Spring/Summer 2025: Reflecting on Civil Rights

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Reflecting on Civil Rights

Students travel to the cradle of the Movement for deeper understanding

made you look

A WIDER LENS

Piper’s Creek empties into Puget Sound through the beach at Carkeek Park. In April, Lakeside 8th graders — just specks, themselves, from a certain perspective — sifted and filtered beach sand looking for evidence of microplastics. The servicelearning project at the beach, designed by science teacher Patricia Kennedy and overseen by Kennedy and science department colleague Kiki Contreras ’08, marked the first step in the contaminantsampling process. Most of the analysis would take place back in the classroom, beneath the lens of a microscope.

In addition to the science rotation, students chose among special classes taught at Carkeek by other 8th-grade teachers (creative writing, yoga, math in nature…). The drone photos on this page were shot by students in the nature photography section, led by history teacher and horizon-broadening photographer Scott Malagold.

TALK TO US

We welcome your suggestions and letters. Reach us at magazine@ lakesideschool.org; via social media; or Lakeside Magazine, 14050 1st Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 981253099.

FIND US Facebook facebook.com/lakesideschool Instagram @Lakeside. Lions

Lakeside magazine is published twice yearly by the communications office of Lakeside School. Views presented in the magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the school.

COVER STORY

From Seattle to Selma 28

Lasting impressions from the Civil Rights tour.

PhotographsbyRickcheleMalone, CailynC ’26,andEfeElaiho’25

FEATURES

TheAndromeda Project 20

The school was struggling to find an affordable — and equitable — way to provide access to the tools of AI. The students had a plan.

’25

Lakeside’s Climate Catalysts 22

What will it take to mitigate the worst impacts of the deepening climate crisis? Nine alums offer parts of the answer.

By Wudan Yan

Solving the Schedule Problem 34

In this excerpt from his recently published memoir, Bill Gates recalls the maddeningly difficult math challenge that changed the course of tech history.

By Bill Gates ’73

DEPARTMENTS

INSIDE LAKESIDE

Campus Briefs 3

Quoted: Johnaye Kendrick 3

The Aquariums 4 '25 Commencement 6

Lakeside

Sketchbook 7

The Downtown School at the Opera 8

Concert & Construction 9

The Student Body 10

Athletics 12

Student Showcase 14

Advancement News, 2025 Lectures 15

Faculty & Staff Notes 16

From the Archives 17

Farewells 18

Distinguished Service Award 19

ALUM NEWS

Events 38

Class

Connections 39

On the cover: Rahamatou Maurou-Dikeni ’25 takes a moment on the bridge where freedom marchers marched in 1965. Photograph by Rickchele Malone.

LAKESIDE MAGAZINE STAFF

EDITOR Jim Collins

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Amanda Darling ALUM

RELATIONS NEWS

Amanda Campbell

ART DIRECTOR

Carol Nakagawa

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Lorelei Schwarz '25

WRITERS

Kai Bynum, Mike Lengel, Timothy D ’27, Brian Crawford, WudanYan, Reagan Ricker’25, LeslieSchuyler,Rohan Dhillon’25, BillGates’73, VivianAnderson’24, AmandaCampbell, EmersonK ’27,David Halpern’73,AstraTaylor, MatthewK ’28

PHOTOGRAPHERS & ARTISTS

RickcheleMalone,Tom Reese,EliaichiKimaro, JenniferKienzle, DavidO. Smith’04,PaulDudley, KatieM Simmons,Daniel Wang’25,LiaShepler’25, FredBirchman,Ema Peter,Beniam Yetbarek, Cailyn C ’26,EfeElaiho ’25, ChiKrneta, MattLever, JordanKines

COPY EDITOR

Mark Watanabe

PROOF READERS

Kathleen Triesch Saul

Judy Bauer

Leading in the Age of AI

IN

EVERY GENERATION, there are moments when the landscape of learning begins to shift — quietly at first, and then all at once. At Lakeside, we are experiencing one of those moments now. Artificial intelligence, long the subject of distant speculation, is here. It is already reshaping the way we communicate, create, and think. And rather than approach this moment with anxiety or avoidance, as a school we are choosing to meet it with curiosity, joy, and resolve.

Artificial intelligence — once the province of science fiction — has become an increasingly present force in our daily lives. Its influence can be felt across fields as diverse as medicine, the arts, public policy, and commerce. As with every technological advancement of consequence, education has not remained untouched.

Faced with this moment, schools have responded in markedly different ways. Some have sought to restrict access altogether, hoping to preserve traditional academic norms and hesitant to engage a tool whose implications remain, in many ways, uncharted. Others run the risk of adopting AI as a trendy new toy without taking the time to ground their approach in deeply held values. But a third path — more uncertain, perhaps, but ultimately more courageous — has involved leaning in, with eyes open, and a willingness to learn alongside our students.

Lakeside has chosen this third path.

enthusiastic and illuminating.

We’ve now established Lakeside’s AI curriculum, grounded in our values and designed to serve three audiences. For students, we aim to nurture creativity, inquiry, and discernment as they learn with and alongside AI. For teachers, we provide tools, training, and a shared ethical framework to support teaching and professional learning. And for families, we offer guidance and conversation about how AI intersects with child development, safety, and growth at home.

This work is still emerging, and we approach it with humility. AI raises profound questions about authorship, truth, justice, and the future of knowledge itself. Yet we are also filled with hope. There is joy in watching students imagine what’s possible, in seeing teachers discover new strategies, and in building a community willing to adapt together, thoughtfully and boldly.

We do so not out of a fascination with novelty, but from a deep sense of responsibility. Our mission calls us to prepare students for lives of purpose — lives that will unfold in a world where artificial intelligence is neither fleeting nor peripheral. If we are to educate young people with integrity, we must help them understand this technology, navigate it ethically, and use it in service of thoughtful inquiry and human flourishing.

This year, a spirit of innovation and student leadership helped launch our AI initiative. A group of Upper School students developed a platform called Andromeda, which made AI tools, including ChatGPT, accessible to their peers while on campus. Their work set the tone: AI is not simply a new tool to be managed and regulated, but a powerful resource to be explored with intention and equity. Inspired by their efforts, we introduced a pilot program giving every Upper School student and teacher access to ChatGPT-4.0. Participation was optional, but the engagement has been

As we look ahead, our commitment to educational excellence, a core focus of our strategic plan, calls us to engage fully with the world our students are inheriting — including the complex and exhilarating landscape of artificial intelligence. To prepare students for a meaningful future means helping them understand not only how AI works, but how we might live with it wisely, creatively, and ethically. It is our privilege and responsibility to have these deep conversations about how to use AI in service of our shared humanity, rather than to devalue or replace the human. Therefore, with curiosity and care, we go forward — embracing not just a new technology, but a new opportunity to learn, lead, and imagine together.

Photo: Jennifer Kienzle (Kendrick)
Eliaichi Kimaro
“Full of Potential” (2024) Oil & cold wax, 48 x 36 x 2 in.

Campus Briefs

STUDENTS INSPIRE LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Indigenous Student Alliance leaders Sophia David ’25 and Makalika P ’27 played an instrumental role in Lakeside formally adopting a land acknowledgment this spring. “[A] land acknowledgment would demonstrate Lakeside’s allyship towards the Indigenous communities in our region,” the students proposed; it’s also an opportunity for Lakeside to deepen connections with tribes and examine how to integrate Indigenous culture and history in programs. Sophia and Makalika’s work builds on the efforts of multiple students, faculty, and staff, in particular, Avery Alohalani Kamalu ’23.

WeacknowledgethatLakesideSchoolresidesonthe landsoriginallyinhabitedandstewardedbytheCoast Salishpeople,thefirstpeopleoftheselandsandthecaretakersofitsincetimeimmemorial.Weacknowledgethe immense,immeasurable,andoftenunrecognizedcontributionsoftheCoastSalishandIndigenousPeoples, whilealsorecognizingtheinequality,racism,andpoliticalmarginalizationtheycontinuetofacetoday

Thelandacknowledgmentwillbespokenat events andappearinwrittenforminschoolpublications.

BUSKERFEST

Middle Schoolers this year carried on the spring tradition of Buskerfest, an annual performing arts celebration full of creative spirit. Scattered throughout the school, seventh and eighth graders performed a wide variety of acts of their own devising, courting roving audiences of adults and younger students. In the spirit of street buskers, each act also “passed the hat” at the end of their show, collecting colorful paper Buskerbucks from the crowd. Shaped by students’ passions, talents, and sense of whimsy, acts each year range from the traditional — a string quartet, a singing performance — to the wildly inventive, featuring everything from haunted houses to interactive murder mysteries to live-action Mario Kart. It’s a playful year-end take on arts performance that the whole Middle School can enjoy together: immersive, interactive, and authentic to the personalities of the young artists.

CURRENT EVENTS SYMPOSIUM

In April, the Upper School history and social sciences department hosted a symposium designed to build students’ understanding of the evolving

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— Grammy Award-winning vocalist Johnaye Kendrick, who worked with Lakeside’s jazz and choir students and then performed in concert with them in April. (You can use the QR code to watch and hear the show.) “
Sharing the stage with these talented students reminded me why I fell in love with jazz in the first place. Their energy and openness to the music was truly inspiring.”

TEACHING TOOLS

The Aquariums of Lakeside

BEHIND THE LUMINOUS green pearlweed and brightly striped orange clownfish, each of Lakeside’s eight aquariums is involved in some form of education.

Half of the aquariums reside in the Upper School ceramics studio in the Pigott Family Arts Center. Visual Arts Department Head Jacob Foran began an aquascaping project with his students two years ago after one of them, Terese Palomino ’24, curiously asked if she could make a sculpture for a fish tank. “I thought, I would really love to do that,” says Foran.

Foran’s hobby seeped into both his office and the studio. In the studio, iridescent cardinal tetras and tiny endlers dash around a 29-gallon tank.

A larger tank — the centerpiece of the aquascape project — features striped tiger barbs from Sumatra swimming among the “ruins” of a submerged terra cotta castle. The art students continue to design and sculpt monuments to be engulfed, while learning the ecology of maintaining an aquarium. Seniors this year have embarked on a new project to create giant pottery fishbowls.

The Upper School’s biggest tank, in the Allen Gates building, has a murky background. It thanks its existence to a generous donation from “a group of Lakeside doctors’ families,” as described in a document from a dossier on the tank. At about 240 gallons (numbers from the document vary), it has historically housed koi, carp, black orandas, calico telescopes — and today hosts African cichlids and a shy catfish. It was once used for a biology class to study native fish.

At the Middle School, two hallway tanks once housed pacu — cousins to piranhas. The twin aquariums now house turtles: red-eared sliders Roxie, Barbie, Cuff, and Link. Science teacher Patricia Kennedy recently made a few upgrades as the new keeper, taking over

from longtime overseer (and science department colleague) Antonio Hopson. She retrofitted the old, homemade filtration system, added an above-water platform and heat lamps for terrapin tanning time, and introduced fresh fruits and vegetables from the cafeteria salad bar. The new digs are less crowded and more natural than the plastic classroom tubs the turtles moved from.

“I noticed that we need to be modeling good animal care,” Kennedy explains. “So I filled out a [Lakeside Educator Innovation Fund] grant request explaining why the turtles need to be in a better habitat.” In the new location, students can interact more with the turtles, including

feeding them. Along with requesting the grant, Kennedy has also written an ecology unit slated for next year that revolves around turtle interaction.

As part of a personal research project, Kennedy also keeps a saltwater tank in her classroom for aquaponics. She has attempted to grow tomatoes, kale, and spinach — with limited success, she confesses, as saltwater aquaponics isn’t as developed as its freshwater counterpart. Anemones, starfish, and clownfish inhabit the tank below the vegetables. A group of 6th and 7th graders currently helps maintain the tank.

— Timothy Dong ’27
Photos: Tom Reese

CAMPUS BRIEFS

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American political landscape. Teachers offered topic-specific sessions that drew on their areas of expertise, including trade policies and tariffs; immigration; foreign policy; natural resource management, and the judicial system.

“We hoped that students would be engaged, but we didn’t realize how enthusiastic they would be to discuss the topics,” said department chair Emily Pace. The direct impact of the policies on students’ lives was palpable. “Everything is connected locally,” one student noted, “[from] employment [to] UW to NOAA and Harborview.”

HARD HAT TOURS

While the new academic building on the Upper School campus remains on schedule for a 2026 opening, Upper and Middle school students in this year’s Summer at Lakeside programs are taking advantage of the work in progress to learn from the on-site professionals about green design and the construction process. The Lakeside Summer Institute class on architecture and engineering will also meet with architects and builders on the project and take a field trip to LMN Architects’ downtown headquarters. Says Director of Summer at Lakeside Kat Yorks, “The experts working on this project have been unbelievably generous with their time. They’re passionate about educating the next generation about all that goes into a project of this magnitude.”

The 100th Commencement

ROUND NUMBERS — and celebration — were in the air at Lakeside on June 10, as the school celebrated its graduating Class of 2025 in its 100th commencement ceremony.

Maintenance foreman and former drama instructor Rob Burgess, who would receive the Willard J. Wright ’32 Distinguished Service Award later that afternoon (see page 19), brought the seniors together in Red Square. High above them in the bell tower of Bliss Hall, Burgess rang the “Victory Bell” for the final commencement of his 47-year career.

Lisa Haug ’75 had the honor of carrying her class banner as she and a cohort of 50th-reunion classmates led the procession to the Quad, marching in time to the familiar cadence of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance No. 1.”

In the shade of an immense white tent, before classmates and hundreds of family members, three student speakers drew on themes of tenderness and connection. Class president Rohan Dhillon said, “Trust who you have become. Trust what the last two, four, or eight years have molded you into.”

Class speaker Mary Yacob drew a personal connection from a literary insight she’d had in English teacher Ustad Berrada’s class. “Ustad taught me that a book is more than just its own collection of

ideas, but also everything that built those ideas,” she said. “Just like the books, whose context made each and every takeaway what they are, so, too, are all of us shaped by the ones around us and made better for it.” Class speaker Coulter Dearie recalled how a small act of kindness from a senior made all the difference for him when he was a 9th grader.

In his third Lakeside valediction, Bynum spoke directly to the graduates, thanking them for the kindness and goodness they’d demonstrated and modeled.

The sense of round numbers and celebration followed the newly minted class of alums as they paraded from beneath the tent, diplomas in hand, past applauding staff, faculty, and well-wishers. Perhaps ringing in their ears was the almost-unbelievable statement made during the ceremony by Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alum Board Chair Nate Benjamin ’07. He had welcomed the graduates into the ranks of the school’s alums, and said they could look forward to returning here for their own 50th reunion — in 2075.

On the green grass at the north end of the Quad, in brilliant sunshine, the Class of 2025 pulled in close, together for one last time. At the count of three, they flung their caps into the air, and cheered.

THIS VIEW of Bliss Hall in afternoon shadow has captured my imagination since I first painted the scene as a student, in 2004 — the contrast of clock tower against sky, the Quad’s blazing green-yellow reflected light. I had dreamed about revisiting the scene. This past spring, I got the chance. I don’t usually paint such complete framework for architecture, but a portrait merits precision treatment.

It was luck that the two figures (Jamie Asaka ’96 and Amanda Darling) came along and sat where they did and when. Along with a sense of scale, they reinforce the heart of the portrait, which isn’t classrooms or architecture. They allowed me to capture not a building but a moment, in spring sunlight.

— David Orrin Smith ’04 (DavidOSmithArtist.com)

Students in the Class of 2025 bask in a senior moment: on a bright afternoon on the Quad, a ceremony of endings and beginnings filled with reflection and proud accomplishment.
Hear Smith talk about his art.

The Downtown School Goes to the Opera

AKEY QUESTION guiding the curricula at The Downtown School is: “Why does this matter?” Research shows that when students see the relevance of their learning, their engagement and learning increase. In practice, this means that we use poetic analysis techniques to identify media bias. We study narrative archetypes to understand real-life challenges. And we use theater as a means to learn how to pitch ideas to professionals to market a product.

