NEXUS 2024 - Marin Academy

A

B C

D

E G

F

H

Student Visual Arts Spotlight A "Dewdrops" by Ewan S. '24 B "Untitled" by Rae M. '26 C "Vanishing Boats" by Ella B. '25

D "Late" by Francesca D. '25 E "Tree and Sea" by Amelia T. '25 F "Color" by Jerson L. '25

TO SEE MORE IMAGES, PLEASE VISIT MA.ORG/ARTS

G "Water" by Jerson L. '25 H "Transformation" by Nate F. '24

NEXUS 2024

3

What's Inside STUDENT ART EXHIBITION Recognizing MA student artists 2-3 8-9 7

Visual Arts Performing Arts HEAD'S NOTE

Travis Brownley reflects on MA's responsibility to innovate for the greater good 10

GO FORTH!

Congratulations to our 2024 graduates!

14

GO WILDCATS!

2024-25 Marin Academy athletics year in review 18

EQUITY IN MENTAL

10

HEALTH EDUCATION

Justine Clifford

How Three MA Seniors Are

DESIGN

Enhancing Access to Mental Health Education for Youth in Marin 24

APPLIED GENETICS

RESEARCH COMES TO MA MARC Program Expands with Stanford Research Collaboration 29

ALUMNI CLASS NOTES

Lavin Creative

14

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS 31 36 43

EDITOR

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Justine Clifford Julie Helmbrecht FRONT COVER ART "Pursuit of Happiness"

by Devon G. '24 BACK COVER ART "The Looming Meal"

by Zoe A. '24

Alan Sebastian '22

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jessica Amen '98

Melissa Neal MA Parents MA Students

Deap Ubhi '97

48

Jennifer Bernstein '97

51

ANNUAL REPORT

58

TRUSTEES

Welcoming new members to the MA Board of Trustees

"GlobeHead" by Ewan S . '24

NEXUS Magazine is produced by the Faculty and Staff at:

29

Marin Academy 1600 Mission Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901

NEXUS 2024

5

6

MARIN ACADEMY

Head's Note

From our founding to today, Marin Academy students exhibit a drive and a passion for making a difference in their local communities and in the world at large. Our feature articles share incredible stories of students making an impact. Highlighted are three current seniors who drew from their academic, IDEQ, and club leadership experiences to launch a program addressing mental health inequity for young people in Marin. You’ll learn more about the twelve juniors and seniors who are helping scientists seeking to find cures for diseases as part of our new Marin Academy Research Collaborative Applied Genetics course.

We’ll also catch up with Marin Academy alumni who are making their mark on the community. Across the decades, Marin Academy alumni are making a difference, and we’re excited to share stories of forest activism, film-making, and sustainability-focused start-ups. Our class notes, as always, are filled with updates and photos, and we hope reading them inspires you to reach out and continue to build community with the students, parents, alumni, teachers, and others who make MA such an amazing place.

This year we are delighted to share that Marin Academy has again won the coveted Elmer Brown Award of Excellence which honors the highest-ranking NCS School in both athletic and scholastic achievement, while maintaining the highest standards of sportsmanship. MA earned an outstanding 18 North Coast Section Scholastic Team Awards and 8 league championships. In addition, 12% of our seniors this year went on to compete in collegiate athletics!

One of my favorite parts of the NEXUS is the incredible collection of student-created works of art in dance, theater, photography, and sculpture that fill this magazine. I hope you also enjoy these beautiful visuals as you peruse the pages.

Our annual report highlights our generous donors who enabled Marin Academy to continue to move forward with innovation in the classroom; embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our community; and build a campus that encourages and welcomes connection. We are beyond grateful for your support.

With joy and appreciation,

Travis Brownley

"Untitled" by Callie Z. '24

NEXUS 2024

7

Student Performing Arts Spotlight TO SEE MORE IMAGES, PLEASE VISIT MA.ORG/ARTS

NEXUS 2024

9

T

Go Forth!

he class of 2024 began in the fall of 2020 when the world was in the midst of the pandemic, but it did not stop them from graduating as a close-knit community of leaders, artists, scholars, and athletes. As is the MA way, our class of 2024 met uncertainty with resilience, grit, and creativity, and we joyfully came together to relish their graduation this June.

Starting virtually, the class of 2024 had to strive to realize their dreams of high school with athletic games and proms, and in doing so, they built a foundation of strength and flexibility. They inspired us from the dance studio to the camera lens with art that spoke to their hope, fortitude, and compassion. This class of courageous artists dared to put their work on display and were recognized for their bravery, with 11 class members being recognized for Scholastic Awards for visual arts. The Bay Area

10

MARIN ACADEMY

Creative Foundation recognized two Presidential Awards, one Superior Award, two Exceptional Awards, and five Special Merit Awards within the MA class of 2024, and for the first time, one of our graduates was honored with the Golden Gate Marin Artists Award.

As you will read in the athletics recap, we had a remarkable number of graduates this year who went on to play collegiate sports, and our varsity teams won 18 North Coast Section Scholastic Team Awards. We absolutely could not have received the highest-ranking NCS Elmer Brown Award of Excellence without the class of 2024 scholar-athletes who captained and participated in the MA Athletics Program this year.

Please join us in congratulating the class of 2024 and welcoming them to our alumni community!

HEAD'S CUP In honor of Marin Academy's first head, William A. McCluskey, the Head's Cup is presented to a graduating student who embodies the moral quality and attitudes of mind and character fostered by the institution. Established by James F. Thacher, the Founding Board President, this prestigious award recognizes individuals who exemplify the school's core values.

Known for his consideration, generosity, and kindhearted nature, Sammy Lee leads each day with positivity and integrity.

His impact spans so many facets of school life, from Admissions Fellow to singer and student leader to athlete. Beloved by all his peers and respected by adults, Sammy Lee epitomizes intellectual openness and sophistication, bringing authentic engagement in all he does, leading with both head and heart.

ZUMBRUN AWARD In memory of Danielle Plumb Zumbrun '79 and in recognition of her keen appreciation of nature and her sense of responsibility as a caretaker of the earth, this award recognizes outstanding student leadership in the Outings program.

When the class of 2024 started at MA, school was entirely remote, and Outings pivoted to a mix of socially distant, masked, cohort-based outdoor activities, and online "innings" designed to build camaraderie through Zoom. Helena Pflaum was a regular attendee of the repeating "Creative Writing" inning, and once we returned in person, she began to sign up for trips. Helena weathered many cancellations and kept showing up to all kinds of outings: an urban wander to SFMOMA, a trip to the Ashby Theater in Berkeley, a local San Rafael thrifting trip, visits to the tide pools and Coastal Clean Up days, and hikes at most hours of the day and night to see wildflowers, waterfalls, tule elk, the moon, a historic lighthouse, and more.

