Enduring Leadership: Guiding De La Salle Through Six Decades of Change

In 1965, on a still-being-built campus in Concord, a small group of Christian Brothers began the work of building something that would last. At the center of it stood the school’s first principal, Brother Norman Cook (1965–1967; 1968–1972), a founding figure who carried more than a title. In those early years, the principal was everything at once, academic leader, disciplinarian, steward of mission, and public face of the school. And Cook set the tone: rigorous, faith-centered, and rooted in the Lasallian tradition.

Brother Norman was followed by Brother Malachy (1967 - 1968) for a year and then Brother Robert Lee (1972–1977), who guided the school through a period of steady growth as enrollment climbed and De La Salle’s presence in the East Bay deepened. Brother Michael Meister (1977–1982) continued that trajectory, strengthening internal systems as the school matured beyond its founding years.

By the time Brother Jerome Gallegos (1982–1992) assumed leadership, De La Salle was no longer simply a young school finding its footing. It was an institution beginning to think about its future. Gallegos understood that sustaining the mission would require broader support and shared responsibility. During his tenure, the school established its first Board of Regents, an advisory group that brought lay voices into conversation with the Brothers. Their work, focused on advancement, scholarships, and long-term planning, marked the first meaningful step toward modern governance.

In 1992, another milestone arrived with the appointment of Jim Tschaan (1992–2001) as the first lay principal of De La Salle. His leadership signaled both continuity and change: the mission remained intact, but its stewardship was expanding beyond the religious community that had founded it.

That expansion took formal shape in 1993, when the Board of Trustees replaced the Board of Regents. No longer simply advisory, the Trustees assumed fiduciary and strategic responsibility for the school, adopting a policy governance model that clarified roles and strengthened accountability. It was a quiet but profound shift, one that aligned De La Salle with best practices in Catholic and independent education and positioned it for the decades ahead.

The following year, in 1994, the school made another decisive move. Recognizing the growing complexity of running a modern institution, De La Salle adopted a President/Principal model, dividing leadership between mission and operations on one hand, and academic life on the other.

Jim Tschaan became the school’s first President, working alongside Brother Robert Wickman (1994 - 1998) as Principal. Together, they navigated this new structure, setting a pattern that would guide the school for more than twenty years. Tschaan later partnered with Brother Tom Westeberg (1998 - 2001), continuing to refine the balance between institutional advancement and day-to-day leadership.

In 2001, Bruce Shoop (2001 - 2007) stepped into the presidency, joined by Brother Chris Brady (2001 - 2011) as Principal. Their years included the school’s 40th Anniversary Campaign and the construction of the Hofmann Center, visible signs of a community investing in its future. Leadership then passed to Mark DeMarco (2007 - 2021), who served as President alongside Brother Chris Brady and later Brother Robert Wickman (2011 - 2016). Under their guidance, De La Salle celebrated its 50th anniversary and completed the STREAM Center, expanding opportunities for students in new and meaningful ways.

By 2016, the demands of leadership had evolved again. DeMarco introduced a President and Cabinet model, eliminating the role of Principal and establishing a team of vice presidents overseeing key areas: Academic Life, Campus Life, Finance, Advancement, Athletics, and Mission. The change created a single point of accountability while drawing on specialized expertise across the school’s operations.

When David Holquin (2021 - present) became President in 2021, he inherited not just a structure, but a legacy, one shaped by decades of thoughtful adaptation. Each leader before him had responded to the needs of the moment, adjusting roles, refining governance, and expanding the school’s reach, all while holding fast to something less tangible but far more important.

Because beneath every title change and organizational shift, something essential remained unchanged.

From Brother Norman Cook’s earliest days to the present, De La Salle has been guided by a clear and enduring purpose: to form young men of faith, scholarship, integrity, and service. Generations of students have passed through its halls, shaped not only by curriculum and campus life, but by the steady, often unseen work of those entrusted with leadership.

Administrators came and went. Structures evolved. Expectations grew more complex with each passing decade. And yet, through it all, De La Salle remained unmistakably itself.

In the end, that continuity may be the school’s greatest achievement, not that it resisted change, but that it embraced it carefully, never losing sight of the mission that made the school worth building in the first place.

Administrative Leadership Timeline (1965–Present)
1965–1967 — Brother Norman Cook, Principal (First Principal)
1967-1968 —  Brother Malachy, Principal
1968–1972 — Brother Norman Cook, Principal
1972–1977 — Brother Robert Lee, Principal
1977–1982 — Brother Michael Meister, Principal
1982–1992 — Brother Jerome Gallegos, Principal (Board of Regents introduced in 1982)
1992–1994 — Jim Tschann, President (Transition period)
1994–1998 — Jim Tschann, President / Brother Robert Wickman, Principal
1998–2001 — Jim Tschann, President / Brother Tom Westeberg, Principal (Policy Governance introduced)
2001–2007 — Bruce Shoop, President / Brother Chris Brady, Principal
2007–2011 — Mark DeMarco, President / Brother Chris Brady, Principal
2011–2016 — Mark DeMarco, President / Brother Robert Wickman, Principal
2016–2021 — Mark DeMarco, President (Cabinet Model)
2021–Present — David Holquin, President (Cabinet Model)