For the past four years, English students at The Downtown School have taken this last skill into the world through

a partnership with the Seattle Opera. Rather than engaging in traditional literary class discussions, students address three practical questions: (1) How can a play or novel — such as August Wilson’s “Fences,” Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” or Henri Murger’s “Scenes of a Bohemian Life” — be made relevant to teen audiences? (2) How can we translate words on a page into set design, costume design, or marketing strategy? (3) With little time and a limited budget, how can I sell an idea to professionals?

Students work in teams to adapt plays into prospective opera productions. They create miniature sets, costume designs, and marketing campaigns, all based upon textual evidence. Then, under bright lights inside a commodious rehearsal room at the Seattle Opera, they pitch their proposals — think “Shark Tank” — to members of the opera’s staff, sometimes including the executive director. With just two minutes and without notes, students must persuade these professionals to “invest” in their production. The opera staff then provides public feedback to our young entrepreneurs on everything from budget constraints to sightlines to advertising effectiveness.

For the Seattle Opera, this project is a way to create future operagoers and to get a glimpse into Gen Z sensibilities. “It’s an event our staff looks forward to every year,” says Sara Litchfield, associate director of youth programs. “Partnerships like this are imperative to keeping the performing arts alive and thriving in the Puget Sound region.”

The thoughtful, detailed presentations provide exciting insight to the next generation of designers and arts professionals. Sometimes, even seasoned performers themselves take notice — such as premier tenor Frederick Ballentine, who was thrilled upon discovering he’d been “cast” by students in their proposed operatic retelling of August Wilson’s “Fences.”

— Brian Crawford

To learn more about The Downtown School: downtownschoolseattle.org/ head-welcome

Photos: Tom Reese (top, left); Opposite: Katie M. Simmons (concert); Daniel Wang ’25 (beam)
Two would-be entrepreneurs from The Downtown School pitch their plan to Seattle Opera staff. For the opera: insights into Gen Z tastes.
A mocked-up social media campaign included this promotion.
This “poster” was part of the digital marketing plan selling the idea of August Wilson’s play-reimagined-as-opera.

WARM TONES On a snowy evening in February, a standingroom-only audience in McKay Chapel enjoyed a rare treat: a candlelit evening of chamber music. Students in the Upper School orchestra planned, rehearsed, staged, and performed the concert nearly entirely on their own. The two-hour program included compositions spanning two centuries, from classical works by Mozart and Schubert to the hauntingly beautiful “Waltz. No. 2” by Sovietera Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

The “nearly entirely” part acknowledges the behind-the-scenes guidance and support from music teacher Erica Johansen — plus a

rare treat the students had enjoyed themselves before the performance: two days of master classes and individual feedback from the members of the internationally acclaimed Apple Hill String Quartet from Nelson, New Hampshire. During their time at Lakeside, the quartet also performed at a Middle School assembly. Johansen plans to make the luminous event an annual addition to the school’s music performances. In the photo above, Julia H ’27 (violin), Anjali Walsh ’25 (viola), Christina L ’26 (cello), Kellen H ’26 (bass), and Princeton K ’28 (piano) are shown performing Schubert’s “Trout Quintet” in A major.

SIGNATURE MOMENT In March, seniors Ozzie Ribas and Preston Takayama made their mark on Lakeside, adding their signatures to one of the iron I beams that became a part of the new Upper School academic building currently under construction. In the topping out ceremony, that final beam, signed by Upper and Middle School students, employees, and the project team, was lifted into place at the top of the structure, with a (stuffed) lion along for the ride. The Lakeside spin on the tradition marked a milestone moment: the completion of the building’s skeleton and a transition to installing exterior walls and windows. The building is officially scheduled to open for classes in the 20262027 school year.

The Student

This past spring, seniors representing the school’s 26 varsity sports stopped by the photography studio on the lower level of the Pigott Family Arts Center to have their “Media Day” portraits taken. The images, shot on seamless backgrounds by Lia Shepler ’25 under the direction of photo teacher Christian Willis, will appear over the coming year in Lakeside Athletics social media posts. Athletes from the Class of 2025 who power posed for the camera included (back) Lucy Carpenter (girls soccer); Whitney Shearer, Kate Yee, Josie Hipps (girls lacrosse): Ulee Klebeck (cross-country and track and field); Alana Hampton (girls flag football); Rohan Dhillon (tennis); Akal Solomon (girls swim and dive); Jimmy Porter (football); Victoria Gao (volleyball). (Front): Miles Lamble (boys Ultimate); Sophia David (girls basketball); Henry Dejanikus (baseball).

Student Body

Photo collage by Mike Lengel

ATHLETICS inside lakeside

The Scorecard

More Metro Championships, near-misses at State, and a slew of new school records

GIRLS SWIM and dive dominated the headlines of the fall season with an undefeated Metro League record. That momentum carried them into the postseason, where they took home their 13th straight Metro championship title (winning eight of the 12 events at that meet) and a third-place finish at the 3A state championship meet. The 200-freestyle relay team broke the school, district, and state record (1:34.79),andseniorEllaJablonskiwas the state champion in the 100-yard butterflyforthefourthyearinarow.

The girls golf team took sixth place at the Sea-King District 2 tournament inthefallandwasofftothestatetournament on May 20 and 21.

In the winter season, girls basketball advanced all the way to the state championship game in the Tacoma Dome. They fell to un-defeated Central Valley High School by just five points.

Senior Willa Chinn was named Washington State 3A Player of the Year after an impressive senior season that saw her break the school records for assists in a game (14), season (164), and career (502). She’s off to play at CornellUniversitynextseason.

Boys swim and dive took third place at the state meet, and the team was highlighted by Charlie C. ’28, who broke three school records, two Metro League records, and one Sea-King District 2 record. The 400 freestyle relay team raced a 3:07.43 at state, a Lakeside record.

Senior wrestler Gabe MudgeBurns took third place in his weight class at the Metro championships, and placed fifth at the state tournament, the first Lakeside wrestler to place at state since 2012. He also broke the Lakeside recordformostwinsinaseason(38).

Updates for spring teams

News and information on all Lakeside teams can be found on X at @LakesideLions, and on Instagram at @LionDenLakeside.

In the spring, girls tennis took home a Metro League championship trophy, and nine members of the boys and girls teams are headed to the state tournament as of this writing.

Girls lacrosse was ranked as high as seventh in the state, running their

season all the way to the state quarter-finals. Standout sophomore Sophia S. was named to the allWashington team and competed in a national tournament over Memorial Day weekend.

Track and field sent 13 Lakeside athletes and relay teams to compete

Collages by Mike Lengel

in 24 events at the Sea-King District2championshipmeet.

BoyslacrosseupsetBishopBlanchet in an 8-7 win that saw the Lions climb back from a 1-6 deficit; they also bested Bainbridge Island High School early in the season to keep control of the Gleason Cup, a trophy the two rivals compete for every year.

Seniors Teddy Tokheim, Efe Elaiho, Ella Jablonski, Kira Morton, Willa Chinn, and Ulee Klebeck were named Lakeside’s Metro League Scholar Athletes, nominatedbytheircoachesforoutstanding leadership, unwavering good judgment as role models, their service toourcommunity,andtheirstrong performance in the classroom and on their teams.

Assistant Strength and ConditioningCoachEricaPitmanwonthe Harry Swetnam Award, given to a Lakeside community member each year in recognition of outstanding servicetoLakesideAthletics.

Mike Lengel is the assistant director of athletics and creative content director for Lakeside Athletics. Contact him at athleticsdept@lakesideschool.org.

Flag football photo: Tom Reese

Flag Football: “Just getting started…”

IT HAD BEEN a long season for the Lakeside girls flag football team, but they had the chance to make it even longer. With the topranked defense and the third-ranked offense in the league, the team, winners of six of their past eight games, was riding high. As they prepared for their Metro tournament opener in late January, head coach and Middle School Assistant Director Jesus Soler gathered his players together for a final pep talk. “We’ve already made history by being the first flag football team at Lakeside,” he told them. “Let’s make history by being the first champions.”

While the team’s inception was no easy feat — a multiyear process to secure funding and work out travel and game logistics with limited field availability at Lakeside — the introduction of the school’s 26th varsity sport came at the right time. Over the past few years, flag football had been gaining momentum in western Washington, where some 80 programs now compete across six leagues. When the new sport was announced at Lakeside last fall, 67 girls signed up.

But turning that enthusiasm into a competitive team required more than just numbers — it needed the right leadership. Luckily for Lakeside, “I couldn’t have dreamed of a better coaching staff,” as Director of Athletics Chris Hartley put it. Indeed, four dedicated, passionate coaches stepped up. Lakeside alum and defensive captain Emma Every ’15 drove 13 hours straight from her medical residency in Wyoming to surprise players one weekend. Upper School physics teacher Joe Milliano brought a lifetime interest in football to his coaching. Upper School receptionist (and former player) Michele Clark’s sideline spirit became a staple. Coach Soler — the only one of the four with prior experience coaching flag football — saw the opportunity as a chance to

change the “terrible sports culture” that he had seen in other places and do it in a “low-stakes but high-fun sort of environment.”

That commitment, shared across the coaching staff, wasn’t lost on the players. As quarterback Addie Streidl ’25 said of Soler: “It was amazing. I don’t think I’ve had a coach that cared that much and made me feel [like] he wanted us obsessed as much as he did.”

Though they didn’t advance past the opening round of the Metro tournament, the inaugural Lakeside’s girls flag football team will be remembered in the history books. As the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association prepares to vote next year on the official recognition of flag football, there’s no telling how far the Lakeside girls flag program can go. After all, Coach Soler isn’t willing to give up on his dream of being state champions just yet. “I really do think the sky’s the limit,” he said. “I want to be the best team in Metro, hands down.”

Streidl agreed. “I think we’re just getting started.”

Reagan Ricker ’25

Joe Milliano, Jesus Soler, Emma Every ’15, and Michele Clark led a successful debut of the Lakeside flag football team. Nearly 70 girls signed up to try out for the team last fall.

STUDENT SHOWCASE

It’s a rite of springtime — at the end of the painting unit in Suzanne Granger’s 6th-grade art class — for students to leave a permanent mark on the Middle School. Working together, students break down a piece of artwork into a grid of tiles, then they paint and align their individual pieces, mixing and matching colors, re-assembling them into a cohesive whole. Known as the “6th Grade Mural,” the completed work shows up (magically, to the students, but actually thanks to the maintenance staff and its Genie lift) on a wall of the cafeteria, joining others from years and decades past. Granger inherited the custom when she joined the faculty in 2001, and has overseen it each year since — except for the remote and hybrid spell during the high pandemic. The students who missed their chance, then, got a re-do as 8th graders — and created an especially fearsome Lakeside lion for the Middle School gym.

Photos: Tom Reese
2023, Class of 2027
2004, Class of 2010
2021, Class of 2029
2015, Class of 2021
2022, Class of 2028

IN COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS across the country, “advancement” is the integrated work of development, enrollment management, external relations, communications, and alum relations to support and sustain a school’s long-term vitality. With the retirement of Director of Development Daiga Galins (see page 18), Head of School Kai Bynum took the opportunity to reshape how these staff offices at Lakeside collaborate.

Wellesley L. Wilson is stepping into a new role, overseeing the enrollment and philanthropy teams as the director of institutional advancement, while Christine Lessard will join the school as the director of institutional philanthropy. “We are fortunate to have two steady and experienced leaders to contribute their wisdom and insight,” noted Bynum.

A nationally respected figure in the field of enrollment management, Wilson has spearheaded multiple initiatives at Lakeside, both as director of admissions and financial aid and a member of the senior leadership team. Lessard’s deep experience in philanthropy spans director-level roles at the University of Washington, Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue, and Seattle Girls School. Look for opportunities to connect with both women this fall!

New Structure, New Leaders Lakeside Lecture Series

Bernie Noe Endowed Lecture on Ethics and Politics | Oct. 15, 2025

LAURIE SANTOS

Award-winning scientist and professor Laurie Santos is one of the world’s foremost experts on human cognition and the science of happiness. Her course “Psychology and the Good Life” became the most popular course in Yale history — enrolling nearly one out of four Yale undergraduates — and the subject of widespread national and international media coverage. Santos’ podcast, “The Happiness Lab,” has drawn more than 100 million downloads since its launch in 2019.

Mark J. Bebie ’70 Memorial Lecture Jan. 28, 2026

ARLO WASHINGTON

Wellesley L. Wilson (left) and Christine Lessard will lead the school’s new approach to advancing its mission.

Dan Ayrault Lecture | March 18, 2026

MEGAN ASAKA

Born into poverty in Little Rock, Arkansas, Arlo Washington became a barber and then an entrepreneur on a mission of economic justice. The barber college he founded has created more than 1,500 jobs in Arkansas — many of them made possible by low- or nointerest loans and creative financing. In 2022, Washington further expanded opportunity by chartering the People Trust Community Federal Credit Union, the first minority-owned and -operated financial institution in the state’s history. His story was the subject of the 2024 Oscar-nominated documentary short “The Barber of Little Rock.”

Megan Asaka ’99 is an award-winning scholar, writer, and teacher of Asian American history at University of California, Riverside. She is the author of “Seattle from the Margins: Exclusion, Erasure, and the Making of a Pacific Coast City” (University of Washington Press, 2022), which examines the erased histories of the immigrant communities that built Seattle. The book was inspired by her own family history in Seattle, as well as her work as an oral historian and archivist at Densho, a community-based organization that seeks to preserve and share the stories of the Japanese American incarceration during World War II.

Photo at top (new leaders): Lakeside School/Lindsay Orlowski

FACULTY & STAFF NOTES

News and sightings from outside the classroom

Middle School human development teacher/GSL manager Meera Patankar will be using a Dexter K. Strong sabbatical grant to travel to India during the spring semester next year. She writes, “As a student of yoga for the past 25 years, deepening this learning in the motherland is a beautiful opportunity. Three generations of my immediate family (including my 5-year-old daughter and 77-year-old mother) will connect with extended family and experience our place of origin together for the first time.”

• Lakeside’s Upper and Middle School math departments were well represented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) spring conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Justin Chang, James Lajoie, and Katie Lee were all in attendance, where they connected with other math educators, explored educational artificial intelligence tools, and learned about leading-edge classroom resources. As a result of the conference, Lajoie has been working with an educational and AI company called Snorkl to develop its calculus curriculum offerings. • Meanwhile, Upper School math colleague Zach Shiner has been studying with the students of Veronique Brau’s French 5 class in preparation for teaching abroad next year

in France.

• In March, Upper School history teacher Betsy Pingree gave a talk at Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum. As part of the National Endowment for the Arts “Big Read” series, Pingree shared some of her research about early 20th-century labor activism and protest in Seattle and Spokane.

• In May, archivist Leslie Schuyler organized the virtual panel “Protecting the Privacy of Trans People in the Archives” for the Society of American Archivists. Schuyler serves as vice chair of the organization’s steering committee on privacy and confidentiality.

• In June, music teacher and Performing Arts Department Head Mary Clementi performed with the Mirinesse Women’s Choir in Phinney Ridge, Kirkland, and Bothell. Concert selections ranged from Vivaldi’s “Gloria” to “Controlled Burn,” a modern arrangement by hip-hop artist Dessa and composer Jocelyn Hagen.

• A special 20th-anniversary edition of “My Jim” by Upper School history teacher Nancy Rawles was released in June by Random House/One World. The awardwinning novel, as “The New York Times Book Review” put it in 2005, covers territory Twain did not: “Certainly, if “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is presented to schoolchildren as their introduction to American slavery, as it sometimes has been in the past, then the deeply felt and moving ‘My Jim’ would be a welcome accompaniment."