NEXUS 2024

11

GRADUATION

What's Next for the Class of 2024 Bard College Berklee College of Music Boston College (3) Boston University Brown University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (3) California Polytechnic State University, Pomona Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Chapman University (3) Claremont McKenna College Colby College (2) Colgate University (3) Colorado College (4) Colorado School of Mines Columbia University Dartmouth College Elon University Emory University

12

MARIN ACADEMY

Fordham University Georgetown University Johns Hopkins University Kenyon College Loyola Marymount University Macalester College Middlebury College (2) New York University New York University, Shanghai Northeastern University (4) Polimoda International Institute of Fashion Design and Marketing Pomona College Rice University Rochester Institute of Technology San Diego State University Santa Clara University Smith College Stanford University (2) Tufts University (3) Tulane University (3)

University of British Columbia (2) University of California, Berkeley (3) University of California, Los Angeles (4) University of California, Riverside University of California, Santa Barbara (5) University of California, Santa Cruz (2) University of Chicago (2) University of Colorado, Boulder (2) University of Denver (3) University of Miami (5) University of Notre Dame University of Rochester University of San Diego University of Southern California (3) University of Virginia University of Washington (2) University of Wisconsin (2) Vanderbilt University (3) Washington University in St. Louis (5) Wesleyan University (2) Williams College (2)

NEWS BRIEFS

M

Go Wildcats!

arin Academy Athletics had an incredible year, and we are delighted to announce MA was the winner of the coveted NCS Elmer Brown Award of Excellence. This award honors the highestranking NCS School (North Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation) that has had the greatest overall success in athletic and scholastic achievement throughout the year while maintaining the highest standards of sportsmanship.

This is the second time MA has won this award in school history, the first being in 2009. We are the first and only school in the Bay Area Conference to win this award, and we have won it two times!

14

MARIN ACADEMY

At Marin Academy, our student-athletes are also stellar scholars.

This year we earned an outstanding 18 North Coast Section Scholastic Team Awards. To win this award, a team must have a top 3 unweighted GPA in their sport. Considering there are 155 member schools in the North Coast Section, this is no easy feat, and the Wildcats took home 18 of these awards this year!

We continued to grow our student-athlete leadership program, providing education and training for our prospective captains on how to be effective leaders for the teams. Positive Coach Alliance came to campus in May to speak with our studentathletes, and we had eighty 9th-11th graders in attendance.

ATHLETICS

Shout Out to Our Wildcats For the first time in the school's history: • Girls Water Polo won their first North Coast Section title.

• The North Coast Section doubles tennis title was won by our own Ann & Jane M. '26.

• Girls Volleyball team made a historic postseason run by finishing as the NorCal Regional Champion and competing in the State Championship for the second time in school history.

We had 8 league champions: • Girls Golf • Girls Tennis • Boys Soccer • Boys Lacrosse • Girls Lacrosse • Girls Swimming • Boys Swimming • Boys Golf • Boys Golf finished as the North Coast Section runner-up.

• Girls Field Hockey team enjoyed their inaugural season.

• We had 77% student participation in athletics!

• We had 14 seniors move on to compete in collegiate athletics—meaning roughly 12% of our senior class went on to play sports at the next level. The national average for high school students who move on to play a college sport is just under 7%!

16

MARIN ACADEMY

"Eggstatic" by Genevive Z. '25

Equity in Mental Health Education How Three MA Seniors Are Enhancing Access to Mental Health Education for Youth in Marin

18

MARIN ACADEMY

B

efore you dive into this article, take a moment to think about what drew you to Marin Academy in the first place. What makes Marin Academy so much more than a traditional college preparatory high school?

Maybe you were drawn to the rich academic program, the incredible faculty, the legacy of excellence, or the beautiful facilities, or maybe it was because when you stepped onto campus, you could feel something more profound, a spark in the air, a distinct way our students interacted with each other and the world at large. The story you are about to read is about three passionate, driven, conscientious student activists inspired by our relevant and intersectional approach who harnessed that spark to make a difference in the world.

Mona M. '25, Mika K. '25, and Genevive Z. '25 are best friends, collaborators, and co-founders of Mindful Futures: Empowering Youth Wellness For All in Marin County. These seniors have adopted leadership roles in various programs at MA like IDEQ (Identity and Equity) groups, student clubs, athletics, theater, music, arts, Crossroads, and our HumDev TA (Human Development Teaching Assistant) program. Their varying experiences and their interest in making a tangible change in their community have driven them to ideate and launch Mindful Futures which addresses the mental health educational disparity between Marin's school districts and, in doing so, addresses mental health equity. Mindful Futures' mission is to further conversations surrounding mental health by focusing on educating and providing resources for young people between 10 and 14 years old. They work with local community programs to provide accessible mental health and wellness resources and education to children in Marin County.

Mona, Mika, and Genevive are very intentional when they speak about addressing mental health inequity. Mona shares, "Before my 9th-grade HumDev course, I thought that the terms equity and equality were interchangeable, which they are not. An example of the importance of equity that we learned about in HumDev was public school education in Marin County. The stark disparity between certain schools' resources, merely because of the town they were located in, stuck out to me. In these situations, equity is important in distributing resources to the schools that need them the most. This is the most effective way to attempt to 'level the playing field,' so to speak." Genevive adds, "A lot of people think that by giving everyone the same resources and the same opportunities, it will solve any gaps in privilege across different identities. But that's just not the case, and I think many people are hesitant to follow the philosophy of equity because it feels unfair to give different people different resources depending on their needs. I've heard this sentiment again and again in different ways, and every time, it makes me wish more and more that more people had access to what we learn about in HumDev because it's made me a better person, and I really believe it would make the world a better place."

Throughout the HumDev program, students are asked to develop an understanding of the influence of social institutions, clarify their values and communicate them to others, understand the impact of their actions on self and others, and practice the tools necessary to support healthy relationships and make decisions that align with their ethical framework. Class activities and discussions are meant to strengthen students' self-awareness, communication techniques, and decisionmaking skills. An integral part of the HumDev program, led by long-time MA teachers Nicole Stanton and Sanjai Moses, is peer-to-peer education. In Mika's junior year, she joined the HumDev TA program.

Before my 9th-grade HumDev course, I thought that the terms equity and equality were interchangeable.

MONA M. '25

MINDFUL FUTURES

Although it requires rigorous training and regular meetings, Mika feels "grateful to be a HumDev TA as it holds a unique position as you're both a mentor, peer, and friend. There's a lot of responsibility with this dynamic, and I feel truly honored to be a part of HumDev, which I feel is integral to MA students. My experience as a TA, both my training and leadership growth, has given me the tools and skills for the programs we lead."

I learned that talking about mental health and addressing your needs beyond just physical health is not shameful or embarrassing.

MIKA K. '25 HumDev wasn't the only opportunity at MA that developed these students' leadership skills and community activism. All three young women also lead clubs and IDEQ groups. Mika and Genevive co-lead the Mental Health Awareness (MHA) club on campus—a space for all students to share their experiences, gain a wider perspective, and discuss important issues to destigmatize and

20

MARIN ACADEMY

normalize mental illnesses. Mika shared, "At my previous schools, the subject of mental health was never discussed, at least not beyond the surface level. But at MA, suddenly, this taboo topic was taught and observed through a completely different lens, one which promotes education and support instead of what is usually associated with mental health: judgment and fear, also known as mental health stigma. I learned that talking about mental health and addressing your needs beyond just physical health is not shameful or embarrassing." Mika shared that her entire life changed when she moved to the United States in 2019, and with that came mental health challenges. She was fortunate to have supportive parents and access to resources. Through her "ongoing journey with mental health, [she] realized that not everyone has the necessary support and financial assets to address their needs. [Her] passion for mental health advocacy sparked, and [she] decided that beyond just spreading awareness, [she] wanted to make true and real change. And sometimes, change has to go beyond words, hence the inception of Mindful Futures." Genevive, on the other hand, felt she had a decent amount of knowledge about mental health. Still, she shared, seeing the statistics "in front of me put into perspective how common and how real mental health and mental illness are... What stood out to me was that 1 in 5 adults struggle with mental illness, and half of all mental health issues begin by the age of 14." She feels "talking about issues of mental health and even suicide can be uncomfortable and difficult, but the more we try to sweep these issues under the rug, the more people struggling will have to suffer in silence."

