This 40x8-foot mural was conceived of and designed by Monica Tiulescu, former Athenian teacher, as a celebration of Black Women. The notable women featured are (from left to right): Michelle Obama, May C. Jemison, Vice President Kamala Harris, Amanda Gorman, and Maya Angelou. This project took 45 hours to complete and was installed in mid-April, later serving as the fitting backdrop to the 2021 graduation. Though many talented students contributed along the way, students Pavika (Pow) Vachiranjindakul ’21, Sophie Scolini ’21, and Dilbert Iraheta Juarez ’21 led the way in bringing this project to completion.
Cover: The May C. Jemison mural panel featured on the cover, was painted by Pow ’21
Editor
Shoshana Ziblatt
Director of Strategic Communications
Contributors
Dora Benavides
Advancement Services Manager
Erin Fredrick
Director of Philanthropy
Kim Webb Palacios
Associate Director of Advancement
Alumni Giving & Engagement
Liz Weaver
Communications Manager
Photography
Kimberly Moore
Kelley Lotosky
Design
Julie Contreras, Urban Bird Design Walnut Creek, CA
Printing Solstice Press, Oakland, CA
“Looking back, it was an exceptional year for our school — one that tested our fortitude and highlighted the enduring strength of our mission.”
Reflections on a Historic Year
Message from the Head of School, Eric
Niles
The past year was one of extremes. It flew by yet at times felt like it would never end. It was full of profound loss and pain and pure joy and gratitude. As a school we witnessed these seemingly contradictory realities daily and worked to hold space for the spectrum of emotions experienced within our community.
One of the greatest examples of this was the significant growth we had as a school while operating within the constraints of our COVID safety measures. Curricular innovation and the creative use of educational technology was at an all-time high. At first, the limitations to our face-to-face learning felt like an insurmountable obstacle and yet many of our capstone experiences, like the ninth grade “This I Believe” speeches, became arguably more meaningful to our students and shared more widely with our community than ever before. In addition, we discovered that everyday things like our Middle School science labs and art lessons often flourished in our outdoor classrooms where messiness and space were no longer limiters. And finally, hallmark programs like Community Service/Community Engagement, featured on page 5, took big steps forward despite the inability to engage in our usual face-to-face service.
We were also deeply impacted by our external environment — from the long overdue reckoning and activism in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder to a divisive and historic election year. We were at times a divided community and yet we had some of our most honest and growth-oriented dialogue about race and social justice in my twelve years at Athenian (see page 12 for more).
Looking back, it was an exceptional year for our school — one that tested our fortitude and highlighted the enduring strength of our mission. Admittedly, it was hard to think beyond what was right in front of us. The challenges of bringing students back in person tested our limits. While there are too many to name individually for making this year what it was for our students — a beacon for learning and social connection — I’d like to broadly acknowledge our faculty and the leadership team for their tremendous sacrifice and commitment and the medical and safety consultants who leaned into every logistical hurdle to getting our students fully back on campus. And of course, a special thanks goes to our resilient students and their amazing families who helped keep our community nearly COVID free all year. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge our privilege in this moment too. We had the resources that many communities and schools did not have this past year and I am more aware than ever of the responsibility that comes with this privilege.
I am also grateful for Athenian’s Board of Trustees. While we were rightfully focusing on the here and now, they continued to work on the school’s next five-year strategic plan. Keeping the future of the school at the forefront, I am happy to report that we are poised for growth and continued excellence. We look forward to sharing our major initiatives with you this fall. In the meantime, read more about the strategic planning process and community involvement on page 16.
I am excited about the school’s future and leveraging our learnings from this past year into what I imagine will be a period of significant progress for the school. The extremes and polarization of our current world will likely stay with us, and we will continue to make space for what that means for us as a school and as educators. Now more than ever, our country and world need the type of young people we graduate, and we are more committed than ever to ensuring they are prepared for what their future holds and what the world needs from them.
With gratitude,
Eric F. Niles Head of School
From Community Service to Community Engagement
Undeterred by the pandemic, planning for the future of the Athenian Community Service Program was fueled this past year by the opportunity provided by the disruption of our usual routines. With newfound momentum, Athenian took significant steps toward formalizing a reframing of how we talk about and do service.
Athenian has a strong foundation on which to build. Over the years our peers have looked to our school as a model on how to do service. With the value of service built into our founding pillars, our goal was to come even closer to Athenian’s founding ideals by moving beyond community service to a more holistic form of community engagement.
Community engagement will emphasize the reciprocal nature of service. It will also align engagement with the curriculum, consciously developing connections between the classroom and community.
The reciprocal nature of service
When Athenian student Aria Capelli ’24 and her sister and Middle School alumna Isabella Capelli identified a need for one-on-one tutoring early on in the pandemic, they sprang into action. Along with another local teen, the trio channeled their entrepreneurial spirit into founding Meaningful Teens, an online tutoring organization that matches teens, college students and retired teachers with K-12 students in under-resourced schools.
With students across the country learning from home in the fall of 2020, the need for
additional academic support, especially in the elementary school years and in communities with limited financial resources, was critical. It was a clear fit for Athenian students, who, in the midst of a pandemic, could safely volunteer from their homes while providing support online.
Aria helped arrange Athenian’s partnership with Achieve Academy, one of the Education for Change Public Schools Oakland, CA. In addition to facilitating one-on-one tutoring for Achieve Academy students, Meaningful Teens collaborated with Achieve teachers to
Continued on page 6
Left: Student learning new skills in outdoor service project with Youth Spirit Artworks Tiny House Village.
Current Athenian student Aria Capelli ‘24 (left) and her sister, Middle School alumna Isabella Capelli (right), founded Meaningful Teens along with friend Carolyn Considine. Image courtesy of Diablo Magazine and Claudine Gossett.
“We want our students to enter these experiences ready to learn, whether that be an exchange of knowledge and ideas, new skill development, or simply a deeper connection and understanding of a particular social issue.”
Lauren Railey, Assistant Head and Head of Middle School
…Community continued from page 5
design an inclusive curriculum and created Meaningful Topics which spotlights diverse speakers to forge connections. Together, participating students achieved 75% fluency compared to 30% proficiency in students that did not participate in the program.
Achieve Academy has a large Guatemalan population, many of whom speak Mam, a
Mayan language, at home. Through Meaningful Teens, Athenian students worked with Achieve Academy kindergartners with a focus on supporting their English-language reading and writing development. But the benefit was mutual — Achieve teachers were critical to the success of Athenian tutors, supporting our students as they supported theirs. Meaningful Teens was born from the saying “I water you, you water me; we grow together.”
“I know the difficulty of being a student whose first language isn’t English,” Aria explains.
“Growing up in a bilingual home and listening to my mom’s stories about struggling to learn English as a child, I wanted to provide students all of the same opportunities I’ve had as a student at the Athenian School.”
Two other school partnerships developed in parallel with the one facilitated through Meaningful Teens, including one with Fair Oaks Elementary School in Pleasant Hill. Again, an Athenian connection played a role. As a teacher at Fair Oaks Elementary School, Beth Borchers, an alumni parent and current Athenian Board Chair, saw the opportunity to connect Athenian students with the school’s K-5 learners.
Students volunteering with the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
Getting this program up and running required a rapidly coordinated effort by Athenians and the three partner schools. By early October, approximately 90 Athenian students (mostly ninth graders) were trained and paired with a student in one of the three partner schools
Making a yearlong commitment to spend an hour together each week was a scheduling feat on both the part of Whitney Hofacker, the tutoring program coordinator at Athenian, and the partner schools and teachers.
Though the relationship with each school was different, as were the needs of the students and teachers, one of the things that made this program such a success was the consistent nature of the work. Through weekly sessions, Athenian students formed close relationships with those they tutored, gained personal insights, honed their teaching skills, and witnessed their students’ literary gains.
They also gained invaluable practice in growing their own cultural awareness and cultural literacy skills.
“I learned how to be patient and how sometimes, technology can be difficult and that is okay. I also learned that sometimes I had a plan for the [tutoring] session and we didn’t always follow the plan, and that was okay too.” said Katy Sprague ’24, an Athenian student and Fair Oaks tutor.
Alex Choi ’24, an Athenian student and Achieve Academy tutor, reflected on his experience saying, “I learned that to be an engaging and effective tutor, it is imperative to focus on always making each class “new.” For instance, I alternated between presenting physical objects and drawings to exemplify and drive forth comprehension of words, rather than simply mentioning their definitions.”
Continued on page 8
The above 6-12 framework was developed by the Community Engagement Task Force with input from faculty, to create a framework that leverages existing curriculum and fits the development progression of students. In the coming years, these themes will serve as the anchor for additional curricular innovations as well.
In these and other instances, students experienced the truly reciprocal nature of service, where one learns and gains as much as they give. Athenian’s service
program has evolved over the course of the school’s history, adapting to student interest, social issues, and our partnerships with various organizations and communities. At times this kind of reciprocity has shown up, often organically. The goal now is to build this into every student’s service experience.