•Upper School English teacher Rachel Maiorano received an unexpected

Historian Betsy Pingree

honor from Stanford. Her former student Thomas Yim ’21 — recipient of the Frederick Emmons Terman Engineering Scholastic Award for distinguished academic performance — was asked to invite “the secondary school teacher who was most influential in guiding them during the formative stages of their academic career” to a special luncheon and awards ceremony. He chose Maiorano. • Camila Calkins, Lakeside’s data systems management and visualization specialist and part-time jewelry maker, has come out with a new collection: “Moss on Stone,” which draws from the jungle-wrapped temples of Ta Prohm in Cambodia, where, as Calkins describes, “tree roots overtake architecture, and moss reclaims the carved past.” You can find her one-of-a-kind pieces on Instagram and Facebook as Scarlet Artefact Jewelry • Ying Purcell, business office manager and executive assistant to the associate head of school, writes: “Finally learned how to swim — as an adult — despite having logged over 1,000 hours sailing! By December, the deep end no longer felt scary, and I could even do a somersault underwater. Proof that we’re never too old to learn.”

Camila Calkins’s “Moss on Stone” jewelry.

Meera Patankar holds a yoga pose. She’ll soon be deepening her practice.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Looking Back to the Future

THE ARCHIVES receives about

a hundred inquiries a year, ranging from image requests for alum reunions, to questions from “Tatler” students reporting on the history of past happenings, to check-ins from administrators looking to provide context for current policies and initiatives. Sometimes the answers are simple, and the requests take less than an hour. Sometimes the opposite is true.

A particularly wide-ranging project over the past few years has been responding to queries from alum Bill Gates’s team during the writing of his memoir, “Source Code.” (See excerpt, page 34.) Since I started as Lakeside’s archivist, I’ve fielded a steady stream of media requests for images of Gates ’73 and fellow alum/Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen ’71, but the “Source Code” research was much more involved — and fun.

The archives’ special collections — materials donated by former faculty and alums — played a huge part in confirming and elaborating on Gates’s personal recollections of his time here. Records kept by former math teacher Fred Wright, such as the signed contract with Information Sciences Inc., the Portland-based company that hired Gates, Allen, Kent Evans ’73, and Ric Weiland ’71 (AKA the Lakeside Pro-

gramming Group) to develop a payroll program, confirm that the programming group was not just a student club: That four high school friends were skilled enough and passionate enough about their computer work that they earned a contract with an outside company to do more of it. And, to celebrate, they all went to Hamburger Train, a fast-food restaurant in Portland, before reboarding a public bus back to Seattle. We also learn a bit about math/computer department culture from decades past when we see a handwritten note in red ink, all caps, at the top of a computer-time usage bill: WHILE WE HAVE NO OBJECTION TO STUDENT USE OF THE COMPUTER ROOM PHONE, THE SCHOOL CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY FOR YOUR LONG DISTANCE CALLS. … SEE MR. WRIGHT WITH CASH OR SCHOOL CHECK. Student work, including the faculty-assigned journals of Weiland and Evans, were primary source magic: the thoughts of classmates and friends frozen in time. Not only do we learn what teachers were assigning back then, but also what students were thinking about. In their journals, Weiland and Evans both

All kinds of records are kept in the Lakeside archives. The phone bill above includes a cautionary note hand-written by math teacher Fred Wright: insight into the school culture of that time.

explored ideas about artificial intelligence. Evans wrote in 1970, for example, “Soon (within the decade, probably) computers will be programmed to act intellectually... Will the thinking computer be our tool for saving the world? Or will these computers displace us as masters of the world?”

I suppose we’re all learning on the job, continually surprised by new discoveries and how the past seems so very different from our present. But the more I learn about the Lakeside students of the past, the more surprised I am, not about the differences, but about the similarities. The records confirm that yesterday’s students are much like today’s: teenagers in that transitional phase between childhood and adulthood, attending a business meeting (then celebrating at a fast-food joint that delivered its meals via a model train set), thoughtfully pondering advancing technologies with a combination of eagerness and trepidation (all the while sneaking long-distance calls); and wowing their teachers with what seems to be an inexhaustible supply of enthusiasm for the future. The school may look different from the 1973 version, but do some digging in our special collections and you’ll see that Lakeside’s exceptional ability to help students evolve from kids into young adults remains the same.

— Leslie Schuyler, archivist of the Jane Carlson Williams ’60 Archives. Visit the archives at lakesideschool.org/about-us/history-archives.

burger joint where members of the Lakeside Programming Group stopped to celebrate.

Three for the Books

THIS YEAR, we say goodbye to three outstanding, long-standing employees. Rob Burgess — most senior of the three, a fixture on campus since 1978 — was presented with the school’s Distinguished Service Award during commencement in June (see opposite page). English teacher Lindsay Aegerter, who brought diversity and a breadth of voices to the school’s teaching of literature, closes a chapter spanning 25 years. And Director of Development Daiga Galins retires after having provided two decades of professionalism and expertise to both Lakeside and the world of independent school philanthropy.

“She Spoke to Students’ Minds and Hearts”

Lindsay Aegerter walked away from a tenure-track college position at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and took a chance on Lakeside in the year 2000, hoping she wouldn’t feel unfulfilled teaching high school students. She arrived just as Bernie Noe, the new head of school, was pushing for a more modern, international curriculum. Aegerter helped redefine the English department offerings, designing and teaching courses on colonial diaspora, African American literature, multiethnic American writers, women’s voices, and queer voices. She introduced the concept of “windows and mirrors” to the department’s reading lists. She taught poetry and creative writing. She ventured widely from the Eurocentric education she had received growing up in British-controlled Zimbabwe to expand her own horizons along with those of her students.

Department colleagues marveled at Aegerter’s lesson planning, her voracious reading, and her sly humor, which, as Bob Lapsley puts it, lurked behind her “proper, slightly British, accent.” They all speak of her kindness and grace. Amy Kaz, who started around the same time at Lakeside, says, “Lindsay speaks to students’ minds and hearts.”

As for pivoting to teach 15- and 16-year-old students, Aegerter has no regrets. “I felt like a part of a team that was building something special here,” she says. “And I found the students were every bit as bright and sophisticated as the students I’d taught in college. It was an honor every day to see their sweetness and innocence in one moment, and then, in the next, their impressive, thrilling intellectual ability. I will miss having the chance to watch them grow.”

Dear Friends,

After 24 years at Lakeside — 19 as development director — it is with deep fondness that I say farewell. I am grateful for the exceptional relationships I’ve formed here — with generous donors, tireless volunteers, and inspiring colleagues who have mentored me, worked alongside me, and shared my passion for education. Serving this vibrant community has been joyful and rewarding. Your generosity, both in spirit and in support, has made a profound impact on the school and the students we serve. I am grateful to have done this work with you.

Lakeside has long been a place where curiosity is nurtured and where each individual is empowered to reach their fullest potential. But Lakeside is also a place where lasting friendships are formed. I see this most closely with my own son and his classmates. I have no doubt their friendships will last a lifetime. This is part of the Lakeside magic.

As I move on to new adventures, I encourage you to remain connected to this remarkable institution and to one another. Your continued engagement ensures that future generations of students will have the chance to explore all the extraordinary opportunities that Lakeside provides.

Looking ahead, I’ll be taking on some exciting consulting work, while also embracing more time to bicycle, hike, travel, and spend time with family. I’ll carry lasting memories of this community, and I look forward to seeing Lakeside continue to thrive in the years to come.

With heartfelt thanks and warmest wishes, Daiga

Photo: Tom Reese (Aegerter); Lakeside School/Lindsay Orlowski (Galins)

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Rob Burgess

DURING THE UPPER SCHOOL commencement on June 10, Rob Burgess, a Lakeside maintenance maestro and theater impresario for nearly half a century, was recognized by board chair Sean O’Donnell ’90 with the Willard J. Wright ’32 Distinguished Service Award. The text of the citation honoring Burgess, written by Carey Quan Gelernter, follows.

ACONSUMMATE character actor, Rob Burgess has employed his creative talents to play an astonishing variety of roles in his 47 years at Lakeside — notably, but far from exclusively, from maintenance foreman who developed incomparable institutional knowledge of the campus’s inner workings to director of 25 plays who mentored and inspired generations of students.

Rob arrived at Lakeside for a summer job in the maintenance department in 1978, the year before he graduated from American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Continuing his studies at Cornish, he worked evenings as a janitor at the Middle School. An acting career didn’t promise a steady paycheck, and Rob wanted a family, so he became full time at Lakeside, and he and Melanie Taylor, a costume designer, married on the steps of McKay Chapel in 1984, “with the reception in the Refectory that I waxed the floor for!” In time they celebrated the Lakeside graduations of lifer daughters Madison ’05 and Lily ’08, who grew up on campus, as Rob liked to joke, “in the caretaker’s house of a grand estate!”

Facilities Director Dan Dawkins, his supervisor of the last 17 years, says that Rob throws himself into every aspect of maintenance. “He’s run to our rescue day or night,” applying a “very high IQ, an uncanny memory, unmatched and incredible work ethic,” and early and advanced computer skills.

His smarts and can-do spirit — and fun-loving, infectious personality — have endeared Rob to faculty, staff, and students. He became the longest-serving staff employee in Lakeside’s history, eagerly stepping in where called: Global Service Learning co-leader to Costa Rica; chaperone for summer Shakespeare classes; orienteering club co-leader; emcee/troubadour/entertainer for Rummage and other Lakeside functions; member of the Strategic Planning Committee (where he presented the idea of purchasing all the homes between the Upper and Middle School campuses); contributor of the word “spirit” to the Lakeside mission. And one of his favorites: ringing the commencement bells.

His biggest creative undertaking: two decades supporting and overseeing student performing arts. Al Snapp, longtime arts department head, considered it “a real coup” when Rob agreed to direct Upper School drama productions beginning in 1988. Lakesiders also loved seeing Rob himself perform, to critical acclaim, on Seattle-area stages, includ-

Over 47 years at Lakeside, Rob Burgess wore an extraordinary number of hats. He’s preparing to take a final bow in 2025.

ing ACT, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Seattle Children’s Theatre. Snapp says Rob’s Lakeside productions were often challenging — sometimes tackling social issues, often requiring physical comedy or improvisation. Several former students credit Rob for going on to Hollywood careers. A frequent refrain by alums, as from Colleen Robertson ’00, is that Rob’s mentoring shaped not just the way they pursued the arts, but also the way they treated other human beings. “He encouraged, coached, listened, laughed (Boy, did he laugh!), and otherwise helped us discover what it was we had to say,” she says.

Whether operating on stage or behind the scenes, Rob has played an irreplaceable role in Lakeside life. Today, in recognition of his long tenure of dedication and service that go beyond a job description, the Lakeside Board of Trustees honors Rob Burgess with the Willard J. Wright ’32 Distinguished Service Award.

THE ANDROMEDA PROJECT

HOW A GROUP OF STUDENTS WITH AN AUDACIOUS PLAN SET OUT TO CRACK ONE OF THE SCHOOL’S BIGGEST CHALLENGES SURROUNDING AI

HUNCHED OVER in the Grotto — with wires strewn about and the sun streaming through windows high on a basement wall — six students puzzle through the wiring of a central processing unit to a memory system. Their goal? To make every artificial intelligence model accessible to everyone at Lakeside, at a fraction of the market cost. Their plan? Hosting those AI models locally by building a server complex enough to be a bona fide graduate school thesis project.

Heading into the summer of 2024, Lakeside wanted to create a plan for equitable AI access. At the time, whether students had access to the latest models depended in large part upon their family’s ability and willingness to pay for them. And with Academic Dean Hans de Grys voicing the school’s belief that “embracing the opportunity to learn about AI is the only responsible choice,” Lakeside could not countenance selective access to the technology.

The issue, however, was that providing wholesale access to every student would be prohibitively expensive. Computer End User Support Specialist Patrick Graff had been “tasked with looking very closely at language models, trying to vet the quality of each, and then looking at a whole array of different tech companies and their offerings on a subscription basis.” He had no luck finding solutions at a price point Lakeside would accept.

A subscription model for ChatGPT alone, for example, would have cost roughly $60 per user per month, totalling $600,000 per year. A pay-per-use model costing 2 to 3 cents per query promised some savings — but would also require developing a user interface.

To understand why a subscription to an AI model looks like the price of a pre-2020 Seattle house, we have to dive into the mechanics behind online AI platforms. If you go to ChatGPT and ask — as I did far too many times — for 10 specific reasons why a math and physics major should apply to X university, your question is sent to an industrial server that transforms words into a vector (a list of numbers) with which the model can perform operations. After an amount of multiplication that would strike fear

in even Ramanujan, the model outputs a vector, which is turned into characters and sent back to you via the internet. ChatGPT is expensive because you pay for secure transmission and time on ChatGPT’s server. The story behind AI pricing looks much the same for advanced versionsofotherpopularmodels,includingGoogle’sGemini.

But this isn’t the only way to run the latest AI models. If you have your own server, you could theoretically download these large language models and run the models there. And that’s exactly what summer IT interns Chase C. ’26, Kellen H. ’26, Michael W. ’27, Julia H. ’27, Gabi Guidero ’24, and Nara Chen ’25 hoped to do.

They called the project Andromeda, with a nod toward the galaxy’s vast, unexplored phenomena. Their work quickly outgrew the capacity of Graff’s powerful gaming computer. They became convinced they would need to route Andromeda queries to a custom-built server hosted on Lakeside’s internal network, which would then handle parsing and computation. Because of the novelty and audacity of their plan, they needed to persuade adults to fund this “local” approach to AI models. “From the beginning,” Graff recalls, “the students insisted that we needed to invest in graphics cards and buy hardware. I argued against their plan until I found I had no legs to stand on.”

InthefourweeksittooktopersuadeHeadofSchoolKai Bynumtoshelloutthe$12,000andforpartstoarrive,Andromeda leaders never stopped experimenting with local

MembersoftheAndromedaAIClubandtheiradvisorssqueezeinto thebasement “Grotto”inBlissHall,wheremuchoftheprototypingand testingofaLakeside-basedAIservertookplaceinthesummerof2024.

models. They ran simulations on their PCs and terrorized Lakeside with a cacophony of computer fans. To conduct computational tests, they would “line up a dozen computers on a countertop and have everyone press ‘run’ at the same time.” Results proved underwhelming, reinforcing the belief that a dedicated server would be necessary.

Once the specialized components arrived, it took only four hours for the students — helped by Graff— tobuildtheentireserver.Thatsurprisingtimeframemademoresenseonce IlearnedthatbothKellenandChasebuildserversintheirfree time—thelatterholdstherecordat16.

When classes resumed in the fall, four of the interns — Kellen, Chase, Julia, and Michael — formed an official student club, Andromeda AI, with Julia serving as outreach captain and Graff and Assistant Director of Technology Heather Butler serving as advisors. Interest in the club quickly spread. With a dozen or more regulars and new faces showing up all the time, the club could assign spe-cialists and attack several specific problems all at once. In their meetings, as a Tatler reporter put it, they “used sand-box environments to simulate Andromeda being used around campus, enabling them to experiment without disrupting Andromeda’s functionality.”

Rolling out Andromeda AI was more complex than just sending out a link to the school community, though. Leaders weren’tsurewhethertheserverhad“sufficientspec” to handle every Lakesider. And if it didn’t, they wanted to makesurethatthose users they’d onboarded already were the people who needed it most. Instead, they would attemptaphasedrollout

whereintheywouldemail25studentsto set up accounts and double their userbase everythreeweeks,monitoringtheserverto seeifitcouldhandleexcesscapacity.

Their rollout went off without a hitch. As of late spring 2025, every Upper Schoolstudentcouldaccessthefullsuite of Andromeda features, and about 49% of students had signed up.

