Associate Director of Advancement, Parent Engagement & Giving
Kim Webb Palacios
Associate Director of Advancement, Alumni Engagement & Giving
Photography
Lindsay Baloun ’25
Erin Fredrick
Elizabeth Weaver
Lisa Winner Photography
Design
Julie Contreras, UrbanBirdDesign.com
Walnut Creek, CA
Printing
ChromaGraphics, Santa Rosa, CA
Message from the Head of School, Eric Niles
In June of 2022, I gave a graduation speech for a then senior from Somaliland. At the time, I was still on medical leave to treat my cancer, but didn’t want to miss being part of this Athenian tradition. I remember thinking that no graduation would ever be quite so beautiful. Fast forward to June of 2023—I was back as head of school and once again fully engaged in the ceremony. To my amazement, graduation was even more beautiful than the year prior. I watched and listened with deep appreciation for our remarkable community, the many caring adults who spoke on behalf of our seniors, and the incredible accomplishments and service of this group of graduates.
Class of 2023 walking over the hill during their graduation processional.
For those who haven’t yet had a chance to witness an Athenian Upper School graduation, it is a moment where every single student is truly seen. Faculty and staff are selected to present each student with their diploma along with personal remarks that succinctly capture what is unique about them. The reflections on and for our graduates are tender, wise, and often sound akin to poetry—there is rarely a dry eye in the audience. Our seniors then leave Athenian with a feeling of having been truly known and valued for their talents, challenges, service, and potential. This is just one of the gifts of an Athenian education. The words spoken about graduates are also a testament to the power of an Athenian education. Over and over again, references are made to how students’ opportunity to “learn by doing” deepened their understanding and framed their accomplishments.
It is still summer as I write this. For schools, this is a time of reflection (like graduation) and a time to begin planning in earnest for the school year ahead. While this magazine is largely retrospective, it also highlights many of the themes and commitments that we will carry forward into the new year too. The feature article is about experiential learning at Athenian. You’ll see some examples of what experiential
learning looks like at Athenian today, in a world that is both different than it was when Dyke Brown founded the school and deeply needing the education he championed. As we head into this new school year, we will continue to look at how experiential learning happens in and out of the classroom. As the 2024 host of the Independent Schools Experiential Education Network’s (ISEEN) Winter Institute, we will also be busy preparing to welcome 150 educators to campus in January to showcase our experiential program and to learn together. We are deeply honored to host and grateful for being recognized for our leadership in project-based and experiential learning.
Whether you live near or far, I hope you will be able to visit campus in the coming year or connect with a fellow Athenian virtually or in person. And finally, thank you to all who supported me and carried the school forward during my time away. I am, as always, humbled by the care and compassion of this community. Please know that Athenian’s mission is alive and well and our students are thriving.
With gratitude,
As the 2024 host of the ISEEN Winter Institute, we will also be busy preparing to welcome 150 educators to campus in January to showcase our experiential program and to learn together.
Middle School students heading through campus on their way to lunch.
Experiential Learning at Athenian
Upper School students in the Food on Your Plate seminar work with City Slicker Farms in Oakland.
Arriving by bus, Athenian eighth graders quickly transitioned to their new surroundings, a 4-acre farm and orchard in an otherwise densely populated neighborhood in the hills of El Sobrante. They would be spending their Friday here, serving and learning alongside farm staff from Planting for Justice, a local nonprofit.
They gathered for introductions and a land acknowledgment near the farm entrance, overlooking rows of fruit trees just past peak blossom and cocooned in a fresh growth of green weeds. Splitting into two groups, they headed off to their first rotation for the day. Planting for Justice staff led the orchard working group while Athenian teachers facilitated the Food Justice lesson.
Equipped with gardening gloves and shovels, students set to work weeding, digging into the soft earth and coaxing
thistle from around the trunks of a row of young plum trees. Successfully loosening a thistle’s strong deep roots, a student triumphantly waved their arm in the air–thistle in hand–for others to see. This was the first of many such moments that day. A Planting for Justice staff member talked as they worked, noting that weeds, while sometimes unwanted, provide nutrients for the dirt and food-bearing plants and are often critical to the integrity of a hillside. They were encouraged to taste some of the edible weeds as they worked, including gooseberry and oxalis pescaprae (common name sourgrass) which proved to be a highlight of the day.
This was a new Focus Day for the Middle School, one that combined service with lessons on topics such as food insecurity, food access, and the practice of permaculture. Over the past few years, more Focus
Days like this one have intentionally connected to the school’s Pillars (internationalism, democracy, environmentalism, adventure, leadership, and service), and reflect our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEIS) commitments.
While one group of eighth graders worked in the orchard, the other convened under a shade tent for a mix of lessons and activities. They started by reflecting on a Focus Day from earlier in the year where they were tasked with making a three-dish meal on a $25 dollar budget. They talked about how it was difficult to stay within their budget and how they had to make trade offs like adding water when a recipe called for milk. One student observed how meat and spices were especially expensive, and they brainstormed why this might be. They learned about food deserts and the environmental impact of farming. continued on page 6
Eighth graders working together to weed the orchard at Planting for Justice.
continued from page 5
Evolving our Founding Vision
While what we teach has evolved since the school’s early days, much of our approach remains rooted in the founding vision. A prolific writer, much of Dyke Brown’s hopes for the school were captured in proposals for support, brochures for prospective students, and personal letters. In 1974 he wrote,
“No one would think it desirable to confine students of autos or medicine entirely to books and lectures, without
an opportunity for learning firsthand, taking engines apart, dissecting cadavers, etc. Nor would one happily entrust his car or body to a mechanic or surgeon who had learned only from classes and books.”
Today, experiential learning has become part of the lexicon for K-12 teaching and beyond. There are national and international organizations that support schools and educators working to infuse their teaching with an experiential approach and many graduate programs, not just graduate
education programs, talk about and teach through experiential learning. This was not the case in 1965 when Dyke Brown, Athenian’s founder, envisioned the school with experiential learning at its center.
In 2020, Athenian added Social Justice to its DEI commitments and experiential learning has become a way to bring this commitment to life. Focus Days like Planting for Justice is just one example of many where Athenian’s founding vision has evolved to fit our current-world context.
continued on page 10
Middle School students working together to harvest and tend to the Orchard at Planting for Justice.
Focus Days Reflections
In Their Words: A Conversation with Athenian 8th Graders
The Middle School schedule is built around its signature Focus Day program. Core subject classes meet over the course of four days (Monday - Thursday) to allow for a full-day of dedicated hands-on learning that helps students synthesize material and deepen their classroom learning.
“Focus Days really give us independence and show us that our teachers trust us to figure things out. As 8th graders we are given a lot less direction and need to problem-solve and work together as a team to figure things out.”
“We’ve gone to a lot of museums for Focus Day and I think about museums differently now. In the past I’d just walk around but now I know what it is like to learn something about the subject in class before going to the museum–you learn so much more that way and get more from the experience.”
“Focus Days are what make Athenian Athenian. The way we learn through applying things. For example, when we do something immersive and role play something from history, you understand what it might have been like and why people may have acted the way they did.”
“Mock Congress was my favorite Focus Day. I was assigned the role of President and had to develop a speech. We simulated real Congress and had to make deals, learn to negotiate…we got real insight into government and learned a lot about how to make convincing arguments. It was a lot of pressure, a ton of work but a favorite Focus Day for a lot of us!”
Eighth graders visiting and learning about the many murals in San Francisco’s Mission District during a spring Focus Day.
Student Reflections on March Term
By Michael Tu ’24
While my classmates and I were on our exhilarating 26 day journey in Death Valley, the rest of the Athenian high school participated in March Term, a two week pass fail class of their choice. There are a variety of topics one can explore, including how to safely travel to Mars, developing your own game,
and exploring the cultural significance to various dishes to name a few. Throughout the course, students are able to collaborate with people of different grades, providing them with an opportunity to forge bonds through shared passions. When I was interviewing some of these students for an article that I was writing for the
Pillar (school paper); my interviewees expressed a sense of satisfaction and joy when reminiscing on their March Terms, describing how they were able to learn and grow by taking a course of their choosing. “I’ve learned things I’ve never even thought of before… I could breathe underwater, I could speak Bonaire, I made new friends with the freshmen and sophomores, and I created a deeper bond with the friends that I already have,” said Callan Huang ’24, who attended Bonaire, a scuba and coral reef restoration course in the Caribbean. Similar to Callan, many Athenian students described how March Term allows for exploration of specific academic fields and cultures that they are interested in and enjoy. Through various fun activities and the hands-on final projects the courses offer, students are able to apply their newfound knowledge to create something that is built on passion and creativity, allowing them to develop skills that will remain beneficial for them in the future.
Students in the Bonaire scuba diving course work hard to restore coral reefs.
A group of students in the Itadakimasu course roll sushi together.
“What I loved about my internship is that it allowed me to get a feel of what it was like to work in the professional world...especially toward something I am interested in, which is foreign policy,” said Victoria González-Esquivel ’23, who did an internship with the World Affairs Council of San Francisco for March Term. “It encourages you to work harder towards what you want in the future because you have a taste of what it’s like in the real world.
It inspires you to become a better person, like needing to work on time management to get to San Francisco on time [by Bart]!”
Many students at Athenian agreed, as they appreciated March Term for the opportunities it provided, and how it has allowed them to grow and evolve through courses that challenge them in their passions.
“What I enjoyed most about this March Term in particular was the fact that we got to do so much for two weeks,” said Andrew Ekren ’24, who took the Mission to Mars March Term, “When learning becomes more fun and engaging, you put more into the learning, and as a result, get more out of the learning.”
“ When learning becomes more fun and engaging, you put more into the learning, and as a result, get more out of the learning. ”
Students in the Mission to Mars course work together to complete tasks such as moving water across the “Martian landscape.”
Student in the Upcycling course shows off the fingerless gloves he designed and sewed himself.
Identity and Experiential Learning
On the same day the eighth graders were working alongside Planting for Justice, a group of 11th and 12th graders spent the morning about 20 miles away at City Slicker Farm, another nonprofit-operated urban farm. This was a full-day field trip for the semester-long Upper School history course, Food on Your Plate. Like their Middle School counterparts, they too spent their day serving and learning–deepening their understanding of the Food Justice Movement and where food comes from–one of many topics explored in this course.