“As a school we’ve grown more sensitive to the tendency to see service as a one-way exchange where there are those that give and those that receive,” said Lauren Railey, Assistant Head and Head of Middle School.
As a founding member of Athenian’s Community Engagement Task Force, Lauren is passionate about parlaying Athenian’s expertise in experiential learning into a more reciprocal
approach to service. “We want our students to enter these experiences ready to learn, whether that be an exchange of knowledge and ideas, new skill development, or simply a deeper connection and understanding of a particular social issue.”
Connecting Service with Curriculum
As Athenians develop relationships through community engagement the school aims for its curriculum to increasingly echo what they are learning in the field. While the tutoring program allowed students to learn by doing, they were also able to bring concepts learned in their ninth grade sociology class into a realworld situation.
While on Zoom, Athenian students virtually entered the homes of their students, observing the differences and similarities between their circumstances and surroundings. Some tutors were surprised to see their students working in much smaller spaces than their own or sharing devices with siblings. This required course emphasizes the development of cultural competency through the lens of sociology.
“Students arrive at Athenian with varying levels of cultural competency and one goal of
Fangyu (Bert) Zhu ’23, volunteer teaching while distance learning from home in China.
this class is to move all students along in their skill development, helping them to learn how to relate to and communicate openly with people of cultures other than their own,” said Mark Lukach, Athenian’s Ninth Grade Dean and Sociology teacher.
Whitney Hofacker sees an opportunity to grow the tutoring program this year, including building in more structure for reflection and more ties to what our students are learning in the classroom. She expects several ninth graders to continue on with this program and as they progress with developing their own independent service projects as 11th and 12th graders. All told, Athenian students cumulatively contributed over 2,500 hours of tutoring in 2020-21, and received invaluable lessons in return about educational inequities, the experiences of English learners, and how to teach (which in turn makes you better at learning). They also formed personal relationships with those they tutored.
Ideas Made Manifest
The confluence of many things is at the root of this shift away from a more traditional school service program to what will be a more holistic community engagement program. As noted, things began to evolve organically over the past year, when so many changes were required to keep our service program afloat at the height of the pandemic. In addition, shifts in school staff and leadership provided the opportunity to introduce a new role, the Dean of Experiential Learning, which will help support a 6-12 Community Engagement Program. Aligning with these developments, growing the school’s service program emerged as an area of focus during the strategic planning process this year (see page 16 for more on Athenian’s Strategic Plan).
As our new Dean of Experiential Education this year, Whitney Hofacker will work closely with Mark Friedman, Athenian’s Upper School Community Service Director and Round Square
Continued on page 10
Athenian is a founding member of Round Square, a consortium of like-minded schools that share a commitment to the above Pillars, including service. See page 11 for more on how Whitney Hofacker’s new role connects to the Pillars.
…Community continued from page 9
Coordinator, as well as with other members of the Community Engagement Task Force. Though Whitney’s new role is much broader than this one program, integrating service into the curriculum will be a clear focal point in her first year.
“We want to weave community engagement in a way that fits developmentally from childhood, to adolescence, to young adulthood. By the time our students graduate, we want them to be culturally competent and aware of how they show up and engage with communities other than their own. This takes time and a thoughtful progression.”
Justin
Guerra Middle School Dean of Students Community Engagement Task Force
Whitney’s initial focus will be in carrying out the work of the Community Engagement Task Force from last year. This group, in collaboration with both Upper and Middle School faculty, developed a 6-12 sequence for Community Engagement. Each grade level will have a theme to help bring purpose to the program. Inspired by our existing curriculum and meetings with middle school and upper school faculty, the new 6-12 engagement framework will have immediate curricular ties on which to build. Whitney will also begin work on Athenian’s environmental stewardship efforts (see Garden Labs page 36 for more information).
“I’m looking forward to showcasing what we’re doing well already and the many partnerships that have been formed over the years. I’m excited to work alongside Mark Friedman to inspire and support the weaving of experiential education more deeply into our programs. I’ll collaborate with faculty and together we’ll lean on the Pillars as our framework, guide, and call-to-action,” said Whitney when asked about her new role. (See page 11 for more on the new role of Dean of Experiential Learning).
Justin Guerra, Middle School Dean of Students and another member of the Community Engagement Task Force is excited to join in this effort to evolve Athenian’s service program, starting with our youngest students.
Students participate in shoreline clean up.
“We want to weave community engagement in a way that fits developmentally from childhood, to adolescence, to young adulthood. By the time our students graduate, we want them to be culturally competent and aware of how they show up and engage with communities other than their own. This takes time and a thoughtful progression.”
The garden lab project is particularly exciting to Justin, who feels that having on campus opportunities to serve and connect with members of your own community is critical.
“Being able to serve in a space you inhabit daily, building something that everyone in your community is part of, is powerful.” He adds, “It is also an opportunity to engage Athenian families and develop partnerships with the local community.”
As we evolve our program there is much to carry forward too. “We have some stellar examples of impactful service experiences,” says Lauren Railey. “Now we are looking for more consistency and connection throughout the program. This requires a very intentional progression of curriculum, service opportunities that include cycles of action and reflection, and a commitment from the entire community.”
After a year of finding creative ways to do service at a distance, returning to in-person school brings many new opportunities. With a strong foundation built into our original pillars, and a community more attuned than ever to the value of service, Athenian’s Community Engagement Program’s evolution couldn’t have come at a better time.
New Position at Athenian, Dean of Experiential Learning
In her new position as Dean of Experiential Education (“Pillar Dean”), Whitney Hofacker is responsible for developing and implementing an integrated experiential curriculum (6-12) that honors the Pillars (or IDEALS) of Round Square (Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service) and the ethos of the Carter Innovation Studio. The initial focus of the role will be on reimagining 6-12 community engagement, bringing the new Garden Labs to life and strengthening Athenian’s environmental pillar, supporting Middle School Focus Days, and taking a lead role in guiding Upper School faculty in the development and implementation of March Term courses.
Over the past four years Whitney has served as the AWE associate director and Round Square international exchange and community service associate. Before joining Athenian Whitney was program director for Anytown Youth Leadership Institute and Police and Youth Together at The National Conference for Community and Justice. She has also designed and implemented experiential curriculum for a variety of global citizenship, environmental stewardship, and outdoor adventure initiatives.
Looking Ahead: Athenian’s Commitment to Do More
In a year in which hundreds of thousands of American lives were lost to the coronavirus, the collective emotional wound caused by the pandemic was magnified by the social tensions that followed.
As disproportionate numbers of Black Americans and other non-white groups succumbed to the virus and its economic effects, the murders of George Floyd and other Black citizens ignited a yearlong series of protests, leading to efforts at progress that have only begun to help our country to heal.
At Athenian, the events of the year sparked introspection. Reports of microaggressions and feelings of alienation within our community showed us that we are far from realizing the community we aspire to be. While we sought at every turn to foster dialogue and move forward, we were reminded that our value of inclusion was likely to take the form of a hard-earned evolution rather than a task to be completed in the short term.
Core Principles at Work
While 2021 has been a year to reinvigorate our efforts, social justice has always been integral to Athenian’s mission and present in its core principles. Kurt Hanh, who inspired Dyke Brown to found the school, escaped Nazi Germany, an experience that later informed the Pillars of Round Square. And with its additional legacy as the first integrated, coed boarding school west of the Mississippi in 1965, Athenian has much to build on.
An extension of previous efforts, Athenian’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEIS) work is prompting a return to the founding mission of the school, which has always been a progressive space where cultural competence is valued as highly as academic rigor. Sanjev DeSilva, Athenian’s new Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice
(DEIS) agrees, noting, “It’s a great tradition — it’s just about tapping back into that.”
A long-time Athenian Humanities teacher, Sanjev will put his teaching on hold this year to focus on his directorship. Sanjev’s goals are manifold. “From COVID-19 to police brutality, growing awareness of institutional racism, and anti-Asian violence, 2020-2021 was a very intense year,” said Sanjev. He hopes to address these issues with an intentional community approach in the years to come. Some of the most pressing school-wide goals include hiring and retaining more faculty of color, and making sure that non-white students and faculty feel visible in the curriculum, valued by the school, and supported by affinity groups.
“We’ve certainly learned that, as hard as we’ve tried, the experience of our students and the adults who work here is not always what we want it to be and, from their own reporting, that they don’t feel as included as we want them to be,” said Head of School Eric Niles, emphasizing the importance of hiring and retaining a diverse faculty and staff. “It’s very important for our kids to have teachers, to have staff, and administrators that look like them that have a cultural background that’s similar to them,” Eric said.
A Team Approach
The need for a dedicated Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEIS) was arguably at an all-time high this past year and yet Athenian found itself in a year of transition. Not wanting to hurry the
Continued on page 14
Mural in window of the Carter Innovation Center (left) was created by members of the Asian Student Union, based on the original artwork of Sara Felson ’22 Anthony Guan ’21 turned the image into a poster (above) that was distributed throughout the Athenian campus during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The text in the window, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” is the Black national anthem.