Julia mentions that English 10 teachers were excited about the Andromeda rollout because it “can make personalized bots [that help students] fulfill essay requirements” but do not write their essays for them. Julia recently fine-tuned one of the models for an English 10 essay about “Dew Breaker” that gives students feedback specific to the rubric for that assignment. There’s also an option to select an “English 10 tutor” that provides general feedback for any English 10assignment.

A major benefit of a homegrown AI model is that, as Chase says, “for the most part it does not give [the user] new ideas unless they do some serious prompt engineering.” He did concede that it would likely be impossible to guarantee that Andromeda would never write something of its own, since that’s a restriction even massive organizations like Khan Academy struggle with.

Outside of writing, Andromeda has proved a boon for math and science classes because the suite includes modelslikeClaudeandGeminithataremuchbetterthanChatGPT at explaining complex math topics or editing code. CulbertsonnotedthattheteamaddedWolframAlphasupport, his favorite citation machine, and many other APIs that are unavailable on ChatGPT

Despitetheseadvancedfeatures,AndromedaAI’sadoption rate remains near 50% at least in part because of privacy concerns. As of yet, no administrator has asked the Andromeda team to review chats. Even if they did, Chase told me to think of such a request as “a warrant where the administrator would ask us to review X’s chat attime Y to check for Z.”

AndromedaalsolacksadvancedChineseAImodels—like DeepSeekandQwen—becausethosemodelsdidnotadhere to community expectations; they would falsely talk about how Taiwan is not a country, for instance, and they would generatehomophobicslurs.

These shortcomings notwithstanding, Andromeda has alreadyprovedpopularattheschool,andtheleadershope to allow students to “take Andromeda home” next year — incontrasttotoday’smodelsuite,whichisavailableonlyon campus. It will be fascinating to see what novel solutions thestudentsconjureupforwhatisthegroup’sfirstsoftware ratherthanhardware—challenge.

RohanDhillon’25editsTatler’sscienceandtechnologysection.

Mitigating the catastrophic changes to our warming planet will require a wide-ranging and collective effort, from federal policies to front-line philanthropy, from putting new curricula into classrooms to getting diesel off the high seas. A multidimensional report.

LAKESIDE'S CLIMATE CATALYSTS

ROUGHLY 20 YEARS AGO, the world’s leading climate scientists identified a +1.5 C increase beyond preindustrial global average temperatures as a threshold at which changes to our planet become both likely and irreversible. The collapse of ecosystems and food chains; large-scale forest fires and consequent habitat destruction; crop failures and famines from heat, drought, and flooding; loss of glacier ice and snowpack storing crucial freshwater supplies for drinking, agriculture, and hydroelectric power; melting ice sheets and rising sea levels: They are all happening now, just as predicted.

’73 on climate and clean energy projects, served as board chair of Climate Solutions (the largest climate advocacy and policy group in the Pacific Northwest), and worked with elected officials to pass Washington’s Climate Commitment Act, which provides businesses incentives to reduce their carbon emissions.

In 2015, the Paris Agreement — a legally binding international treaty adopted by 196 parties, including the U.S. — codified this +1.5 C increase as its primary goal.

In 2024, the world hit that grim milestone a full 12 months faster than most climate scientists feared.

Jabe Blumenthal ’78 is one Lakeside graduate who recognized the enormity of the challenge of the Paris Agreement goal — and who understands the stakes moving forward. He has been a special advisor to Bill Gates

What’s often overlooked, he points out, is that it takes decades for the planet to reach a new equilibrium temperature based on how much CO2 is in the atmosphere. “Even if we miraculously stopped all CO2 emissions today,” he says, “the planet would continue to warm for several more decades.”

As discouraging as reaching the +1.5 C threshold has been, the negative impacts of climate change get exponentially worse with ever further increases. So, +2.0 C, while worse than +1.5 C, is much better than +2.5 C, and +2.5 C is far better than +3.0 C. Which is why, despite the inadequate response of governments and the citizens of those governments, Blumenthal believes it is vital to keep trying, and trying harder.

He has learned in his decades-long

work in politics and business — and otherwise forging connections between movers and shakers — that a range of approaches will be critical to bending the warming curve. “Human ingenuity and capitalism are incredible engines capable of amazing accomplishments,” Blumenthal says, “including driving a much faster transition to a zero-carbon global economy. But they have to be directed towards that goal by the right set of energy policies and economic incentives. If we do that, there’s reason for hope — and that is reason for action.”

The following eight Lakeside alums understand the daunting challenges of addressing climate change, and are tackling them through politics, law, advocacy, technology, and more. Many of them say that their education at Lakeside was paramount in helping them think on a systems level and see the connections — and leveraging potential —between otherwise seemingly disparate forces.

[PUBLIC POLICY]

Dave Upthegrove '89

As a college student studying environmental science and biology at the University of Colorado, Dave Upthegrove learned that being one of the people who get a say on passing policies is one of the most effective ways to bring about change.

During his freshman year, the CU student council wanted to tear down a small stand of trees to expand the student union building. Upthegrove helped a student environmental group collect a thousand signatures opposing the removal. But it wasn’t enough. The student council passed the proposal anyway. The upsetting experience catalyzed a shift for Upthegrove: “From that point on, I’ve always worked from the inside,” he says. “I went from fighting the man to being the man.”

In a career of public service, Upthegrove has been a vocal and effective environmental advocate as a representative in the Washington State Legislature and a member of the King County Council. In November 2024, he was elected to the statewide position of Commissioner of Public Lands in Washington. Public lands, Upthegrove explains, are vital in the fight against climate change. “The Pacific Northwest forests are some of the largest sinks of carbon in the world, and we need to manage those thoughtfully and carefully,” he says. In his new office, he acted immediately, announcing a 6-month pause on timber sales of certain mature forests and expanding a critical conservation reserve near West Tiger Mountain, using the state’s Trust Land Transfer Program.

Upthegrove says that to fight the climate crisis, we need politicians who are willing to challenge the status quo. “It takes courage and willingness to stand up to economic interests,” he says. “And those interests are incredibly powerful, given the impact of money on politics.”

[ELECTORAL POWER]

Annie Leonard ’82

If there’s one message environmental activist Annie Leonard wants to spread, it’s that anyone can get involved in climate action.

At Lakeside, Leonard participated in the school’s camping and hiking trips in Washington state and the desert Southwest. “It’s hard to want to fight to save something you don’t love,” she says. “Lakeside made sure that we loved nature and the outdoors.”

Since then, Leonard’s career has spanned coasts and continents. She spent 20 years researching the factories where our stuff is made and the dumps where it is dumped, which she summarized in her 2007 internet film “The Story of Stuff.” The animated documentary has been translated into 15 languages, has more than 50 million online views, and has been watched in schools, economics classes, places of worship, and corporate training sessions, influencing and educating others on the links between overconsumption and the climate crisis.

In 2014, Leonard began a nine-year run as the executive director of Greenpeace, helping the influential international nonprofit inspire and mobilize millions of people to take action to create a more sustainable future together. During Leonard’s tenure leading the U.S. arm of the global network, Greenpeace not only launched a campaign to save the Arctic from getting drilled for oil, but also got thousands of people involved in climate activism under Fire Drill Fridays.

While Leonard knew that international nonprofits like Greenpeace are effective at raising environmental awareness across borders, she still thought more needed to be done. Over and over in her role, she learned that most nonprofits don’t have electoral power, which limited what the climate movement can accomplish.

Frustrated but inspired by the limitation, Leonard started working with activist and actor Jane Fonda to start

CLIMATE CATALYSTS

the Jane Fonda Political Action Committee (PAC). Leonard stepped down from Greenpeace in the spring of 2023 to focus on the new work. The goal of the PAC is threefold: to get climate leaders in office, shift the political discourse, and give the electorate an opportunity to vote for people who could support their agenda on climate change — a simple but collectively powerful way to take a stance on climate change. “Over half the people in the U.S. are now concerned or alarmed about climate, but weren’t necessarily bringing that alarm into the ballot box with them,” says Leonard. In the recent election cycle, the PAC supported more than 100 candidates. Their motto: If you can’t change the people, change the people. For more information or to get involved, visit janepac.com.

[LAW]

Andrea Rodgers ’94

The connection between law and climate is not always obvious, but to Andrea Rodgers, the former informs the latter. Law forces governments to be “constitutionally compliant,” she explains, in reducing their climate emissions and providing their citizens with a safe climate. “The right to a safe climate should be a universal human right,” she says. “Once we get [that] universal recognition, I think that will really start to change the direction that we are headed in.”

Rodgers is the deputy director of U.S. strategy at Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit law firm that represents youth in legal cases against governments. “Children are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change, and they lack political power. They really are the ones who need the most advocacy,” she says.

Notably, Rodgers served as co-counsel in Held v. Montana, the landmark 2023 case in which a district court judge not only ruled in favor of the 16 youth plaintiffs, but also acknowledged the harms caused by climate change and compelled the state to implement a remedial plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Our Children’s Trust is working on several other cases in the U.S. “Many [cases] around the world have been inspired by our work,” Rodgers adds, pointing to a recent case from South Korea that ruled the country’s climate measures were insufficient to safeguard citizen rights to a safe climate.

[INNOVATION]

Zack Woodruff ’09

Zack Woodruff took his early penchant for problem-solving and tinkering to become a mechanical engineer interested in medical robotics and climate change. “In my opinion,” Woodruff says, “people’s health and the environment’s health are two of the most important things.”

Woodruff is the principal robotics software engineer at a Seattle-based startup called Directed Machines. The company has developed a zero-emissions, solarpowered Roomba-like device that performs fuel-intensive land care tasks, such as mowing or trimming on agricultural and industrial land.

Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and related land use generate nearly a fifth of global emissions. Machines that manage the land typically run on diesel, an especially dirty fossil fuel. Most innovations pursued in the agriculture industries are not focusing on electric solutions, Woodruff points out, but on increasing efficiency in farming. Directed Machines’ devices are designed to reduce

emissions by changing how land-use equipment is powered.

The company’s “Land Care Robots” currently are available in the U.S. They are proving particularly well-suited to solar farms, where vegetation tends to grow quickly and cover the panels, rendering them useless. The fast-growing vegetation, combined with the high-voltage environment on solar farms, can make for a hazardous working environment. Having autonomous vehicles that can manage the vegetation safely is a boon to worker safety and the climate.

New technologies are absolutely vital in the fight against climate change, Woodruff says. He cautions innovators, though, to “find problems that exist in the world and see how technology can be harnessed to actually solve problems, rather than creating technologies first and then finding places where you can market them.”

[GRASSROOTS PHILANTRHOPY]

Lindley Mease ’07

At Lakeside, Lindley Mease immersed herself in service learning, volunteering at food banks and escorting families and patients at hospitals in the Seattle area. As an undergraduate at Stanford University, she developed a more systemic understanding of bigger societal issues — in particular, climate change.

Since 2018, Mease has served as the director of CLIMA Fund, a nonprofit that supports Indigenous-, women-, peasant-, and youth-led climate work in 168 countries. Researchers know that funding grassroots communities that have a true stake in protecting their land and environment is one of the most successful ways to make an impact in confronting the climate crisis. CLIMA Fund has worked to support global movements and community groups in agro-ecology methods, protecting Indigenous territories, expanding renewables, and resisting the global fossil fuel industry.

Getting money to “first responder” communities is central to not only CLIMA Fund’s vision, but also to Mease’s personal beliefs. “Money is such a powerful force in the world. It’s how capital is built, accumulated, stored, and shared. All of those are political decisions and processes that influence our climate and ecology,” she says. Many of the resources accrued by the Global North have come primarily from extracting from the Global South, she explains. “I’ve worked in several of those countries doing environmental research and was disillusioned by being a white person doing the work,” she says, “I learned if I could do anything to support the selfdetermination of those from whom we’ve extracted so much of our own wealth — that is central pillar of climate justice.”

Mease is also the co-founder of Blue Heart, a nonprofit that organizes millennial donors to give to frontline organizations in the U.S.

[CLEAN ENERGY]

Devon Thorsell ’09

The maritime shipping industry is critical for transporting goods and services across the world. But, like other forms of travel, it’s a major polluter. It contributes about 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, about the same as air travel. Because the maritime economy operates on the open waters and beyond national borders, only a collective effort across governments and stakeholders can decarbonize the industry.

Devon Thorsell’s interest in the maritime industry was borne out of sailing in the Pacific Northwest and an interest in international relations sparked in college. She notes that in most instances involving international relations, people talk about conflict. “But in the maritime sector, [players] have been cooperating for hundreds of years,” she says. Thorsell is vice president of operations at Washington Maritime Blue, a center for excellence on ocean-based cli-

CLIMATE CATALYSTS

mate solutions. The organization supports startups and entrepreneurs and provides workforce training to implement emission-reducing technologies.

One of the biggest of Washington Maritime Blue’s focus areas, according to Thorsell, is working to develop a zeroemission maritime fuel to radically reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. While the fuel is still in the early stages, Maritime Blue is convening industry, government, academia, and community-based organizations to begin planning and preparing the supply chain and workforce pipeline so when the time comes, these new solutions will be readily adopted. “The change we need to make has to be so fast,” Thorsell says, “that we need to be aligned and coordinated.”

[EDUCATION]

Brock Adler ’76

For Brock Adler, education has always been central to his understanding of climate change. He remembers his first day of 7th grade at Lakeside when he was sitting in his ecology class, and his teacher drew up a food web involving predators, birds, and worms. Adler’s teacher laid it bare for the class: everything is connected. “That’s the first thing I learned at Lakeside,” he says.

Now, Adler is giving back to climate education as the chair of the advocacy committee of the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), a nonprofit organization that works with environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the National Audubon Society, community nongovernmental organizations, and governments to improve environmental literacy at scale. “We cover it all in terms of how we see environmental education is working through the schools and multiple subjects in society,” he says. In 2025, NAAEE will be launching new guidelines for climate education for use by federal agencies, science teacher associations, and environmental organizations.

“Climate education is essential to addressing climate change,” he says. As everyday consumers start to hear more about the pressure to switch from gas furnaces to electric heat pumps, or to abandon their gasoline-guzzling vehicles in favor of hybrid and electric vehicles, they need to understand why. “Education is important so the individual, the citizen, the student, will have the broader picture,” Adler says. If they’re being educated, they will be more likely to adopt economic or lifestyle trade-offs. “People have to be prepared to go along with it,” he says.

[CULTURE CHANGE]

John Kydd ’70

Growing up in Seattle, John Kydd developed a sense that something fundamental wasn’t working in society. Raised in the Unitarian Church, Kydd had always been keen on seeing the connection between things. Religio in Latin means to rebind or reconnect. Throughout Kydd’s life, he has brought that desire for reconnection with him to address societal issues.

Kydd’s career has taken him into law, social work, and research. He initially focused on family and children’s rights, then shifted his attention to addressing the issues of climate change.

Now, as the Missioner for Climate Justice and Creation Care in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Kydd uses religion to connect with different faith-based communities and galvanize them to protect Creation. “If we can get folks to realize that a profound connectedness to their land is just like other human relations, that’s a big step,” he says.

In addition to his work for the diocese, Kydd is a Research Fellow at the Maqasid Institute and a local Third Act leader.

He recently returned from Malawi, where he launched a “pilgrimage” project in rural Ntchisi where children made

a five-year pledge to raise mangos and other resilient crops to replace banana trees devastated by drought. Interest in the initiative spread almost immediately to other parishes and communities surrounding Ntchisi. “Creation Pilgrims,” Kydd calls the volunteers.

He has begun advocating for an initiative he calls “Climate Lions.” He envisions a network of active and connected Lakeside alums providing a resource for each other and potentially for the school’s students who are interested in careers in climate action.

“Lakeside is a primary vector for the future of our culture,” Kydd says. “And as a religious person, I know that culture is a major vector for change.”

Seattle-based journalist Wudan Yan specializes in exploring systemic solutions to seemingly intractable issues. Her work has been supported, in part, by grants from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Institute of Journalism and Natural Resources, and the Society of Environmental Journalists. She has previously written about the legacy of Lakeside’s annual Rummage sale.