Back in the classroom the day following their field trip to City Slicker Farms, history teacher Lea Hartog led her class in a reflection on the experience. While the original course design was created by former faculty and administrator Kalyan Balaven,
the curriculum continues to evolve. “The research and ways of thinking about the issues we are discussing in this class are changing so rapidly and I’m introducing new text every time I teach the course,” says Lea. She adds,“One of the joys of teaching this class is that food is part of the human experience and every student is able to connect their own food culture to what we are learning in class…In this way, food is a vehicle for centering one’s identity in their learning and connecting that with history, economics, and culture.”
The entire course—one of many semester-long seminar style classes open to Athenian 11th and 12th graders—is experiential and projectbased. In addition to many field trips, student’s major assessments are handon projects. They created a Global Exchange recipe book (and prepared a dish for sharing in class) along with their research paper. After selecting a single ingredient, students were
tasked with researching its history from its origin (people and region) to its global presence (global exchange). They investigated the impact both on the region of origin and its later destinations including social, political, economic, and environmental impacts. Their final semester-end assessment was to assume the perspective of a business, government official, or nonprofit organization and collaborate with their classmates in a simulation to create a national food policy for the US.
Leading and Learning
In 2019, Athenian created a new position, a Dean of Experiential Education. Just two years in and it is hard to imagine Athenian without this role. While faculty and program directors continue to innovate their own curriculum and infuse it with experiential learning, this role is the glue that integrates the 6-12
Upper School students visited City Slicker Farm in West Oakland to combat food insecurity.
continued from page 6
experience, helping to build on learning from grade-to-grade and ensuring that service is woven throughout. Having completed her second year in the role, our inaugural Dean, Whitney Hofacker, will be moving abroad and we are welcoming Beth Spencer to the role. Our new Dean is stepping into a growing program in a year where we will be hosting the Independent School Experiential Education Network (ISEEN) Institute (January 2024). Over 150 experiential learning educators from around the country will be coming to our campus for a multi-day institute themed, Finding Our Places to Flourish. While we will showcase some of our programs to our guests, we will also learn from them–exchanging ideas and best-practices with other expert educators.
Athenian is a longtime member of ISEEN, but this was our first time applying to be the ISEEN Winter Institute host. During the host selection process, ISEEN Executive Director Shoshanna Sumka noted that Athenian’s application demonstrated that our school’s priorities aligned with theirs. “The fact that Athenian lives out the values of inclusion, diversity,
equity, belonging and a commitment to social justice was important to us and a direction our organization has been moving with our Institute the past five or six years.” During the site visit, Shoshanna started to really understand how Athenian’s values and approach was rooted in its founding, observing that a copy of the Mandala and Dyke Brown’s early vision of the school was on display for all to see. She said,“we’ve met a
lot of Athenian faculty and staff over the years and have been impressed by their commitment to experiential learning…in our site visit we got to meet students for the first time and were so impressed by how thoughtful and engaged they were and how connected they were to the amazing campus at the base of the mountain. It was clear that Athenian is a place where students can find their place to flourish.”
Beth Spencer joins Athenian as Dean of Experiential Learning
Beth’s background in experiential learning, both in and outside of the classroom, will be an incredible resource for both classroom teachers and program directors. Beth comes to us from the Dunn School where she served as a ninth-grade English teacher, community service coordinator, and dorm head. Before that, her professional path included facilitating experiential education and youth development outside of traditional classrooms while in the Peace Corps in Lesotho, as director for a semester at a sea program aboard SSV Harvey Gamage, and as a YMCA camp program director and outdoor education coordinator. Beth will also serve our boarding students as part of the residential community.
Food on Your Plate seminar students headed to SF to visit the Dandelion Chocolate factory to learn about how chocolate is grown, sourced, and turned into a favorite treat!
In the fall of 2022, the DEIS Office increased the visibility of our school-wide focus on six key skill areas for cultural competence. Often referred to by its acronym, SPACES, signs were hung up around campus, after being constructed in our very own Innovation Studio the year prior.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Reflections on 22–23
S P A C E S
elf-Awareness
erspective nalysis & Inquiry
ultural Wisdom mpathy
urroundings
Top: South Asian Representation at the Affinity Group Fair.
Bottom: Upper School DEIS interns designed and co-facilitated DEIS programming for the Upper School’s January Equity & Inclusion Day. Activities included dialogue and reflection. Positive student feedback on the day of DEIS programming underscored the value of peer-led experiences.
In his final year as Director of DEIS, Sanjev DeSilva, supported an adult DEIS Council (ten 6-12 faculty, staff and administrators), and 14 DEIS student interns (Upper School). Likewise, Athenian’s 6-12 Professional Development and Teaching and Learning Committees created pathways for faculty and staff to hone their skills at creating culturally responsive classrooms, including a year-long all-faculty professional development focus that centered on the work of Dr. Liza Talusan and her book, The Identity Conscious Educator: Building Habits and Skills for a More Inclusive School. While the entire faculty worked through Dr. Talusan’s book, including two sessions facilitated by her, a small group of faculty piloted a program through PERTS Elevate where teachers used student feedback to implement research-based strategies to create more culturally responsive and equitable classrooms. This work will continue in the current year as we expand the pilot to a larger group of teachers. And finally, the Board of Trustees began their own DEIS work with two fullboard trainings to create a foundation of understanding in service to their work to ensure equitable and inclusive practices and policies at the school governance level.
& Social Justice Update
Welcome Naoko Akiyama
We are delighted to welcome Naoko Akiyama as Athenian’s new Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEIS).
Naoko brings over two decades of independent school experience with time spent in schools on both coasts. In addition to her many years as a classroom teacher, Naoko has served schools and students in a variety of roles including Dean of Students and Dean of Community Life. Throughout her time as an educator, Naoko has been a committed DEI advocate and practitioner in both formal and informal capacities. Most recently, she served as the Interim Director of Equity and Inclusion at Head-Royce School. A teacher at heart, Naoko draws on her classroom experience and student-centered approach when leading and supporting difficult conversations among, and between, students and adults alike.
“
…I recognize that the pace and pathways of change are non-linear and iterative, and I accept that while change is inevitable, I know growth is optional. Bruce Lee famously said: “Water can flow...or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” With systems change, I intentionally choose to flow as water and not crash, adapting to the contours of the streambed, recognizing the fractals within an interconnected system, and continually learning in order to stay nimble and open to new possibilities.”
When asked to share her personal teaching philosophy, Naoko shared the following:
• Every human being is deserving of love, dignity, and care.
• Every human being seeks to be understood and seen.
• Every human being is a hungry learner and meaningmaker who seeks authentic connection with ideas and people.
• Every human being is responsible for what is within their control.
• Communities are complex learning ecosystems that are never identity-neutral.
• Change is the only constant.
Mi Gente - our Hispanic Heritage Affinity Group hosted a celebration for Hispanic Heritage month. They provided food, music, and dance tutorials, and worked with the library to display books by Hispanic authors.
MemorableMOMENTS
What an incredibly full and joyful year! We celebrate and share—through images—some of our longstanding traditions, notable moments, and examples of engaged learning
Affinity Group and Club Faire
Our Upper School students have time in their daily schedules dedicated to clubs and affinity groups. The beginning of the year faire features a variety of affinity groups and clubs including the Black Student Union, Mi Gente, and South Asian Representation, to the Knitting Club, Fashion Club, or Library Advisory Council.
AUGUST
Start of School
SEPTEMBER
The start of school traditionally begins with orientations, class trips, and Convocation, where the entire school comes together to kick off the year and sign their grade banners.
Spirit Week + Nest Night
A week of themed dress up days and grade level competitions in the Upper School finishes with the Color Competition and each grade level dressing in a different color.
OCTOBER
Focus Friday
A 7th Grade Focus Day highlight - Farm to Table! Students harvested basil grown in the Middle School garden, learned how to make fresh pasta and pesto sauce, as well as crinkle cookies for dessert!
Women’s XC NCS/State
Our women’s cross country team had a stellar 2022 season! They placed 5th out of 33 teams at NCS and went to State where they placed in the top 30.
NOVEMBER
Twelfth Night
Our talented and dedicated theater students presented Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for their fall drama performance.
Election
Democracy in action! More than 15 Upper School students volunteered as poll workers in November as part of their “Election 2022” history seminar. On campus, students participated in a mock election and debated propositions that may or may not have aligned with their own personal beliefs.
US/MS Winter Concerts
Two concert nights highlighted the hard work and talent of our Middle and Upper School musicians, singers, and dancers.
DECEMBER
Residential life
Residential students and families enjoyed many “FABs” (Fun Activities for Boarders) this year! A highlight this winter was learning to curl with Bay Area Curling.
Memorable
MOMENTS
International Night
Back after a three-year COVID hiatus, International Night! The Athenian community gathered to celebrate the multitude of cultures represented in our students and families with delicious food and performances.
JANUARY
Round Square C onferences - London, Canada, etc.
Round Square conferences were back in full force during the 2022-23 school year.
Upper School students (and faculty!) attended conferences in London, England and Ottawa,Canada this year. Six Middle School students also attended a Round Square conference in the U.K., and spent time in London as well right before the coronation!
CIS
Applied Engineering is just one of the many courses in the Carter Innovation Studio (CIS) where students implement phases of innovation including inspiration, ideation, implementation, and iteration.
E&I Day
Upper School students had two Equity & Inclusion (E&I) days during the 2022-23 school year. Students spent the day in small group workshops working through activities that reinforced the Skill Areas of Cultural Competence, or SPACES - self awareness, perspective, analysis & inquiry, cultural wisdom, empathy and surroundings.
March Term
March Term is a perfect example of Athenian’s philosophy of experiential education, shared inquiry, and engaged learning. Some courses stayed on campus, some were chock full of field trips, and some traveled domestically and internationally. The Game On! students pictured here, learned about games - cards, board games, video games, lawn games, etc., and then created their own, finally testing them with our Middle School students on the last day.
MARCH
Middle School Class Trips
AWE Death Valley
Many alums would say the Athenian Wilderness Experience was the most impactful experience of their high school career. One half of the 11th grade spends three weeks in Death Valley in early March, the other spends three weeks in the High Sierra in the summer.