MA launched its Identity and Equity (IDEQ) program 20 years ago.

While the groups and offerings have changed over time in response to our student body, our student-led IDEQ groups strengthen our community by celebrating and affirming our identities. Mona and Mika are co-leaders of the WOC (Women of Color) group. They have found tremendous support through their adult advisors and experiences as student leaders. Mona says, "As a co-leader of WOC, I think leading meetings and planning activities gave me the experience and leverage I needed to create and execute lesson plans for my work with Mindful Futures."

With the knowledge, support, and that MA spark, these three young activists reached out to Davidson Middle School's DXL program in San Rafael. This after-school program is designed to provide a warm and supportive environment where students are encouraged to embrace their talents and challenged to develop critical academic and socio-emotional skills. Mika, Mona, and Genevieve jumped right in to lead "Empower Hours" where they led groups of over 150 kids in art therapy, had discussions surrounding mental health and wellness, and brought in representatives from NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) to speak to the students. One powerful activity they led was "What would you do?" where they presented students with hypothetical scenarios involving mental health, like a friend struggling, and then gave the students options of responses, or tools, they could explore. Following pair shares, they led meaningful and authentic group discussions.

This summer, Mindful Futures partnered with Camp Chance, a week-long residential summer camp led by the San Rafael Police Department and the Marin County Office of Education at Walker Creek Ranch. The program, which works with youth aged 1113, was delighted to add the Mindful Futures curriculum to the program. At Camp Chance, Genevieve led activities around the therapeutic benefits of art, gardening, and journaling, Mona led a meditation station, nature walks, and breathing exercises, and Mika put her TA experience to use by guiding more class-like sessions and assemblies. Mika shared that in her program, she "led different dialogues surrounding mental health, addressing things like how the intersectionality of identity (gender, age, socioeconomic status, etc.) correlates to how society perceives/treats you, and how young people can navigate that." Through this work, Mindful Futures created a safe space for young people that allowed and encouraged vulnerability and genuine human connection.

When asked about the most important messages they wanted to share with their community, they offered this wisdom: From Genevieve, "Teaching students in schools everywhere about mental health and giving them tools is obviously an awesome goal, but

I wish that more people had access to what we learn about in HumDev because it's made me a better person, and I really believe it would make the world a better place.

GENEVIEVE Z. '25 it's unrealistic if we aren't able to talk about it with our friends and family. So check in on your friends and family, and don't be scared to open up about your mental health as well." Mika offered, "We're constantly surrounded by unrealistic expectations, a competitive atmosphere, and high-pressure settings. It's easy to get lost in the belief that academic success is more important than mental health, but our mental health connects to every single aspect of our lives, including your ability to pursue academics in a healthy and balanced way." Mona adds an invitation for the MA community, "We are also always looking for new people to connect with and new ways to collaborate with others, so if you are interested or know anyone who would be interested in the work that we are doing, please reach out to us at mindful.futures. project@gmail.com."

NEXUS 2024

21

Left to right: Genevive Z. '25, Mona M. '25, and Mika K. '25

About the Students Genevieve Z. '25 co-leads MA's Mental Health Awareness club alongside Mika. She is a huge art lover and enjoys drawing, painting, sewing, and redecorating her room. She loves math and is looking into computer science or software engineering in college. As a passionate mental health advocate, she founded the Mindful Futures: Empowering Youth Wellness For All project with Mika K. and Mona M. to provide middle schoolers with vital mental health tools and to destigmatize mental health conversations; it ended up being a great success, and their project's impact was featured in Marin County's Pacific Sun newspaper! She is driven by her commitment to making a difference and her passion for mental health education, specifically in early adolescence.

Mona M. '25 is a co-leader of MA's Women of Color Affinity space (WOC) and an Admissions Fellows Ambassador. As a part of the Marin Academy Research Collaborative (MARC) class of 2025, she is pursuing research on how sleep loss affects anxiety, depression, and stress with Dr. Simon at UC Berkeley. She is in her fourth year in the Marin Academy Theater Program while also running with MA's Cross Country team and playing with the school's Women's Soccer Team. During her free time, she also 22

MARIN ACADEMY

works as a vet technician/assistant at a local veterinary clinic and enjoys hanging out with family and friends, hiking with her dog, reading, watching Netflix with her younger sister, traveling, and going to concerts. Inspired by her favorite neuroscience class at MA, she is interested in pursuing medicine and neuroscience after high school.

Mika K. '25 is Japanese-American and was born in Tokyo, Japan, where she lived for the first seven years of her life. She then attended Singapore American School before moving to Marin in 2019. She is a singer and songwriter in the MA music program, which she credits with giving her an outlet to express herself and connect with others. As she's moved between countries, she shares that language, culture, and people have changed, but the sport of soccer remains a constant. She loves being a part of the MA Women's Soccer Team. Acclimating to vastly different environments has given her maturity and a strong sense of self. She says, "I take things too seriously sometimes and set high expectations for myself, but having two best friends (and partners) like Mona and Genevieve keeps me balanced, and they add humor and laughter to our project, and my life every day."

"Separate Paths" by Francesca Daniels '25 NEXUS 2024

23

Applied Genetics Research Comes to MA MARC Program Expands with Stanford Research Collaboration

24

MARIN ACADEMY

Left: Bryn Rowles '23; Right: Amy Strauss '05

I

f you happened by MA's Science and Innovation Center in the summer of 2022, you might have noticed a classroom that looked a bit like a mad fly lab. You may have even seen Bryn Rowles '23 in the Design Lab 3D printing and laser cutting her own specialized equipment, searching for tiny amputation tools, or Zooming with her mentor at Harvard. This work was all part of her Marin Academy Research Collaborative (MARC) Independent STEM Research (ISR) project on limb regeneration in fruit flies. These tiny creatures are more than simply pests that hover around your over-ripe fruit—they are model organisms that can help researchers understand more about disease in the human body.

Fast forward to today, and the MARC program, led by alum and biologist Amy Strauss '05, is in its seventh year at MA. The longer-standing wing of the two-pronged MARC program, a two-year, independent STEM research program supports

students in building strong science literacy and research skills, and it empowers our young researchers to partner with the scientific community to contribute meaningfully to relevant research in their selected fields of interest. There is a high demand for the coveted 16 MARC ISR spaces, with an acceptance rate of about 35%.