CLIMATE LIONS

John Kydd and a group of 1970 classmates have created an alum-based website and virtual meeting place called “Climate Lions” for alums working in the areas of sustainability and climate change. They hope to create a robust forum for Lakesiders to network, share climate ideas, and seek consultation and other support. Says Kydd, “If you are interested, please contact us either by joining the Climate Lions website brightaction.app/climatelions or sending an email to ClimateLions@gmail.com.”

THE GREEN CLUB

THE GREEN CLUB, a group of 15 to 20 loyal cross-grade club members, is the student equivalent of Lakeside’s climate-change activists. The club meets each month to discuss and plan ideas for increasing the school’s environmental awareness and reducing its carbon footprint. In the three years since its founding, the club has already left a mark, particularly in improving the rates of composting in the school’s cafeteria.

One early ambitious idea was the construction of a Lakeside greenhouse — a project with widespread support from the science department. After presenting a couple of dozen slides of curricular connections, calculated costs, and concept art to the planners of Lakeside’s new academic building, the club persuaded BNBuilders to draw up plans for the greenhouse. Ultimately, because of budget constraints, the drawings didn’t make the final design.

Now, Nicole Gilles ’25, Bella Ghosh ’26, Demri Carling ’26, and Star Ryman ’27 lead the student voice for sustainability. Earlier this year, the leaders met with SAGE, Lakeside’s new food services vendor, because the company was “using more plastic than we would have wished,” Ghosh explains. In response, SAGE switched from plastic to compostable utensils and boxes — and reduced the size of their paper napkins. After that, Green Club members reorganized waste bins in the WCC and designed informative posters with taped-up garbage explaining what scrap goes where. The club also successfully lobbied for more compost bins in more locations around campus, including in bathrooms. Carling notes that the club would still like to see more.

Other undertakings have included Gilles’ independent study, in which she calculated Lakeside’s carbon footprint using student surveys; attendance at annual environmental symposiums run by the YMCA Earth Service Corps; and beach-cleanup and weeding service trips.

Ghosh hopes that Green Club can sustain its influence at Lakeside and the new building across “the next generations at our school.” For now, they have a renewed set of eager freshmen to hope for.

SHADOWS darken the “Freedom Walk,” a circular path at Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, Alabma. The park served as a staging ground for protests during the Civil Rights Movement. On the surrounding streets, police infamously unleashed dogs and water cannons on nonviolent activists.

ON A FIVE-DAY TOUR THROUGH THE AMERICAN SOUTH, HISTORY LESSONS BECOME PERSONAL

FROM SEATTLE TO SELMA

PHOTOGRAPHS

LEARNING ABOUT U.S. HISTORY is a nearly universal rite of passage in American high schools. But there are varying degrees of how much students are able to explore historical topics in their complexity, given the limited tools of the classroom and, increasingly, barriers from the federal government. Especially when the topics are as charged as the cultural and historical foundations of systemic racism.

REFRAMING perspectivewaspart ofJamesMcBride’s purposeinhis1991 statueoftheillegal jailingofyoungBlack people(oppositepage). Theartistintentionally placedironbarsbehind theviewingbenchin KellyIngramPark, whichgivevisitors —here,OwenS.’27 andEfeElaiho’25 — the intimateand unsettlingsenseof sharingajailcell.

This past year, three Lakeside educators — Bryan Smith, Debbie Bensadon, and Latasia Lanier ’90 — designed a special learning experience to remove barriers and help students grapple more deeply with the complexity: How did the Civil Rights Movement come to be? What impacts did that movement have on the course of this nation’s history? With six students selected from grades 10-12, they held learning sessions on campus about Reconstruction and Jim Crowera laws. They gave a personally guided walking tour of Lanier’s childhood neighborhood in Seattle’s historically red-lined Central District. In February, they traveled to Alabama and Georgia, where they traced different parts of the movement in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham. The tour concluded in Atlanta, where the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and a broad network of Civil Rights leaders are still very present today. What the students saw and learned became a part of their lived experience.

Cailyn C ’26 drew parallels between her discoveries on the trip and the subject of her U.S. history research paper on wartime sexual violence, recognizing the common thread of “marginalized groups having their stories erased due to systemic power imbalances.”

Some of the students — comparing the overt racism they witnessed in an Alabama cemetery tothemoreindirectformsthey’dgrownupwith in the PacificNorthwest— saidtheyfinallygot the meaning of a phrase they’d heard from Dr. Bynum: The North is a fox. The South is a wolf. Owen S ’27 said, “The air felt different there.AndI’mnottalkingaboutthehumidity.”

Every student talked about the power of witnessing history up close. Of being immersed. Of sharing a deeply emotional experience together.Theyallcameback changed.

This was not the traditional definition of a field trip.Anditwasnotaone-off.Thetourwillbecomean annualpartoftheLakesidecalendar.

SYMBOLIC HEART of the American Civil Rights Movement, Selma, Alabama, and the Selma-to-Birmingham marches brought a national spotlight to the issue of voting rights for African Americans. In exploring the resilience of Selma today, students got an authentic taste of the city at Lannie’s Bar-B-Q, where trip leader Bryan Smith told them, “In the South, food means love.”

FROM SEATTLE TO SELMA

SACRED SPACES wereapowerfulpartofthetour Thevisitto the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham (top) inspired a history paper by Chloe M ’26 on how the Ku Klux Klan bombing at thechurchhelpedspurthepassageoftheCivilRightsActof1964.

VIOLENCEagainstAfricanAmericanswasaconstanttheme overthefivedays.The“FootSoldier”monumentdesignedbyRonald McDowell(middle)recreates,brilliantlyandchillingly,aniconic photographofBirminghampolicebrutality.

NAMING NAMES andpresentingspecificdetailsof unrecordedlynchingsacrosstheSouth (above)isastepatThe LegacyMuseumtowardhonoring—andmakingpersonal—the thousandsofBlacklivesbrutallycutshortbetween1865and1950.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE provided poignant insights during a tour of Selma’s neighborhoods. Tour guide Kirk Carrington glances in the rear-view mirror (top). A lifelong Selma resident who had participated in the Civil Rights marches as a 13-year-old, Carrington was well positioned to look back as well as forward.

SPIRITUAL lessons mixed with historical during a visit to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s first church (middle). Efe , foreground, later reflected, “The gravity of the moment demands your attention, and in that silence, history speaks louder.”

CONNECTION is what Owen (bottom photo, at left) unexpectedly felt spending time with Carrington: “He saw something in me that allowed him to give me advice, to push me to go further.”

FROM SEATTLE TO SELMA

IMMERSION was a key aspect of the tour. With ample time and without cell phones and other distractions, the students could “listen more closely, absorb more deeply.” (Top) Rahamatou Maurou-Dikeni ’25 ponders an exhibit at the MLK Museum.

JUXTAPOSITION of deeper understanding and unrepentant Southern pride left a strong impression. A Confederate flag in late afternoon light (middle) decorates a grave in a Selma cemetery owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

INTENSE ART at the National Lynching Memorial, Hank Willis Thomas’s “Raise Up” installation (above) depicts the brutality and helplessness of Black men confronting law enforcement.

GROUNDED intheirownidentities,thesixLakesidestudents, standwithtripleaderandSouthernerBryanSmith(top,atright), alongthe54-mileroutethatfreedommarchersmadetwogenerationsbeforethem.“ComingfromHawaii,thetopicofAmerican identi-tycanbecomplicatedforme,”MakalikaP ’27wroteafterthe trip.“I’vetriedtolookatAmericanidentitywithabroaderlens,taking inpeoplethatIcanfindkinshipwith.OntheCivilRightstour,Ilearned aboutcourage,community,andorganizationinawaythatIhadn’t seenanywhereelse.IlearnedanewwayofhowbeingAmericancan look,andwhatitcanmean.”

SPACE forcontemplationwasbuiltintotheNationalLynching Memorial. (Above)RahamatouandOwencrossthehallowedground.

JOURNALING wasa dailyrequirement.Inaquiet momentattheNational LynchingMemorial,Rahamatoufillsapageofher notebook.CailynC.’26 reflected,“Weexploredhow racismandinjusticearenot onlynational,butglobal,embeddedinthesystemsthat silencecertainhistories.”

>>Amidst tragedy and sleepless nights,a precocious 16-year-old Lakeside student found purpose — and gave a glimpse of the world’s future.//

Solving the SCHEDULE PROBLEM

LAKESIDE IN THE FALL OF 1971 was chaos, thanks to the merger with St. Nick’s. The task of scheduling classes on a computer, which math teacher Bob Haig had been managing, was proving far more difficult than he had expected. Some students arrived on campus that September to discover they were scheduled for classes that didn’t exist. Others were slotted for French I in a classroom where Latin II was underway. Kids overwhelmed their advisors with questions and formed long lines at the registrar’s office. “Can you change this because I have all my classes in a row and then four free periods?”

Despite a herculean effort by a group of teachers helping Mr. Haig, the scheduling problems persisted. By mid-January, he was in front of the school’s board trying to explain why. In the meantime, my classmate Kent Evans and I continued teaching Mr. Haig’s computer class, and now seniors as well as middle schoolers were sitting at the desks before us.

Another of Lakeside’s former Navy pilots and Boeing engineers, Bob Haig was a talented math teacher and dedicated crew coach but had limited exposure to computers. With everyone so up in arms over the mess, Kent and I decided we should step in to try to help. We met with Mr. Haig a few times to figure out how we might fix things for the spring trimester. In

When he was immersed, Bill Gates practically lived in the computer room, coding for 12-hour stretches and sleeping on an old Army cot in between.

the University of Washington library, Kent dug up years of academic literature on college scheduling programs with titles like “Construction of School Timetables by Flow Methods.” Nothing in his stack of papers was useful to us.

There were so many variables to coordinate, starting with the needs and desires of hundreds of students, each taking nine classes in an 11-period day. Throw into that mix the schedules of 70 courses, 170 sections of those courses, and a long list of special considerations: drum class couldn’t be scheduled in the room above choir practice; while most classes covered just one period, some, like dance or biology lab, took up two. It was a very hard math problem. Yet, almost without my realizing it, I had been working on the problem for the past six months. Walking to class or lying in bed at night, my mind would form different permutations of the schedule X number of classes, Y number of students, and so on, including the many conflicts and constraints that needed to be factored into the equation.

A whole school, my whole school, expected us to fix it. And everyone would know if we failed. This was the first time I felt responsible for something larger than myself.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 25, nearly 8 inches of snow fell, all but shutting down the city. Instead of going skiing or sledding, I holed up in my bedroom, pen on yellow pad, working through what up to that point was the toughest problem I had ever attempted: how to satisfy the distinct, seemingly mutually exclusive needs of hundreds of people, and do it in a way that a computer could understand. In math, it is what’s called an optimization problem, the same puzzle that airlines solve to seat passengers and sports leagues to schedule games. I drew a matrix of students, classes, teachers, times, and all the other variables. Gradually that week, I refined my chart, and steadily it grew clearer and clearer.

On Saturday, I walked out of my room knowing I’d sorted through the conflicts in a systematic way — one that I knew a computer could grasp. For the first time all week, the sky was totally clear.

The next day, Jan. 30, Mr. Haig piloted a Cessna 150 from an airport north of Seattle. The temperature had stayed below freezing all week, and sunny skies were forecast that morning. He was joined by Bruce Burgess, a Lakeside English teacher who was also the school’s photography guru. Their goal that morning was to capture a perfect picture of Lakeside’s snowcovered campus with Mount Rainier in the distance. A few minutes into the flight, they experienced engine problems; their plane hit a power line and crashed in a neighborhood north of Seattle. Both men died.

Lakeside was a small place. Students, as well as their families, formed tight bonds with their teachers. As middle school teachers, Bob Haig and Bruce Burgess had gotten to know kids when they were young and seen them through

their academic careers. Mr. Haig’s son was in my class.

Death was a constant in the news from Vietnam and in the violence of the period. The Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations had left the country shellshocked; closer to home, Seattle Civil Rights leader Edwin T. Pratt had been shot on his doorstep. But in my experience, cocooned by the wealth and privilege of Laurelhurst and Lakeside, death took place at a distance. Aside from my grandfather and great-grandmother, no one close to me had ever died.

Two days after the crash, Dan Ayrault called Kent and me to a meeting with a group of teachers. The headmaster encouraged us to team up to finish the schedule. There wasn’t time to rewrite a new program around the solution I’d come up with. To be ready for spring, we’d have to triage a temporary fix. Mr. Ayrault told us the school could pay us $2.75 an hour for the work.

For all the pressure we had felt writing an earlier payroll program, most of it had been self-imposed. We had no critical deadline then. The schedule program felt entirely different. A whole school, my whole school, expected us to fix it. And everyone would know if we failed. This was the first time I felt responsible for something larger than myself. Kent and I took to reminding ourselves: “This isn’t a class project. It’s the real world.”

For about three weeks, Kent and I and four teachers worked 24-hour days, trying to cobble together a schedule in time for the next trimester. We skipped school and struggled to not make mistakes as each night wore on and we fought off fatigue. I remember a late-night rubber band shooting contest with an English teacher on our team. I remember falling asleep at the punch-card machine while typing, realizing that it was 3 in the morning, and not remembering what day of the week it was. I remember an-

Excerpted from “Source Code,” the first of a planned three-part memoir by Bill Gates. Reprinted with permission by Alfred A. Knopf, 2025. In April 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft, which in January 2024 became the most highly valued publicly traded company in the world.

BILL GATES: "SOURCE CODE"

other teacher suggesting that we go home for a few hours to say hello to our parents — it had been a few days.

We did most of the work at the University of Washington, where the school had access to a computer. Even then, the machine was a bit outdated. It performed what’s called batch processing — handling one program at a time using punch cards, the now-defunct system in which you’d type your program on a machine that punched holes into thin pieces of cardboard. When you finished punching, you had a stack of cards. At the UW, the computer was in the basement. I’d grab my stack of cards, walk down the hall to the elevator, descend into the bowels of the building, and hand my deck of cards to the computer operator. Then I’d wait. Eventually the operator would load the cards into the computer, which would print the results. Any small problem in our code tripped up the computer. Something as minor as a syntax error in line 10 would derail the whole program, sending us back up the elevator to start over again, punching out new cards. Start to finish, one test run of the program could take five hours.

After Kent died, I called Paul Allen ’71. ‘I need help. Do you want to work with me on it?'"

At last, we managed to coax our program to life the night before our deadline. At the start of school that spring, there was hardly a line at the registrar’s office. The program we’d built was a sort of working prototype held together with spit and glue. It melded pieces contributed by Mr. Haig — written in FORTRAN, a computer language used by scientists and technicians, and core parts that we cobbled together over those late nights. It even called for one step of the schedule-making process to be done by hand, since we didn’t have time to build that part into the program.

Dan Ayrault, the headmaster, was so happy with it that he said he could come up with funds to pay us to write a fresh version with all the features the school needed — and to do it in BASIC, our language of choice.

THAT MAY, KENT DIED in a climbing accident on Mount Shuksan.

When someone close to you dies, the socially expected thing to say is that from that point on, you lived your life as they lived theirs. That you found traits of theirs that guided you forward. The truth is, by this time — I was 16 years old — Kent had already had a profound effect on who I was. When we met, I was a 13-year-old kid with raw IQ and a competitive streak, but little aim other than to win whatever game I was playing. Kent helped give me direction, setting me on the course of defining who I wanted to become. I didn’t have an answer to that yet, but it would drive many of the decisions that followed.

After Kent died, I called Paul Allen ’71. Paul was a couple of years ahead of me and had been one of the leaders of the Lakeside Programming Group. He was home from college for

the summer. I told him that I was going to try to finish the class schedule before the end of the month, before our free computer time was up. There was still a ton of work to be done. I didn’t say so, but it mattered to me that I finish the thing I’d started with Kent — plus the school was counting on me. What I did say was, “I need help. Do you want to work with me on it?”

