Who We Are

Adriana Villafranca

St. Mary’s University, B.A., M.P.A.; joined Keystone in 2016; 25+ years of experience in development and nonprofit management.

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Amanda Lopez, PhD

University of Arizona PhD, MA, Trinity University BA; 10+ years teaching experience; joined Keystone in 2022. 

Amélie Alizon

Andrea Banks

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Position: ​Director of Enrollment Management

Education: ​BA in Sociology from University of Southern California

What did you do before you came to Keystone: ​I’ve been in admissions for 14 years but all in California. Before I relocated to San Antonio in July I was the Director of Admissions at a progressive Mandarin immersion school in San Francisco.

Why do you like working here: ​The minute I set foot onto Keystone’s campus it just felt like home. The warmth that is exuded on a daily basis only makes my job that much easier when talking to prospective families.

Hobbies/pastimes: ​Dance, dance, dance. When I lived in CA, along with doing admissions, I was also a part-time dance instructor. I taught a dance cardio class at an all female (and female owned) studio in Oakland.

Something (personal or professional) you’re proud of: ​I’ve never lived anywhere except CA. The biggest move I ever made in my life was from Southern California to Northern California (ha ha). The fact that I’m living in a part of the country I never imagined is quite astonishing. The fact that I really like it and am thriving is even more astonishing!!!!

Favorite/inspirational book: I’m the type of person who doesn’t have a favorite because there are just too many good things and experiences out there. However, one book that has stuck with me and I think about quite often is “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. ​

Favorite quote: ​”Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself.” – Oscar Wilde

Angie Shotzberger

Ann Horst

Metropolitan State University of Denver, American University of Paris, BA French; 14 years of teaching experience; Joined Keystone in 2022

Anne-Victoire Bonnamour

Anthony Ciaravino

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Position: Fine Arts Department Chair/Theatre Arts and Speech, Upper School/Middle School

Education: M.F.A. Acting, University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater M.F.A. Actor Training Program; B.A. Theatre, Incarnate Word College

What did you do before you came to Keystone: For 7 seasons, I was a full-time actor at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. I also taught acting at The University of Minnesota.

Why do you like working here: The Keystone community is supportive, caring, and challenges me to be my best self every day. I cherish my professional relationships and the work I get to do with our incredible student body.

Hobbies/pastimes: I love sports, movies (scary ones), building things, playing board games (SCRABBLE!), and traveling.

Something (personal or professional) you’re proud of: Personally, I’m proudest of my wife, children and grand-children. They remind me every day that life is a gift. Professionally, I’m proud that I’ve balanced my work as a teacher and theatre artist. In 2007, My wife and I founded the Classic Theatre of San Antonio. We worked with 4 other local artists and 1 patron of the arts to create a classical repertory company that would produce high quality professional productions of great dramatic literature. The Classic is still going strong, and I’m proud to have been a part of starting something that continues to enhance the quality of life in San Antonio.

Favorite/inspirational book: The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. It’s a simple fable about following your dreams. If you tell the universe your dreams; the universe will conspire to make them come true.

Favorite quote: “Love art in yourself, and not yourself in art.”- Constantin Stanislavski, My Life in Art

Belinda Garcia

B.S. in Applied Mathematics Texas A&M University, Masters in Math Curriculum and Instruction Concordia University, 

Associates in Arts Blinn College, 18 hours Math Graduate Level Work Texas A&M University, 30 years teaching experience, Joined Keystone in 2022

Bella Peters

Trinity University, B.A.; joined Keystone in 2022; 4 years of experience in non-profit development and communications.

Bill Spedding

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Position: Head of Upper School/History teacher

Education: M.A. History, Wake Forest University; B.A. History, Lenoir-Rhyne College

What did you do before you came to Keystone: Taught history and coached volleyball at Salem Academy, Winston-Salem, NC

Why do you like working here: Great colleagues, wonderful inquisitive students and supportive parents. All three create a perfect environment for academic excellence and personal growth.

Hobbies/pastimes: Reading about modern China; watching volleyball, Spurs, Steelers and Chelsea; playing Ultimate Frisbee when my gimpy knee allows it

Something (personal or professional) you’re proud of: My 13 year old daughter Hazel who amazes me every day. My wife who sets a standard of kindness and achievement that I hope to emulate.

Favorite/inspirational book: Too many to narrow down

Favorite quote:

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Billy Handmaker

Washington University-St. Louis, MAT. Education/History; The George Washington University, B.A. Political Science. More than 30 years experience as an educator, 25+ years as head of school. Joined Keystone in 2018.