After six years as an Athenian faculty member, Sanjev DeSilva is joining the school’s leadership team as the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice. He is an experienced restorative justice practitioner and brings a unique skill set to this position. Sanjev looks forward to building on past DEIS efforts and stewarding the school’s continued growth.
LIFT EVERY VOICE
…Looking Ahead continued from page 13
hiring process for this critical role, the school found a way forward by engaging more members of the community. And, after a competitive nationwide search for the school’s next DEIS leader, Athenian found what it was looking for in one of its own. Though Sanjev’s official start date as the new Director of DEIS wasn’t until July 2021, he hit the ground running this past school year stepping in to support important student and adult dialogue while planning for the future.
Athenian’s previous moves toward greater diversity and inclusion were fundamental to our efforts in 2020-2021 and our future endeavors. Kalyan Balaven, Athenian’s outgoing Director of Teaching and Learning and former Dean of DEIS, helped found the Pipeline Collaborative, which recruits diverse educators directly from graduate programs throughout the country to become the next
generation of independent school educators. In addition, Kalyan created the Inclusion Dashboard, a new method for connecting student outcomes with diversity statistics and circumstances like daily travel time, internet connectivity, and overall living conditions, which helped Athenian to become a more inclusive environment.
These foundational efforts laid the groundwork for what unfolded last school year. As outrage about police brutality sparked debates on police reform and other social justice issues throughout the country, Athenian embarked on a series of training sessions for faculty and staff to address social justice issues and microaggressions within the adult community. Alumni Dearie Duffie ’73 and Alex Atkinson ’86, provided a yearlong series of workshops facilitating greater awareness and communication on DEIS issues.
The need for more leadership became clear this past year, so in addition to hiring our new DEIS director, the school formed the DEIS Council, which will be led by Sanjev and include a cross-section of administrators, faculty, and students. Also in 2020-2021, the school created new positions for student-facing DEIS faculty members in the Middle School and Upper School. At the strategic level, Athenian’s Board of Trustees created a Diversity and Inclusion Committee to address DEIS issues. To avoid individual burnout as needs in this area remain intense, working together will be key, Eric said.
“Our approach to DEIS should be a team approach, not just a director of DEIS with their job in a silo,” he said.
As the school embarks on a new year of culture building for our adult community, with the knowledge that our students will benefit from our growth, another key structural change was the creation of the position of Director of People and Culture. Coming from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT, Amy Rasner Clulow entered this role at Athenian this summer. With a background in human resources and independent school multicultural outreach, Amy is eager to advance conversations around how to create a diverse student body and how to make sure students feel supported and included once they arrive.
“I’m eager to partner with Sanjev and understand what are the ways in which the work can be shared across the community,” Amy said.
Coming from a school that teaches grades 9-12, Amy is looking forward to becoming part of a 6-12 community, which presents opportunities for connecting this work over a greater educational period. She is optimistic about Athenian’s commitments over the next year.
“I’m really drawn into the structural commitments the school is making in this regard” she said, “I think there is good individual investment and there’s good structural and systemic investment, and I think both conditions have to be present in order for this work to really take hold,” she said.
Lessons Learned
Over the last year, Athenian has learned hard lessons about both the importance of making our commitments public and the insufficiency of words alone.
“We weren’t interested in just saying the right words—we were interested in acting, in putting structures in place, in doing professional development, in moving the institution forward,” Eric said.
Moving forward into the 2021-2022 school year, Athenian will undertake a “cultural exploration” with See Change Consulting. This series of in-depth interviews with faculty and staff will inform a report on the organizational culture. Utilizing this report, the National Equity Project, a consulting and coaching organization that helps to create environments where all members of a community can thrive, will take over the adult community training from where Alex and Dearie concluded.
AND SING
Eric is confident that efforts to improve the adult culture will lead to a better experience for students “At the end of the day, our work is about serving kids, and so the healthier the adult culture, the better we’re going to be at serving students,” he said.
Looking toward the future, Eric sees the current efforts in the realm of DEIS not as an initiative with a foreseeable end, but as part of a lifetime commitment to these goals.
“It’s more like a commitment, a mindset,” Eric said, adding, “This is part of who we are.”
Amy Rasner Clulow is Athenian’s first Director of People and Culture and member of the school’s leadership team.
Visioning Athenian’s Future
Skills and Knowledge
Environmentalism
· Financial Aid
· Service Endowment
· Arts Facility
· MS Science Facilities
Wellness
· Garden Community Engagement Program
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice
Curriculum Innovation and Relevance
Organizational Excellence Service Endowment
Round Square P illars
Student-centered
Athenian’s Strategic Planning Timeline
Fall 2019 kick-off by the Board of Trustees. Committee formed with broad constituent representation. Process outlined.
Winter 2020
Feedback sessions commenced with faculty and staff, students, parents, and alumni. Nest created in Main Hall to get broad community feedback on priorities.
Fall 2020
More parent focus group sessions.
Anti-racism
Culture
Winter 2021 Committee synthesized constituent feedback and narrowed priorities.
Strategic Plan: Visioning Athenian’s Future
One of the roles of Athenian’s Board of Trustees is to ensure the school remains firmly grounded in its mission while boldly innovating to prepare students for the rigor and expectations of a rapidly changing world. To that end, every five years the school embarks on a strategic planning journey, a comprehensive, community-wide process that sets the school’s course for years to come.
Why create a strategic plan?
Inspire
Grounded in Athenian’s strong mission and pillars, the process of planning brings us together. We celebrate and reaffirm the best of our program, identify the adaptations needed to make it even better, and create a shared vision of the future.
Who is involved?
Focus
Strategic planning is an opportunity to refine our focus. What knowledge and skills do our students need to be successful in our ever-evolving world? Do we have the resources required to stimulate progress toward this vision?
Align
The final plan will be a living document that unites our faculty, staff, administration, board, parents and students around a shared vision for Athenian’s future. Strategic alignment will enable us to best prepare our students for a life of intellectual exploration and meaningful contribution.
A broad cross-section of the Athenian community had an opportunity to contribute to the bold ideas that will shape Athenian’s future.
Strategic Planning Committee Members:
Head of School
Eric F. Niles
Leadership Team
Representative
Lauren Railey
Middle School Faculty
Representative
Esteban Marotti
Winter 2021
With Board feedback, Committee defined overarching priorities.
Upper School Faculty
Representatives
Sally Baker, Megan Leich ’94 and Marty Rubio
Student Representatives
Wonjun Jo ’20, Sarah Zemelman ’20
Spring 2021 Board gave directional approval of overarching priorities.
Alumni Representatives
Selin Korustan ’99, Matt Okazaki ’06 and Monica Streifer ’05
Summer 2021 Committee and school leadership commenced work on plan goals and timeline.
Fall 2021 Plan finalized and shared with the community.
Stay-tuned for invitations to Eric Niles’ State of the School presentations, November 2021. He’ll share highlights of the plan that will serve as the strategic foundation for the school’s next five years.
Leaving the Nest
The Class of 2021
Talented, passionate and determined, the Class of 2021 will be remembered for its bravery and persistence in taking on big issues during uncertain times. This class will be loud and proud in changing the world.
Class of 2021 College Matriculation
American University
Barnard College
Bates College
Belmont University
Boston University***
Bowdoin College
Case Western Reserve University
Chapman University**
Columbia University
Cornell University
Denison University
DePaul University
Drew University
Diablo Valley College**
Elon University
Fordham University
Gap Year*****
George Washington University**
Grinnell College**
Hampshire College
Haverford College
Howard University**
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Lewis & Clark College
Loyola Marymount University
New York University***
North Central College
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Occidental College
Oregon State University
Pitzer College
Purdue University***
Rhode Island School of Design
Saint Mary’s College of California
Santa Clara University****
Scripps College
Skidmore College
Southern Methodist University
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Syracuse University
Texas Christian University
Tufts University**
University of California, Los Angeles***
University of California, Berkeley**
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Diego**
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Denver
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
University of Puget Sound
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
University of Southern Maine
University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
University of the Pacific
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Western Canada Prep Academy, Canada
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Each asterisk (*) denotes the number of graduates attending a given school.
Kalyan Balaven
After thirteen years at Athenian, Kalyan Balaven left the nest to take a position as Head of School at the Dunn School, an independent boarding and day school in Los Olivos, CA. Hired by Dick Bradford as a full-time Humanities teacher, Kalyan taught world history for three years before beginning to develop his own interdisciplinary courses, most memorably a course on the history of Hip-Hop. Following his initial five-year stint as a teacher, Kalyan became the Dean of Equity and Inclusion, a role he fulfilled for another five years, driving progress while infusing datadriven thinking into the school’s approach. During his final three years, he worked in service of the school’s missioncritical priority of refreshing its curriculum by serving as its first Director of Teaching and Learning.
During his tenure, Kalyan was instrumental in charting Athenian’s course around diversity, equity and inclusion, even during years when he did not officially serve as the DEI functional head. He is lauded by students as a teacher who challenged them to dig deeper and who saw potential that they didn’t see. Those who are close to him will remember rich conversations and thoughtful reflections, an encyclopedic knowledge of random history facts, and comic book geekery.