AWE Run In
When our 11th graders return from AWE, their experience ends with “Run In” where they are dropped off miles away from campus and run and walk their way “home” where they are welcomed home by the entire Athenian community, and their families and friends.
While Upper School students are in March Term, Middle School students get to live Athenian’s philosophy of experiential education as well. The 8th graders explored NYC and Washington D.C., the 7th graders spent a few chilly days on Catalina Island, and the 6th graders went on an adventurous (and wet!) camping trip to Pinnacles National Park.
International Exchanges - MS/US
Students in both our Middle School and Upper School had the opportunity to travel and learn abroad this year. 20 Upper School students participated in 7-10 week exchanges in seven countries. Eight Middle School students participated in 10 day exchanges too! We also had 20 students from other Round Square schools come to Athenian.
MemorableMOMENTS
Orchard
Parties
Parents, students, alums, and faculty and staff come together and help take care of our orchard of 130+ fruit trees!
APRIL
Art in-School Field Trips
Fine arts students had the opportunity to work with, and learn from visiting guest artists from Portugal. The guest artist taught students stamp printing using a press, sculpture, and pottery.
Robotics
The Addams Family Musical
Ever wondered what it would be like to bring a new partner home who is so completely different from your family? That’s exactly what the audience learned from the incredible production of The Addams Family Musical for the 2023 Spring Musical.
MAY
This year’s robotics team put in over 7,000 collective hours of design, fabrication, and programming this year, and competed in four major tournaments!
Community Service
Students pictured in the photo above volunteered their time at St. Anthony’s in San Francisco preparing and serving meals in their dining room.
Spring Arts festival
A multi-day performing and fine arts celebration including a gallery showcasing sculptures, photographs, and drawings.
NCS Baseball Champs!
After a season peppered with difficult losses, the Owls earned an 8th seed spot in the NCS tournament, worked hard as a team, and brought home the first NCS Baseball Championship win in school history!
8th Grade Promotion
The class of 2027 celebrated their promotion to the Upper School on the morning of June 2, 2023.
JUNE
Design Faire
The annual Athenian Design Fair 2023 was full of amazing inventions and creations from Engineering, Robotics, and Applied Science including a Constant Altitude project, a slime maker, and a portable gaming table with an interactive map.
Graduation
The class of 2023 celebrated their graduation, and their transition to alumni on the evening of June 2, 2023.
Leaving the Nest
The Class of 2023
Self-described as “adventurous, fun, silly, and resilient,” the Class of 2023 will be missed though we can’t wait to see where their adventurous spirits will take them!
Class of 2023 College Matriculation
Rochester
New York University*
Endicott College
Tulane University*
Occidental College*****
Lehigh University
California State University Chico*
Trinity College
Art Center College of Design
University of California Irvine**
Dickinson College
Diablo Valley College
University of California Los Angeles***
University of Southern California***
Boston University***
Washington University, St. Louis*
Seattle University / Gap Year
University of WisconsinMadison
Otis College of Art & Design
University of California Berkeley**
Case Western Reserve University
University of California Davis** Las Positas College
Bowdoin College
Purdue University
Northeastern University***
University of California Riverside*
Washington & Lee University
University of Hawaii
Washington University, St. Louis
University of California San Diego*
Northwestern University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Dartmouth College
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Smith College
Loyola Marymount University
Babson College
*Asterisks note how many students if more than one will attend
Cornell University
Chapman University
University of Maryland
Santa Clara University
Brandeis University
University of California
Santa Cruz
American University
Pitzer College
Georgetown University
Barnard College
Emory University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Michigan
University of Miami
Lewis & Clark College
Pomona College
Saint Mary’s College of CA
University of Colorado, Boulder
Williams College
University of Oregon
Texas A&M
Class Notes
1971
Along with her husband Yaakov, Sara Feldman recently moved to Great Neck, Long Island from Spring Valley, NY, in order to be closer to two of their children and three of their grandchildren. Their third child is a bit farther away (in New Jersey), but they make the trip often, where four additional granddaughters enjoy their visits.
Marc Louria considers himself very fortunate. He pivoted from working as a writer at Pixar Animation Studios to teaching screenwriting and story development for many years at Academy of Art University in SF. He’s now back working on various narrative projects and enjoying life with his partner Barbara. “I hold a deep affection for all my classmates,” he said, “and wish everyone health and happiness in their continued journeys.”
1973
Virginia Stein is still living in Hilo, staying busy with agility training her dog, and renovating her “new” home ever since she and her husband retired in 2021. Though she was unable to attend reunion, she sends a warm “aloha nui loa” (all my love) from Hawai’i.
1976
Heidi Hutner’s 2022 documentary feature, Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at its Dances With Films festival debut. A director, writer and producer of films, she is also a professor of literature, sustainability and women’s and gender studies at Stony Brook University and a thought leader around eco-grief and ecofeminism, a topic on which she gave a Tedx Talk.
1986
Misha Safran recently published her debut work, A Teacher’s Companion:
How to Center Empathy & Emotional Well-Being for Yourself and Your Students. This book aligns to her work as a former teacher and as Founder of the Center for Empathy and Emotional Intelligence (CEEQ). We were delighted to welcome Misha to campus in April as a Wellness Day instructor, where she taught workshops to upper school students on healthy relationships. Misha works with leaders committed to cultural change to develop healthy and positive relationships in the workplace.
Along with his wife and son, Mark Turner visited campus in March, his first time back since his graduation in 1986. He has lived in North Carolina for many years and works in agricultural technology. He remains in contact with a few Athenian friends, who he has seen on and off over the years.
1987
Jamie Comer, who has been living with cancer for seven years, offered a KQED Perspective in March. Her message— about calling cancer by its name and affirming patient humanity with honor and compassion—is powerful. Jamie lives in San Francisco with her husband and her 15-year-old daughter and is ranked as one of the top 100 real estate agents in San Francisco.
1990
Joan Reilly moved with her husband to a 70-acre farm property in Pennsylvania after twenty years in New York City. They have chickens, cats, and a dog, but no large livestock (yet). Joan’s husband sold his animal hospital and is semi-retired, just doing surgery two days a week. She is currently working full-time on a graphic memoir about her adventures with brain cancer (diagnosed in 2017, received treatment in 2018 & 2019). The book’s main areas of focus are the positive aspects of the experience, but it’s also “rigorously honest.” Follow
her on Instagram (@joanreillyillustration) for a preview of the book, The Present
1994
Jamahn Lee celebrated the August 2022 birth of his son, James Patrick Lee. He wrote, “we named him after our fathers who passed away in 2017 and 2018, respectively. We are sleep deprived but also very happy!” Jamahn is also thrilled about his nephew’s recent decision to attend Athenian as a 9th grader and visited campus with his sister and his nephew in March.
1998
Eric (Wayne) Richey and his wife Mary were delighted to welcome their daughter Paraskevi Linda Georgia “Poppy” Richey into the world in November. She is named after her beloved Grandmothers and shares her birthday with Warren G, Miranda Lambert, and the United States Marine Corps. Mom and daughter are doing well and Dad is ecstatic to have a(nother) reason to tell his dad jokes.
Kwynn Perry got together with classmates Alix Kane and Rebecca Good while visiting her parents in Albuquerque. Former athletics director, advisor, and coach Sheryl Petersen, who recently moved there from Sacramento, was also able to join! Back in the Bay Area some months later, Kwynn organized an informal mini-reunion for the class of 1998, which took place in May.
Alix Kane ’98, Kwynn Perry ’98, and Rebecca Good ’98 with Sheryl Petersen.
1999
In November, Ai Atsumi returned to campus (visiting from Japan) for the first time since graduating. Her busy marketing career has taken her around the world, but this business trip afforded her the time and opportunity to come to campus. Former classmate and current Trustee Jeannine Bell Whittaker ’98 joined Ai for a campus tour and lunch with students.
After 12 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, Michelle Guzman left the agency to take a position as a rare book librarian at the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, Virginia. She returned to the federal government last fall, taking a position with the Office of the Historian at the State Department, helping declassify records for publication in the Foreign Relations of the United States series.
2004
Jaret Lee is living in Australia and working in the nanotech space.
2006
Anna Phillips recently moved to Melbourne, Australia to begin a new faculty role at the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy. She unexpectedly ran into Jaret Lee ’04 at the Australian Institute of Physics Congress in Adelaide in December.
Ai Atsumi ’99 visited campus from Japan and enjoyed lunch with students as well as Michelle Park, Kimiko Sera-Tacorda, and Gabe Del Real.
Jaret Lee ’04 and Anna Phillips ’06 at the Australian Institute of Physics Congress.
Tzofi
Klinghoffer Talks Building a Career in Artificial Intelligence and the Skills He Learned at Athenian Alumni Spotlight:
Tzofi Klinghoffer did not have a clear cut vision of what he might want to do with an engineering degree. Nine years later, he’s a PhD candidate and Draper Scholar at MIT Media Lab. His career is in Artificial Intelligence (AI)—a field that scarcely existed when he graduated—a field he says Athenian uniquely prepared him for.
“One of my favorite science classes at Athenian was Advanced Chemistry with Megan Leich. That led me to explore classes in chemical engineering,” Tzofi said of his time as an undergraduate at the University of Alabama. “I also took a computer science class based on my experience on Athenian’s FIRST robotics team with Eugene Mizusawa. Robotics led me to computer science, which ultimately led me to Artificial Intelligence (AI).”
Specifically, Tzofi nurtured his interest in two sub-fields: computer vision and computational imaging. The former deals with teaching computers to understand images. The latter deals with creating cameras that can do seemingly impossible things, like see around corners. His research has applications in virtual reality and beyond, and has been featured in news outlets, such as MIT News.
A well-timed college internship gave Tzofi his first handson experience. “In 2017, I received a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hollings Scholarship that sent me to MIT to try to apply machine learning to images. Up until that point, humans were manually counting the number of fish in images to inform the environmental monitoring of fish populations. My project was to figure out a way to use technology to count the fish.”
The research led to a full-time job offer as an AI researcher at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, a federally funded research and development
center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. During that time, he worked on drone detection technology and AI to improve the accuracy of medical imaging diagnostics. “It was a formative experience,” Tzofi said. “It showed me how I could take a problem, figure out a solution, and see it deployed.”
