Mia Ricafort

director

Mia Ricafort is a native of the Bay area and has spent her career designing educational spaces as a professional architect. Mia has collaborated with many school districts and led teams to design award winning school buildings known for innovation and sustainability. In 2009, Mia got her LEED certification and she is committed to creating spaces which are environmentally sustainable and beautifully designed. As the director of Westfield Residence, she applies her training in design thinking to help create an environment where young women are supported in their academic, professional and personal growth but also challenged to go beyond themselves to serve others.

Bridget Higgins

assistant director

Bridget Higgins is an educator, specializing in character and leadership for young women.  Having received her BS from Notre Dame, she taught interdisciplinary science and math for several years at Montrose School, in Medfield, Massachusetts.  At the same time, she worked as a Resident Assistant at Bayridge Residence in Boston, directing formation programs and residence life.  She left the front end of the classroom to attend a two year laureate program at the Università di Santa Croce in Rome, specializing in integral human formation.  She moved from Rome to Los Angeles to take the director position at Westfield Residence.  As a native Pittsburgher, she is relishing the sunshine of Southern California.  She speaks Spanish and Italian, and has traveled extensively domestically and abroad.  Her passions are nature, theatre and bluegrass music.  Her favorite authors include Dante, Hemmingway, and LM Montgomery. 

Maria elena De bellard

Assistant director

Debbie studied Biology at University Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela and then obtained a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at City University of New York. From there she moved to California to work as an Embryologist at Caltech and later on at California State University Northridge. In 2013 she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Indonesia where she researched the nervous system of jellyfish. Currently she conducts research in the joined field of evolution/development, while mentoring a large number of undergraduates. She is an avid biker, climber and hiker; no distance or rock is too hard for her to tackle!