Leadership Team
UWC-USA’s president, Dr. Victoria Mora, directs the leadership team to manage the operation of the school. Along with Dr. Mora, the leadership team’s primary focus is the UWC mission and the success, health, and well-being of the students.
With distinguished backgrounds and broad experience in schools, these administrators build relationships with students, National Committees, parents, partners, alumni, other UWC schools, and donors to advance the UWC mission at UWC-USA.
“By embracing our mission to make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future our students commit to a set of values that guide their actions and interactions. On campus and beyond. They do so in partnership with a staff who serve as models and mentors and who are dedicated to the same ideals.”
Victoria Mora
President
Victoria Mora
PresidentIf you had to choose one value or element of the UWC mission that you think is most important, which would it be?
I believe that the great work of the UWC movement is building positive relationships between people who might otherwise be at odds with each other for historical, cultural, or socio-economic reasons. Friendship is natural to young people. They don’t yet have prejudices that are set in stone. With the kinds of opportunities provided at UWC-USA, they find joy across differences, working, living, and playing together.
Which tradition or annual event at UWC-USA holds particular meaning for you?
That’s a tough call. The Welcome Ceremony is wonderful. The students wave their flags proudly and cheer one another on. The Matriculation Ceremony is a little different. The students sign the matriculation book to formally become part of the school and the UWC movement. Each student is called into community by the previous student signing the book. There is something deeply moving about each student respectfully pronouncing a new name, a new country. It’s what the school is really about. respectfully. when students sign the matriculation book and formally become part of the school and the UWC movement. For many it’s the first time they realize the breadth and depth of the UWC organization. It’s both moving and joyous.
What quality do our students consistently display that you admire most?
The quality I most love about our students is their openness to try to understand the other. They challenge their own views and opinions as much as they challenge the views and opinions of others. They don’t let themselves settle for “I.” They get the “We” and its vital importance for the future.
What do you do routinely in your work to enhance or improve the educational experience of our students?
What a pleasure it is to meet with people who already know UWC-USA and to introduce it to others for the first time!
Education
BA, University of New Mexico,
PhD, Yale University
Todd Austin
Interim Associate Head of School
Todd Austin
Interim Associate Head of SchoolIf you had to choose one value or element of the UWC mission that you think is most important, which would it be?
I think all educational institutions should include a concern for a sustainable future in their mission statement so I’m thrilled the UWC mission includes it.
Which tradition or annual event at UWC-USA holds particular meaning to you?
I joined the UWC-USA leadership team in October 2019. Shortly after my arrival the pandemic arrived. As a result of this development and others (i.e., a major wildfire evacuation), I still haven’t fully experienced all the traditions and events at UWC-USA. Two moments, which happen every year but have happened differently in each of my three years on campus, stand out for me — the great departure of new graduates from campus in the spring and the great arrival of first-year students in August. It’s incredibly poignant to see group after group of graduates set out from this place, in one humble UWC-USA bus after another, destined for so many different universities and so many different futures. It’s just as moving to welcome one new group of first-year students after another, in those same humble buses, as they gather here for the first time from all corners of the world.
What quality do our students consistently display that you admire most?
I most admire our students’ courage and curiosity to leave home at the age of 17 to complete their secondary education in our two-year program. I left home at that age for an eight-week summer program abroad and was quite ready at the end to return home for my senior year of high school. They’re taking on a much bigger challenge.
What do you do routinely in your work to enhance or improve the educational experience of our students?
From October 2019 through May 2022 I served as the Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives. In this role I was concerned about our students’ educational experience but the nature of my work was more focused on the experience of those students who will come after them, 5 or 10 years down the road. What I most enjoyed doing to enhance the experience of current students was including them in our strategy conversations. Students would always light up when hearing of open questions and new possibilities for the future of UWC-USA and value the opportunity to share their perspectives.
In my new role as the Interim Associate Head of School, I will be laser focused on our current student’s educational experience. I hope to enhance their experience by more personally engaging with them across all facets of our program; leading a more integrated faculty and program; and implementing a weekly schedule designed to facilitate more regular communication, collaboration and community-building.
Education
B.A. in history, The University of Texas at Austin.
Master’s in theological studies, Spring Hill College, the Jesuit College of the South in Mobile, Ala.
M.A. in independent school leadership, Columbia University in New York City.
Mark Hodde ’89
Chief Advancement Officer
Mark Hodde ’89
Chief Advancement OfficerIf you had to choose one value or element of the UWC mission that you think is most important, which would it be?
As an alumnus from the class of ’89 I can speak to the ways that very different people become part of a powerful community at UWC-USA. The UWC mission is about building bridges and relationships for peace and a sustainable world. I’ve lived that part of the mission and I know how important it is.
Which tradition or annual event at UWC-USA holds particular meaning for you?
Graduation holds particular meaning for me because it’s the moment when the work we’ve been doing as a community in Montezuma ends and the work of a lifetime for our alumni begins. Graduation is poignant, somber, celebratory, and compelling. I love that it is both a beginning and an ending.
What quality do our students consistently display that you admire most?
I admire how our students look ahead. They don’t wallow in the past or obsess over the present. They look ahead and think carefully about how they want to be better global citizens.
Please describe a couple of things you do routinely in your work to enhance or improve the educational experience of our students.
My first job is to share the mission and the UWC-USA story with alumni and friends to secure the funding that we need to provide scholarships and support for the school. I spend a lot of time traveling to meet donors and writing letters.
Education
BA, CSU-San Bernardino
MPA, USC