Tzofi always knew he was interested in graduate school, but wanted to try industry first. Work on Amazon’s Alexa, autonomous driving at NVIDIA, and extended reality at Meta led to insights about research vs. industry. “The priorities of a research lab are very different from the priorities of a corporation,” he reflected.. “I think Athenian really pushes people to think about what they are contributing to society. I realized I could make a greater impact going back and doing a PhD than I could staying in industry.”
Thoughtfulness around the impact of his work is only one of Tzofi’s many takeaways from Athenian. He counts the communication skills he learned here as critical to his work. “I still remember April Smock’s 10th grade history class, when we had to write our Cold War paper. I remember being stressed out about that, but it pushed me to be better in ways that stuck with me. Clear written communication is critical to my research.”
Alumni Spotlight:
Jennifer “JJ” Lee ’09 Talks Hands-On Learning and Flexing Both Analytical and Creative Skills
Most people with an advanced degree in biostatistics don’t work in companies like L’Oréal. Most people aren’t encouraged to cultivate both left- and right-brain thinking. Most people didn’t moonlight at Vogue and The Reformation while interning at Amgen and studying computational biology. Most people aren’t JJ Lee. ’09
Currently the Director of Product Marketing and Innovation for L’Oréal Skinceuticals, JJ was recently named by Forbes as a Top 10 Inspiring Woman Business Leader to Watch. She leads a team focused on key customer needs and developing new products.
“Sometimes it felt like I was building two resumes,” she said of her time interning in multiple fields as an undergrad at UCLA. “But when I graduated, I wanted to bridge the gap between my creative and scientific experience. That led me to cosmetics.”
JJ credits some of her courage to branch out to her time at Athenian, where she began as a middle schooler and continued through twelfth grade. “A lot of my classmates wanted to take a full course load of AP classes, but I remember really wanting the opportunity to just do art,” she recalled. “I was focused on STEM for so long, but it was Athenian having electives—learning Fashion Design with Sally Baker—that allowed me to investigate whether I wanted to do something creative…I remember going to Sally and saying, ‘Please can we do something in fashion design? What if I told you I had five other people interested?’ So Sally created a class.”
Beyond her own experience with Sally, she recalls similar teacher responses. “Peter Tamaribuchi gave my friend the opportunity to direct. It wasn’t even about nudging him to allow us to do a certain play. She wanted the opportunity, and Peter said yes. A lot of times
in my career, I’ve heard people say ‘no, no, no.’ But nobody learns with those kinds of constraints. I loved that Athenian let us be heard.”
Now, JJ lives in New York City, where she earned her Master’s degree from Columbia and stayed on to launch her post-graduate career. L’oréal’s technology incubator was her jumping point. Prior to leading her current team, she spent six years integrating hardware and software with cosmetics. Using technology from Clarisonic and other brands, JJ worked on fulfillment lines that were individualized to customers.
“I think hands-on experience is so important. What we learn in school is so hypothetical, it’s hard to understand it unless you put it into action. I say this on college panels a lot. I’ve had some exposure to students from Northeastern, which has a fifth year in which you have to do an internship. I love that.”
Along those lines, she encourages young people to find ways to jump into project work—to explore innovation and problem solving through internships and entrepreneurship competitions similar to L’Oréal’s in-house pitch war, Brandstorm. “There’s so much you can’t pick up from classroom learning,” she concluded. “There are things you have to experience yourself.”
2006 continued
Hansol Hong, Yoko Saeki, Yen Peng, Claudia Peng and spouses gathered for a mini reunion in Southern California. Hansol wrote, “It was great to see everyone. We’ve talked about AWE and some of the other fun things that happened in the dorms. It felt like yesterday and I can’t believe it’s been 16 years already since we graduated from Athenian. It was pretty crazy to see four international students from different countries gathering together all staying in California.” Claudia added, “Happiness is meeting with old friends after years and talking about the good old days in high school. Can’t wait for our next reunion!”
The water desalination/purification technology Tané Remington has been working on via her company, Maelstrom Water Technologies, reached a significant milestone: entering the production stage. Tané recently set up a new lab location in Utah but hopes to expand to multiple locations in the Pacific Northwest.
2007
Chris Chapman, owner of salsa and
catering business Tacos Everywhere, is making salsas and tacos by hand in Oakland using ingredients sourced directly from farms, businesses, and producers in their foodshed. He is interested in the diverse cuisines in the Bay Area and integrating the history of Alta California into his culinary approach.
2009
Congrats are in order for Jennifer “JJ” Lee, who was named by Forbes Magazine as a Top 10 Inspiring Woman Business Leader to Watch. She currently works as Director of Product Marketing and Innovation for L’Oréal Skinceuticals. She gave a lovely shout-out to teachers Sally Baker and Peter Tamaribuchi for giving her and her friends the freedom to explore fashion and film direction. More of JJ’s journey is written on page 23.
2010
In August of 2022, Trustee Musadiq Bidar was featured on CBS Mornings, In a video essay that reflected on his family’s emigration from Afghanistan and nearly 30 years living in the U.S. His
narrative was filmed on Athenian campus and Musadiq reflected on his time at the school: “It was at this high school, while on a full scholarship, that I discovered my passion for reporting and telling stories.”
2011
Recently named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Healthcare, Alison Burklund, along with her Nanopath co-founder, received the 2022 AACC Disruptive Technology Award. Alison has been a great resource for Athenian students in recent years. Just last year she spoke to our eighth graders as part of Middle School Career Day and also hosted recent grad Savonnah W. ’23 as her Upper School March Term student intern in 2021. Savonnah went on to serve as Alison’s 2022 summer intern, gaining new coding skills with real-world application.
Along with fiancé Adam, Aaron Weiner is gearing up for his May 2024 nuptials and is in wedding planning mode; the celebration will take place in Los Angeles. He is also one of the leaders for the SoCal Teen Initiative, which brings together Jewish teens from 8th to 12th grade together for leadership, wellness and community retreats throughout the year. Relatedly, he wrote an article for the Union for Reform Judaism on youth leadership development and how organizations collaborated during and since the pandemic to support their communities.
Alex Caulfield is happily working in development for The New York Public Library. She is now Associate Manager, Individual Giving and oversees the Young Lions program for donors in their 20s and 30s.
Andrew Reckers is engaged in basic research at Columbia, trying to learn more about how proteins move. Learning more about protein movement could help design better drugs, or engineer proteins for totally new purposes.
Now living in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Irvine, Hansol Hong ’06, Yoko Saeki ’06, Yen Peng ’06, Claudia Peng ’06 were able to align their schedules for a meetup in Buena Park in August 2022.
2013
We saw Sho Okayama at Alumni Day in January, when his professional life brought him back to the Bay Area and he returned to campus for the first time in many years. As part of an Alumni Day panel, he spoke of his work in engineering, advocating for the possibilities of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Although he has returned to Japan recently, his passion for aviation continues at one of the country’s leading aviation companies, ShinMaywa.
Alan Grier, with the help of fellow Athenian alums Andrew Kaye ’14, Blair Hagen ’15, and classmate Shayan Amir Kabirian, is working on completing the Athenian airplane project, which was expected to enter the certification phase in late summer. Alan currently works as an engineer with a national laboratory.
2014
Ph.D. candidate Holden Leslie-Bole is researching the intersection of coastal process and machine learning, with the goal of understanding how sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and extreme wave events change nearshore geomorphology. He is studying at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
After spending her early career in nonprofits, Shawna James is loving her work in Community and Marketing currently at the PreSales Collective.
Athenian faculty member Laura E. Ellis created and directed a new large-scale work in October: ruminations. [re]visited, which included original text written and performed by Atiya Ziyad ’15 and Jordon E. Dabney ’17
Sho Okayama ’13 on campus for Alumni Day, reunited with teacher Michelle Park.
It was great to see several alumni in New York in January. Pictured here: Shawna James ’14, Grace Reckers ’14, Andrew Reckers ’12, Chloe Smock ’08, Ryan Baxter ’08, Eve Girzadas ’21, Mojo Adegbite ’19, Kelia Human ’15, and Alex Caulfield ’12.
2016
Priya Canzius was awarded a Fulbright scholarship. After settling into her new role in Morocco, Priya reflected on this significant honor by saying, “I feel so privileged to be participating in Fulbright as an English Professor at a university in Casablanca, Morocco. Thank you to Athenian for instilling my passion for travel and culture–-bridging love of English and foreign language learning, and for letting me share a part of my journey with the community!”
2017
Maggy Osha recently completed a gap year with Americorps following her undergraduate program and currently plans to attend genetic counseling school at UCSF this fall.
2018
Victoria Akinsanya graduated from UC Berkeley last spring, having earned a Masters in Education with a teacher’s credential in secondary social science. Prior to returning to school for her current degree, she received BAs in critical race and ethnic studies and business management economics from UC Santa Cruz. She joined Athenian’s residential community as Assistant Dorm Head in 2022 and is now a live-in
Dorm Head; she has served as an athletics coach and a member of the BIPOC camp staff; and she recently added classroom teaching to her list of responsibilities for the 2023-24 school year.
Ciara Chow graduated Pomona College last May, where she majored in Mathematics and minored in Politics. She is a product manager at Lyft where she is part of a team working to achieve 100% electric vehicles across the Lyft platform by 2030.
2019
Nick Graves was interviewed about his 2022 internship with Disney by Oxy, the online magazine for Occidental College. Nick spoke about his role on the Live Action team, his participation in the Academy Gold Rising Program, and his thoughts about an entertainment industry career. He is currently majoring in Diplomacy & World Affairs and studied abroad in South Africa.
Mojo Adegbite graduated from NYU with a degree in public policy. She has loved her time in New York and, at the time of her graduation, was considering a job offer with the New York City Housing Authority.
Scout Del Real is beginning to pursue more serious theater and acting roles, having landed a few in the past year. He has been working with Rosie Corr, who is heavily involved in a theater in Danville. Scout stepped in to help direct The Addams Family musical on campus in spring 2023.
In May, Jolene Keller received her B.A. in Chemistry from Whitman College and will be pursuing grad school in the Fall where she will work towards a Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry at the University of Utah. Long-term, she is deciding between teaching and industry, but leaning toward industry.