Our MARCers, as we have affectionately nicknamed them, have earned some impressive exposure and success. MARC ISR alum Norah Wolk '23's project about reactivating mindfulness during sleep to induce lucid dreams gave her the opportunity to present at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society 2023 conference. She recently published her research in the International Journal of Dream Research, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, where she was the lead author of the paper, "Lucid dreams from reactivating mindfulness during REM sleep: a pilot study." She's currently an undergraduate at Barnard, working in a cognitive neuroscience research lab and studying memory processing in the brain.

NEXUS 2024

25

MARC

Another recent MARC ISR alum Nate Maretzki '24 showcased his groundbreaking work in space research to 25,000 researchers from 100+ countries at the Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. A collaborative effort with NASA mentor Steve Bryson and fellow MARC ISR alum Tor Svendsen '23, Nate's research involved refining methods for validating exoplanet candidates. He also endeavored to take on a second MARC ISR project during his time in the program. In his MARC ISR blog, he said of his effort, "While I understand that this is highly unusual for a MARC ISR student to attempt two different projects during the program, I believe that with the right time management and a sacrificial offering of my senior year sleep schedule, it is achievable." True to his word, he presented two projects at the MARC Wildcat Colloquium—our culminating

MARC Independent STEM Research symposium—his other project consisting of researching the sustainability of camping management in the desolation wilderness, which will soon be submitted for publication in The Journal of Environmental Management.

When Marin Academy's Head of School, Travis Brownley, received an email from Stanford Professor Seung Kim M.D., Ph.D. inquiring whether MA was interested in bringing his renowned Stan-X fruit fly genetics program to MA, she connected him with MARC coordinator, Amy Strauss '05.

Stan-X's mission to allow science students to make actual discoveries, rather than simply studying the scientific discoveries made by others, is certainly aligned with the MARC program's

Top left: Norah Wolk '23 with Dr. Remy Mallett, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Northwestern University; Bottom: Nate Maretzki '24

26

MARIN ACADEMY

mission to engage students in cutting-edge science and engineering research, and Amy thought it might just be what MA was looking for to expand MARC to more students. Here was an opportunity to include more structured and collaborative research that would enable students to engage in applied genetics research (AGR) using fruit flies, a widely used model organism.

In preparation for bringing this hands-on, real-world genetics research to MA, alumna Amy—along with science teacher and Penn Fellow Maribel Albarran and former lab technician Jennifer Moreno—traveled to the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey to learn the theory and practice of the Stan-X curriculum.

The Stan-X teaching academy team worked with each educator to tailor the implementation of their courses specifically to Left to right: Maribel Albarran, Amy Strauss '05, and Jennifer Moreno

application at Marin Academy during an intensive, hands-on, five-day training on the lab skills necessary to run the Stan-X program.

Amy and Maribel were awarded MA's Edward E. Ford Fellowship—a grant that encourages educators to grow and develop in pursuit of potentially influential projects—to support their work this year in building the AGR curriculum for the fall 2024 launch. While research on fruit flies won't be brand new to MA, the addition of AGR will be. MA's inaugural MARC AGR cohort of 12 students will be ready to create new genetic fruit fly lineages that, if successful, can be used by scientists worldwide working to find cures for disease. Hopefully, this time around it will look a little less like a mad fly lab.

During the 2023-24 school year, the MA Alumni Team connected with hundreds of alumni around the country. Thanks to those who joined!

CLASSES 1999, 2000 & 2001 — SAVE THE DATE FOR YOUR

25TH REUNION MAY 17, 2025 DETAILS TO FOLLOW

JOIN US THIS FALL FOR THESE PLANNED EVENTS! To RSVP, scan the QR code below:

New York Alumni Night

Boston Alumni Bowling Night

Bay Area Alumni Night

6 - 9pm

6 - 9pm

6 - 9pm

Thursday, October 24th

28

MARIN ACADEMY

Friday, October 25th

Saturday, November 30th

Class Notes

Photo by Scott Carmichael '74

74 81

Scott Carmichael shares, "Enjoying life in the country. I can't believe it has been 50 years."

Anne Chaitlin reports, "I quit my job in July 2023 and found myself becoming a caregiver to my roommate as she battles non Hodgkin's lymphoma. Definitely a game changer for my mental attitude. Never thought I would be up to it, but 6 months later I feel stronger for it."

2024-25 Alumni Board Milton Dimas '15

Brian Goldman '03

Becca Hurwitz '14

Preston McCaskill '01

Jason Lee '07

Candace Hamilton '00

Brittany Ouyang '07

Scott Mollett '99

Holden Sperling '07

Jesse Roselin '95

Lisa Tsubouchi '06

Eric Wiesen '93

Zoë Brunelle '04

Adrian West '93

Stephanie Yee '04

NEXUS 2024

29

30

MARIN ACADEMY

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Learned Creativity Alan Sebastian '22

A

lan Sebastian '22 is a junior at Cal Poly, where he is pursuing industrial engineering. While at MA, he taught himself to "learn" creativity after a discussion with his cross country coach!

You mentioned that both Cal Poly and MA emphasize learning by doing. Please share an example of two projects you pursued. What are the common threads between the experiences and their impact on your growth?

Alan Sebastian '22, far right, with fellow Cal Poly students

MA and Cal Poly both have "learn by doing" at the center of the classroom.

The Class of 2022 had a unique high school experience due to the pandemic. How did your COVID experience influence your perspective on what you wanted to study or the kind of college experience you were looking for?

MA structures their classes where homework helps to teach the material, making students put in the time to figure it out before reviewing it during class. There are often projects where you apply what you have learned through some form of creative outlet; for example, in my astrophysics class we did a series of astrophotography projects to learn how the stars move in the night sky.

After two years stuck at home, restrictions finally lifted just in time for my senior year. That year was full of amazing experiences with my friends and classmates, helped me come out of my shell, and made me want to go to a school that had a strong balance between academics, social life, and natural beauty so that my everyday life was just a bit more diverse and exciting.

Cal Poly SLO is great for this!

Cal Poly also tends to have a project rather than a test that applies what we have learned. In a class where I learned about manufacturing, we had a lab where we designed and manufactured parts. Another example is a Process Improvement Fundamentals class project, where we had to find a place in the community with any form of process and find ways to improve it using the strategies discussed in the class. My group ended up optimizing the ticketing admission process at the Cal Poly sports stadiums.

These experiences allow me to grow because instead of just knowing things, I can DO things. Learning by doing at MA and Cal Poly has provided me with a low-stakes environment that, after completion, allows me to be confident in my abilities, have more to talk about in interviews, and be more sure of myself once I start a new position or project.

What sparked your interest in Industrial Engineering specifically? What experiences at MA (e.g., classes, clubs, projects) ignited this passion?

Interestingly enough, it wasn't any particular class or project that ignited my passion for engineering—it was a teacher. I was on a run back from cross country practice with Jon Bretan, and I was explaining how difficult it was to choose a major when applying to colleges. I wasn't passionate about any particular subject, and despite my knack for math and science, I thought I would be unsuccessful as an engineer because I thought I lacked creativity. He told me that creativity isn't something everyone is born with, but it is something that everyone can learn. With that in mind, for the last few months I had left at MA I tried my best to "learn" to be creative. I leaned into this with my senior project and while making artistic projects such as a map in my Bay Area history class.

