Administration

Allen Academy recently welcomed Mike Notaro as Interim Head of School. Mr. Notaro joins the Allen family from St. Luke's Episcopal School in Mobile, Alabama where, for the past 7 years, he has served as Head of School. He has demonstrated a commitment to leading schools in combination with all the members of a school's community: students, parents, teachers, alumni, benefactors, and the board of trustees. From not only his time at St. Luke's in Mobile, but also at Brookwood School in Thomasville, Georgia (SAIS and NAIS member school) which he led for 7 years prior to St. Luke's, he has an impressive track record of championing new ideas, partnerships, and collaborations to extend new experiential and academic opportunities to students and help reach school goals. His extensive academic, management, administrative, and fiscal experience coupled with his track record of success give us great confidence that he is the right person to continue moving Allen Academy forward.

Carla Johansson joined Allen Academy in 2018 as the Head of Lower School. Carla has been in education for over 20 years, working in both the USA and in Sweden. She started her teaching career in Oconee County, South Carolina, after graduating from Clemson University. Two years later, she moved to Helsingborg, Sweden, and started working at the International School of Helsingborg, where she remained for 20 years. During her time there, she taught Kindergarten through grade 6, and held the roles of Curriculum Coordinator and Primary School Principal. Carla holds a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education, and a Master’s degree in Education with a specialization in Educational Leadership. She is also a certified Concept Based Curriculum consultant.
Carla and her husband, Fredrik, have been married for 18 years and have two wonderful children, Mattias and Hayley, both of whom attend Allen.

Adrian Adams joined Allen Academy in 2018 as Athletic Director. He also serves as the Head Six-Man Football and Head Baseball Coach. Upon graduating with a B.S. in Health and Human Performance from Prairie View A&M University, during which time he was a four-year starter for the Division I baseball program, he went on to earn his Masters in Education.
Coach Adams' career has been a notable one. Before joining Allen Academy, Adrian has a nine-year tenure at Emery/Weiner School in Houston, developing programs as Assistant Athletic Director, Head Six-man Football Coach, and Head Baseball Coach. At Emery/Weiner, his teams won a TAPPS 5A state title in baseball and Division I six-man football championship as well. During that time he earned several accolades for coaching, including the 2016 Dave Campbell Texas Football Private School Coach of the Year, and the 2017 Houston 5A Baseball Private School Coach of the Year. Most recently, Adrian was named the 2018 Brazos Valley Football Coach of the Year in his first season leading the Rams.
Adrian and his wife, Chudney, have a daughter, Alexis, who attends Allen Academy. He and his family have enjoyed joining the Allen Academy community, establishing great relationships, and being a part of the enthusiasm about the future of Ram Athletics.

During college, Ms. Engelke started accounting work with an economics firm handling the accounts payable department. After graduation, she changed roles to become a contracts specialist working on contracts with the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of State. The job encompassed both managing the contracts and working on cost proposals for renewals, as well as new business opportunities. The company relocated offices out of this area, and Ms. Engelke, who had decided to make Bryan her home, chose not to relocate. She then worked as a private accountant for a family, handling all aspects of their joint ventures and constructions projects. Ms. Engelke later became a Financial Analyst with Treasury Services, a department of the Texas A&M University System, in which she handled the debt management and capital planning for the system. This entailed preparing documents for the issuance of commercial paper and the insurance of bonds, as well as the Capital Plan, the Coordinating Board Master Plan, and the State Capital Expenditure Plan. All of this was in the era prior to children. After the children started at Allen Academy, Ms. Engelke became the Assistant Business Manager at the school, and then assumed the job of the Director of Business and Finance. The Business Office at Allen Academy is responsible for all accounting for the school, including payroll, human resources, risk management, as well as procurement and inventory.
Michelle and her husband have three teenagers, and keep busy with club sports and carpool coordinating!

Mrs. Garcia has lived in the Bryan/College Station area for the past 22 years and is very thankful to call it home. She and her husband, Damian, will be celebrating their three-year anniversary this year, and they have three super cute cats that you will often hear them talk about like their own children!
She has worked in several surrounding school districts including Franklin ISD, Bryan ISD, College Station ISD, and most recently ILTexas, but she truly believes that Allen Academy is the BEST school in the Brazos Valley! She loves being a part of the Allen Family!!