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Blanca Rivas

Brian Lawrence, PhD

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Position: High School English Teacher (grades 9 & 11)

Education: BA in English, UT Austin; MA in English, University of Louisville; MEd in Educational Leadership, Trinity University; PhD in Language and Literacy Studies, UT Austin

What did you do before you came to Keystone: I was the Vice Principal at Communications Arts High School. Before that, I taught English 3 AP at Marshall High School.

Why do you like working here: The students are curious, motivated, and kind. I love coming to work every day to see what we can learn together.

Hobbies/pastimes: Reading, fishing, looking at the stars, hanging out with my family.

Something (personal or professional) you’re proud of: I have travelled to some of the poorest parts of The Dominican Republic, Honduras, and St. Lucia in recent years to help improve the lives of people there through construction, education, and other humanitarian activities.

Favorite/inspirational book: The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer

Favorite quote: “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Too much sanity may be madness. To surrender dreams–this may be madness; to seek treasure where there is only trash. And maddest of all–to see life as it is and not as it should be.” –Man of La Mancha

Catherine Lloyd

Cecilia Fierro

Laura O’ Donnell

Laura O’Donnell is a Partner with the international law firm of Haynes and Boone where she practices management-side employment law and leads the firm’s wage and hour litigation practice group.  Laura was recently named the “2016 Lawyer of the Year” for labor and employment litigation in San Antonio by Best Lawyers, Woodward/White, Inc.

Laura’s other awards include repeated recognitions as a top management-side employment attorney by publications including Best Lawyers, Texas Super Lawyers and San Antonio Scene.  In 2013, Texas Lawyers recognized Laura as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas and one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Central/West Texas. Laura was also named one of San Antonio’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars by the San Antonio Business Journal in 2006 and as one of America’s Up and Coming Leading Business Lawyers in Employment Law by Chambers USA from 2005 to 2009.

Laura received her undergraduate degree from Trinity University in 1993 and her J.D. from Baylor School of Law in 1996.

Laura is married to Mike, who is a partner at the international law firm of Norton Rose Fulbright.  Laura and Mike are proud parents of two amazing Keystone students, a son in fifth grade and a daughter in fourth grade, both of whom have attended Keystone since kindergarten.

Ramon Flores ’90

Ramon Flores is Vice President, Real Estate Development, for Port San Antonio. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, Mr. Flores is responsible for delivering new real estate facilities, developable sites, and infrastructure projects that achieve the Port’s long-term goals.

Prior to this position, Mr. Flores served for 6 years as Executive Director of the City of San Antonio Westside Development Corporation (WDC) and prior to that worked for 9 years for Fannie Mae, in various roles in Dallas and San Antonio.

Mr. Flores is active in civic activities, including as a Director of the Texas Lyceum, Mayoral appointee and Chair of the City’s Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Committee (NIAC), former Board Member and Chair of the Long Range Property Plan Committee of the Girl Scouts of SW Texas, and Board Member and Schools Committee Chair of the Harvard Club of San Antonio. In addition, Mr. Flores was a member of Leadership San Antonio Class 39 and Steering Committee member for Class 42.

Mr. Flores is Keystone alum and lifer, having attended K-12. He received his AB from Harvard and MBA from SMU.

Victoria Shum ’00

Victoria Shum graduated from Keystone in 2000 and practices law in San Antonio.

Michael Fischer, PhD

Michael Fischer is a professor of English at Trinity University, and the inaugural Janet S. Dicke Professor in Public Humanities. For sixteen years, he served in various administrative roles at Trinity, including Vice President for Faculty and Student Affairs and Interim President. Michael is a graduate of Princeton University and received his MA and PhD degrees from Northwestern University.

Lauren Ciminello

Lauren Sracic Ciminello is a Partner with the law firm of Jackson Walker LLP, where she leads the statewide family office practice group. She counsels high net worth individuals, families, and closely held businesses, guiding clients through complex corporate, family and inter-generational matters, including succession planning.

Lauren was named by San Antonio Scene as one of the “Best S.A. Lawyers”, and most recently listed on “San Antonio’s Outstanding Women in the Law”. In 2013, Lauren was selected for San Antonio’s Chamber of Commerce Leadership San Antonio, and in 2010 received the San Antonio Business Journal’s “40 under 40” Award.

Lauren received her B.B.A. from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law here in San Antonio.