NEXUS 2024

31

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Eventually, I became confident I could come up with creative designs and solutions to problems and make a good engineer.

Talking to your teachers outside of the classroom is one of the most valuable things you can do with your time at MA, because the faculty there are all so incredibly accomplished in their careers, and their advice and perspective on life is tremendously helpful.

Industrial Engineering is unique among other engineering programs at Cal Poly in that you can take classes in every other engineering discipline, from electrical to civil. MA taught me the value of an interdisciplinary curriculum, as Intellectual Flexibiity—being knowledgeable about multiple subjects—is one of its competencies. The way MA's curriculum connects all classes and subjects to paint one coherent picture led me to value a similar structure for my college education. I credit my diverse skill set with a lot of the professional success I have been having, and I appreciate MA's role in providing me with that perspective.

What do you look for in an internship? What are you working on in your current internship at Tesla, and what are you learning about yourself and the industry?

Internships are opportunities to gain valuable skills and experience in your field and ways to figure out if you are interested in certain career paths. I have never been certain about what I wanted to do with my life, so I am using these internships to explore my options. I look for positions that throw me right into the thick of it. When working on real-world problems, you learn real-world skills that can be applied in any industry.

Tesla is a great company to work for as an intern if you want to be assigned meaningful projects. I am the Program Manager for software they are making, and I have been responsible for optimizing various internal processes to drive down operational expenditures, while also creating frequent executive-level reports to provide visibility to decision-makers. This has been a fantastic role because of how I have been able to leverage a combination of my creativity and technical skills from my Cal Poly engineering education to drive results.

You've been involved in research at Cal Poly in energy sustainability and human-artificial intelligence (AI) interaction.

How did you get involved in this research, and what have you learned from these experiences? Do you have advice for current MA students with interests in these areas?

If you want to get involved in research, you HAVE to talk to your professors. In my first quarter at Cal Poly I was able to get involved with Water and Energy Sustainability research just by

32

MARIN ACADEMY

The way MA's curriculum connects all classes and subjects to paint one coherent picture led me to value a similar structure for my college education.

ALAN SEBASTIAN '22

sending an email, and in my second year I got involved in humanAI interaction research by going to office hours. A lot of these professors want or need help with their passion projects, which offers an amazing avenue for undergraduate students to build their resumes, learn new skills, and contribute to meaningful innovation. You have to be brave and just start a conversation; eventually, it will lead you somewhere.

For current MA students considering Cal Poly, can you describe what student life is like in San Luis Obispo? What advice would you give to students who are deciding if it's the right fit for them?

Cal Poly has an incredibly diverse student life that anyone can fit into. Many people spend time making friends in the beautiful outdoors the Central Coast has to offer, and Cal Poly has a vibrant professional and social Greek life, clubs with frequent outings and events, and a fantastic intramural sports program for people of all skill levels. If you want to find a way to fit in, join a club you are interested in early on. Many are low commitment, and it is such an easy way to find people with similar interests. At the beginning of the year everyone is looking for friends, so it's the best time to be social!

Senior day, from left: Henry Dinh-Price '22, Sam Rabkin '22, Oscar Nesbit-Schnadt '22, Owen Jones '22, Miles Sameniego '22, Toby Roberts '22, Alan Sebastian '22, and Kyle Wilson '22

If you could give one piece of advice to your high school self, knowing what you know now, what would it be?

about Cal Poly during the college admissions process and help them network if they decide to come to this amazing school.

Get involved with MA's different clubs and programs. Marin Academy has so many opportunities outside of the classroom, and if you focus only on classes, you will realize how empty your resume is once you're applying to internships and competitive clubs.

I think MA can support me in a similar way by allowing me to leverage alumni connections to help me in my pursuit to start a sustainability-focused startup or find a fantastic internship opportunity. I look forward to continuing my relationship with MA as an alumnus and giving back to the school that helped me have such a fantastic high school experience!

What are your hopes for your next years at Cal Poly? How can you and the Marin Academy community mutually support each other going forward?

I hope to create a startup, contribute to more research projects, and find another internship so I can narrow down my career path.

I also hope to support any MA students who want to learn more

NEXUS 2024

33

CLASS NOTES

87

Lauren Martin shares, "After moving back to the Bay Area, I got a disabling back injury in a procedure. I've spent several years negotiating a spinal fluid leak and used the time to compile several books. The first, Night of the Hawk, was published this May with She Writes Press. It is a book of poetry that describes a lifelong shamanic journey. I feel that the community of MA both taught me to write and saved my life. I am forever grateful for the intervention of love and investment I (we) are generously given in a place like MA."

92

Thessaly Lerner writes, "I celebrated my 50th bday with Joanna Nelson '90 and her family in Baja (so awesome!), and I'm producing a new narrative podcast, (season 1 drops fall 2024): "Psychedelic Women: Conversations with the Women of the Counterculture" - everywhere pods stream. Get in touch if YOUR mom is a Psychedelic Woman and wants to tell her story...."

94

Christopher Cooper shares, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Shelley Mitchell '86, Brook Notary '90, Chris Cooper '94" "Night of the Hawk" by Lauren Martin '87

Joanna Nelson '90 (left) and Thessaly Lerner '92, in Baja, celebrating being 50! :) 34

MARIN ACADEMY

Shelley Mitchell '86, Brook Notary '90, and Chris Cooper '94

95 97

Yasmin Kaderali writes, "I live in Sun Valley just down the street from MA; hike the hills often; have two adorable, goofy, and wild boys—6 & 8 years old; crossed 15 years as CEO of Mommy's Bliss; first book being published this summer, called Mom Your Way; still hanging with best girlfriends from our class Tamara Melnik '95, Nicole Colombo '95, Lauren Bowne '95."

Deap Ubhi tells us, "After spending over 6 years as a technical leader at Amazon Web Services, I started my own company a few years ago. We're building custom large language models to help debug software, and we're blessed to be off to a flying start. My girls are now 9 and 13, the latter of whom is starting the high school evaluation process (yikes!). My beloved partner in life went back to school, got her Masters in Education and Public Policy, and is now a Montessori educator at the Horizon Community School in Marin City, CA. After stints in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Washington D.C., we've been happily back in Marin County for the past several years. Last year, I had the opportunity to come back to campus and talk to a handful of MA seniors about my entrepreneurial journey. It made me feel optimistic about the future, even as we navigate an uncertain societal and geo-political environment."

98

Jessica Amen shares, "It was a rough start to the year, as I was hospitalized in early January for a minor heart attack.

The attack was caused by spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Very little is known about what causes this kind of attack, as I have none of the risk factors, but I'm doing well and making an extremely fast recovery. Meanwhile, I embarked on and just wrapped production on my first film producing role for an indy film called Exposure, in which my husband Will Rothhaar will be starring. Will is also co-starring in a film that releases in October called The Wingwalker. Available in theaters and on Hulu and Disney Plus."

01

Caroline Eliot says, "I've been living in West Oakland for 6+ years now with my partner.

He and I will be celebrating 10 years this fall.

We have an awesome three-year-old son. I'm currently working for Travis Credit Union as Senior Digital Product Manager. Life is good!"