2020
Cindy Li is a rising senior at Cornell, studying Finance and Business Analytics. This past summer, she interned in New York City with Goldman Sachs in the Asset Management Division. She is spending the current semester abroad at the National University of Singapore. In her note to us, she expressed gratitude for Athenian and the “intimate boarding community, which transformed [her] from a shy and quiet girl to an independent and optimistic person.”
Greg Osha is currently studying mechanical engineering at Tufts University, where he is enjoying the program and enjoying the Boston area (especially the food). He is currently interested in thermal-fluid systems and their application for geothermal energy and nuclear reactors.
2022
Chad McElroy loved his first year in college and was chosen to do a research fellowship at the Rose Institute for State and Local Government. In the fall, he began with in-depth research on “ghost guns,” unregistered firearms purchased by people who buy unserialized gun parts and then assemble them. He loved the research and he loves his program! Additionally, Chad became involved with student government at his school and is now a budgetary committee chairman as part of the Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College. He greatly enjoys this position and is very excited for his next year!
Priya Canzius with university students, teaching English and study skills on Fulbright in Casablanca.
Former Faculty Notes
We loved listening to the interview of former Athenian teacher Toby Brothers, covered by alum Pendarvis Harshaw ’05 on his KQED show, Rightnowish. It’s a lovely piece about books, world travel, and understanding human connection. After both touched on memories of Athenian, Toby spoke about co-founding the London Literary Salon, the exhilaration of morning plunges, and expat life in Europe. The Rightnowish segment is called Pen’s Pals: A Plunge Into Literature and London’s Cold Ponds.
In October, Síle Convery (who taught at Athenian from 1977–1989) and her daughter, N’ora, hosted a mini reunion for some former Athenian teachers in N’ora’s garden in Berkeley. There was much laughter and gasps of surprise and delight when teachers spied former colleagues they had not seen for over 30 years. Síle summarized the gathering by saying, “Everyone was delighted to reconnect
and to remember how much they enjoyed each other’s company.” Former Athenian faculty in attendance included Elisabeth Bertschi, Dick Bradford, Eleanor Dase, Joanna Davenport, Steve Davenport, Ruth Eller, Lynnea Johnson, Virginia Mack, Dan Mitchell, Wes Morgan, Robin Oliver, Diane Rizzetto, Jan Russell, Debby Schauffler, Tom Swope, Jo Wayles, and Ron Zuckerman.
Former Athenian teacher and administrator Nancy Nagramada has moved to Kaua’i with her spouse (former Athenian teacher, Charlie Raymond) and their 7th grader, Milo in order for Nancy to take on her new role as Head of School of the Island School. For several years of their decades-long relationship with the school, Nancy and family lived in House 8 and were beloved members
of the residential community. Nancy and Charlie were honored with a special send-off at Reunion.
Sanjev deSilva moved on from his role as Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice at Athenian to become Head of School at Northern Light School in Oakland. He joined Athenian in 2016 as a humanities teacher and taught many memorable courses, including Food on Your Plate, Race in the US, Beats, Rhymes & Life (a course on the origins of hip-hop) and OakTown: a Deep Dive in an Era of Gentrification. Sanjev joined the leadership team in 2020 and—concurrent to his role as Director of DEIS—served as a dorm head, basketball coach, and advisor to the Political Inclusion Club, the Marvel/Star Wars Club, South Asian Representation and the Muslim Affinity Group. Sanjev helped Athenian make a shift from DEI to DEIS–making social justice an intentional focus.
New Alumni Trustee
Simone Batiste ’15 graduated with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of San Diego in 2019 and currently serves as Assistant Director of Core Programs with the Jackie Robinson Foundation. A staunch advocate for public policy and public health improvements, she has focused her career on creating healthy pathways for underserved youth and communities.
As part of the United Healthcare Diverse Scholars Initiative, Simone completed a health fellowship from 2017 to 2019; she is also an alumna of the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars program. More recently, she worked as a health coach and lab specialist with the Bay Area health-tech startup One Medical. Prior to her current role, Simone served as a liaison between local government and community partners on COVID-19 prevention as a Program Coordinator for Bay PLS. Through her work in healthcare and community engagement, she observed that a valued education is essential for sustainable impact.
“My time at Athenian truly taught me about global citizenship and examining life beyond one’s familiar surroundings,” Simone reflected. Since Athenian, she has traveled extensively, including time spent on a college semester at sea. She has been an engaged member of our alumni community, and we are thrilled to have her onboard.
Former teacher Síle Convery with daughter N’orah Bullock in a photo taken by Tom Swope in Síle’s backyard.
Former Middle School teacher and administrator Nancy Nagramada with husband and former Athenian Middle School teacher Charlie Raymond.
Current Northern Light School Head Sanjev deSilva was Director of DEIS at Athenian.
Reflections and Gratitude
Message from Jon Nickens, Board Chair
This year, I simultaneously took on two new roles: Board Chair and Alumni Parent. With my oldest off at college, I see how exceptionally well Athenian has prepared him by fostering a robust foundation in critical thinking, discipline, and knowledge across an expansive range of subjects. The rigorous academics and personal developmental skills he acquired at Athenian have transformed him into a well-rounded individual, fully equipped to navigate new challenges and seize the opportunities that await.
As I reflect on the 2022-2023 school year, I’m struck by the resilience of the Athenian community and its incredible culture of generosity. From the vantage point of the Board Chair, I’ve seen this shine through in all pockets of the community. One of my most cherished memories of the year is when I and a few other trustees, spent a Sunday volunteering in the Athenian Orchard with students, parents, alums, and faculty and staff. Most notable was the leadership of two Athenian students, now seniors, who, with the help of faculty mentors, organized weekend Orchard Work Parties throughout the year. Their long-term vision for the 135 tree orchard includes yielding enough fruit to supply the school’s kitchen and for donating to local nonprofits to support
2023-2024 Board of Trustees
those experiencing food insecurity. It was a true showing of the Athenian spirit I have come to appreciate more each passing year and in my new capacity as Board Chair.
Equally powerful is the culture of generosity that shows up in our community’s philanthropic commitment. Looking through this year’s annual report, I am struck by the number of names listed. Parents, alumni, grandparents, faculty, staff, students, and friends have come together in support of the IDEALS we share to provide essential support for the school through the Annual Fund. Carrying forward a new tradition, the Class of 2023 families created a powerful legacy by establishing a new endowed fund in honor of their graduates. This community truly inspires me, and it is an honor to be of service to this remarkable school.
With gratitude for your partnership and commitment to Athenian.
Jon Nickens Board Chair
Thank you to the Board of Trustees for your leadership and many meaningful contributions to Athenian. We are grateful to Kathy Torru for her service as a Trustee since 2018 and welcome her as an Honorary Trustee.
Nancy Anderson
Musadiq Bidar ’10
Beth Borchers
Alex Bly
Dana Brown
Chaz Giles
Pavan Gill ’92
Ginna Girzadas
Geetika Goel
Guy Henshaw
Hansol Hong ’06
Angel Lewis ’92
Jill Miller
Tina Murphy
Jon Nickens
Matt Okazaki ’06
Russell Patton ’07
Philomel Peña
Leny Riebli
Monica Streifer ’05
Jeannine Bell Whittaker ’98
Ruth Winchell-Moyes ’89
Rob Yau
Catherine Yewell
New in 2023-2024
Alumni Advisory Trustees
Colette Ankenman ’11
Simone Batiste ’15
Honorary Trustees
Judy Carter
Steve Davenport
Susan Nebesar
Ex-Officio
Eric Feron Niles
Financial Summary 2022-2023
The primary sources of revenue that offset the school’s annual operating expenses are tuition, the Annual Fund, and the annual harvest of our Endowment. Philanthropy to the school provides critical non-tuition revenue that helps balance our budget and delivers on our mission.
REVENUE
(Sources of Operating Cash)
EXPENSES
(Uses of Operating Cash)
*Note: Not all funds raised this year are accounted for in the operating revenue above. Total giving, including gifts to endowment and other special projects totalled $1,323,600.
Unaudited numbers as of June 30, 2023
ANNUAL FUND 2022-2023
The Annual Fund enriches all aspects of the Athenian experience. It provides critical support to over 535 students plus the teachers and staff who comprise the Athenian community. Thank you to all who took part in this community-wide effort to uphold the IDEALS in all that we do through your support of the Annual Fund in 22-23. In addition to receiving 457 Annual Fund gifts, we also welcomed many new donors into our loyal donor circle (three or more consecutive years of giving—look for the +). Thank you!
Leadership Giving $5,000+
Leadership gifts are the cornerstone of our fundraising program and made up approximately 65% of the Annual Fund total last year.