Honoring Departures
Leaving the Nest
Amy Wintermeyer
Amy Wintermeyer moved on from Athenian this year to become the Assistant Head of School for Student Experience at The Hockaday School, an independent school in Dallas, TX. During her 13 years at Athenian, Amy’s impact on student and campus life was widespread. Amy started in 2008 as Co-Director of College Counseling and served as a Dorm Head from 2011 to 2015.
In 2018, Amy followed in Dick Bradford’s footsteps to become the Head of Upper School. She was instrumental in reshaping our former Interim program into the March Term program students enjoy today. She also co-led the gargantuan effort of pivoting to distance learning and keeping our students academically and mentally healthy as the world weathered the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outside of caring for students, Amy treasured the time she spent performing in the annual Faculty/Staff Talent Show, and fondly remembers playing Debbie Schafgans in a Beatles-themed show written by Gabe Del Real. Also close to her heart is a production of Bye Bye Birdie that included a beautiful barbershop quartet sung by Mark Mendelson, Ian Heung, Charlie Raymond and the late Stephen Herrick. She will miss sitting on the swing overlooking campus, which she says she “didn’t visit nearly enough.”
Class Notes
1990
Mary Costantino is working as an Interventional Radiologist with a specialty in women’s health. She treats conditions like postpartum hemorrhage and uterine fibroids. Using an intravenous technology that is minimally invasive, she was the first physician in Oregon to treat uterine fibroids using this innovative method. She chose her area of focus from a desire “to have a big impact on low-income women.” Mary now lives in Oregon with children of her own who are the same age as she was during her Athenian days.
1992
Pavan Gill and his wife, Raj-Ann, welcomed their first child, daughter Rumi, in October. Rumi’s name is based on the 13th century Persian poet as well as a Japanese word meaning “lapis lazuli.” Pavan and his family have recently
made a cross-country move from Virginia back to the Bay Area. Pavan is one of Athenian’s newest Trustees and we’re looking forward to having him nearby.
1994
Danielle Rose was recently appointed the first Black woman CEO of SMASH, an Oakland nonprofit focusing STEM education, mentorship, identity development and social justice resources for high achieving yet underrepresented students of color. On her path to serving a new generation of young leaders via SMASH, Danielle earned degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering from Spelman College and Georgia Tech, and worked in the aerospace, automotive, and energy industries.
1997
After working as a Wall Street investment banker in New York, Sarah Carson eventually quit the profession. She then founded Leota, a mission-driven, award-winning fashion brand that was twice named an Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Company in America and as a Top 50 Company Run by Women. She now advises startups, invests in LGBT and BIPOC-owned companies, and serves on a nonprofit board. She speaks regularly on panels and podcasts about entrepreneurship, career-switching and diversity. She now lives in Brooklyn with her girlfriend and her dog.
1999
Disinformation expert Vera Zakem returned to campus this year to speak to our students about threats to our democracy. A thought leader and consultant, Vera publishes and appears in the media regularly to discuss elections, cybersecurity, disinformation, and technology policy in various outlets including the New York Times, NPR, and BBC. She also serves as a task force member with Freedom House, a bipartisan team assembled to strengthen
democracy and counter authoritarianism. Her professional goal is to develop a democratic technology agenda and to strengthen the information environment.
2004
Britney Davis has played integral roles in some of the music industry’s biggest recent successes, and is emerging as a strong voice for industry change. In her current role at Capitol Records as the VP of Marketing, Artist Relations and Special Projects, she has led marketing and artist development for major artists, including Lil Baby, Migos, City Girls, and Queen Naija. She was recently named one of Billboard’s Hip Hop Power Players, 40 under 40, and as a Variety Magazine Woman of Impact. Britney graduated Summa Cum Laude from Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications.
Pavan Gill
Britney Davis
Vera Zakem
Mary Costantino
2006
Trustee Hansol Hong’s company, Robolink, continues to make headlines. As CEO, Hansol’s goal is to design highquality, hands-on curriculum that is accessible to students everywhere, with the power to close the education gap. Robolink’s products are used in more than 1,000 schools around the world. “I wanted to make STEM education more fun, and robots seemed like a fun way to get students engaged,” he remarked in a recent media interview. “I mean…who doesn’t love robots?”
Anna Phillips recently earned a Ph.d. in Physics from Tufts, were she also taught calculus-based physics and calculus-based electricity and magnetism. Prior to learning and teaching roles at Tufts, she taught at Durham Academy, an independent school. She now works as a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell.
2009
Curran Reddy is a MD/PhD student at Texas A&M University who is deeply involved in practical research. His work involves integrating multiple
medical imaging modalities and human movement measurements into subjectspecific biomechanical neck models in order to identify and explain sex differences in neck anatomy and strength. He plans to specialize in diagnostic radiology and hopes to both practice medicine and to continue researching human movement biomechanics.
Krissy Manansala was recently appointed as the Director of Telemedicine and Telehealth for the Asian-American National Committee. She is working on a partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), facilitating increased access to physical and mental health care for Asian-Americans. This, in addition to her full-time position as a Project Manager for Twist Bioscience.
2010
Jesse Rosenberg graduated from the NYU filmmaking program and now works as a professional filmmaker. He has traveled the world making a variety of films for the Discovery Channel and the BBC, among others. Alongside fellow alum Nia Warren ’16, Jesse shared his
expertise with Advanced Film students at Athenian this past November, discussing the study and the business of film in Peter Tamaribuchi’s class.
2011
Colette Ankenman continues to lead Athenian Middle School students in crafting baby and child hats for Baragwanath Blessings, the nonprofit she started during her time at Athenian. The special partnership between Colette and the school is in its fifth year. Students undertake crafting projects in service of newborns needing hats and receiving blankets to welcome them home, and of older children needing hats for warmth. The nonprofit has served children in the U.S. and more than 25 countries since its first project in South Africa.
Members of the Class of 2011 Meet in Person for their 10-Year Reunion!
Aaron Wiener ’11 and Mike Wiener ’11 hosted members of their class in their parents’ Alamo home in early June in honor of their ten-year reunion. In addition to catching up with one another, the 15 alums in attendance wrote down special moments from their time at Athenian on a memory poster dedicated to their class.
Colette Ankenman
Alison Burklund was featured in the news last fall for research she is involved in at Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering, research that inspired her to co-found Nanopath. Her company, cofounded with a Dartmouth classmate, is dedicated to the development of disease diagnostics that improve human health, to health equity, and to the design of solutions for underserved populations and low-resource settings. Her research, which originally related to pathogen purification, evolved into the diagnostic space. Her novel approach in capturing and detecting rare biomarkers is one key to Nanopath’s innovation.
After months of training for an Ironman event scheduled for November of last year, Donald Sherwood embarked on the challenge independently despite cancellation of the organized event. Vowing to complete his goal, Donald undertook the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run solo and completed each element within its allotted time.
2012
Alex Caulfield is living in New York City and working in fundraising for the New York Public Library after spending her initial years after graduating from Carleton College in editorial and communications roles. We enjoyed having her back on campus this year to guest-speak for students as part of our virtual middle school Career Day.
2014
Holden Leslie-Bole started his Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography this summer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. He will work to understand sea level rise and ways to improve coastal adaptation to damages from climate change through enhancing regional-scale ocean modeling and developing coastal monitoring systems. He is also focused on improving resilience to sea level rise in low-income communities and hopes to use his research to support local governments and leaders in designing more responsive coastal adaptation plans. He expects to be in San Diego for the next five or six years and invites anyone who passes through town to call him to hang out!
2015
With a goal of improving healthcare and its accessibility, especially for underserved and minority communities, Kelia Human currently attends Columbia University, where she is
pursuing her Ph.D. in Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. Kelia’s study has been applied to two projects this year: the first was a fast diagnostic test for COVID. The second is a bioactive patch to accelerate wound healing.
2016
James (Ju Young) Park recently graduated from Penn State with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is in the process of applying to Ph.D. programs that will allow him to specialize in automation, control systems and robotics. In a recent email, he remarked, “The knowledge that I gained at the maker studio at Athenian was so valuable that it drove my pursuit of becoming an engineer. Fabricating with 3-axis CNC machines and a lathe were rich experiences that I was not even offered at my university as an undergraduate student. Hands-on learning that I gained from Athenian differentiated me from other engineering students.”
Eli “Feier” (Feierabend Peters) was a 2020 recipient of Stanford’s VPA Senior Grant. Their project–the production of their debut album–found them quarantined in California, turning closets into makeshift studios as they worked on music steeped in the traditions of hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and indie-pop and informed by their academic studies of
Holden Leslie-Bole
Kelia Human
Eli “Feier” (Feierabend-Peters)
Class notes 2011, continued…
sociology, poetry, fiction, climatology, and history. They guest-taught hip hop and social justice to Emily Shinkle’s Advanced Choir students at Athenian this year and returned again later in the spring to guest-speak to Upper School students on broader topics relating to social justice.