Ryan Spies says, "My family and I made a big move back to the West Coast this year (Seattle!) as I took a new job leading sustainability as a Managing Director at Alaska Airlines. We also welcomed our 3rd kiddo, Rosalie Anne Spies, to the family this April!"

04

J.D. Nasaw tells us, "A lot has changed in recent years! In 2022, my wife and I moved across the country to Durham, NC and we welcomed our baby boy Sasha a few months later. We love living just outside of town, growing a big vegetable garden, and hiking in the woods every day. When we moved, I also transitioned out of a decade managing fine dining restaurants, and I'm now a somatic coach, bodyworker, and conflict facilitator.

Would love to see any MA folks who come this way, and we do miss all the good stuff in California."

Caroline Eliot '01 with her partner and son

NEXUS 2024

35

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

From the MA Recording Studio to the Silver Screen Jessica Amen '98

J

essica Amen '98 transferred to Marin Academy as a junior, where she appreciated the inclusive community and strong learning services at the school. She went on to study the business of music at USC and pursued a career in creative advertising where she has worked with major studios in the entertainment space. Today, she recognizes the importance of saying "yes" more, and worrying about the future less.

What are your most vivid memories of your time at Marin Academy? What specific classes, teachers, or events had a lasting impact?

I transferred to MA in my junior year after two years of public school. MA was a totally different, more open, and inclusive collaborative experience. Student voices mattered and were heard and listened to. It was the 1990s, and one thing that impacted me a lot was to see meetings for people who are Queer. Groups met under the big tree in front of Foster Hall to connect and support each other. I loved and wanted to embrace that inclusion and the safe space it created.

All of the teachers were amazing. In a history class, a teacher tasked us with interviewing a relative who experienced World War II. My grandfather had been in the war, and I had the best time learning about his experience. He passed away a couple of years after the interview, and I cherish those special moments we had together.

My first Minicourse was on live music production. We went into a recording studio and learned how to record a song. I'm a singer, and learning how to record music was really cool. It had a big impact on what I decided to do in college I am a strong believer that if you are going to be in the performing arts, you should not be just a performer. You should know the ins and outs of the industry so that you can make informed decisions throughout your career. It is important to know your industry as a whole and not just the part you do. You'll be a better partner.

36

MARIN ACADEMY

What challenges did you face during your time at Marin Academy? How did you overcome them, and what did you learn from the experience?

My biggest challenge was that when I transferred to MA, I went from being a straight-A student to getting Bs and Cs. After a surprisingly dismal score on the PSAT, and with the support of faculty and staff at MA, I learned that I am dyslexic. MA was really supportive in helping me navigate dyslexia and prepare me to succeed in high school and beyond. For example, going into college knowing I had this disability, I was able to get my textbooks read on tape so I could listen to them, which was a lot easier for me than just reading 500-page textbooks!

You went to the University of Southern California after attending Marin Academy. How did your time at USC influence your career trajectory?

I was a music major in the early days of the Internet. I had many friends in the music industry, so I started building websites for them by teaching myself to code. I found a job via Craigslist as a web producer and launched a career in the industry. Today, I'm a Director of Client Services for a creative advertising agency.

We help companies in the entertainment space expand on their core stories. It's not traditional advertising; it's much more on the creative side. We work primarily in the entertainment space.

Major studios will come to us and say, "We have this movie." We will ingest the movie and then expand on the story.

For example, I worked on an X-Men movie, Days of Future Past, where we created a website called Bent Bullet. In the movie, Magento had been in prison because they basically said that he killed JFK, so we had made this whole website to expand on this concept. We created a 3D model of the inhibitor collar that he wore to keep his powers from working and hired a really amazing copywriter to write a Times Magazine-style article all about this story.

Jessica Amen '98 on the set of her feature film, Exposure

I am a strong believer that if you are going to be in the performing arts, you should not be just a performer. You should know the ins and outs of the industry so that you can make informed decisions throughout your career. It is important to know your industry as a whole and not just the part you do. You'll be a better partner.

JESSICA AMEN '98

NEXUS 2024

37

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

A project we are currently working on is an augmented reality app for a board game called Finders Creepers. It's like Clue meets Pokemon Go meets Memory, and it shows 3D monsters on the board with animation when you catch them. It's been three years in the making, and it's about to launch!

Can you tell us more about your recent role as a producer on the film Exposure, in which your husband Will Rothhaar starred?

This was my first producer role for a feature-length film. It's a small independent film my good friend wrote and directed. He asked if I wanted to produce it and if my husband wanted to star in it. We said "yes!" and started shooting in January. We're just doing this on our own time, so it was a weekend here and a weekend there, and we just wrapped about two or three weeks ago.

The producer role differs depending on the size of production. In this case, I wore a lot of hats and did everything from confirming shoot dates, to ensuring talent had wardrobes, to working really closely with the director to make creative suggestions where I found it necessary.

Will and I have experience working together and communicate well. I actually raced sailboats, and my husband started racing sailboats as well. Working together on the film was easier than that! As a producer, I'm not working so closely with the actors.

The directors are really the ones doing that, so there wasn't anything for us to butt heads about except I would give him his lines and be like, "Have you been studying? Are you off book yet?"

You have been open about some personal health challenges.

Would you like to share more about those?

My journey with fertility and pregnancy has been challenging over the past few years. My husband and I began trying to conceive in early 2020, and I became pregnant for the first time in July 2021. Unfortunately, I experienced a miscarriage

at 7-8 weeks. After undergoing a D&C procedure, I developed a rare complication called Asherman syndrome, requiring reconstructive surgery. I later became pregnant again but sadly miscarried a second time. Throughout this difficult process, I've been open about my experiences, wanting to raise awareness about how common miscarriages are—1 in 3 pregnancies results in a miscarriage—so that others going through similar struggles don't feel so alone.

In January, my life took another unexpected turn when I suffered a heart attack at a young age. I was diagnosed with spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a condition that primarily affects women in their 40s but is not fully understood. I experienced unusual arm pain and a heaviness on my chest, so I went to the hospital and was there for five days. This health crisis effectively ended my attempts to become pregnant, as doctors warned of a 50% chance of another potentially fatal heart attack if I were to conceive.

Sometimes it feels like my body has let me down. I'm a "doer," but I can't do anything in this situation. In a way, I think this is life teaching me to let go. Some days it's harder than others.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell myself to say "yes" more, spend more time in the moment, not worry about the next day, and be really present with the people in your life.

How do you stay connected to the Marin Academy community as an alum? What does that connection mean to you?

I go to local alumni events and donate. I care about supporting Tuition Assistance for current students because I was on financial aid. It is really important for kids to have the MA experience regardless of their financial situation.

Below left: Jessica Amen '98 with her husband Will Rothhaar; Below right: Jessica and Will with Jessica's brother, Ben Amen '04 (left)

38

MARIN ACADEMY

Above from left: Catherine Chenoweth-Smith '04 with her daughter; Dorsi Bonner '04 with her child; Marijanna Shurtz '04 with her family

04

Benjamin Lee Amen writes, "My better half Tracey and I still live in Costa Mesa; in May 2024 I was promoted to Field Service Technical Specialist at Lucid Motors where I've been for almost 3 years, and in June I earned my Commercial Pilot Certificate in my '69 Bonanza shortly after crossing the 500 hour mark in my logbook. My sister Jessica Amen '98, brother-in-law Will Rothhaar, and I are still playing music around Los Angeles in our band 'The Family'."