Within a day we were in Lakeside’s computer room coding for 12-hour stretches at a time and sleeping on old Army cots in between. The school gave us master keys to the buildings, allowing us free rein all summer on the empty campus. Paul no doubt had better things to do. Instead, he joined me in our old space, and we instructed the computer how to give one kid his bio lab before lunch and another a free period on Thursdays before soccer, or whatever any of the 580 Lakeside students needed in order to squeeze all their classes into a single schedule.

For a month Paul and I lived in that room. I fell asleep at the terminal more times than I can remember, my nose gradually meeting the keys for an hour or two. Then I’d wake up with a start and immediately start coding again. We got so punchy at times we cried with laughter. The smallest thing could set us off. I don’t remember specifics of those sleep-deprived nights, but Paul did. In his book “Idea Man,” he recounts that we found a random letter X had somehow landed in the lines of our code, a bug. We fell into hysterics, screaming “X!” over and over like we’d unmasked our secret nemesis.

The whole crazy project, I see in retrospect, was part of our grieving, a mission built on our shared past with Kent and with each other. Paul knew more than anyone what I was going through. He knew the best way for me to cope was by losing myself in the complexity of that coding puzzle, and he wanted to be there with me. Of course, we never talked about these feelings. But they were there.

I felt tremendous pressure that summer. I felt the weight of the trust the school had placed in my ability to come up with a scheduling program in time. Within a month I was supposed to go to Washington, D.C., and serve as a congressional page for part of the summer. (I had done a stint as a House of Representatives page in Olympia during sophomore year and was looking forward to seeing the U.S. Congress.) I couldn’t stand the feeling that if we failed, it would be on my shoulders.

Fortunately, the round-the-clock work paid off. Paul and I finished the program on time. In the fall, it worked flawlessly, and the code we wrote that summer would be used for many years to come. No longer did kids have to run to their advisors screaming for help.

One legacy of my friendship with Kent was the realization that another person can help you be better. That summer, though we didn’t know it at the time, Paul and I forged a partnership that would define the rest of our lives.

New

on the 405, we look up at the Milky Way; moonless sky spilling out before us in a stippled sable tapestry. for a moment, I could swear we are the only souls on earth.

where are we going? this morning you spoke of deserts filled with vermillion sands, of forests crowded with lions’ manes standing as tall as redwoods, of islands consumed by tangling webs of coral skeletons, yet we seem to be racing only toward the horizon. perhaps that is where these lands are, hidden in that omnipresent line fracturing the sky from the earth. perhaps if we drive fast enough we can reach that line and pry the two worlds apart with our bare hands. perhaps there we will find the moon, sleeping quietly amongst the unknown, blanketing the cracked lands with her dazzling silver light.

you take a long drag of your cigarette—flame licking up the rough paper—and I can’t help but see galaxies in the smoke, planets and moons and ecosystems suspended in smoldering ash.

From a quartet of poems inspired by phases of the moon. Published in the Lakeside student journal GREEN CLUB X IMAGO, Spring 2024.

ALUM EVENTS

OUR WINTER/SPRING RECEPTIONS kicked off in February at The 101 in Pioneer Square with the T.J. Vassar ’68 Alum Celebration. Focused on building belonging and honoring Vassar’s lasting legacy, this year’s event felt especially meaningful. We were joined by current students Ava Jones ’26 and Alana Hampton ’25, who reflected on Vassar’s impact from their student perspectives. For many, it was an intergenerational moment that brought the Lakeside spirit full circle.

At the aquarium, from the top: Marcus Jackson II ’18 with his wife, Kimberly Zamora Delgado; Drew Conkin ’17, Marcus Jackson II ’18, Michelle Villafuerte ’19, Cole Abram ’16, Jessica Cai ’16, and a guest in front of the Great Wheel; Asha Vassar ’89

Youmans, Vicki Weeks ’73, and Natasha Jones ’89 share a laugh; Mackenzie Ruoff ’09, Devin McKissic ’10, Emma Brillhart ’10, Charlotte Fisken ’10 line up.

SEATTLE

In March, members of the development office and Head of School Kai Bynum traveled to receptions in Boston and New York. These gatherings gave alums the opportunity to reconnect and hear directly from Bynum, who shared updates on Lakeside’s strategic plan and the progress of the Upper School academic building currently under construction.

We wrapped up the season in April with our largest Seattle alum reception in years. Some 235 alums and friends came together at the Seattle Aquarium at the close of an idyllic spring day. The evening was elevated by the detailed and creative planning of our alum board, which used AI in the event promotion and orchestrated a playful reception activity. They also helped bring in student speakers from Lakeside’s AI club, Andromeda (see page 20), who impressed attendees with thoughtful remarks and live AI demos at interactive stations.

Across all our receptions, Bynum mentioned that one thing remains clear: the strength and vibrancy of our alum community. Whether reflecting on past shared experiences or learning about the future of the school, these gatherings sparked connection, curiosity, and pride in Lakeside. — Amanda Campbell

SEE PHOTOS FROM ALL THE RECEPTIONS lakesideschool.org/alumni

Photos: Paul Dudley

CLASS CONNECTIONS

Classes of 2007, 2011, 2014

LIFE AFTER LAKESIDE Along with the May Day T-shirts, bouncy house, and grilled hamburgers, another popular tradition has emerged in Lakeside’s daylong celebration of spring: alums returning to campus to talk with students about career paths and choices. This year’s panels, thematically grouped, were provocatively wideranging (“Creative, Design, and the Arts,” “Defense, Intelligence, and Law Enforcement,” “Law, Government, and Impact,” “The Future of AI…”). Three of the returning alums — NBC Sports radio broadcaster Tony Simeone ’07, Seattle firefighter Adam Iyob ’14, and documentary filmmaker Graeme Aegerter ’11 — took time out ahead of their morning sessions to get to know each other and pose for a group photo. Their panel: “Living Life with Purpose and Passion.”

Simeone, Iyob, and Aegerter were among the 43 alums who came to campus to talk to students about life after Lakeside.
Photo: Beniam Yetbarek

CLASS CONNECTIONS

1961

Rick Morry recently shared some class news. “During my trip to Paris in March,” he writes, “I had the pleasure of visiting Kenneth Ritter in his beautiful apartment on Quai Voltaire, right on the Seine, with stunning views of The Tuileries and the Louvre. Ken had a long and successful career running an advertising and publishing company in Paris, but he is now retired. Another classmate, Scot Powe, has moved from his longtime home in Austin to Dripping Springs, Texas, to be closer to his daughter and her family. Despite the move, Scot continues to teach full-time at the University of Texas Law School, making him one of the few classmates still actively working.”

1967

In April, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) presented its annual Charles W.L. Foreman Award to Dick Bangert II, a longtime champion of students attending Washington’s private, not-for-profit colleges and universities. The award honors individuals demonstrating exceptional leadership in advancing the work of their state council and the national CIC State Councils network. In addition to having served on the CIC board (as well as having chaired Lakeside’s Board of Trustees), Bangert established an endowed scholarship in memory of his father. A press release announcing the award described Bangert as someone whose “steadfast commitment to providing access to higher education for Washington students has transformed countless lives.”

1971

In June, “The Tin Angel,” a haunting new opera composed by Daniel Asia, premiered at

Continued on page 42

Mary Judith Block ’78 (see note, page 42) has been traveling and enjoying her wife and dogs since retiring from a long career in forensic psychology.

Family members were on hand to celebrate Dick Bangert II (above, center) and the presentation of the annual Charles W.L. Foreman Award, given to Bangert this past April by the Council of Independent Colleges at its annual conference.

“That Smile and His Devotion Fueled Us All”

Editor’s note: In the fall/winter 2024 issue, our “Lakeside Olympian Hall of Fame” list had at least one glaring omission: sprint kayaker David Halpern ’73, who — in addition to winning dozens of national and international kayaking and canoeing medals — competed in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. We (1) deeply regret the error; (2) invite any other overlooked Lakeside Olympians to contact us to help create a definitive list; and (3) thank David for setting the record straight and sharing a bit of Lakeside history with us.

THE TRUTH IS, I would likely never have even been an Olympian were it not for Lakeside and one of its extraordinary teachers, Dwight Gibb. I came to Lakeside on scholarship for my senior year. I didn’t know anything about kayaking, but I had a crush on one of the kayakers in Dwight’s program, so I asked him if I could join the group.

He said no.

He told me it took a lot of work to teach students how to run rivers safely. He took only sophomores and juniors in the program, so they could help teach the next year’s group.

Then, about two weeks before the first river trip of the year, Dwight gave me $50 and told me to build a kayak if I wanted to paddle. Over the course of the year, he used kayaking to teach

us how to learn, how to confront challenges, and the importance of developing skills you need to reach the goals you set. One of the most vivid memories I have from my time at Lakeside is the Cheshire Cat grin of his that greeted us at the end of every gnarly rapid. That smile and the clear devotion he had for his students fueled us all.

I used what I learned from Dwight to become the fastest kayaker in the country and make an Olympic team. But more important, I’ve used them in my writing and cartooning career and pretty much everything else I’ve done. I’ve recently started a kayaking club in the San Juans, where I live now. It lets me give back in the same way that Dwight gave back.

Last year, I asked Dwight at our

50th class reunion why he relented and let me in, and how he knew I’d be such a good paddler. He told me he had no idea I’d even like the sport — but the girl I had a crush on told him he better let me join in.

And there it was again, that Cheshire Cat grin.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR NEWS! Events big and small, personal or professional, chance meetings, fun adventures, a shoutout to a classmate for a recent accomplishment … we’d love to hear about them all. Share your baby announcement and photo, and we’ll outfit your little lion with a Lakeside bib. Photo guidelines: High resolution, ideally 1 MB or larger. If sending from a smartphone, be sure to select “original size.” Email notes and photos to alumni@lakesideschool.org by Oct. 6, 2025, for the 2025 Fall/Winter issue.

Photos: Kurt Smith (top); Jane Carlson Williams ’60 Archives (bottom)
— David Halpern ’73
This winter training photo of Olympic sprint kayaker David Halpern ’73, above, appeared in Outside magazine. A pivotal influence for Halpern was Lakeside teacher and kayaking instructor Dwight Gibb, shown below at right. The two reconnected at Halpern’s 50th reunion.

CLASS CONNECTIONS

the Ellen Stewart Theater at La MaMa in New York City. Set in 1970s downtown New York, the opera unfolds inside a jazz club where memory, music, and loss intermingle. Asia’s Jewish heritage informed his music, which integrates Jewish texts and traditions along with classical and jazz influences.

1978

Since 1984, Mary Judith Block has lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she came for graduate school in clinical psychology. After earning her Ph.D. in 1990, she worked primarily for the state of Michigan as a forensic psychologist, first in Detroit and later at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry, Michigan’s equivalent of St. Elizabeth’s in Washington, D.C. Judith is now retired and enjoys traveling with her wife, Paulette Valliere, and their three dogs. Their most recent trips were to Mexico City and Sicily with Culinary Backstreets. Judith fondly recalls her time at Lakeside, especially memorable teachers including Bob Fulghum, David Nash, and Marcia Mullins. She is happy to see the increased diversity and expanded extracurricular opportunities at the school today.

1989

Since launching Return Home in 2021, founder Micah Truman has seen the company gain recognition for its sustainable approach to death care. Return Home has expanded to serve the Southwest and is committed to expanding access nationwide.

1990

the month. The article noted: “… as a queer person of color, mom of three, advanced registered nurse practitioner and state employee, the longtime Mountlake Terrace resident said she could no longer stay on the sidelines.”

In 2024, several members of the Class of 1996 donated funds to establish the Class of 1996 Endowment for Student Wellness Through Experiential Education. The fund will support Lakeside’s Experiential Education program by offering students transformative learning opportunities through the school’s service-learning and outdoor programs. The fund will promote student well-being by helping teenagers learn how to unplug from the digital world, deepen their character through authentic experiences and reflection, and engage the broader world to form healthy and meaningful relationships with others. Jamie Asaka, Lakeside’s director of student and family support and the lead for this effort, says: “Lakeside has done a lot of work to make every part of the school accessible to every student and family. There is a commitment to meet kids where they’re at and to value every kid for who they are. I love that Lakeside has evolved to meet the needs of students.”

2000

Beau Lewis has been working on the hip-hop musical “Co-Founders” for the past eight years. Performances began at American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco in May, with opening night in early June. Bay Area Lakesiders attended to show their support.

2002

Mary Hatch-Maillette has joined Lakeside’s Medical Advisory Board. She is an associate professor at the Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute (ADAI) in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on the intersection of drug use and HIV-related behaviors. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist at UWMC's outpatient psychiatry clinic, focusing on addiction treatment and co-occurring mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and trauma.

1991

Kara Schocken Aborn recently traveled to Peru, with the highlight being a pisco sour lesson and tasting at Adam Weintraub’s bar, Museo del Pisco in Cusco. Kara’s three kids joined in on the fun behind the bar, making it a memorable experience for the whole family.

1996

In March, The Seattle Times reported on the first-time activism of Sam Doyle (“One ‘chronically pissed-off’ Seattle mom decides to take action”). Inspired by a highway banner protest organized by the Backbone Campaign, Doyle gathered a group of neighbors to do their own bannering action on 220th Street and Interstate 5. The group’s banner (“Democracy Not Dictatorship”) appeared to strike a chord. In just three days, a Facebook page Doyle created had 130 members, and she was planning a second banner protest for later in

xxx Xxxx xxx

Nathan Talbot is bringing an “eatertainment”-style pickleball business to Seattle next year. Picklewood Courts and Kitchen, set to open next summer in Seattle’s Industrial District, will feature 11 courts (seven indoors, four outdoors), courtside dining, a full restaurant and bar, an outdoor beer garden, and a bagel bar. Talbot partnered with local restaurateur Ethan Stowell to combine Washington’s official state sport with a top-tier dining experience. With Seattle’s rainy climate limiting outdoor play, Talbot saw an opportunity to create a year-round hub for pickleball and community.

2012

Brian Masterson, a former long-distance runner and cross-country captain at Lakeside and a collegiate runner at Dartmouth, continues to pursue his passion for the sport. He qualified for the Olympic marathon trials in February 2024, held in Orlando. His sister, Andrea ’15, also a long-distance runner and former Lion, made an impressive mark by finishing among the top 30 women at the New York City Marathon last November.

2013

In addition to starring in the popular Paramount+ television series “1923,” actress Julia Schlaepfer has been busy on and off screen. In January, she served as a special guest judge on a Season 17 episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” She attended Ralph Lauren’s fall/winter 2025 runway show in New York City, where she impressed the editors of InStyle magazine, who published a photo feature of her and her 1980s “Top Gun” leather jacket-and-denim outfit. And in March, she appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show, where she talked about her influences and her career — including how she went to a cowXxxx xxx xxx xxx xxx Xxxx xxx

Continued on page 44

The Artist

RIES NIEMI ’72 is an expert in learning the rules of art — and then breaking them. First educated at Lakeside in the classical techniques of drawing, painting, and embroidery, Niemi later became a self-taught master of industrial mediums such as metalworking, enamored by the unique contrast they created with the softness of textiles. He brings an artistic flair to utilitarian objects, perhaps best exemplified by his series of distinctive metal chairs, which he describes as “a frame, and a blank canvas … they offer certain parameters of utility.”

He has earned more than 40 commissions for public installations, including the larger-than-life stainless-steel baseball players inset into the gates and fences surrounding the Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park. Most of his public pieces capture more abstract concepts — in Pasadena’s Del Mar Station, 550 feet of intricate fences and panels echo the “language of

trains,” evoking an industrial and art deco feel; at Whidbey Island’s Oak Harbor High School, finely boned metal cairns suggest the exploratory nature of education. Still working into his early 70s, Niemi endeavors to “misuse tools in interesting ways”— and this unconventional thinking, experimentation, and intuition define his powerfully expressive pieces.