Nia Warren recently graduated from USC film school, where she became an active force in the Black community, serving as the Co-Director of the Black Student Assembly and member of the African American Cinema Society. After graduation, she served as Co-Director and Producer of a short, award-winning
film titled Son of “Oakland: A Tribute to Victor McElhaney”. The film is an homage to her friend and fellow Oakland native, who she lost due to gun violence near the USC campus in 2019. While enjoying the journey this film has allowed her to take, Nia has been focusing on furthering her acting career and recently signed with Central Artists Agency for commercial/ print work.
2018
Brian Li co-founded and held the inaugural Undergraduate Venture Summit, an event that gives college
students access to venture capital and networking to help realize their ideas. The summit, held on April 24th, engaged more than 20 VC firms and had more than 400 registered attendees, including students from 25+ countries and 30+ universities. “Many students experienced a sense of missed opportunity with learning during the COVID pandemic,” Brian told us. “Our group has harnessed that energy and hopes to ignite students’ passion for venture capital and entrepreneurship.”
New Alumni Trustees
As we bid a grateful farewell to Lizzie Miskovetz ’10, who served for two years as Alumni Advisory Trustee, Athenian is pleased to welcome two new alumni trustees to its ranks.
For Pavan Gill ’92, Athenian sparked an appreciation for multiculturalism, a love of adventure and a passion for civic engagement that guided his career. Currently a U.S. federal government employee working in global affairs, Pavan got his start in local law enforcement and high tech. Pavan hopes to inspire Athenians to pursue opportunities in public service.
Musadiq Bidar ’10 joins the Board as the Alumni Advisory Trustee, a role designed specifically for young alumni to lend fresh perspectives and engage meaningfully around the vision for the school. He is a technology and politics reporter with CBS News, where he recently covered the 2020 presidential election. A native of Afghanistan, Musadiq and his family emigrated to the United States as refugees in 2003. Musadiq cares deeply about democracy and, through his career in journalism, is in daily pursuit of investigation, analysis, and truth.
Pavan Gill
Musadiq Bidar
Alumni Spotlight: Keenan
Wyrobek ’99 Accelerates COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution in Ghana Via His Drone Service, Zipline
Ask Keenan Wyrobek ’99 about the need for medical product delivery to remote destinations, and he’ll tell you he saw it coming. Keenan has labored in service of Zipline’s mission since he co-founded the company in 2014. Zipline aims to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies. The small national-scale drone delivery service took on additional purpose this year when it began distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Ghana.
Fundamental differences in the country’s approach to vaccine distribution (e.g., no mass vaccination sites) underscored the need for agility and rapid response to medical emergencies and public health concerns. With a goal of distributing 2.5 million doses directly to community health clinics, the company will continue to be instrumental in saving lives and stabilizing the regions it serves, and contributing to health equity in areas that are especially difficult to reach.
Zipline opened its first two facilities in Rwanda four years ago. Its model is to hold inventory of medical supplies (from blood, to vaccines, to pharmaceuticals, to snake bite kits and other items that are hard to keep in stock). On-demand orders can be placed by doctors and hospitals and fulfilled in real time. On average, it takes two minutes between the time of order receipt and the time it takes for one of Zipline’s drones (referred to in shorthand as “zips”) to be stocked and to take the air.
In April, Keenan hosted a live virtual tour of a Zipline distribution center in Ghana, the fourth of eight centers the company plans to build. Assisted by Zipline employee, Lovelyn Keteku, Keenan walked Athenian 8th graders through the end-to-end process of fulfilling an order, packing a parachute-style parcel and loading it into a drone, launching a drone, and fielding each drone’s return. Early last year, Zipline began operations in North Carolina, flying hospital supplies about 32 miles between two Charlotte-area medical centers operated by Novant Health. The Novant project is the first emergency medical delivery operation in the U.S. for Coronavirus response.
“At Athenian I had lots of opportunities to try things and fail,” Keenan told students during his virtual visit last spring. “When I’m tackling a hard problem at Zipline, I more often think back to things I tried at Athenian that did not work, than thinking back to things that worked at Athenian or that worked at college. When things work, you do learn skills but when things don’t work, you really learn how to solve problems.”
Former Faculty Notes
When Arlene Ustin relocated to Florida in 2006, she was primed to make the world a better place. Her biggest priorities, racial equity and full rights for women, nudged her toward leadership in several organizations including serving as the former President, VP, and Program Chair of the Palm Beach County Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She is the leader of two Democratic Party voting precincts and has cofounded numerous groups and organizations including CAGV (Committee Against Gun Violence) and POP (People of Purpose, Inc.), which serves returning citizens’ reentry into society after their incarceration. We were pleased to have her serve as a panelist in our 2021 virtual reunion, where she was able to reconnect with her former students about her time as AWE Director.
After retiring from Athenian in 2004, Sheryl Petersen went to work as the Auburn Recreation District Manager, then retired again in October of 2019. She now works part time with the nonprofit, Crime Victims United, and also with an event venue in Auburn’s historical White House. Sheryl also serves as President of Auburn Sunset Rotary and continues to be involved with the American Association of University Women. If you are ever in Auburn, she would love to get together for a cup of coffee or a cocktail!
Dick Bradford and Molly McClure had plans for an around-the-world tour as part of their retirement but have put that trip on hold due to COVID-19. As they wait to reschedule their plans, they have been enjoying their house in West Marin, which is within walking distance of the trails of Point Reyes National Seashore.
Dick re-joined the board of the Northern Light School in Oakland. He has been a regular participant in the London Literary Salon (founded by former Athenian teacher, Toby Brothers) and is on his third Shakespeare play.
Over the summer he and Molly travelled to the east coast to spend time with daughters Meg McClure ’10 and Eleanor Bradford ’13
Steve and Joanna Davenport continue to live in Oakland, where Steve has been hard at work on several writing projects. In addition to having his third novel, “The Encampment”, named as one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2020, he recently finished the first draft of a memoir.
Former Athenian art teacher Virginia Mack retired from teaching at local community colleges in 2018 and has spent the past few years experiencing California’s Central Coast (her home stomping grounds) through her art, in her kayak, and through private teaching. Since COVID, her creative attention has centered on her yard, a focus that led her to complete a Life in My Yard collection of 30 watercolors for a 2020 show at a Morro Bay Art Gallery. She has continued to keep a visual journal of her yard, creating a page a day. Each page shows images of birds, deer, skunk, etc. with notes on her experiences. She is now on her eighth book and has observed 60 bird species in her yard. She calls the process of documenting it all “delightful.”
Reflections and Gratitude
Message from Beth Borchers, Board Chair
After a year of unpredictability, modified schedules and hybrid learning, it is truly heartwarming to see our campus filled with students and faculty. Just like the juniors who experience the annual rite of passage that is AWE, we too have been challenged and tested over the past year. It feels a bit like we have all just run 8 miles to get home after 26 days in the wilderness. Through it all, we pulled together with wisdom, creativity and a deep appreciation for each other. Because of you, Athenian has emerged stronger and more prepared than ever to fulfill its mission of providing a truly unique and exceptional education to the students that call this school home.
While challenging at times, Athenian remained committed to bringing our community together in person last year, providing a safe learning environment for all. Thank you to all who stepped forward to ensure we had the resources needed to do this. In addition to a successful Annual Fund, we raised nearly a million dollars in special gifts, including several new endowment funds, a generous gift of $250,000 to help mitigate COVID-related expenses, and another to launch the Garden Lab project. Your faith in us as an institution is deeply appreciated. These resources helped to provide as much normalcy for our students as possible. I am happy to report Athenian is in strong financial health. The Board of Trustees, Head of School Eric Niles, and the school’s entire leadership team, worked together to ensure every dollar spent was strategic and targeted.
Though we continue to navigate the complexities of operating during COVID, we have many reasons to be grateful and excited. Eric Niles, our amazing Head of School will be entering his thirteenth year at Athenian. Eric’s headship has been a family endeavor with many sacrifices, especially this past year. There will also be lots of new faces gracing our campus this year, bringing new ideas, skills, and experience. Welcome to all of you, including those with children just starting at Athenian. You have chosen a very special place for you and your family to spend many years.
With gratitude for your partnership and commitment to Athenian. Have a wonderful school year!
2021-2022 Board of Trustees
A special thank you to the Board of Trustees for their leadership and many meaningful contributions to Athenian. We are grateful to our outgoing Trustees, Laura Murdock (Victorino) and Josh Freeman, and to our outgoing Alumni Advisory Trustees, Lizzie Miskovetz ’10, for their service through June 2021.
Nancy Anderson
Alex Bly
Beth Borchers, Board Chair
Pavan Gill ’92
Ginna Girzadas
Geetika Goel
Guy Henshaw
Hansol Hong ’06
Lori Keith
Michael Knierim
Angel Lewis ’92
Jill Miller
Jon Nickens
Matt Okazaki ’06
Russell Patton ’07
Esha Ray
Susan Reckers
Monica Streifer ’05
Kathy Torru
Jeannine Bell Whittaker ’98
Ruth Winchell-Moyes ’89
Catherine Yewell
Jazy Zhang
Alumni Advisory Trustees
Musadiq Bidar ’10
Zohere Tabrez ’12
Honorary Trustees
Michael Connolly ’71
Lifetime Honorary Trustees
Judy Carter
Steve Davenport
Susan Nebesar
Legacy Trustee
Jim Wang
Ex-Officio
Eric F. Niles New in 2021-2022
Financials 2020-2021
REVENUE
(Sources of Operating Cash)
(Uses of Operating Cash)
Note: Not all funds raised this year are accounted for in the operating revenue above.