Catherine Chenoweth-Smith writes, "My partner, Nic, and I live in Seattle with our daughter, Amber, and our dogs, Dio and Pabu."

Dorsi Bonner shares, "I've been working as a Realtor (both Residential and Commercial) as well as a Sustainable Real Estate Advisor for the last 7 years here in Marin and the greater Bay Area.

I feel so lucky that I get to help clients alongside my husband, Cameron Weissensee '03, who also works in Real Estate/Green Building and Design. We are based in Mill Valley and have a 3-year-old and a baby. I love connecting with the MA community and hearing what everyone is doing."

Jhani Griffin Amabile shares that she is, "still located in Arvada, Colorado, loving life near the mountains with my husband and two boys. After twelve years as a teacher for deaf students, I'm shifting away from the classroom and taking on the role of Literacy Specialist. I also live in the same neighborhood as Risa Monsen '04! We'd love to hang with other alumni in the Denver area."

Marijanna Shurtz reports, "Enjoying happy and healthy family life in Rocklin, CA. Teaching art and yoga classes while raising our three-year-old daughter. Hobbies include gardening and exploring the beautiful lakes in our area."

Nicholas Chen shares, "I founded a logistics business based in the Bay Area. We manage inventory, fulfill orders, and handle logistics for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies. I am currently splitting time between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Rio Beardsley writes, "I'm in the final stage of my training at Stanford—I serve as Emergency Medicine Chief Resident. After residency I plan to stay in the Bay and work as an emergency physician in both Marin and SF."

Below from left: Benjamin Lee Amen '04, Nicholas Chen '04, Rio Beardsley '04

CLASS NOTES

07

Victoria Eliot says, "I live in Los Angeles and head up the Project Management team for NBC Universal's media agency. My husband Ken and I welcomed our second son Sidney James Eliot Belcher this past September. Our three-year-old Theo loves being a big brother."

08

Max Meyers says, "I'm officially in my mid-30s and still happily writing computer programs for work. My social circle is mostly made up of junk food mascots."

09

Adrian St Francis "continues mergers and acquisitions work for Debevoise in New York, and revels in all the emotions that go with parenthood."

Bennett Schatz shares, "Got married."

Victoria Eliot '07 with her family

Max Meyers '08 and friends

Adrian St. Francis '09 with his family 40

MARIN ACADEMY

Bennett Schatz '08 with his bride

14

Ari Goldstein says, "Hi MA! I recently came back from an incredible backpacking trip in Antarctica (where I tried to put my MA Outings skills to use). This fall, I'll begin my final year of the JD/MBA program at Penn."

Jessie Colin reports, "I moved back to the Bay Area after 4 years in Boulder, Colorado to attend Stanford for a Master's in Learning, Design, and Technology through the school of education. I'm studying place-based, climate change, and outdoor education.

Seasonally, I work as a backpacking instructor for NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) where I lead students through the wilderness on expedition courses. I also work as a Product Designer at Planet Labs, at the intersection of climate and design. In my free time, I've been competing in local trail races and seeing some MA coaches out in the wild—grateful for my years running at MA that continue to inspire me."

Madeleine Weiss shares, "I just graduated from UC Davis School of Medicine and am beginning my residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UC Irvine."

Maximilian Banta says, "I've been working as an actor in LA since graduating from USC which has been a dream of mine since high school. David Sinaiko & Annie Elias, if you're reading this thanks for your incredible training and constant encouragement back then. I also run marathons now... NYC in November!"

Madeleine Weiss '14

Maximilian Banta '14

Ari Goldstein '14 NEXUS 2024

41

CLASS NOTES

20

Benjamin Strassman shares, "Hello MA, I hope everyone is doing well! Since graduating MA, I am so proud to announce that I have signed a contract with the Nevada Ballet to dance for them during their 2024/2025 season as a company apprentice. This would not have been possible at all without the support and education that I received while I was a student at MA. They say Nevada's a great place for aspiring ballerinas, but I'm worried this desert heat will really plié on me… Besides that, I have been taking classes while dancing right now for the Oregon Ballet Theatre.

It's been super fun, and I am learning a lot."

Benjamin Strassman '20

42

MARIN ACADEMY

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Deap Ubhi '97 meets President Barack Obama

Insatiable Curiosity Deap Ubhi '97

D

eap Ubhi '97 has a passion for technology, entrepreneurship, and food. His upbringing, deeply rooted in the family restaurant business, instilled in him the value of hard work, lifelong learning, and the importance of family. After graduating from MA, Deap pursued a successful cross-continental career in startups and technology.

What are your most vivid memories of your time at Marin Academy? What specific classes, teachers, or events had a lasting impact?

My most durable memories of Marin Academy revolve around the friendships I cultivated—both with students and with teachers—that are still very much intact today. I remember my

varsity basketball experience with the late Coach Jesse Haskins and appreciate his focus on tenacity and high standards, my three years of theater with Phoebe Moyer, whose talent as a teacher and a performer I was always in awe of, and how could I ever forget Vision Quest—now known as Wilderness Quest—where I pulled a Salmon tarot card and had the same recurring dream for three consecutive nights.

You've had an impressive career in technology including some interesting start-ups. What values influence your approach to work and leadership?

I am still very much a work-in-progress, but I have picked up on some valuable lessons around guiding principles along the way.

First and foremost, I place an emphasis on transparency and truth-telling in everything I do at work, even if this means having difficult conversations. Tell it how it is, precise and concise. In the long run, your peers will value this approach. Also, I've always enjoyed building a performance-driven culture. We still live in a world where results matter, even though, at times, it feels like we're losing the courage to emphasize that as a core discipline.

NEXUS 2024

43

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Themes of food, technology, and entrepreneurship pop up throughout your life. Tell us about your interests there, particularly your family's restaurant and your startup, Burrp!

I am a restaurant kid. Growing up, my dad was a waiter, and my mom worked at a small pizza parlor in Sausalito. That's when two blue-collar jobs could sustain a middle-class lifestyle. Not so much anymore! Then in 1989, my parents had saved up enough and convinced family friends to loan them enough money to start Avatar's in Sausalito. Nearly 40 years later, it remains a cult classic. I grew up folding napkins, deveining shrimp, bussing tables, washing dishes, and then doing my homework at the lunch counter or in the store rooms. It's very much a part of my upbringing, and when Yelp! started to explode here in 2004, I saw a chance to arbitrage the opportunity for a nascent yet fast-growing market in India.

That was my very first taste of what it's like to start a company, grow a company, and ultimately build something that a lot of people found value and joy in using.

You have worked in many locations, from Silicon Valley to D.C. and Mumbai. How have those experiences shaped your approach to collaboration and communication in different cultural settings?

What cuts through any cultural nuance and holds its value is clear and concise communication, honesty, transparency, and being able to articulate your ideas in written form exceedingly well.

These tools have traveled with me and have proven their value over and over again.

