Dr. Dan Griffiths is the fifth President of Stevenson School, bringing a wealth of international experience and a demonstrated commitment to innovative education. Guided by the school’s motto, “Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re” – gentle in manner, resolute in deed – Dan leads Stevenson’s commitment to joyful learning and academic excellence across its Pre-K to 12th grade programs on the Carmel and Pebble Beach campuses. Throughout his career, he has led the development of a diverse, challenging curriculum that shapes curious explorers, team players, creative artists, and community leaders. Under his leadership, Stevenson emphasizes experiential learning and a supportive environment that balances curiosity-driven exploration with high academic expectations. Dan is dedicated to fostering a global perspective, with students from across the U.S. and more than 20 countries, cultivating a community that broadens horizons and prepares students for an ever-changing world.

Dan was raised in the United Kingdom, attending an independent boarding school in Truro, Cornwall. In an environment very similar to the Monterey peninsula, he grew up by the ocean, spending much of his time in and on the water and playing a range of typically British sports, including cricket, football, rugby, and golf.
He studied Biological Sciences at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University, and was awarded an academic scholarship in his second year as recognition of his research work, which was published while he was still an undergraduate. From there, he went on to receive a PhD in Zoology, with a specialization in behavioural neuroscience, from the University of Cambridge. Dan’s first experience of working in California came via a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of California, Davis, where he conducted research, lectured in Advanced Animal Behavior and served as a mentor in the McNair Scholars program, supporting first generation college students interested in research. His research work on learning and memory has been published in journals such as Trends in Cognitive Science and Physiology and Behavior and in the academic textbooks Neuropsychology of Memory and The Evolution of Cognition.

In 2000, Dan transitioned to teaching at the secondary school level, first gaining his PGCE teaching qualification at the University of Cambridge followed by his first full-time teaching position at St. Columba’s College, an independent boarding school in Dublin, Ireland. At St. Columba’s, he served as director of technology, taught science and biology, worked in the residential program, and coached provincial title-winning rugby and cricket teams. He returned to the UK to teach at Sevenoaks School where he was the assistant housemaster in the International Center, a dormitory with 60 students from over 20 countries studying for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.

Dan emigrated to the United States in 2007, teaching integrated science, Environmental Science and Policy, advanced Biology, and a number of science electives at Catlin Gabel School in Portland, OR. He also coached varsity soccer, racquetball and golf. During his decade at Catlin Gabel he served as science department head, dean of students, associate head of the upper division, and for five years was head of the upper division. In 2017, Dan accepted Stevenson’s invitation to take up the position of head of the upper division, before stepping into his role as president in 2022.

Dan and his family live on campus with their border collies, Alfie and George, and they enjoy traveling to visit family in the UK so the children can learn about their British heritage. After 30 years of playing competitive soccer, Dan has slowed down to embrace the more sedate pace of life on the many incredible golf courses of the Monterey Peninsula.