Industrial artist Ries Niemi poses with a tool of his craft — an iron anvil. Besides blacksmithing, Niemi has taught himself to weld, fabricate, and use a

Photos: courtesy of Ries Niemi ’72
Emerson K ’27
Niemi created this and 23 other metal sculptures to adorn Seattle’s new ballpark in 1998.
cutting torch.
Einstein: one of 24 Niemi chairs.
1990s post-modern “head chair.”
Seuss, in appropriate whimsy.

Standing in front of an F-35 fighter jet at Edwards Air Force Base, Bryent Takayama ’20 has followed a lifelong passion for flying to a flight test engineering position wtih Lockheed Martin.

boy camp to prepare for her role in “1923.” One of her early mentors, Lakeside drama teacher Alban Dennis, made a surprise appearance on the show with taped well wishes for Julia.

2014

Feaven Berhe has opened her own café in West Seattle — Hagosa’s House, at 4800 Delridge Way S.W. In April, Latasia Lanier ’90 shared a schoolwide email: “A 12 oz. hot oat milk lightly sweetened matcha latte was a fantastic way to thaw out from the varsity baseball game against SAAS and cruise on into spring break.” hagosashouse.com

2017

On June 2, 2024, Kallin Spiller married Kendall Dunlap of San Antonio at Castles Beach in Kailua, Hawaii. They live on Oahu and have been enjoying married life, especially after adding a puppy named Bronco to their family last fall. Kallin is the events and marketing manager at a new resort area called Wai Kai, as well as a radio personality for ESPN Honolulu. Kendall serves as a combat medic in the Army.

2020

Bryent Takayama has followed his lifelong

passion for flying to a job as a flight test engineer on the Lockheed Martin F-35 at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He says: “The F-35 is currently the most advanced stealth supersonic American fighter jet, and Edwards Air Force Base is widely considered the birthplace of the modern jet age. My role is to serve as the test conductor for F-35 missions, where we plan and execute flights to determine the performance of new weapons and software for the airplane. Like a symphonic conductor on the podium, I am the leader ‘with the baton’ in

Continued on page 47

Photos: Chi K Photography (top left); Instagram @rupaulsdragrace(bottom, left)
Feaven Berhe ’14 enjoys a laugh at her new café, Hagosa’s House, in West Seattle.
Actress Julia Schlaepfer ’13 (third from left) was a guest judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Kallin Spiller ’17 nuptials, Hawaii, June 2024.

A Landmark Renovation with Lakeside Roots

BEN HAYES ’07 still remembers the crisp mountain air and the rhythmic crunch of boots on dirt as his Lakeside Middle School class hiked through the eastern Cascades. The trip was part of Lakeside’s longstanding outdoor program, but for Hayes, it was more than just a field trip. There, among the trees of an orchard run by a Lakeside alum and her husband, inspired by their care for the environment around them, Hayes decided “what I ended up doing with my life.”

This fascination with caring for the land is not unique in Hayes’s family. His great grandfather was one of the first foresters to begin the replantation of trees after Pacific Northwest forests were razed to the ground. Today, Hayes continues his family’s work as part of a multigenerational sustainable forestry business in Oregon.

Called Hyla Woods, it’s led by Ben’s father, Peter Hayes, a former ecology teacher and administrator at Lakeside. Built on the principle of “positive impact forestry,” Hyla Woods operates with a philosophy of focusing beyond just profits, instead prioritizing “a group of stakeholders that’s greater than the owners of the forest” — taking responsibility for wildlife, surrounding communities, and future generations. And in a “pay-it-forward” from Hayes’s service-learning days, local middle schoolers conduct science fieldwork in Hyla Woods forests alongside university researchers studying climatesmart forestry techniques.

This ethos was central to Hyla Woods’ involvement in the 2024 Portland International Airport (PDX) remodeling, a landmark urban development project that prioritized the usage of sustainable materials. Hayes played a part in supplying timber for the airport’s reconstruction, which was designed to reflect the Pacific Northwest’s natural environment. “Our engagement went back all the way to meeting one of the architects in 2015, when they were first thinking about how they were going to source the wood for that project,” Hayes recalls. “Becoming part of that conversation really early on was important in terms of helping them think through what responsible forestry and responsible sourcing look like.”

The Douglas Fir that Hyla Woods provided for the project came from a “selective thinning” operation, a logging practice that improves the health of the forest by reducing competition among trees. “That thinning project had positive outcomes for the area of the forest that we worked in, and it generated logs that went to a very small sawmill that then got milled and are now in the lattice in the airport’s roof system,” Hayes explains. However, while the $2 billion airport renovation has already represented a huge commitment to local, sustainable forestry business, Hayes envisions an even more transparent and efficient wood supply chain — one where we all have a voice in how our forests are managed.

For Hayes, his work is more than a business. It’s part of a larger movement toward responsible stewardship. What started as a lesson in an orchard in the Cascades has grown into a mission to reshape the future of forestry in the Pacific Northwest — one tree, one forest, and one thoughtful decision at a time.

Photo: Ema Peter/courtesy ZGF (left)
Sixth-generation forester Ben Hayes ’07 helps oversee the sustainably managed forest his family owns in northwest Oregon.
Hyla Woods provided much of the Douglas Fir used to construct the stunning latticed ceiling in the Portland airport renovation.

Working for Cross-Class Solidarity

ANDREA DEHLENDORF ’90 shakes her head remembering her graduation from Brown University in 1994. “A speaker called us ‘the elite of the elite’ and said we had an obligation to do great things,” she recalls. “I found it absurd, and honestly laughed out loud.” A history and women’s studies major, Dehlendorf didn’t believe that privileged and academically pedigreed students were more equipped to effect change than anyone else.

More important, she didn’t believe that individuals alone could make the kind of change she felt was most important and meaningful — social change. Only people working together in social movements could do that.

And so she put her convictions to the test. After graduation, she moved to Las Vegas for three years to organize cooks, dishwashers, cocktail servers, and guest room attendants in Las Vegas casinos. From there she went to Los Angeles to organize janitors in the commercial real estate industry before heading to Silicon Valley — not to take advantage of the tech gold rush, like so many of her peers, but to fight alongside janitors, security officers and groundskeepers.

Today, Dehlendorf’s commitment to collective action is undimmed. Given the significant stakes of this moment, she believes that we need everyone in the fight for economic justice and democracy — including, or even especially, more members of the “elite of the elite.”

Dedicated to workers’ rights and union power, Andrea Dehlendorf ’90 poses, appropriately, in front of Ralph Stackpole’s famous Depressionera mural, “Industries of California” in San Francisco.

She believes that we need everyone in the fight for economic justice — including, or even especially, more members of the “elite of the elite.”

This kind of cross-class solidarity is what Dehlendorf is trying to nurture in her new role at Democracy Takes Work, a position she was recruited into by Leah Hunt-Hendrix, a scion of a famous Texas oil family who has dedicated her life to progressive causes. Democracy Takes Work aims, in Dehlendorf’s words, “to place as much power and capital in the hands of those rebuilding society from the ground up as is held by those reshaping it from the top down.” Together, Dehlendorf and Hunt-Hendrix are co-leading Democracy Takes Work with a focused goal: to rebuild union density to the levels that drove the height of both worker power and economic equality in the U.S. This isn’t about protecting one segment of the workforce. It’s about organizing across sectors and geographies to reestablish la-

bor as a durable force in American life.

Building this alliance involves bridging different worlds. This past March, for example, Dehlendorf found herself speaking and hobnobbing at San Francisco’s illustrious Commonwealth Club as part of the rarified Global Philanthropy Forum. Days later, she was in Chicago for an invitation-only conference featuring 200 of the country’s smartest, scrappiest social movement leaders.

Dehlendorf credits her time at Lakeside with helping to orient her moral compass. She lights up reminiscing about Bob Mazelow’s world studies class and Jim Wichterman’s philosophy seminar. She remembers listening to new wave music on her Walkman, Guess jeans being all the rage, and how embarrassed she was of her parents’ green Volkswagen camper van — and how she and her fellow students were also reading Hannah Arendt and the existentialists, including Camus. They were challenged by guest speakers, including a Holocaust survivor who made an indelible impression. “The Holocaust loomed really large for me, because I am German,” she says. “I wondered: what would I have done if I had been alive at that time?”

At Lakeside, Dehlendorf cut her teeth as an activist, helping

Photo: Matt Lever

lead fellow students on their “January Days” excursions and organizing a school assembly focused on LGBTQ issues. These skills would serve her well when, in 2011, she helped spearhead a new form of worker association to take on Walmart that now operates as United for Respect. As a result, Walmart raised pay, redistributing billions of dollars from what was then the wealthiest family in the U.S. to cashiers, stockers, and greeters. They also won for full-time hourly workers the same paid family leave policy that salaried executives had.

At Democracy Takes Work, Dehlendorf is building on that success while expanding her purview. In addition to supporting the most exploited workers, she’s also building with public servants and academics who have found themselves in the Trump administration’s crosshairs: Environmental Protection Agency lawyers trying to keep the air safe, civil engineers designing local infrastructure, professors teaching history or art, scientists doing cancer research, and educators dedicated to students with disabilities.

“Andrea brings incredible energy, positivity, and wisdom to the much-needed movement-building and infrastructure design,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Nobel prizewinning economist Daron Acemoglu tells me. “She is applying her deep experience and energy to one of the hardest and most urgent challenges of our time: improving the livelihood and making collective power of workers in the United States.”

Democracy Takes Work is the kind of long-term, high-leverage work that has historically struggled to find patient, strategic philanthropic support. With proper funding, Dehlendorf believes that the group can help rebuild a 21st century labor movement — the kind of movement that history shows is key to preventing democratic backsliding.

“Corruption and inequality are not inevitable. They’re choices,” Dehlendorf says, when I ask what motivates her. “We can make other choices.” She hears echoes of that question that haunted her in high school: What would I have done if I had been alive at that time? “We’re facing an authoritarian, corporate capture of our government. When working people and folks of means work together in alliance, lasting change can be made.”

continued from page 44

the mission control room, communicating on the radio with the pilot and ensuring all of my discipline engineers are on the same page. I harken back to when I had the opportunity to conduct the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra with Dr. Ekpo and Ms. Johansen — a substantially different yet somewhat similar type of role.”

Following graduation from Yale, Isabelle Qian (right) moved to Alaska through the university’s Alaska Fellows Program, which connects young professionals to nonprofit organizations in our 49th state. She worked for six months at Outer Coast, an emerging experimental college in Sitka, an island city in southeastern Alaska. “Most of my work involved grant writing and fundraising to provide for students with Indigenous and underserved backgrounds,” she writes. “Outer Coast was a real exercise in hope and idealism: it was so exciting to work with people who genuinely wanted to center virtue, community, responsibility, and beauty as a foundation for education! Sitka — for me — also involved a lot of hiking with friends, getting my hands dirty with fish guts, and hanging out with the retired fishermen at the local maritime center.” Isabelle is currently in Taipei studying Chinese, looking forward to returning to Sitka for summer work on a fishing boat and planning to start a writing MFA at the University of Iowa in the fall.

2023

Sam Doane is working to develop an innovative pediatric prosthetic leg as a student at University of Southern California’s Alfred E. Mann department of biomedical engineering. Alongside his research partner, he is troubleshooting a key jointalignment mechanism with guidance from leading medical device expert professor Gerald Loeb. Doane’s work takes place in USC’s new Innovation Space, a cutting-edge lab designed to support hands-on biomedical engineering projects and medtech development.

2024

Mia Broom and the Columbia University women’s basketball team squared off against the University of Washington in one of the “First Four” play-in games of this year’s March Madness NCAA tournament. The game was live-streamed to an enthusiastic Lakeside audience in Kent Evans Auditorium. Columbia won, advancing to the regular bracket as an 11th seed, where they lost in the first round.

ST. NICHOLAS

ALUMS

Sandra Jones ’53 Senna · Aug. 21, 2024

Sandra Senna passed away peacefully in August, surrounded by her loving family. Sandra was born in Seattle in 1935 to Bill and Helen Jones and lived on Capitol Hill during her early years. She spent two years at Garfield High School and graduated from St. Nicholas. Her academic journey continued at the University of Washington, where she embraced sorority life as a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. Her marriage to James Senna saw her nurturing a family of four in Olympia. There, she also pursued her love for skiing, which she enjoyed well into her 70s, always taking advantage of every opportunity to spend time with her kids in the mountains. Sandra’s other interests included gardening, knitting, and playing bridge.

Sandra spent much of her life in downtown Olympia, working at Talcott Jewelers and Drees of Olympia. She considered her co-workers a second family. Her commitment to community service is evident in her lifelong membership with the Genevieve Henry Seattle Children’s Guild and working as a docent at the Governor’s Mansion, showcasing her dedication to civic duty and her love for her home state.

She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers. She is survived by her children, Susan Lindskog (Blake), Sarah Senna (Greg), Stephen Senna (Karin), and David Senna, and by seven beloved grandchildren. A donation can be made in her name to the Genevieve Henry Guild to support the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Karen Elander ’61 Frenk · Jan. 9, 2025

Karen passed away peacefully at home at the age of 82. She was born in Seattle on Dec. 13, 1942. Her parents were William and Maxine Elander, native Seattleites and Queen Anne Hill residents. Karen graduated from St. Nicholas in 1961 and Seattle Pacific College in 1965. She majored in English while also receiving her teaching credentials. Karen enjoyed singing, and during college she sang in the choir of her church, Queen Anne Lutheran. Karen married Joel Frenk in 1965 and was married for 59 years at the time of her passing. She is survived by her husband, Joel, and daughter Kristine Griffith, sonin-law Greg Griffith, and granddaughter Ella.

Karen loved children and taught grades four through six in the Federal Way School District. Karen was also very active in her church, Grace Lutheran in Des Moines. She was a member of the choir for several decades and was an occasional soloist. She was interested in and concerned about the less fortunate and participated in programs to feed the poor and homeless. Karen went on two mission trips to Haiti and, as a result, she experienced firsthand the challenges people in this island nation have endured. This evolved

into ongoing support for the people and children of Haiti. She was planning another trip there when she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, which ended her 26-year teaching career. However, she continued for the next decade to help children through the KidReach program at her church, which allowed her to tutor young children with learning difficulties.

Despite her disability, Karen and her husband continued to travel, especially enjoying cruising on the Mediterranean. Karen loved the arts and often attended symphony, opera, and ballet performances. She and her husband were also season ticket holders and avid fans of the Seattle Mariners. Karen was a voracious reader who always kept her Kindle within reach. Karen will be remembered for her love of life, love of family, and love of the children she taught.

LAKESIDE ALUMS

John A. Wahl Jr. ’52 · Nov. 10, 2023

John A. Wahl Jr., 89, of Port Angeles, passed away in the fall of 2023. The son of John A. Wahl Sr. and Elma (Armstrong) Wahl, John graduated from Lakeside and attended the University of Washington and spent two years in the U.S. Army. A lifelong Washington resident, John worked as a logger, cattle rancher, and business owner before retiring from Boeing after a long career in sales. An enthusiastic Freemason, he was recognized for 25 years of service as a member of Crescent Lodge #109 F.&A.M., Enumclaw. He was also active with Thornton F. McElroy Lodge #302, Federal Way.

John retired in Port Angeles. He loved fishing and boating and was active with the Port Angeles Yacht Club for a time. For many years, John was the Great Olympic Peninsula Duck Derby Race’s top ticket seller; each year he could be found at the downtown Port Angeles Safeway, selling tickets every day in May. He was laid to rest at Tahoma National Cemetery. He is survived by his loving daughters, Valerie Wahl of Spokane and Lisa Wahl of Olympia, as well as four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Alan C. Beall ’56 · Nov. 27, 2024

Alan Beall, a prominent commercial real estate developer in Hawaii, passed away peacefully at his home in Kailua-Kona, surrounded by family. He was 86.