ACROPOLIS
($50,000 and above)
Quest Foundation+
OLYMPIANS
($25,000-$49,999)
Jason and Ginna Girzadas +
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE
($10,000-$24,999)
Anonymous (2) + +
ACR Foundation + Mehmood and Farah Alam +
The Bedi Family +
The Butcher Family + Allison Fletcher ’96 and Eliot Quataert + Mary Francis and Jan Chabala + Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill + Robert and Wendy Greer + Gordon Gu and Lan Li
Guy R. and Susan S. Henshaw + The McGarry Family +
KATE & DYKE BROWN CIRCLE
($2,000-$4,999)
Anonymous (3) + Alexander and Maryann Amado
Eric and Lori Anders +
Nancy and Thomas Anderson + Wendell C. Arnold ’92 + Jack Balch and Maria Di Candia
Corwin and Margaret Booth
Barrett and Abby Boston +
Michael and Marianne Burdeny
Hongmei Chen
Nengting Chen and Bin Yao
Melvin Chua and Lo-an Nguyen + Alex Copeland and Eileen Beall +
Jonathan and Rae Corr
Jun Dong and Yi Ding
Aydrian Drewery and Roxi Wen
Tina and Nathaniel Murphy +
Chip Patterson and Tracy Cummings + Stephanie Pottruck ’95 and Aaron Goldman
Michael and Rachel Reynolds
Andrew and Katie Solomon
Josh Stein and Jenny Shilling
Kathy and John Torru +
Andrew and Karen Walz
David and Stacy Welsh
Catherine and Peter Yewell +
HEAD’S CIRCLE
($5,000-$9,999)
Anonymous (2) ++
Jason and Nicole Ambrose +
The Artale Family +
Alex and Allison Bly +
Doug Cardoni and Kirsa Phillips
Rodney and Janet Choo
J Cogan and Beth Goldberg
Eduardo and Natalja Correa
Mintao Fan and Yuanhui Wang +
Xiaodong Feng and Tian Shen
Jiping Fu and Lili Xie
The Golden Family +
Eliot Greenfield and Pilar Beccar-Varela +
Peter and Julie Gutzwiller + Rob Hallman and Sarah Marchick + Guobin Huang and Lihong Zhao
Guoxin Jian
Ernest and Marisa Johnson +
John and Joy Kim +
Marnye Little Langer ’81 and Larry Langer
Angel Lewis ’92 +
Sean Lincoln and Holly House +
Qiong Liu and Yiqing Ling
Charles and Susan Nebesar +
David and Beth Cutrer +
Aaron and Jennifer Edlin
Vito and Nishta Giallorenzo
Geetika and Ashish Goel +
William Greenman and Kristin Sanderson +
Jonathan and Heather Hackman +
Tasha and Brad Harrington +
Jeffrey and Carrie Iwasaki + Christopher and Krysten Karachale +
The Kelshikar Family
Charly and Minsun Kevers
Kenneth and Jennie Klein +
Michael and Jessica Kolis +
Patrick Liao and Cindy Chen
Ross and Elizabeth Lillard
Goodwin Liu
Chris and Colleen McClure +
The Menzies Family
M.R. Metzger Family Foundation
Paul Nelson and Ying Zhang
The Nickens Family +
Noel Obiora and Maureen Mbadike-Obiora
Matthew Okazaki ’06 +
Jeffrey Poage and Sarah Cameron + Leny and Frank Riebli
Hamish and Jennifer Shaw +
Michael and Tricia Sheinberg + Perkin and Angela Shiu + Karen Sloss ’69 +
Brad Surak and Claudia Furtado
Carlo Tamburrino and Paulette DeFalco
Oliver Theil and Judy Law
Danny Tran and Kristin Sorensen + Virgilio Vargas and Andrea Reiners
Latha Nennuru and Iyappa Velukuru
Brian and Barbara Walker + Zhilei Wang and Huiling Zhang
Eric and Margaret Feron Niles + Ann O’Leary
Russell Patton ’07 +
Chami and Sonali Perera
Jeffrey and Jessica Pozzi
Kevin Puleo and Maegan Warehouse
The Reckers Family +
Bob and Raman Sandhu
Tad Swida and Karla McAvoy +
The Shotland Family +
Urban Foundation IV +
Aundra Urban Tomlins ’99 and Owen Tomlins +
Brent and Julianna Velthoen + Brian and Amanda Walter +
Kevin and Susan Wiggen
Robert and Carol Woodward +
The Yau Family + Jun Yuan and Yaqiong Song
James and Mindy Ware
Hanfei Wen and Rong Dong
Brian Wheeler ’93 and Jean Wheeler + George and Lisa Williams
The Wong Family
Andy and Vivian Zhang + Lei Zhang and Haijing Wang + Yaoqiu Zhang and Xin Fu + Yikun and Zhijuan Zhang
Jilin Zhao and Ting Xing
ROUND SQUARE CIRCLE
($1,000-$1,999)
Anonymous (2) + Jamil and Cheryl Akoni
Peter and Tina Andersen + Matthew and Lindsay Archer
Yasunari and Kaori Asakawa
The Advancement office has made best efforts to acknowledge those who supported the school in 2022-23. Please contact Erin Fredrick, Director of Philanthropy, with any errors or omissions: efredrick@athenian.org or 925-362-7252. Thank you!
Douglas Baloun and Traci Huahn + The Beltramo Family +
The Bigglesworth Family Foundation + Matt and Tracey Bracco + Joey Chang and Kae-Chy Chen + Jun Chang Chen and Hongying Wang
Sergey Chernikov and Galina Chernikova + Daniel and Esther Choi +
Brad and Allison Coburn + Kyle and Sarah Cooper
Mary Costantino ’90
David Dase and Jacqueline Flake
Doherty Harbor + Erin Fredrick and Scott Pullman + Anne Gartner
Nikhil Gera and Anjali Apte + Eben Gillette and Kristin Kloberdanz + Matthew and Courtney Griffin
Rohit and Preeti Gupta
The Haynes-Smith Family + Martin and Vicki Higgins
Jennifer Holland ’82
John and Jeanne Hughes
William Hughes ’88 and Jill Hughes + Kevin and Jennifer Jarvis + Jarrett Jern and Leah Millheiser
Parag Kachalia and Charity Duncan Kachalia + Byongkook Kang and Helen Yoon + Pamela Keith and Elizabeth Mahler + Gene and Teresa Kim
Sri and Shruthi Kooturu + William LaFayette and Cindy Ng + The Laudy Family +
Robert and Ruby Lee + Janet and David Leventhal-White + Sergio Ley Acosta and Marisol Sanchez
Wei Li and Daniel Merrill
Xiao Li and Meimei Xu
The Liu Family +
We all have ideals we believe in, which inspire us and reflect our hope for a better future. At Athenian, we bring this future to life through education and the graduates we send forth.
Steven and Chinhuei Ma
Deepak and Pallavi Mehrota
Lizzie Miskovetz ’10 +
David Montgomery and Dawn Huntzinger +
Anthony and Gaea Moore
Karen Kistner Morris ’87 and Steven Morris +
Henri and Lorena Moudi
Richard and Carol Nitz +
Scot and Jong Olivier +
David and Wai Ching Pan +
Matthew Pardini ’98 +
Rahul Parikh and Rina Shah +
Philomel Pena and Jose Rios +
Laxmi and Mani Peri
Steve Podell ’77 and Victoria Podell +
Keith Powell
Junjie Qiao and Yiyuan Mai +
Kartik Raghavan and Meeta Sinha
Nick Rhind ’84 and Lucienne Ronco +
Jaime Rossman ’99 and Sarah Drescher Rossman ’99
Babatunde and Matilda Salako +
Nancy Sheinberg
Andrew and Katie Shogan +
Monica Streifer ’05 and Miles Canaday +
Amy Wong and Sam Tai
Prahalad and Sweta Thota
Xinghui Tian and Xiaoyan Zhang + Srini and Manisha Vedula
David and Leslie Volk
Qin Wang +
Nick and Inga Wemyss
Tsun Yen Weng and Ching Wei Lo
Dean and Wenli Whiteside
Puwen Zhan and Ying Yang
Peng Zhou and Xiaolu Hu
Changqi Zhu and Mingxia Yi + Jianrong Zhu and Huihua Chen
To align fundraising with Athenian’s strategic vision, the giving areas reflect these foundational ideals integral to the school’s mission:
I D E A L S
Caption needed
2022-2023
The Lucas Family + Francesca Molina
ATHENIANS
($500-$999)
Anonymous (3) + +
Alan and Brooke Abola
Patrick Amor ’87 +
Jessie Ang and Allen Ng + Kaushik Bakhandi and Anindita Pal + Rey and Rochelle Baraceros
Ashish and Laxmi Bhat
Dana Brown
Patrick Burklund and Ellen Raber + Fraser and Wendy Coleman + Lisa Collins + Eleanor Dase +
Stephen and Joanna Davenport + Deborah Derana + Samuel Edwards ’95 + Chaz Giles and Angela Conley
Mac Heebner +
Richard and Pat Henry
Joel Herr ’85 and Brooke Vermeer
Hansol Hong ’06 +
The Ingersol Family +
Chandrasekhar and Anitha Iyer + The Karp Family
Andrew and Melissa Katakis
James Kazliner and Rachelle Bacon Kazliner +
Pat Kelly and Jennifer Doebler
Man Kong and Hisako Leung + Lee and Lisa Levy +
Leslie and Craig Lucas +
The Mun Family +
Christian and Erin Myers
Anthony Nguyen and Quynh Tran +
The Nunes Family +
Ashley Olson ’06 +
Joseph Osha and Stephanie Oana
The Palacios Family +
Lauren Railey and Benjamin Ladue +
Amy Rasner Clulow and Michael Clulow
Joshua and Elizabeth Santos
Jeremy Sasson ’07 +
Edward Scherr and Shelly Pozzi +
Charles and Rochelle Shotland +
Dennis and Charlot Singleton
Mark and Alexandra Smith +
Alexander Sprague +
Eric Sprague ’86 and Michelle Sprague
Heinz Steneberg and Sarah Mann +
Scott and Sue Sumner-Moore +
Dr. William Ting and Mrs. Flora Ting +
Robert Tu and Cynthia Wong +
Kai Wang and Yu Zhu
Scott and Megan Ware +
The Widmann Family +
Kris Winer and Rebecca Springmeyer +
Feng Xu and JiaYuan Zhou
Shoshana Ziblatt ’92 +
OWLS (Up to $499)
Anonymous (3) + +
The Ahmed Family
Neddal and Lan Ali-Adeeb +
Bill Ames +
Marie Anderson ’10
Colette Ankenman ’11
Philip and Patricia Apps
Victor and Allison Arroyo
Paul Bajada and Emilia Velasquez-Calderon
Laura Kukulan Baker ’01 + Kalyan Balaven and Fatemeh FarahMandfar + Karel Baloun and Naoko Uehara + Christopher Baxter ’01
Rick Baum and Joelle Deloison
Dora G. Benavides
Derek and Rachel Benham + Roy and Joan Benjamin
2022-23 Annual Fund Ambassadors
We are deeply grateful for our team of parent ambassadors who volunteer their time and talent, connecting with fellow parents to foster community and inspire widespread and generous support