Lauren and her husband, Vito, are proud parents of two Keystone Cobras: a daughter in Middle School and a son in Lower School. For the past two years, Lauren has proudly served as co-chair of Keystone’s spring fundraiser, the Keystone Food & Drink Festival.

Amer Kaissi, PhD

Amer Kaissi is an-award winning Professor of Healthcare Administration at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He teaches Leadership and Public Speaking. He is also an executive coach and author. His first book “Intangibles: The Unexpected Traits of High-Performing Healthcare Leaders” won the 2019 Healthcare book of the year award. His most recent book is “Humbitious: the power of low-ego, high-drive leadership”, which was listed on the 2022 Book Award by the Association of University Programs in Healthcare Administration. He has been featured on the Harvard Business Review podcast and numerous other podcasts and media outlets. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and two teenagers.

Annie Kizilbash, MD

Sakshi Malhotra, MD

George Pedraza

George Pedraza is a Senior Vice President/Private Client Advisor with Bank of America Private Bank in San Antonio, focusing on providing wealth solutions such as investment management and financial and estate planning for individuals, families and institutions. Prior to his current role, Mr. Pedraza worked for 27 years as a Municipal Bond Investment Banker. His civic activities include service with various local educational institutions such as Central Catholic High School, Incarnate Word High School and Essence Prep Charter School. He is a founder of Brooks Academies of Texas charter schools and has served on the Board of the Texas Charter School Association.

Mr. Pedraza and his wife Rachel have four children who attended Keystone School from Kindergarten through 8th grade from 2000 – 2014, and served as grade level and overall Chairs of Keystone’s Annual Fund campaigns. Rachel also served as Keystone PTO President from 2011-2012 and was an active participant in the Keystone Community.

Mr. Pedraza received his BA from UTSA, a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs of Syracuse University.

Kumar Reddy, MD ’93

Kumar Reddy is a Keystone School Alumnus, and graduated as a member of the Class of 1993. He then attended Southwestern University in Georgetown for his undergraduate degree. This was followed by medical school training in Chicago, where he met his wife, Dr. Ami Bhalodia. They did their residency and fellowship training at Louisiana State University and started their family during that time. He moved back home to San Antonio in 2013, as a Neurologist and Sleep Medicine Specialist with River City Neurology at Baptist Health Systems. His two sons continue the family’s Keystone Cobras legacy, with Shashi joining the school as a 2nd grader in 2013, and Dev starting at the Little School of Keystone in 2014. Kumar has participated as class and Little School representative in numerous fundraising events these past three years since his return to the San Antonio community, and hopes to continue his contribution to Keystone through service in the years to come.

Gurpaul Singh

Tracey Smith

Tracey received her B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (now the Princeton School) at Princeton University, and studied at the London School of Economics, focusing on the privatization of public housing and housing equity issues. Tracey received her Juris Doctor at the University of Texas School of Law. She has served on the Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee for many years and enjoys counseling and interviewing prospective applicants.

Tracey practices transactional and regulatory-based employment and corporate law, serving as employment counsel to a diverse clientele on all aspects of labor and employment law (with special emphasis on physician employment arrangements, entity formation, and health care regulatory matters), including federal and state regulatory and compliance matters.

Tracey previously served as PTO President and has also served as Secretary and President-Elect. She and her husband, Craig, served as Annual Fund Captains for the 2017-2018 and Co-Captains for the 2018-2019 school year. The Smiths have a child in the Lower School. They are grateful for Keystone’s faculty, staff, and welcoming community.

Zina Wormley

Rose Parham

Billy Handmaker

Billy Handmaker began his service as Head of Keystone School in 2018. Prior to coming to Keystone, he was Head of Bosque School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 2011-18. He has served as a teacher and administrator in independent schools since 1989. From 1989-96, Billy taught history, chaired the History Department, and served as the Dean of Faculty and the Assistant Head for Faculty and Curriculum at Whitfield School in St. Louis. From 1996-2011, Billy was the Head of School and taught history at Crossroads College Preparatory School in St. Louis. Billy earned a B.A. in Political Science from The George Washington University and an M.A. in Teaching/History from Washington University in St. Louis. In addition to working in independent schools, Billy taught at Maryville University in St. Louis for many years, and he has served on a number of non-profit boards, including Horizons National, Horizons New Mexico, the Albuquerque International Association Advisory Board, KIPP-St. Louis, the Wilson School in St. Louis, Shaara Zedek Synagogue, the St. Louis Public Library, and the Washington University Neighbors Advisory Board.