Gift Summary by Area
* The 20-21 operating budget above includes $791,580 in additional COVID-related expenses. The school covered these additional pandemic expenses and those from the previous fiscal year through a combination of operating reserves and a PPP loan (received in 19-20 and forgiven in 20-21).
ANNUAL FUND 2020-2021
Gifts to the Annual Fund support our dedicated faculty, ensure that we remain accessible to a diverse and talented student body, and provide for our nimble curriculum and innovative programs. Every gift is truly appreciated, and we give special thanks to all who participated in our Annual Fund effort in this unusual and challenging year. Your gifts were put to great use in support of our mission. Thank you!
Leadership Giving $5,000+
Leadership gifts are the cornerstone of our fundraising program and make up approximately 70% of the Annual Fund total each year.
ACROPOLIS
($50,000 and above)
Quest Foundation
OLYMPIANS
($25,000-$49,999)
Jason and Ginna Girzadas
Michael and Janet Scarpelli
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE
($10,000-$24,999)
Anonymous
ACR Foundation
Jason and Nicole Ambrose
The Borchers Family
The Butcher Family
Julie Campuzano-Scolini
Jan Chabala and Mary Francis
The Cronk Family
David and Beth Cutrer
Josh and Chelsea Freeman
Ravikanth Ganapavarapu
Guy R. and Susan S. Henshaw
KATE & DYKE BROWN CIRCLE
($2,000-$4,999)
Anonymous (2)
Eric and Lori Anders
Yasunari and Kaori Asakawa
David and Suzanne Beckman
Emiliano Berenbaum and Rose Cohen
Steve and Trisha Burnap
The Chahal Family
Zhen Chen and Li Yan
Melvin Chua and Lo-an Nguyen
Fraser and Wendy Coleman
Randall Cook and Wendy Chow
Alex Copeland and Eileen Beall
Jonathan and Rae Corr
Jun Dong and Yi Ding
Mintao and Yuanhui Fan
Irwin and CJ Feinberg
Victor Felson and Ruxin Feng
Allison Fletcher ’96
Robert and Caroline Gates
Yi Liang Ma and Chun Mei Sun
Chip Patterson and Tracy Cummings
Andrew Ramsay ’04
Esha and Nimesh Ray
The Reckers Family
Lance Rosedale ’73
Kathy and John Torru
Catherine and Peter Yewell
HEAD’S CIRCLE
($5,000-$9,999)
Anonymous
Sudhir and Anita Aggarwal
Mehmood and Farah Alam
The Artale Family
Christopher and Manu Bedi
Robert and Lynn Berg
Alex and Allison Bly
Barrett and Abby Boston
Brad and Allison Coburn
Michael Connolly ’71
Al and Wendy Ghorai
Robert and Wendy Greer
Jeffrey and Carrie Iwasaki
Ernest and Marisa Johnson
Leonid and Stella Katz
John and Joy Kim
Kenneth and Jennie Klein
The Knierim Family
William LaFayette and Cindy Ng
Angel Lewis ’92
Sean Lincoln and Holly House
Kelly and Marchelle Milligan
Laura Murdock (Victorino)
Richard and Carol Nitz
Shin Hon and Shih Shuan Niu
Richard and Carol Northing
Jeffrey Poage and Sarah Cameron
Michael and Tricia Sheinberg
Perkin and Angela Shiu
Harpreet Singh and Amarjit Kaur
Karen Sloss ’69
Sebastian and Tanja DiGrande
Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill
Ashish and Geetika Goel
The Golden Family
William Greenman and Kristin
Sanderson
Peter and Julie Gutzwiller
Jonathan and Heather Hackman
Brad and Tasha Harrington
Christopher and Lisa Helfer
Sameer and Melissa Hilal
Jason and Elizabeth Hill
William Holmes and Kanthi Kiran
Guang Sheng Huang and Hua Cai
Christopher and Krysten Karachale
Michael and Jessica Kolis
Brian and Lisa Krim
Michael and Patricia Leigh
The Lynch Family
The McCarthy Family
Christopher and Aneta McGarry
Dan and Kriste Michelini
Evan and Amy Specter
Kasey and Erin Stevens
Danny Tran and Kristin Sorensen
Qin Wang
Scott and Megan Ware
Brian Wheeler ’93 and Jean Wheeler
Andy and Vivian Zhang
ROUND SQUARE CIRCLE
($1,000-$1,999)
Anonymous (2)
So Hee Ahn ’15
Peter and Tina Andersen
Nancy and Thomas Anderson
Wendell C. Arnold ’92
The Bigglesworth Family Foundation
Kaushik Bakhandi and Anindita Pal
Douglas Baloun and Traci Huahn
Karel Baloun and Naoko Uehara
Morgan and Deborah Becker
The Beltramo Family
Nathaniel and Tina Murphy
The Nickens Family
Eric and Margaret Niles
Russell Patton ’07
Andrew Ramsay ’04
Yoshimitsu and Miki Saito
The Shotland Family
Jason and Marianne Skeoch
Mark and Alexandra Smith
Scott Sporte
Tad Swida and Karla McAvoy
Aundra Urban Tomlins ’99 and Owen Tomlins
Urban Foundation IV
Ted Urban
Brent and Julianna Velthoen
Brian and Amanda Walter
Robert and Carol Woodward
Jazy Zhang and Greg Ye
Lei Zhang and Haijing Wang
Matt and Tracey Bracco
Richard Bradford and Molly McClure
William and Elizabeth Carey
Joey Chang and Kae-Chy Chen
Daniel and Esther Choi
Mary Costantino ’90
Peter Dapkus and Mary Halpin
David Dase and Jacqueline Flake
Jerry Doherty and Antonia Mambelli
Nikhil Gera and Anjali Apte
Eliot Greenfield and Pilar Beccar-Varela
Tao Guan and Rong Wang
Hamid and Homaira Haidari
Rob Hallman and Sarah Marchick
William Hughes ’88 and Jill Hughes
Parag Kachalia and Charity Duncan Kachalia
Pamela Kaminsky
Byongkook Kang and Helen Yoon
Howard and Sarah Kaplan
Christopher Beeson and Nicola Place ’76
Pamela Keith and Elizabeth Mahler
The Laudy Family
Robert and Ruby Lee
Janet and David Leventhal-White
The Liu Family
Ricardo and Alexis Martinez
Elizabeth Miskovetz
David Montgomery and Dawn Huntzinger
Karen Kistner Morris ’87 and Steven Morris
Anthony Nguyen and Quynh Tran
Charles and Lucila Nwatu
Matthew Okazaki ’06
Scot and Jong Olivier
David and Wai Ching Pan
Rahul Parikh and Rina Shah
Steve Podell ’77 and Victoria Podell
Naghi Prasad and Pallavi Pyreddy
Wenqi Qian and Lili Wang
Nick Rhind ’84 and Lucienne Ronco
Gary Smith and Amy Jeng
Adam and Robin Spiegelman
Ashhad Syed and Zainab Khan
Gary Taubes and Sloan Tanen
Xinghui Tian and Xiaoyan Zhang
Dr. William Ting and Mrs. Flora Ting
Brian and Barbara Walker
Eric and Yolanda Weinmann
David and Michelle Weiss
Kirsten Wolfe ’84
The Yau Family
Yaoqiu Zhang and Xin Fu
Changqi Zhu and Mingxia Yi
Shoshana Ziblatt ’92 and Mac Heebner
ATHENIANS
($500-$999)
Anonymous (2)
Brian and Rebecca Adams
Patrick Amor ’87
Jessie Ang and Allen Ng
Kalyan Balaven and Fatemeh Farahmandfar
Derek and Rachel Benham
Serena Brewer ’94
Patrick Burklund and Ellen Raber
Sergey Chernikov and Galina Chernikova
Rodolfo and Miville Cristobal
John Cui and Hong Dan
Stephen and Joanna Davenport
The Dhaliwal Family
Jeffrey Ford ’96
Arash Foroutani and Maryam Fortani
Yevgeny and Valentina German
Eben Gillette and Kristin Kloberdanz
Philip Gross ’87
The Hasegawa Family
Jennifer Holland ’82
Ki and Clarissa Ingersol
Chandrasekhar and Anita Iyer
Kevin and Jennifer Jarvis
Sri and Shruthi Kooturu
Amit and Amrit Lamba
Niklaus Largier and Karen Feldman
Ross and Olga Larner
Lee and Lisa Levy
Sergio Ley Acosta and Marisol Sanchez
Hartwell and Andrea Lin
Yichun Lu and Yan Sun
The Lucas Family
Steven and Chinhuei Ma
Chris and Colleen McClure
Vinod and Malti Melvani
Sandra Mercado
The Mun Family
Vickey Nemanich
Noel Obiora and Maureen Mbadike-Obiora
David and Bhavani O’Kelly
Ashley Olson ’06
Meenal and Avneesh Pant
Matthew Pardini ’98
Junjie Qiao and Yiyuan Mai
Lauren Railey and Ben Ladue
Brian and Jill Raymond
Did you know that the Annual Fund is actually made up of a Family of Funds?