A Seattle native, Alan attended McGilvra Elementary and Edmond S. Meany Middle School before graduating from Lakeside. He studied at the University of Washington and later earned an economics degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Alan was a visionary in Hawaii’s commercial development, responsible for iconic retail centers such as Honolulu’s Restaurant Row, Waterfront

IF YOU HAVE A REMEMBRANCE to share about a St. Nicholas or Lakeside alum for the next issue of Lakeside magazine, please email the alum relations office at alum@lakesideschool.org or call 206-368-3606. The following are reprints of paid notices or remembrances submitted by family members. All remembrances are subject to editing for length and clarity. The submission deadline for the fall/winter issue is Oct. 6, 2025

Row in Kailua-Kona, and Kings’ Shops in Waikoloa. He founded The Beall Corporation, which has left a lasting impact on Hawaii’s business landscape. Beyond his career, he was an avid collector, traveler, and environmental steward who loved exploring his Kaloko Mauka property. He is survived by his children, Brian, Cory, and Cristin, two grandchildren, his sister Barbara, and Hunny, his beloved cat. A celebration of life was held in January at his Hawaii residence. Memorial donations may be made to The Nature Conservancy.

Neil C. Bell ’57 · Jan. 3, 2025

Neil Bell passed away peacefully in Seattle after a short illness at the age of 85. He was born in Seattle on May 26, 1939, to Clark “Kenny” Bell and Glee Jamison, daughter of Neil Jamison, a pioneer Everett lumberman who came to Everett in 1907 and organized the Jamison Mill Co. Neil Bell grew up in San Marino, California, before relocating to Seattle as a teenager. He was a star athlete at Lakeside and began his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, where he was a proud member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He moved to Ellensburg and graduated from Central Washington University while working on his grandfather’s ranch nearby. Fond memories of living the cowboy life led Neil to settle in the Ellensburg area during his retirement years.

After serving in the U.S. Marines, Neil married Mary Wilson, a Vassar College classmate of his friend Jennifer Paul. Neil and Mary moved to Shelton, Washington, and later Eureka, California, where Neil worked for Simpson Timber Company. They returned to Seattle when Neil had the opportunity to buy and lead the Hamilton Carpet Co. It was there they raised their two daughters, Laura and Jacqueline. Following a lifelong passion, Neil later operated a charter fishing company as captain of The Marauder out of Sequim, Washington.

Neil was happiest when he was outdoors — fishing, hunting, boating, golfing, and gardening — especially savoring times with his duck-hunting buddies at Dungeness. Always in search of the perfect 18th hole or the greatest catch, Neil ventured to Scotland, Patagonia, and Belize, and was a part-time resident of Cabo San Lucas. He was a former member of the Seattle Golf Club, Seattle Tennis Club, University Men’s Club, and Washington Athletic Club.

For his four grandchildren, a visit to “Grampy’s” house in Ellensburg was like going to camp: They enjoyed fishing, shooting, ATV riding, swimming, bocce ball, and card games. Often, mischief and levity would ensue. Grampy always won at cards.

Neil is survived by his wife, Caralee Bell; daughters Laura Hammarlund (John ’79) and Jacqueline Saxton (Cole); and his four grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Susan Bell Steen. Neil will be remembered for his affability, humor, and sense of adventure. With a twinkle in his eye, Neil made everyone smile.

Peter B. Scribner ’61 · Jan. 11, 2025

Peter Belding Scribner was born May 2, 1944, and died this past January. He led an exceptional, idiosyncratic life, even though his humility would never let him fully acknowledge his contribution to the people and world around him.

“Kind” and “gentle” appear again and again in the condolences that pour in from near and far. No doubt today’s unkind and ungentle world, with its stark inequities, contributed to Peter’s longheld feelings of existential angst. Peter had an extraordinary mind. A pivotal year at the Upper Latymer School in Hammersmith, London, sparked his intellect. When he returned to Lakeside School, he skipped a grade and ended up valedictorian of his class. At Stanford he studied English literature. Then, at the University of Washington, he studied urban planning, where he completed a master’s dedicated to Paolo Soleri’s ideas about how cities can function optimally.

During his time working at the Seattle Parks Department, he helped produce the environmental impact statement for the construction of three of Seattle’s great outdoor spaces. Perhaps when you’re on the Burke-Gilman Trail, Discovery Park, or Gas Works Park, you will think of Peter and give him a nod. In the 1980s, he conceived and oversaw construction of “urban cabins” on his property on Capitol Hill; these exemplify his ideas about humane, compatible, and efficient urban living. The design won an award from the magazine Architectural Record. Traditional desk work repelled Peter, and in the pursuit of a livelihood that required less of his intellect, he took a job as a file clerk at the law firm of Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, where he worked off and on, but mostly on, for 39 years. He saved his intellect for the serious study of spiritual writings. Among his most beloved were the works of Stephen Mitchell, from which, if you were lucky, he would quote in conversation. He had exceptional knowledge of world geography; he loved discussing the minutiae of the Seattle street system; he honored the humble and sometimes heroic souls he met at the downtown YMCA, where he swam almost daily for 50 years. He was as devoted a friend as you could ever ask for.

Peter was preceded in death by his parents, Scrib and Betty. He is survived by his younger siblings, Rob, Tom, and Elizabeth, as well as nieces, nephews, step-siblings, extended family, and a myriad of friends, many in Seattle, but also in faraway places like Italy and Thailand.

Joel Ciszek ’70 · Sept. 21, 2024

Joel Ciszek passed away suddenly at home. He was the loving husband of Liz, beloved father of Quintin and Macy, and adored fatherin-law of Sophie and Carlo. He was also an adored “Bucky” to his

IN MEMORIAM

grandchildren, Sid, India, Hobie, Coco, and a baby on the way. Joel was loved and will be deeply missed; we are devastated. His adventures will be with us forever.

Clark Bain Jr. ’76 · Feb. 20, 2025

Robert Clark Bain, Jr., 66, of Edina, Minnesota, died on Feb. 20, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert Clark Bain Sr. and Diane Berryman Bain. Born June 23, 1958, in Seattle, Clark became an Eagle Scout and excelled at squash while attending Lakeside and, later, Harvard University. While working in Ohio, he met the love of his life, Tina Sega. After graduating from Harvard Business School, the couple moved to Minneapolis, where they raised their six children. Clark’s entrepreneurial spirit and genuine interest and belief in others defined his diverse career.

Clark cherished family adventures, including Boundary Waters canoe trips and cross-country road trips. Clark’s deep faith, legendary hospitality, and remarkable optimism were as constant as his infectious laugh. He is survived by his beloved wife, Tina; children Mycah, Gentry, Piper, Estelle, Selah, and Sterling Bain; sisters Dana and Brodie ’78; and a community of friends.

David Tanaka ’76 · Nov. 13, 2024

David Tanaka was a shining light to all. He passed away peacefully at home last November, and his legacy continues to inspire us. Classmates remember him as a person of integrity, kindness, and grace. A member of the last all-boys seventh grade class at Lakeside, he delighted in recounting amusing stories about that special year and the lifelong bonds created. In subsequent years at school, David was known for amazing hand-drawn sketches, including the Lakeside lion mascot. He brought a smile and a caring word to those fortunate enough to cross his path.

That continued throughout the years when David took on class reunion leadership roles and we met his beautiful family: his wife, Emiko, and children Jayson and Claire. His dedication to family and work was always evident, as well as an abiding commitment to Lakeside. There was time for him to reach out to one more classmate, extending goodwill, welcoming everyone to gather together. With gratitude, we will follow his example in approaching our upcoming 50th reunion and treasure the collective memories even more.

Edward Lightfoot ’91 · Oct. 20, 2024

Edward “Marty” Lightfoot was born in Seattle and later became an Olympia resident. A sometimes student at Evergreen College and potter, he was a practicing Buddhist who, in his daily life, worked to reduce suffering, especially for the unhoused people in his city. His mother, Judy Lightfoot; father, Edward Lightfoot; stepfather, Bob McNamara; sister, Sarah Lightfoot ’89; stepsister, Caitlin Sullivan ’00; her husband, Kevin; and children Aife and Niall; stepmother, Amaia Yeregui; and half-sister, Ainara Sherwood — all miss his lov-

ing, peaceful, creative, generous spirit. Gifts in his name can go to NAMI Greater Seattle and Seattle Buddhist Center.

FACULTY AND STAFF

Daren M. Salter · Feb. 5, 2025

Daren Michael Salter, a beloved husband, father, brother, son, and teacher, passed away in Seattle after a courageous battle with neuroendocrine cancer. Born Aug. 18, 1976, in French Camp, California, Daren lived his life with a vibrant passion for education, music, and sports.

A graduate of Eureka High School, Daren excelled both academically and athletically, becoming the Humboldt/Del Norte County MVP Basketball player. His love of sports continued as he was recognized as an All-County League baseball and soccer player. Daren’s pursuit of knowledge led him to the University of California at Davis, where he double-majored in history and English with honors. He went on to receive his master’s degree in history from San Francisco State University and furthered his studies toward a Ph.D. at the University of Washington.

Daren’s professional life was marked by his dedication to teaching. He was an honored teacher of Upper School humanities at Northwest School in Seattle and an outstanding teacher of Upper School history at Lakeside. Daren taught with fervor, conviction, and integrity, always aiming to make a meaningful impact in the lives of his students. His commitment to education was not just a career, but a calling, one he fulfilled with distinction and grace. Beyond the classroom, Daren’s creative spirit shone brightly. He began writing songs and playing in a band during his high school years, a passion he continued to nurture into adulthood. His musical talents blossomed, and he has written and performed dozens of songs, leaving a lasting legacy that can be heard on Apple Music and Spotify.

As a champion trivia player and an avid sports fan, Daren’s competitive spirit and love of games were well-known among his friends and family. His enthusiasm for life’s many facets was infectious, and he

brought joy and laughter to those around him.

Daren’s greatest love, however, was for his family. He adored his wife, Gretchen, and was a devoted father to his children, Quinn, Dane, and Nora. His pride in his family was evident in every aspect of his life, and he was their unwavering supporter in all their endeavors.

Daren is survived by his loving wife, Gretchen, and their children; his parents, Kathleen and David Salter; his brothers; in-laws; nieces and nephews. Daren lived his life with enthusiasm, love, and a boundless zest for life. His departure leaves a void in the hearts of those who knew him, but his influence and the memories he created will continue to inspire and comfort his loved ones for years to come. He will be remembered for his kind heart, his sharp intellect, and his unwavering commitment to his family and students. His spirit will live on in the lives he touched and the love he shared.

Benjamin F. McKinley · March 30, 2025

Ben McKinley, a beloved family man, educator, and outdoorsman, passed away peacefully at his Seattle home after a courageous twoand-a-half-year battle with lymphoma. Ben dedicated his adult life to inspiring students as a secondary school math teacher and embracing the natural beauty of the western United States. Over the years, he shaped young minds at Fountain Valley School, Colorado Rocky Mountain School, and ultimately Lakeside School in Seattle, where he was revered by students and fellow faculty and staff.

Born and raised in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Ben attended New Eagle Elementary School, Valley Forge Junior High School, and Episcopal Academy, where he captained the squash team. He continued his education at Princeton University, majoring in economics and playing squash as a freshman, and later earned a master’s in education from Stanford University.

His zeal for the outdoors was kindled in Maine as a summer camper but flourished in the West. A veteran of Minnesota Outward Bound and multiple National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) courses in Alaska, Ben explored countless rivers and summited all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks, along with many more in North America, South America, and Oceania. He was an accomplished runner, rock climber, mountain biker, skate skier, kayaker, canoeist, and photographer. Ben took advantage of every opportunity he had to travel and enjoy nature with his family and friends. Ben also formed his strongest bonds in nature. On a Grand Canyon River expedition he met the love of his life, Jackie. Their love was most infectious when they were enjoying an outdoor adventure, of which they had many.

A devoted husband and father, Ben enthusiastically traveled to support his son, Bryce, at baseball games and spent countless hours belaying his daughter, Keira, at the local climbing gym. He took no greater pride than in his children’s accomplishments and prioritized their flourishing above all else. As a teacher and coach, Ben was admired for his unwavering commitment to his students, always seeking opportunities to teach both in and outside the classroom. He formed lasting connections with his students and athletes, leaving an enduring impact on all who knew him.

Friendship was a cornerstone of Ben’s life, and he thought nothing of embarking on cross-country road trips to visit friends and family, even after his diagnosis and treatments took their toll. New

and lifelong friends felt his uncompromising compassion. His warmth, adventurous spirit, and appreciation for the natural world will be deeply missed.

Ben is survived by his wife, Jackie Gayan; son, Bryce Gayan ’23; daughter, Keira Gayan ’30; his mother, Judith Rogers; his brothers, Adam and Dan; his sister, Laura; his stepmother, Lili Goldstein; and 17 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, William Goldstein. Ben’s legacy lives on in the lives he touched, the mountains he climbed, and the countless students, friends, and family who will forever carry his spirit with them.

The best way to honor Ben is to support the inspiring work of the Canyonlands Field Institute, a nonprofit carrying out the critical work of connecting the next generation to nature in one of Ben’s favorite corners of the world: cfimoab.org/join-and-support/

Young Alum Night Out Classes from 2015-2021

19 Distinguished Alum Award Assembly and Lunch: Andrea Rodgers ’94 Harris

17 Jerry St. Dennis Speaker on Economics: Betsey Stevenson

19 Recent grad gathering Classes from 2022-2025

28 Mark J. Bebie ’70 Memorial Lecture: Arlo Washington

2025-2026

Lakeside |

St. Nicholas Alum Board

❚ Ai Li Chiong-Martinson ’06 President

❚ Nate Benjamin ’07

Past President

❚ Katherine Winquist Jackson ’95, Activities Committee Chair

❚ Junemee Kim ’97

12 T.J. Vassar ’68 Alum Celebration March  18 Pre-Lecture Alum Reception, Dan Ayrault Lecture: Megan Asaska ’99

2 Seattle Area Alum Reception

Arts Fest Alum Meetup

50th Reunion: Class of 1976 5 Head’s Reception and 2026 Reunion: Classes Ending in “6’s” and “1’s” 9 Lakeside Commencement Class of 1976 Leads Procession

PUT THESE DATES IN INK! But note that all in-person event dates are tentative. Please visit www.lakesideschool.org/alums for updates throughout the year, including information on regional alum receptions. Questions? Contact the alumni relations office at alum@lakesideschool.org or 206-368-3606.

DEIB Committee Chair

❚ Chris Pohl ’00,  M&G Committee Chair

MEMBERS

❚ Carla Erickson ’80 Orlando

❚ John Powell ’81

❚ Beth Levine ’83

❚ India Ornelas ’92

❚ Kia Davis ’95

❚ Yongbai Choi ’97

❚ Ned Hosford ’00

❚ Liz Bolen ’01

❚ Jon Gorder ’04

❚ Matthew Markovich ’04

❚ Terrance Blakely ’06

❚ Shea Velling ’07

❚ Alejandro Luna-Juliano ’08

❚ Aurora Gilbert Beauclair ’10

❚ Sylvia Xu Ross ’12

❚ David Becker ’14

❚ Feaven Berhe ’14

❚ Andrew Helean ’14

❚ Cole Abram ’16

❚ Michelle Villafuerte ’19

The Lakeside/St. Nicholas Alum Board has shifted away from using “alumni,” “alumnae,” and other genderbased forms of the Latin root, reflecting its commitment to an inclusive environment for all. “Language is a powerful tool that shapes our thoughts [and] perceptions,” the board shared in a statement. “Using gender-inclusive language signals that Lakeside values its diverse community and is dedicated to fostering a culture of respect and belonging.”

Photo: Jordan Kines

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