Christen Wilson is the new head of advancement and administration at The Magellan International School.[/caption]
In response to growing in the past five years from 47 to 447 students, one Central Austin school has expanded its leadership team.
The Magellan International School in late August announced the creation of three new staff positions and five new board member seats. The new executive roles have been filled by Christen Wilson, head of advancement and administration; Crystal Estrada, director of operations; and Liz Vega, director of admissions.
“We’re ramping up our ability to continue to grow the school,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the new positions help improve operations and free up staff to do more fundraising to accommodate anticipated growth. The end goal, she said, is to expand the private middle school to include an International Baccalaureate diploma program, essentially creating 9th- through 12th-grade high school classes. A strategic planning effort will set a timeline and exact priorities for long-term fundraising efforts, Wilson said.
Joe Lanane’s career is rooted in community journalism, having worked for a variety of Midwest-area publications before landing south of the Mason-Dixon line in 2011 as the Stillwater News-Press news editor. He arrived at Community Impact Newspaper in 2012, gaining experience as editor of the company’s second-oldest publication in Leander/Cedar Park. He eventually became Central Austin editor, covering City Hall and the urban core of the city.
Lanane leveraged that experience to become Austin managing editor in 2016. He managed eight Central Texas editions from Georgetown to San Marcos. Working from company headquarters, Lanane also became heavily involved in enacting corporate-wide editorial improvements. In 2017, Lanane was promoted to executive editor, overseeing editorial operations throughout the company. The Illinois native received his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and his journalism master’s degree from Ball State University.
