Casa Grande High School

Who We Are...

Mr. Brett Sklove,  Lead Counselor 
(Students: last names Cr-Gin)

Email: bsklove@petk12.org  Phone: 707-778-4690 Fax: 778-4705

Mr. Sklove has served the students at Casa Grande High School since 2006. Mr. Sklove has also served as an Adjunct Counselor/Instructor at the College of Marin since 1999. Prior to working at Casa Grande High School, Mr. Sklove held the positions of School Counselor, Director of Secondary Programs, and Executive Director at Tymothy Murphy School - a non-public, special education school in San Rafael. He has also worked in the Advising Center at Sonoma State University, and the Counseling Department at Cabrillo College.  Before entering the field of education, Mr. Sklove spent several years working in restaurants and retail. He holds an Associate of Arts from Cabrillo College, a Bachelor of Arts from Sonoma State University, and a Master of Arts from the University of San Francisco.

Mr. Sklove has also completed post-graduate studies at Chapman University. Outside of CASA he enjoys spending time with his family, running, gardening, and catching as many shows as possible at the Fillmore!

Mr. Paul Koene, Counselor 
(Students: last names A-Co)

Email: pkoene@petk12.org  Phone: 707-778-4690  Fax: 707-778-4705

Mr. Koene (pronounced KOO-nee) has been a school counselor at Casa since 2008. Mr. Koene has an extensive background in all levels of the bar and restaurant business and spent 8 years running the operations of a retail and corporate barter exchange in San Francisco. He began volunteering for Men Overcoming Violence in 1999, which led to a job teaching violence prevention to youth in San Francisco as well as working as a group facilitator and intake coordinator for the MOVE batterer intervention program. Around that time, he felt the pull to move north and raise a family, which led him to seek out a new career as a school counselor. After graduating from the excellent graduate program at Sonoma State with a Masters in Counseling, Mr. Koene’s first counseling job was as the head counselor at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael. But commuting to San Rafael from Petaluma every day is no bueno, so Mr. Koene jumped at the chance to work at Casa, where he has found the best job ever!

Ms. Kathy Jelin, Counselor 
(Students: last names Gio - Marr)

Email: kjelin@petk12.org  Phone:   FAX: 778-4705

Ms. Jelin (pronounced gel-in) joined Casa Grande as a school counselor in 2007. Prior to her arrival, Ms. Jelin was an instructor at North Orange County Regional Occupational Program (NOCROP) where she enjoyed teaching Recreational Leadership to high school and adult students. It was a great opportunity for students wishing to work in day camps, preschools, youth programs, and residential camps, including working with children and adults with disabilities. With a diverse history of employment, Ms. Jelin has worked for the Anaheim Hilton and Towers; the City of Anaheim; with Judi-Kins manufacturing and sales; and other part-time jobs including a year abroad as an au pair. She holds an Associate of Arts from Riverside City College, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Arts from California State University Long Beach. Her extra-curricular activities include spending time with family and friends, gardening, and hiking throughout Sonoma County.

Ms. Julie Powaser, Counselor 
(Students: last names Mars - Ri)

Email: jpowaser@petk12.org  Phone: 707-778-4690 Fax: 707-778-4705

Mrs. Powaser (pronounced poe-wah-ser) has been a school counselor at the most awesome school ever (yes...Casa Grande!) since 2016. She grew up in Southern California where she has worked with elementary, middle, and high school students in many capacities over the years. She has a true passion for working with high school students and truly believes she has the best job in the world! Prior to joining the wonderful Casa staff, she was a high school counselor in Novato. She holds an Associate of Arts from Orange Coast College, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Chapman University. When she is not working at Casa, Mrs. Powaser enjoys spending time with her family and friends, exploring Northern California, and crafting. Her favorite place to be is at the river or mountains doing all kinds of water and snow sports.

Ms. Shana Friedman, Counselor
(Students: last names Ro - Z)

Email: sfriedman@petk12.org   Phone: 707-778-4690  Fax: 707-778-4705

A lifelong Northern California resident, Ms. Friedman has worked in schools, government, and nonprofit organizations throughout Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties. She was previously the School Counselor at YouthBuild Santa Rosa (an alternative high school) and the Assistant Director of Admissions at the Dominican University of California. At that time, Ms. Friedman began exploring a career as a professor, becoming an Adjunct Lecturer and co-authoring a scholarly publication on integrative counseling approaches. Although working in academia was interesting, nothing is better than working with high school students! Ms. Friedman holds an Associate of Arts from Santa Rosa Junior College and earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Sonoma State University. Outside of Casa Grande, Ms. Friedman enjoys cooking, spending time with friends and family, and being active as much as possible. Her favorite activities include hiking, CrossFit, yoga, and Olympic weightlifting.

Ms. Valarie Alston

College & Career Center Outreach/Specialist

Ms. Alston is a graduate of Sonoma State University. She has been at Casa Grande High /Sonoma Mountain and Carpe Diem High Schools for 5 years.  She is a retiree of the Sonoma County Superior Court & State Farm Insurance Companies. She has over 25 plus years of professional experience in the human resource field. Her pride and joy is her daughter, who lives on the East Coast, where the two have traveled to many countries; to name a few, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, Dubai, China, Japan, and throughout Europe. Her passion is to work with high school kids of all cultural backgrounds to help them reach their maximum potential, and lastly, she loves to dance!

Email: valston@petk12.org  Phone: 707-778-4690  Fax: 707-778-4705