A special thanks to Phil Peña, Annual Fund Chair, who has been an invaluable leader in this role and continues to serve the school as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Eric Anders
Paul Bajada
Lisa Blakely
Casey Conroy
Ginna Girzadas
Mac Heebner
Vicki Higgins
Jill Hughes
Marla Lucas
Maureen Mbadike-Obiora
Jill Miller
Phil Peña
Tony Rios
Jennifer Shaw
Marie Xing
Andy Zhang
Sixth grade art
Veronica Benjamin ’06
Elisabeth and Mehrdad Bertschi + Musadiq Bidar ’10
Barbara Blunden
Cyrus and Shernaz Boga
Box Tops for Education
Serena Brewer ’94 + Daniel Burke ’75 and Virginia Burke + Cesar Callao and Carolina do Val Callao + Andrew and Seema Cameron + Tish Campbell +
Lynne Carberry and Michael Pavitt + Peter and Gabrielle Cavagnaro
Alexander Cerjan ’05
Matthew Chabala ’16 + William Chabala ’18 + John and Susan Chapman
Andrew and Veronica Chen
Tae-Min Chung ’99 + Daniella Cortez Smith ’10 + Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink + James and Anne Cram
Casey and Diana Conroy
Eliot Danner ’02 +
Phillip and Te David
Meadow Davis and Trevor Slater
Caroline and Greg DeBois
The Delgado Family +
Jie Min Deng
Sanjev deSilva
Sharon Drager and Wyit Wright +
Juan and Maria Esquivel + Demarris Evans
Farm Fresh To You LLC
Mark Feuer ’75 +
Lindsay Firth ’95
Matthew Fisher ’90 and Dorothee Fisher
Patrick and Pauline Fong
Richard and Angela Ford + Jennifer Friedman ’97
Nick Gartner
Grace Girzadas ’18
John Goddard ’86 + Toby Goddard ’74 +
Thomas Gold and Lucy Harris
Robert and Maria González
Sriram Gopalakrishnan and Meera Sriram
Howard and Jeremy Gordon
Justin and Bridget Guerra
Warren and Margaret Gutzwiller
Lydia and Ralph Guzman + Yahaira Guzman Vasquez
Phillip and Shari Hadley +
Rachel and Kyle Halliday
Jason Ham and Phoebe Dameron +
The Hasegawa Family +
Jocelyn Leiser Herndon ’90 and Brian Herndon +
Francie Hornstein and Yael Raff Peskin
JianXin Huang and Dongwei Zheng
Ann Jeffries
Gregory and Patricia Jones
Phillip Kerr and Mei Mei Goei
David and Cindy Kersting
Zoe and Walter Klippert
The Kostick Family +
Urvesh and Shashi Kotecha
Rebecca Krisman + LA-Z-Boy Inc
Christopher Lee and Lisa Blakely
Xuming Luo and Xiaoling Tan
Tricia MacIlwaine +
Antonia Mambelli
Kendra Marcus
Anthony and Courtney Marino + Randy B. Markin ’73
Stephen Marotti and Monika Voellm
Christian McCulloch + Emily Hansen McDonnell ’04 and Terry McDonnell
Quincy McLaughlin
Sandra Mercado
Sven and Amy Miller +
Tim and Phyllis Moore
Jeannine Bourhill Morales
Fareed Mosavat and Elizabeth Fox
Rachael Moscato
The Nash Family
Sarah Newsham ’15
Jasmine Ng ’27 + Nicole Ng ’24 +
Lisa Nicolini + Timothy O’Neill ’01 +
Michele Ono ’95 and Farrell Mapp ’96 + Alondra Oubre ’68
Avneesh and Meenal Pant +
Rebecca Potter ’02 + Henry and Gail Pullman
Patricia Raynolds + Dawson Reckers ’17
Lance and Stephanie Regular
Jill Young Rickard ’72
Kimberley Rogers ’86 + Neal Rothman ’74
Mary Ann Sanderson
Damian Schafgans ’99 +
Debbie and John Schafgans + Julirose Schafgans-Enriquez ’96 + Jonathan Schafgans ’09 + Mackenzie Scherr ’15
James and Sandra Schloss
Noelle Schoellkopf and Roger Prince + Kimiko Sera-Tacorda and Ryan Tacorda
Tess Shotland ’22
Gloria Skurski ’69 + Christopher Slattery ’68 + Victor Spano
Patricia Speier and Kathryn Lee
Daniel Sprague
Paul and Jenny Staelin + Holly Stewart ’04 + Kendra Stewart ’00
Margaret Burnette Stogner ’74
Srikanth and Shanti Surapaneni
Tom Swope
Imad Tareen and Elizabeth Amisano + Ehete Tequame + Loren and Carla Terzich + Alfred and Karen Thompson + Karen Florsheim Uhlmann ’74
Willem van Breugel and Imke de Pater + Monique Vegh ’94
Chaohui Wang and Wei Lin
Kedong Wang and Rongyan Liao
Cory Waters + David Waters-Honcu ’02 + Ted and Leah Webb + Jonathan White ’12 + Jeannine Bell Whittaker ’98 and Maurice Whittaker + Sarah Ames Wicker ’05
Thomas Wilkes and Andrea Raith-Wilkes + Beatrice Stark Winslow ’75 and Jonathan Winslow ’77 +
Monika Witte and Charles Cerjan
Timothy and Dana Wong + Megan Christian Wright ’73 + Richard and Darnele Wright
Richu Wu and Fenghua Wang
Matthew Zahner
ANNUAL FUND 2022-2023
Tribute Giving
Thank you to those who made a gift to Athenian in honor or in memory of a loved one.
IN HONOR OF
Munzer and Ruth Afifi
Daniel Burke ’75 and Virginia Burke
Allison Chabala ’23
Mary Francis and Jan Chabala
Matthew Chabala ’16
Mary Francis and Jan Chabala
William Chabala ’18
Mary Francis and Jan Chabala
Kaitlyn Chew ’26
Jie Min Deng
Benjamin Connor ’23
Erika Argueta-Connor and Jeffrey Connor
Hayden Craig ’15
Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink
Kendall Craig ’22
Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink
Sterling Craig ’20
Dawn Craig and Teresa Brink
Julia Espino ’16
Tom Swope
Erin Fredrick
Henry and Gail Pullman
Madeline Gold ’10
Thomas Gold and Lucy Harris
Rachel Halliday
The Artale Family
Bruce Hamren
Justin Gould ’98
Dorian Kolis ’23
Michael and Jessica Kolis
Quincy McLaughlin
Meadow Davis and Trevor Slater
Erin Fredrick and Scott Pullman
Lauren Railey and Benjamin Ladue
Amy Rasner Clulow and Michael Clulow
Shoshana Ziblatt ’92
Eric Feron Niles
Nancy Sheinberg
The Artale Family
The Menzies Family
Violet O’Leary-Liu ’25
Goodwin Liu
Ann O’Leary
Sheryl Petersen
Jennifer Holland ’82
Keith Powell
Sanjev deSilva
Isabelle Prince ’11
Noelle Schoellkopf and Roger Prince
Lauren Railey
The Artale Family
Susan and Mark Reckers
Ross and Elizabeth Lillard
Riley Reynolds ’29
Michael and Rachel Reynolds
Jake Sheinberg ’23
Nancy Sheinberg
Kaissa Smith ’23
The Haynes-Smith Family
Maya Thompson ’20
Alfred and Karen Thompson
Matthew Zahner
The Artale Family
IN MEMORY OF
Judy Ataie
Lynne Carberry and Michael Pavitt
Christy Becker
Rachael Moscato
Dyke Brown
Darrell and Suzanne Brown
Gloria Skurski ’69
Kate Brown
Chris Brown
Darrell and Suzanne Brown
Tish Campbell
Bliss Carnochan
Eleanor Dase
Allie Daneman ’91
Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill
Mary Hafner
Stephen and Joanna Davenport
Susan Kolis
Michael and Jessica Kolis
Scott Leister ’05
The Leister Family
Alexander Cerjan ’05
Jonathan Winslow ’77 and Beatrice
Stark Winslow ’75
Tina Nott
Lynne Carberry and Michael Pavitt
Elinor Brumder Stark
Beatrice Stark Winslow ’75 and Jonathan Winslow ’77
Linda Tobin
Eleanor Dase
Daniel Woolpert ’92
Wendell C. Arnold ’92
Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill
Jincong Zhou
Jiping Fu and Lili Xie
David Ziblatt
Shoshana Ziblatt ’92
Mac Heebner
Students using Athenian’s recording studio during the Athenian Rocks March Term course.
Corporate Matches
A special thanks to those who magnified their impact with a matching gift from their employer, and to the many corporations listed here who supported Athenian in the 20222023 school year.
Abbott Laboratories
AbbVie
AmazonSmile
Andersen Tax
Apple
AT&T
Blue Shield of California
Boeing
Chevron
Dodge & Cox
Equinix
Farm Fresh To You LLC
Genentech
Gilead
Goldman Sachs
Google
IBM
Intel
JPMorgan Chase KKR
Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory
LA-Z-Boy Inc
LinkedIn
Lumen
Microsoft
NetApp
Nordstrom
Novartis
Robert Half International
Ross Stores Salesforce.com
United Health Group (UHG)
Visa
Wells Fargo Bank Workday
Gifts In-Kind
Thank you to everyone who donated goods or services for the benefit of the school and our students this year.
Jessie Ang and Allen Ng
Alex Nebesar ’96
Andrew Seligson
Michael and Tricia Sheinberg
Thank you to the Athenian Parent Association Board and its many volunteers who all work together to foster the parent community. A very special thank you to outgoing APA Treasurer Tracey Bracco. We are incredibly grateful for Tracey’s dedication and leadership on the board.
Athenian Parent Association Board 2022-2023
Leslie Widmann, President
Tracey Bracco, Treasurer
Suzanne Havens-Beckman, Vice-President: Community Events
Megan Ware, Vice-President: Community Engagement
Colleen McClure, Secretary
Lori Anders, US Coordinator
Tricia Singleton, MS Coordinator
Thank you to these APA volunteers:
Marcy Golden & Colleen McClure, Spirit Wear
Julie Dandliker & Julianna Velthoen, Book Group
Tina Andersen & Marisa Wilson, Hiking Group
Lisa Blakely, Boarding Liaison
Josh Beatty & Manu Bedi, Sixth Grade Class Representative
Kristin Johnson & Jami Turner, Seventh Grade Class Representative
Clarissa Ingersol & Angela Shiu, Eighth Grade Class Representative
Abby Boston, Ninth Grade Class Representative
Rochelle Williams, Tenth Grade Class Representative
Quynh Tran, Eleventh Grade Class Representative
Sonia Multani, Twelfth Grade Class Representative
Students in the Game On! March Term course used tools in the CIS to build their new games.
