Meet the SVSA Staff

Hannah BenDavid joined the Sun Valley Ski Academy staff as its Assistant Program Coordinator in 2023. In addition, Hannah will be the Assistant Director of Rufus M. Brown Hall.

A recent graduate of Brandeis University, Hannah holds a BS in Neuroscience and a minor in French. Hannah brings experience teaching Upper School- and collegiate-level students and has a strong grasp of the sciences. Most recently, she was a Science Teaching Assistant at Steamboat Mountain School in Colorado where she assisted in teaching 9th-grade Biology and 11th/12th-grade Anatomy and Physiology; she also led outdoor expedition trips and assisted with residential staff duties for the school’s boarding students. During her time at Brandeis, Hannah was a Teaching Assistant for the Quantitative  Biology Research Community, an Undergraduate Researcher for the Turrigiano Lab, and a Neuroscience Undergraduate Department Representative. She is proficient in French, is Wilderness First Aid-certified, and was the President of the Brandeis Mountain Club. 

Tracey Caraluzzi’s official role is Residence Hall Chef, but her maternal nature (she has five grown children) has led her to another, unofficial, role as boarding students’ “other mom.”

In the kitchen, Tracey’s goal is to debunk notions of institutional food by providing students with healthy, delicious, locally-sourced food that fuels body, mind, and soul. A recent article in Sun Valley Community School's biannual publication, Here+There, touts a few of Tracey's most popular dishes amongst the boarding students. 

With more than 30 years of restaurant and catering experience behind her, she strives to offer nutritionally balanced and tasty meals that are thoughtfully planned to appeal to a wide variety of taste preferences and cultural backgrounds and to offer a warm, welcoming meal-time experience to unite the Residence Hall family.

Josh Hack, an Austin, Texas native, took over the reins in the Julia Argyros Training Center as our new High Performance Coordinator in June 2022.  Prior to joining the Cutthroat community, Josh was an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins semi-professional hockey team that feeds into the Pittsburgh Penguins. Previously, Josh worked at St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School as head strength and conditioning coach for football and volleyball teams. Josh made a wonderful impression on our community during his finalist visit to campus, in particular the student-athletes who participated in his workouts. 

The Residence Hall welcomed Vicky Kelley as its new assistant cook in the fall of 2022. In her role, Vicky will cook healthy breakfasts and assist with dinner. Vicky brings a plethora of experience cooking at private schools and restaurants. Prior to joining Sun Valley Community School, Vicky was a hot lunch provider at Lighthouse Christian School. Since 2014, she also worked for Ketchum’s Rasberry’s Catering and Bistro, where she assisted with catering needs and food prep and planning. 

John Lane joined Sun Valley Community School in August 2022 in a part-time capacity, teaching Upper School math in addition to serving as an SVSA Academic Coordinator. 

Prior to joining the Cutthroat community, John served in a variety of mathematical roles in the Cayman Islands. Most recently, he was a Mathematics Tutor with Cayman Tutors where he tutored students in secondary mathematics from Algebra to Calculus as well as IB Maths A.1 11 and 12. Prior, he was the Mathematics Teacher at the Bren Subic International School teaching Math 6, 7, 8, and 9. And from 2015-2020, he was the Mathematics Teacher at Cayman International School, teaching Math 6, 8, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry, and IB Maths A.1 11 and 12. 

John holds a BS in Mathematics with a minor in Spanish from California Polytechnic University. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time in the outdoors. 

As the director of the Sun Valley Ski Academy since 2011, Jonna Mendes has an impressive background as an athlete and coach. A two-time Olympian—at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games and 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games—Jonna was also a four-time National Champion (twice in downhill, twice in giant slalom) and earned a bronze medal in super-G at the 2003 Alpine World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Following her 2006 retirement from the U.S. Ski Team, Jonna honed her coaching skills as a U.S. Ski Team development coach from 2006-10, working with athletes at national and regional projects and competitions. In addition to her role as SVSA Program Director, Jonna coaches the U16s with Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. Jonna’s unique perspective and experience as an elite athlete and coach is an asset to the development of our SVSA student-athletes. In her free time, Jonna loves chasing her son, Declan, down the mountain and camping with Declan and her husband, Will.

Clay Wawner joined our staff in 2018 as Director of Residential. Clay joined Sun Valley Community School from Miller School of Albemarle in Charlottesville, Virginia, where, since 2013, he served as Dean of Students, history teacher, Community Service Coordinator, Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach, Residential Duty Team Chief, Student Advisor, and Senior Administrative Team member.

In addition to his extensive academic, residential, and coaching experience, Clay has over ten years’ experience as an outdoor education instructor, having led wilderness experiences around the U.S. and globally, including two summers employed as a fishing and river guide for The River Company in Stanley. 

Clay, along with his wife Maggie, bring warmth, a familial approach, clear expectations, and great residential experience to the dorm, while also working to expand programmatic offerings for all Sun Valley Community School students.

Clay is a graduate of Denison University, where he captained the men’s lacrosse team for two years and graduated with a degree in history. In his reflection of his visit to Community School, Clay shared, “Through a strong set of guiding values, I believe that I can help define a culture that successfully integrates the residential life program into the greater community, bridges the gap between day and boarding students and faculty, and creates a fun and safe environment for our students.” 

Clay enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife Maggie and their two sons.