Athenian’s Annual Fund is comprised of a Family of Funds. You may direct your gift to any of these Funds while still supporting the school’s priority annual operating needs.
The Annual Fund Family of Funds
Round Square continued
Leah Rosenbloom
The Sabo Family
Babatunde and Matilda Salako
Jeremy Sasson ’07
Adam Schwartz ’84 and Amy Schwartz
Hamish and Jennifer Shaw
Raymond Sheen and Bernadette Chi
Andrew and Mary Shogan
Alexander Sprague
Dawn Sprague
Heinz Steneberg and Sarah Mann
Monica Streifer ’05 and Miles Canaday
Beom Suh and Jennifer Lee
Scott and Sue Sumner-Moore
Jillian Taffe
Robert and Sarah Traube
Jeannine Bell Whittaker ’98 and Maurice Whittaker
Aaron Wiener ’11
Kris Winer and Rebecca Springmeyer
Minyong Zhuang and Yan Jin
Jason and Patricia Zweiback
OWLS (Up to $499)
Anonymous (3)
Jeff and Heidi Abramson
Neddal and Lan Ali-Adeeb
Roy Allen and Julie Absey
Phillip and Stephanie Alvelda
Bill Ames
Debra and Cary Ataman
Alexander Atkinson ’86 and Cynthia Atkinson
Laura Kukulan Baker ’01
Josh and Megan Beatty
Elisabeth and Mehrdad Bertschi
Daniel Burke ’75 and Ginny Burke
Cesar Callao and Carolina do Val Callao
Andrew and Seema Cameron
Tish Campbell
Lynne Carberry and Michael Pavitt
Matthew Chabala ’16
Tae-Min Chung ’99
R. Carter and Julia Clements
Lisa Collins
Daniella Cortez Smith ’10
Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink
Eliot Danner ’02
Eleanor Dase
Brian and Kelly Davis
The Delgado Family
Robert and Ann Dias
Sharon Drager and Wyit Wright
Samuel Edwards ’95
Juan and Maria Esquivel
Gareth Evans and Rebecca Krisman
Mark Feuer ’75
2020-21 Annual Fund Ambassadors
We are deeply grateful to our small but mighty team of parent ambassadors who connected with their fellow parents during an unusually difficult year, inspiring widespread and generous support. A special thanks to our outgoing Annual Fund Chair, Jill Miller, who will continue to serve the school in her new role of Trustee.
Eric Anders
Rudy and Miville Cristobal
Valentina German
Ginna Girzadas
Peter and Julie Gutzwiller
Richard and Angela Ford
The Freais Silvestri Family
Erin Fredrick
Christopher and Bliss German
Darren Gersh ’80
John and Kendall Glynn
John Goddard ’86
Mac Heebner
Jill Miller
Tony Rios and Phil Pena
Leslie Widmann
Andy Zhang
Toby Goddard ’74
Judy Goldberg ’71 and Thayer Carter
Sriram Gopalakrishnan and Meera Sriram
Lydia and Ralph Guzman
Sae-A Han ’13
Athenians, continued
Athenians continued
Photo: Kai Matera ’23
Jocelyn Leiser Herndon ’90 and Brian Herndon
Hansol Hong ’06
Davin Hsieh ’97
Donald and Tanya James
Kirstin Jensen ’82
Dan and Barbara Jerabek
Kimmerie Jones ’87 and Brian Dunkel
James and Rachelle Kazliner
Stephanie and Joe Kim
Patrice and Hery Koffi
The Kostick Family
Rebecca LaCount
Man and Hisako Leung
The Licht Family
Lisa Lomba
Leslie and Craig Lucas
April Luckett-Fahimi and Sasan Fahimi
Tricia Macilwaine
Simon Makdessi and Judy Baker
Victor Manansala ’98
Farrell Mapp ’96 and Michele Ono ’95
Jonathan and Jill Marek
Anthony and Courtney Marino
Esteban Marotti and Monika Voellm
Christian McCulloch and Angelina Williams
Emily Hansen McDonnell ’04 and Terry McDonnell
Stephanie and Andrew McGraw
Laurie McKean ’74
Chris and Elisa Merrifield
Kristiana Meyer ’10
Jordan Miller ’99 and Katy Lawrence Miller ’99
Sven and Amy Miller
Anonymous
Kimberly and Ashley Moore
David Myles and Carrie Horsey
Charles Raymond and Nancy Nagramada
The Nash Family
Charlie Nejedly ’07
Jasmine Ng ’27
Nicole Ng ’24
Lisa Nicolini
Tina Nott
The Nunes Family
Samantha Okazaki ’08
Timothy O’Neill ’01
Kimberly and Brian Palacios
Amy Pitsker
Bud Porter and Michelle Dooner
Rebecca Potter ’02
Patrick Quinn ’84 and Andrea Hackett Quinn ’86
If
Ways to Give
Do you know that many corporations will match their employees’ giving? Check with your employer!
Owls, continued
ANNUAL FUND 2020-2021
Owls, continued
Patricia Raynolds
Grace Reckers ’14
Don and Sharon Ritchey
Kimberley Rogers ’86
Damian Schafgans ’99
Debbie and John Schafgans
Jonathan Schafgans ’09
Julirose Schafgans-Enriquez ’96
Edward Scherr and Shelly Pozzi
Noelle Schoellkopf and Roger Prince
Alex Shapiro ’95
Charles and Rochelle Shotland
Gloria Skurski ’69
Christopher Slattery ’68
Karen Smith
Kip Smith ’69
Thomas Smith and Nadine Haynes
Paul and Jenny Staelin
Fiona Stewart
Holly Stewart ’04
Adriana Streifer ’03
Tom Swope
Imad Tareen and Elizabeth Amisano
Ehete Tequame
Loren and Carla Terzich
Tribute
Giving
Thank you to those who made a gift to Athenian in honor or in memory of a
IN HONOR OF
Dick Bradford
Class of 2019
Hayden Craig ’15
Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink
Kendall Craig ’22
Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink
Sterling Craig ’20
Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink
Christopher Cronk ’21
The Cronk Family
Eleanor Dase
Tish Campbell
Sarah Felson ’22
Victor Felson and Ruxin Feng
Bruce Hamren
Justin Gould ’98
Holden Hilal ’21
Sameer and Melissa Hilal
Louise Largier ’19
Niklaus Largier and Karen Feldman
Lauren Lincoln ’23
Sean Lincoln and Holly House
Mark Michelini ’21
Dan and Kriste Michelini
Maxwell Nash ’26
Irwin and CJ Feinberg
Thomas and Leslie Nash
Irwin and CJ Feinberg
Sara Nitz Nolan ’06
Richard and Carol Nitz
Yuki Saito ’21
Yoshimitsu and Miki Saito
Gianna Scolini ’13
Julie Campuzano-Scolini
Joseph Scolini ’21
Julie Campuzano-Scolini
Alfred and Karen Thompson
Robert Tu and Cynthia Wong
Steven and Margarita Tufts
Willem van Breugel and Imke de Pater
Ted and Kim Van Hoesen
Monique Vegh ’94
Max von Zedtwitz and Angela Wang
Karla Vukelich
Cory Waters
David Waters-Honcu ’02
Ted and Leah Webb
Toneka Webb-Lund and Matthew Lund
Marc and Andrea Weinstein
Sophia Scolini ’21
Julie Campuzano-Scolini
Audrey Shotland ’25
Charles and Rochelle Shotland
Tess Shotland ’22
Charles and Rochelle Shotland
Adelaide Sprague ’22
Dawn Sprague
Katelyn Sprague ’24
Dawn Sprague
Emily von Zedtwitz ’22
Max von Zedtwitz and Angela Wang
Alexa Weinstein ’22
Marc and Andrea Weinstein
Danielle Weinstein ’20
Marc and Andrea Weinstein
Sydney Weiss ’21
David and Michelle Weiss
Megan Williams ’20
George and Lisa Williams
Leo Wyrobek
Keenan Wyrobek ’99
David and Susan Ziblatt
Shoshana Ziblatt ’92
IN MEMORY OF
Bimvimala Aggarwal
Sudhir and Anita Aggarwal
Douglas Ayer
Debbie and John Schafgans
Dyke and Kate Brown
Darrell and Suzanne Brown
Dinesh Chandra Pande
Meenal and Avneesh Pant
Catherine Chang
Joey Chang and Kae-Chy Chen
Jonathan White ’12
The Widmann Family
Thomas Wilkes and Andrea Raith-Wilkes
Michael and Bambi Wilks
Brett and Marisa Wilson
Jeffrey Wilson ’00
Beatrice Stark Winslow ’75 and Jonathan Winslow ’77
Amy Wintermeyer and Robert Henshel
Timothy and Dana Wong
Megan Christian Wright ’73
Allie Daneman ’91
Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill
John Dase
Carolyn Andress
Joan Carson
Lisa Lomba
James R. Frazer
Barbara Blunden
Eleanor Dase
Richard and Sherry Dumke
Richard and Linda Kahn
Stephen Paddock
Robert and Vickie Van Blois
Lester Henderson
Kip Smith ’69
Robert Herrell ’88
Kimmerie Jones ’87 and Brian Dunkel
Stephen Herrick
Janet and David Leventhal-White
Class of 2019
Scott Leister ’05
The Leister Family
Chris Leister ’01 and Michelle Leister
Sally Roberts
Oskar Reyes
April Luckett-Fahimi and Sasan Fahimi
Henry Stein
The Licht Family
Joachim von Zedtwitz
Max von Zedtwitz and Angela Wang
Richard Warmington
Richard and Jean Frankel
Fiona Stewart
Thank you to our creative and resourceful Parent Association Board and its many volunteers, including our class reps and spirit wear coordinators. Together, and through hundreds of hours of service, these volunteers helped build a sense of community from afar.