ENDOWMENT AND SPECIAL GIFTS
The Athenian School Endowment
The Athenian Endowment is vital to the long-term financial well-being of the school. Endowment funds are held in long-term investments with the principal remaining untouched while a portion of the annual investment earnings are put toward the school’s operating budget each year. The endowment supports salaries and benefits for faculty and staff, innovating programs and cherished traditions, and financial aid. Endowed funds held by Athenian are named below. Donors who made gifts to these funds in 2022-23 are acknowledged under the fund they supported.
Thank you to those donors who so generously supported the school through gifts to our endowment. These gifts provide an enduring legacy for many future generations of Athenian students.
Unrestricted Endowment
The Athenian Endowment
Pavan Gill ’92 and Raj-Ann Gill
The Torru Family Fund
Endowment Funds for Programs
Campuzano-Scolini Family Fund for Fine Arts ~
Class of 2023 Fund for Experiential Learning § see list on page 40
F. Carl and Katherine H. Dwight Youth Fund for the Arts ~
Edward E. Ford Foundation Fund for International Experiences °
Hartshorne Endowment ^
Walter A. Holt Memorial Fund °
Eleanor Dase
Beatrice Stark Winslow ‘75 and Jonathan Winslow ‘77
Hruska Family Fund for AWE ^
The Lily & Tommy Lee Family Endowment for AWE ^
Scott Leister ‘05 Memorial Fund °
The Leister Family
Beatrice Stark Winslow ‘75 and Jonathan Winslow ‘77
Pillar Endowment for AWE ^
Sugitani Endowment °
The Tower Peak Fund ^
The Harry and Gladys Wistrich Artist in Residence Fund ~
Andrew Wistrich ‘69
Wyrobek Round Square Endowment °
Keenan Wyrobek ‘99
~ Arts
^ Athenian Wilderness Experience
§ Experiential Learning
° Round Square and International Programs
Endowment Funds for Faculty
and Professional Development
Edward E. Ford Foundation Fund for Professional Development
William Kartozian Enrichment Endowment
Endowment Funds for Student Support and Financial Aid
Dyke Brown Scholarship Fund
Darrell and Suzanne Brown
Charles and Susan Nebesar
Beatrice Stark Winslow ’75 and Jonathan Winslow ’77
Kate Brown Endowment Scholarship
Chris Brown
Darrell and Suzanne Brown
Charles and Susan Nebesar
Darren Nebesar-Gross ’91
Beatrice Stark Winslow ’75 and Jonathan Winslow ’77
Mark Carter Scholarship Fund The Carter Family
Ed Ellis Endowed Scholarship Fund
Edward E. Ford Foundation Fund for Historically Underrepresented
Founder’s Oak Endowed Scholarship Fund
Richard Lewis Highsmith II Scholarship Fund
Douglas and Debra Highsmith
The Jung Family Scholarship Fund
The McCoy Family Endowment for Financial Aid
Mike and Mary Ann McCoy
Miskovetz Family Endowment for Financial Aid
Nebesar Family Endowment for Financial Aid
Alex Nebesar ’96
Andersen Tax Matching Gift Program
Charles and Susan Nebesar
Darren Nebesar-Gross ’91
Nicola Place Scholarship Fund Endowment
Oak Tree Scholarship
Saul’s Scholarship
Anonymous
The Isaac Shendell Scholarship Fund
Shendell Foundation
Renewable Support for Financial Aid
Athenian’s $4.2 million commitment to financial aid last year was funded in large part through philanthropy–annual endowment draw, Annual Fund, and annual renewable scholarships. We are grateful to the community for creating greater access to an Athenian education. The renewable scholarships listed below were made possible by donations received last year.
Borchers Family Scholarship
Funds a full scholarship for one student from grades 6-12 who would otherwise not be able to attend Athenian.
The Borchers Family
Quest
Foundation Scholarship
Providing scholarships to Athenian students since 2008, the Quest Foundation has supported tuition for two Athenian students every year.
Quest Foundation
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*
Nancy and Thomas Anderson
Paule Anglim*
Wendell C. Arnold ’92
Dyke and Kate Brown*
David Buchanan ’72
Denis Campbell*
John and Susan Chapman
Kyle and Sarah Cooper
Mary Costantino ’90
Stephen and Joanna Davenport
Samuel Eliot
Allison Fletcher ’96 and Eliot Quataert
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.
Special Gifts
Each year, Athenian receives generous gifts above and beyond the Annual Fund. These gifts help us launch new projects and enhance existing programs. Thank you to the donors listed below, who gave new gifts or fulfilled pledge commitments in 22-23.
Anonymous
ACR Foundation
The Borchers Family Ravikanth Ganapavarapu
Justin Gould ’98
Chris and Colleen McClure
Michael and Tricia Sheinberg
Andrew and Katie Solomon
James Sternberg and Kathleen Huntington
Kai Wang and Yu Zhu
The Senior Parent Gift in Honor of the Class of 2023
Class of 2023 Fund for Experiential Learning
Building on a new tradition at Athenian, the Class of 2023 families established a new endowed fund dedicated to experiential learning. This collective effort from the families of the graduating class of 2023 honors the legacy of the inspiring, unique, memorable Class of 2023 and their experiences at Athenian. Year after year, this fund will provide opportunities unique to Athenian that benefit all students. Now alumni, the Class of 2023 can continue to build this fund and increase Athenian’s capacity to provide these deeply meaningful experiences to future generations.
This is Athenian’s first dedicated experiential learning endowed fund and pays tribute to Athenian’s unique approach to education. This fund will serve as both an enduring legacy of the Class of 2023 and will provide unforgettable experiences for future generations of Owls.
Thank you, Class of 2023 families!
SENIOR PARENT GIFT COMMITTEE
Cyrus and Shaney Boga
Mary Francis and Jan Chabala
Koren Clark
David and Beth Cutrer
Ginna and Jason Girzadas
Peter and Julie Gutzwiller
Bill Hughes ’88 and Jill Hughes
Ernest and Marisa Johnson
Jeff and Cindy Liu
Neil Menzies
Sonia and Gary Multani
Bryna Winchell Ross ’84 and Daryl Ross
Hamish and Jennifer Shaw
Michael and Tricia Sheinberg
Ways to Give
Give Online
Fill out our secure online form via athenian.org/giving to make an Annual Fund gift of any amount. You can even set up a monthly recurring gift to make your gift over time.
Mail a Check
Checks should be made payable to The Athenian School and mailed to:
The Athenian School Advancement Office
2100 Mt. Diablo Scenic Blvd Danville, CA 94506
Don’t forget to include your contact information so we may thank you!
Gifts of Appreciated Securities
Giving stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares is easy and can come with significant tax benefits. Contact Advancement by emailing give@athenian.org for instructions.
In-Kind Donations Donating goods or services to Athenian.
Matching Gifts Double your donation! Many companies will match their employees’ charitable contributions. Check with your employer to see if your company will consider matching your gift.
Planned gifts or bequests Planned gifts may consist of cash, securities, life insurance proceeds, real estate, and/or personal property.
To discuss any of these options, please contact Erin Fredrick, Director of Philanthropy at 925-362-7252.
THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS
Anonymous (2)
Erika Argueta-Connor and Jeffrey Connor
Cyrus and Shernaz Boga in honor of Milan Boga
Chevron
Fraser and Wendy Coleman
Alex Copeland and Eileen Beall
John Cui and Hong Dan
David and Beth Cutrer
Meadow Davis and Trevor Slater
Ira and Rochelle Dorf
Juan and Maria Esquivel
Mintao Fan and Yuanhui Wang
Mary Francis and Jan Chabala in honor of Allison Chabala
Nikhil Gera and Anjali Apte
Jason and Ginna Girzadas
Eliot Greenfield and Pilar Beccar-Varela
Peter and Julie Gutzwiller
Jonathan and Heather Hackman
The Hasegawa Family in honor of The Class of 2023
William Hughes ’88 and Jill Hughes
Chandrasekhar and Anitha Iyer
Ernest and Marisa Johnson
Byongkook Kang and Helen Yoon in honor of Chloe Kang
Steven and Gail Kang
Michael and Jessica Kolis in honor of Dorian E. Kolis
The Liu Family
Nassir Makhmoud and Valentina Kireyeva in honor of Nicolas Kireyev
Chris and Colleen McClure
The Menzies Family in honor of Eric Niles
Gurpreet and Kuljeet Multani
The Mun Family
Tina and Nathaniel Murphy in honor of Tess Murphy
Charles and Lucila Nwatu
Philomel Pena and Jose Rios
Junjie Qiao and Yiyuan Mai
Robert Half International
Hamish and Jennifer Shaw
Michael and Tricia Sheinberg
Mark and Alexandra Smith
Tad Swida and Karla McAvoy
Amy Wong and Sam Tai
Thomas Wilkes and Andrea Raith-Wilkes
The Wong Family
Timothy and Dana Wong
Alumni Reunion
It was wonderful to see so many alumni from all years at Reunion both virtually and in person in June 2023. Your stories are a welcome bridge between the past and present. Thanks to those who made the trip, took the time, and sent warm wishes from a distance.
We hope you’ll join us next year! Return to campus and reconnect with classmates, friends, and teachers. Reunion is open to everyone, every year. Mark your calendar for June 8, 2024.
Current and former faculty and staff gathered at Reunion to see alumni and bid a fond farewell to longtime colleagues Charlie Raymond and Chris Beeson.
Members of the Class of 1993 reminisced about life in the dorms and caught up with Dick Bradford.
The Class of 2018 had a great turnout and ended their evening with a sunset hike up to the swing overlooking campus.
Rob Steller ’75, Nicola Place ’76, and Chris Beeson enjoyed time together at Reunion, which also celebrated Chris’ retirement after 30 years in Admission at Athenian. Thank you and congratulations, Chris!
S’mores bring out the smiles! It was great to see some of our most recent graduates at Reunion. Pictured here: Chad McElroy ’22, Matthew Ambrose ’22, and Aarav Srivastav ’22.
Wendy Zimmerman Price ’73, George Prince ’72, Claudia Finkle ’73, along with several other classmates from the 70s, returned to campus for Reunion.
