Speaker Series

Nathan Arnold '03 is a senior policy advisor at EducationCounsel in Washington, D.C., where he supports foundations, nonprofits, and states that are working to improve federal policy for students in higher education. Previously, Nathan served as Chief of Staff to the Acting Under Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. In those capacities, he directed high-stakes policy initiatives, providing insight and guidance to the Obama and Trump Administrations. Additionally, he helped lead the most recent administration transition, ensuring the continued delivery of Department services to the higher education community; oversaw cross-agency teams in developing legislative proposals and new regulations governing over $1 trillion in federal student aid; led an interagency task force on proprietary education; and oversaw the Department’s efforts supporting borrowers attending closed schools such as Corinthian Colleges, Inc. and ITT Technical Institute, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia.

Anne Moertel is a designer and advocate working at the intersection of health policy and public education. She currently leads communications at the San Francisco Unified School District on safe and equitable food access during the COVID-19 crisis. The program is the largest food distributor in the city and has served over 3 million meals to children during the pandemic. Anne was recently named a Changemaker by the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Civic Innovation. Her essay “The U.S. Needs Universal School Meals—Now” appears in the latest issue of Womanly Magazine. Anne previously served as Creative Director for Healthy Schools Campaign, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for healthy school environments that provide nutritious food, health services and opportunities for physical activity. She holds a BFA in visual communications from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and lives with her husband in Menlo Park, CA.

Pete Daniels is in his fifth year as an Upper School faculty member for Spanish and second year as K-12 World Language Department Chair. He is thrilled that his eldest child started Kindergarten at SPA this fall and is grateful for the amazing educational opportunities provided to them during a year marked by unprecedented challenge, reinvention, and collaboration. Before coming to SPA, 

Pete worked at The Langley School of McLean, VA, where he taught elementary and middle school Spanish from 2011-2016, as well as serving as the World Language Department Head, an advisor, an athletic coach, and school bus driver. Pete continuously searches for inventive and authentic demonstrations of mastery that prepare young minds to communicate in the target language and meet the challenges of the 21st century. He received his Master of Science in Education from the Johns Hopkins School of Education, including graduate certificates in Educational Leadership for Independent Schools, and Advanced Methods for Differentiated Instruction and Inclusive Education. Previously, Pete taught English at the Latino Student Fund of Washington, DC; taught English and trained teachers with WorldTeach in Ecuador from 2007-2010; and guided wilderness trips for youth through YMCA Camp Widjiwagan while earning Bachelor of Arts degrees in Spanish Language & Literature, and Comparative Sociology.