Athenian Parent Association Board 2020-2021
Tracy Bracco
Caroline Gates, President
Beth Goldberg
Clarissa Ingersol
Megan Ware
Leslie Widmann
Olga Larner
We now have an Athenian Alumni Parent Group!
Launched in the fall of 2020, the Athenian Alumni Parent Group supports current Athenian students, even after their own children have left the nest. To learn more or get involved, email alumni@ athenian.org. A special thanks to Alumni Parent Molly Andrus for helping to pilot this new group.
Corporate Matches
A special thanks to those who leveraged matching gift opportunities with their employers and to the many corporations listed here who supported Athenian in 2020-21.
AbbVie
Andersen Tax
AmazonSmile
Apple Inc.
Bank of America
Chevron
Dodge & Cox
Franklin Templeton Gap, Inc.
Genentech
Google, Inc.
IBM
Intel
John Muir Health
JPMorgan Chase
Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory
Levi Strauss
LinkedIn
Microsoft
Netflix
Nordstrom
Pacific Gas & Electric
Robert Half International
Salesforce.com
Wells Fargo
Not sure if your employer will match your gift? We can help find out. Contact us at give@athenian.org.
Endowment and Special Gifts
Every year, Athenian receives generous gifts above and beyond the Annual Fund. Some of these gifts are designated to endowment to help ensure the school’s financial future, while others are designated to special projects that have an immediate impact on programs and facilities.
This year, we raised nearly a million dollars in special gifts, including several new endowment funds, a generous gift of $250,000 to help mitigate COVID-related expenses, and another to launch the Garden Lab project. A special thanks to the generous support of our farreaching community, for making Athenian a priority in this historic year.
Anonymous
ACR Foundation
Carolyn Andress
Yasunari and Kaori Asakawa
Emiliano Berenbaum and Rose Cohen
Barbara Blunden
Chris Brown
Darrell and Suzanne Brown
Joan Carson
The Carter Family
Jan Chabala and Mary Francis Class of 2019
Eleanor Dase
Richard and Jean Frankel
Ravikanth Ganapavarapu
Christopher and Bliss German
Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill
Justin Gould ’98
Joseph Hellerstein and Adene Sacks
Douglas and Debra Highsmith
Richard and Linda Kahn
The Leister Family
Chris Leister ’01 and Michelle Leister
Steven and Chinhuei Ma
Alex Nebesar ’96
Charles and Susan Nebesar
Darren Nebesar-Gross ’91
Sheffield and Melissa Nolan
Stephen Paddock
Parents of the Class of 2020
Noelle Paulette ’89
Sally Roberts
Yoshimitsu and Miki Saito
Michael and Janet Scarpelli
Shendell Foundation
Kathy and John Torru
Robert and Vickie Van Blois
Qin Wang
Richard* and Caroline Warmington
Beatrice Stark Winslow ’75 and Jonathan Winslow ’77
Andrew Wistrich ’69
Monika Witte and Charles Cerjan
Keenan Wyrobek ’99
* Deceased
Endowment: Gifts We Grow By
Did you know that The Athenian Endowment is made up of more than 30 named funds, most established to honor a family member or friend? These funds are held in longterm investments with the principal remaining untouched, allowing the gifts to have greater impact over time. The funds listed below received new contributions or were newly established in the 2020-21 fiscal year. Donor names are included in the list above.
Dyke Brown Endowed Scholarship
Kate Brown Endowed Scholarship
Mark Carter Endowed Scholarship
Ed Ellis Endowed Scholarship
The Founder’s Oak Scholarship Fund
General Endowment
Richard Lewis Highsmith II Scholarship
Walter A. Holt Memorial Fund
Scott Leister ’05 Memorial Fund
Nebesar Family Endowment for Financial Aid
Saul’s Scholarship
The Isaac Shendell Scholarship Fund
The Torru Family Fund
The Tower Peak Fund for AWE
Harry & Gladys Wistrich
Artist in Residence Fund
Wyrobek Round Square Endowment
Pillar Society
The following members of The Pillar Society provide for the future financial strength of the school through their estate-related plans. We are grateful for their visionary support.
Robert and Ann Allard*
Paule Anglim*
Wendell C. Arnold ’92
Dyke and Kate Brown*
David Buchanan ’72
Denis P.I Campbell*
John and Susan Chapman
Mary Costantino ’90
Stephen and Joanna Davenport
Samuel Eliot
Allison Fletcher ’96
Patty and Bob* Frazer
Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill
Douglas and Debra Highsmith
Tom and Mary Anne Jorde
Peter and Jeanne Marie Kaplan
Shana Levine ’80
Mike and Mary Ann McCoy
F. Eugene Metz and Mary Metz
Frank Or ’88
Virgil Place*
Steve Podell ’77 and Victoria Podell
Robert and Phyllis Pollack*
Lawton* and Anneke Shurtleff
Kip Smith ’69
Ted Urban
Richard* and Caroline Warmington
*deceased
Interested in joining the Pillar Society? Contact Erin Fredrick, Director of Philanthropy at give@athenian.org.
Coming Soon!
Athenian’s
Garden Lab
In the 2020-21 school year, Athenian was fortunate to receive a generous multi-year gift from an Upper School parent to support development of a Garden Lab, featuring both an indoor and outdoor garden. This project will enable us to develop and enhance our 6-12 curriculum through experiential lessons on topics such as climate change, sustainable ecosystems, the food system, and related public health and social justice issues. As an intrinsically interdisciplinary program, the Garden Lab will integrate all of Athenian’s Pillars, deepening our commitment to the environment and a more just and equitable future.
We are excited to deepen our community’s connection to nature and the joy and challenges of growing and producing food! Though still in the planning phase, we look forward to sharing our progress throughout the year.
Athenian Remembers
Alex Forbes ’84
Introduced to a passion for the wilderness during his time at Athenian, Alex led much of his life outdoors. He scaled Aconcagua in Argentina, sea kayaked off the coast of Baja, and spent seasons climbing in Death Valley and the Sierras. Beyond teaching at the National Outdoor Leadership School, Alex returned to Athenian as a logistics and field coordinator for AWE, touching the lives of countless students and adults who he worked with on those trips.
Alex is also remembered as an integral member of “The Pit Crew,” the affectionate name for the 80s-era stage crew that supported theater productions. Former drama teacher Wes Morgan remembers Alex as compassionate, dedicated, industrious and loyal. “With his tenacious search for practical solutions...Alex led the Crew to purposeful and aesthetically satisfying resolutions, even if they were found in the most unorthodox times of day or night.”
Alex led a rich and varied life outside of the context of wilderness adventure and Athenian. He was a writer and a sailor, a scholar and keeper of traditional wooden boat ways, a horseman, a small plane pilot and a mountain climber, a patternmaker, a woodworker, a logistician and a teacher. He was a lover of language and story, of beauty and quiet. He was an inventor and an explorer of worlds.
Douglas Ayer
Director of Development from 1988 to 1996, passed away in Palo Alto in March. Doug cherished his years at Athenian for the professional opportunities they provided and for the wonderful friendships he made. Along with Debbie Schafgans—who worked with him in a tiny, windowless office in Dyke Brown Hall—Doug built an impressive fundraising program. He remembered teaching U.S. History with former College Counselor Jan Russell as an immensely rewarding experience. His time at Athenian embodied the sort of stimulating experience Doug thoroughly enjoyed.
Gemma Niermann
Former faculty member, Gemma Niermann, taught music and science at Athenian in the 1980s. Former math teacher, David Faulkner, remembered her performances in school musicals and her playing in the orchestra as part of a production of West Side Story. Later in her career, she went on to teach at UC Berkeley and at St. Mary’s College.
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www.athenian.org
“It is not enough to be
concerned with the scholarly excellence of our students alone. The values and purposes with which their well-trained minds will be committed are of equal importance”
