Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2021–2022

From left to right:

David Abernathy Aimee Aikin Alexandre Bayen Christine Beliveau Antoine Carrière

Alexandra Erman Emma Gimon Rhonda Goldstein Gaëlle Gordon Pria Hidisyan

Jean-Philippe Kouakou-

Zebouah Chloe Le Marchand Steve Levine Mark McPherson Sébastien Robert

Kristen Sidell Hannah Stott-Bumsted Nick Waugh Mark Westover Anne Kuhry Heather McWhinney

Frédéric Jung, Consul Général de France Olivier-Antoine Reynes, Consul Général Adjoint Juliette Donadieu, Attachée Culturelle

Pria Hidisyan, Co-Chair Mark Westover, Co-Chair Antoine Carrière, Member at Large of ExComm Nick Waugh, Treasurer; Finance Chair David Abernathy Aimee Aikin, PA Anglophone Co-President Alexandre Bayen Christine Beliveau Alexandra Erman Emma Gimon Rhonda Golstein Gaëlle Gordon Jean-Philippe Kouakou-Zebouah Chloe Le Marchand Steve Levine Mark McPherson Sébastien Robert, Head of School Kristen Sidell Hannah Stott-Bumsted Anne Kuhry, Faculty Participant Heather McWhinney, Faculty Participant Florence Zakharov, PA Francophone Co-President (joined the Board mid-year)

INCOMING TRUSTEES 2022–2023

Thierry Durandard retired as Lower School Head in 2018 after working for 30 years at the school, first as a teacher and Director of Admissions, and then as Lower School Head from 2001 to 2018. Thierry is passionate about education, and firmly believes in educating the whole child in their academic, physical, social and emotional dimensions to become a well-rounded and balanced individual who can adapt to any environment. Education is a journey with its joys and at times its struggles, which are actually learning opportunities with proper support and encouragement. Thierry lives with his partner Rick, two dogs and three horses. He spends most of his time caring for the animals and experimenting with permaculture on his property in the Oakland Hills. He is the godfather to two EB students. Brooke Howell is a litigation attorney, working in the housing sector for more than a decade. She earned her Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law where she was recognized as a Merit Fellow and Dean’s Public Interest Law Fellow. She also earned her Bachelor of Arts from Howard University, where she was on the Dean’s List and was a Howard University Trustee Scholarship awardee. Brooke and her husband have one child at EB.

Valla Vakili is a digital executive and entrepreneur with a career spanning financial services, digital media, and technology. He currently leads the Venture Innovation team at Citi, developing products and services that meet the changing needs of people and communities in 21 st century economies. Valla is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and conducted doctoral research at St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford. He and his wife, Sheida, have one child at EB. Florence Zakharov joins the Board of Trustees as the EB Parents Association’s Francophone Co-President for the 2022–2023 school year. Originally from French Polynesia, Flo came to the US in 2001 to pursue a Ph.D in Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Purdue University, IN. She moved west to California in 2006 and was a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis for 15 years, where she researched the inner workings of flavor development in fruits. More recently, Flo decided to rekindle her lifelong passion for flowers and follow her artistic aspirations as a floral designer and ikebana practitioner. She is regularly invited to showcase collaborative work with fellow ikebana artists at the DeYoung Museum Bouquets to Art annual exhibit. Flo and her husband Valera have two children at EB.