2001 with a BA in Philosophy. Mr. Larson earned his Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Dominican University and began his teaching career in NUSD in 2005.
He served primarily as a CORE teacher for 7 years at San Jose Middle School, and during that time earned an MA in Education Leadership and an Administrative Services Credential from San Francisco State University. Mr. Larson then served at San Jose’s Assistant Principal for three years between 2012 – 2015, before his four-year tenure as Principal at Sinaloa Middle School between 2015 – 2019.
Mr. Larson has long been known in NUSD as an advocate for the students, families and teachers he serves. He has a reputation for making data driven decisions, being tough and fair, and having a quick smile while always offering a lending hand.
Office Staff, Classified and Custodial Staff
Academic Counselors
Math Department
Science Department
Special Education
Physical Education
English Department
Social Studies Department