As a founder of Flip AI, a large language model for engineering teams, you are at the forefront of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

What is it like to build a company in this rapidly evolving landscape?

The biggest lesson I am trying to impart to [my daughters] is to simply be insatiably curious— curiosity is the birth of all real learning, of inspecting the world, and finding your place in it.

It's a bizarre juxtaposition between sheer joy, excitement, and exultation for the work we're doing and a hyperbolic craze around generative AI in Silicon Valley right now. We're in the very early days of a pretty compelling technology, but I think we've also fallen prey to an unreasonable messianic zeal, to pseudoscience, and flat-out chicanery. We love what we do at Flip AI, because we firmly believe we've found a very compelling real-world application of large language models (LLMs) and domainspecific language models (DSLs). We have wonderful investors and customers, and we're very focused on our journey.

You've chosen to raise your The biggest lesson I can take family in Marin. What aspects away from how I functioned in of life in Marin are most each of these uniquely beautiful meaningful to you and your environments is pretty simple: family?

DEAP UBHI '97 honing my ability to process Family. It all comes down to information very quickly, which family for us. My mom still lives means being a very intent listener, not just of the words that in Sausalito, and for the kids to have an on-demand grandma, it's are coming out of someone's mouth, but the way the overall priceless.

My brother Gopi Ubhi '99 lives in Danville, and we're system behaves to different inputs. The way to dialogue and very, very close, so the kids have also been able to build tight debate with a 3-star General in the Department of Defense is very bonds with an uncle, an aunt, and cousins.

Also, having lived in different from how to convince executive leaders at Amazon to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Washington D.C., you come to pursue some strategy or another. The more you invest in deeply realize how special a place Marin is, largely because of the natural understanding the cultural nuances of different systems, through beauty we're surrounded by. listening, observing, and processing a lot of information faster than others, the more effective you can be at the art of persuasion.

44

MARIN ACADEMY

What are your hopes for your daughters as they navigate their own educational journeys? Are there any specific lessons or values you're most eager to impart to them?

A timely question, as my elder daughter is beginning to navigate her high school application process and is hoping to be a Wildcat soon! My hopes for them are not unlike what most parents probably hope for their children navigating their schools—that they find supportive environments that understand the value of social-emotional health, learning for learning's sake, and environments that put an emphasis on kindness and reject "othering;" those that teach the value of hard work, those where my children have the potential to make lifelong friends; and ultimately environments where my girls can continue on their journey of self-discovery. The biggest lesson I am trying to impart to them is to simply be insatiably curious—curiosity is the birth of all real learning, of inspecting the world, and finding your place in it.

Last year, you spoke with MA seniors about your journey.

What message were you most hoping to convey to them, and how was that experience?

I was so impressed with the group I had an opportunity to hang out with. What I remember most was their curiosity—they asked such great questions—and the key message I hope I conveyed and would continue to convey, is to value your curiosity. It's an asset in any environment they'll find themselves in. If they ever find themselves in an environment or system that suppresses their curiosity or penalizes them for being curious, run for the hills.

How do you stay connected to the Marin Academy community as an alum? What does that connection mean to you?

I stay connected to MA through my friendships. I am on text threads with a small group of my basketball friends, my theater friends, and a few others. We are just as close today as we were as young teenagers who had our whole lives ahead of us. When given the opportunity, I really enjoy participating in specialized alumni programs, like the one last year around entrepreneurship.

At least three times per week, my urban jog takes me to the MA campus, where I'll take a break, sit down at a bench, and stare at that familiar, majestic redwood tree.

Deap Ubhi '97 with his family

NEXUS 2024

45

CLASS NOTES

20

Aristo Wintersteen writes, "Greetings Marin Academy! I hope everyone is well and truly thinking, questioning, and creating! Now you might be wondering what I've been up to.

Besides attending Northeastern University as a mechanical engineering major in my favorite city ever, Boston, Massachusetts, I have been lucky enough to have participated in two co-ops for naval mechanical engineering. Besides my exciting co-ops, I have been spending a lot of time hanging out with friends, visiting family, and building a bench for my backyard.

I hope everyone is well; I miss MA a lot! Also, check out these cool glasses I bought the other day :)."

Ethan Haggerty notes, "I recently graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. in Business Administration concentrating in Finance and a minor in Economics. Now I'm looking forward to beginning my career at Chase Bank in July!"

Kyle Todhunter shares, "I've graduated from Northeastern University and will be returning to the Bay Area for a career in Tech Sales at HubSpot!"

Sam Rudnick reports, "I've spent the last 6 months in Denmark studying AI." A Lucinda Anderson '20 B Kyle Todhunter '20

Jamie Press tells us, "I will be completing a 5th year of school at UC San Diego and continuing my job with the San Diego Padres."

Jefferson Tuli Pu'u II updates, "Graduated with a BA in General Psychology and have been competing in D1A collegiate rugby.

Will be on tour playing rugby against Padua University in Italy and other Italian prospective clubs this upcoming summer. Then will be heading into the IT work field."

Will O'Hara tells us, "After 2 years at Georgetown, I transferred to Deep Springs College, where I am currently finishing up my second year. In the fall, I will return to Georgetown to complete my undergraduate degree and hopefully work in politics in the meantime."

Timothy Francis Clements reports, "After 4 hard years I've graduated from West Point and received a Commission as a Field Artillery Officer in the Army! I certainly couldn't have done it without the high standards that Marin Academy set. Go Army, Beat Navy!"

Nicholas Evan Lee reports, "Just this last spring I graduated from Babson College in Boston (Go Red Socks!) and have started working at a company in the Salesforce tower in sunny SF. I sure am loving my job, but boy oh boy am I busy!!"

C Timothy Francis Clements '20 D Laura Couchman '20

A B

46

MARIN ACADEMY

C

D

Laura Couchman reports, "I graduated from the University of Wisconsin this spring.

I double majored in Psychology and Consumer Behavior & Marketplace Studies. I am now moving to New York where I will be working with Collected Strategies, a financial public relations and crisis communications firm. In NYC Lila Janney '20 and I will be roommates!"

Lucinda Anderson tells us, "I just graduated college and am heading to Paris to get a masters in marine biology for La Sorbonne. My dream is to become a professor and have my own research lab devoted to studying the effects of climate change on keystone species and subtidal ecosystems. I'm touching up my senior thesis on coral bleaching during El Niño in the Galapagos to publish, so keep your eye out for that."

H

22

I

We received this from Halle Hanna: "Lest we ever doubt that MA alum stretch around the world, here's proof. My sister Reese Hanna '27 and I sand boarded on dunes in Swakopmund, Namibia and our guide was MA alum Beth Sarro '88! She moved to Namibia in '95 and has been there since. Amazing."

E Jefferson Tuli Pu'u II '20 F Aristo Wintersteen '20 G Will O'Hara '20

H Ethan Haggerty '20 I Jamie Press '20 J Halle Hanna '22 with Resse Hanna and Beth Sarro '88

J

E F

G

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Forest Activism

"Bark" by Fineas DeGooyer '25

Dr. Jennifer Bernstein '97

D

r. Jennifer Bernstein '97 is a professor of Environmental Studies at Tarleton State University and the Editorin-Chief of the academic journal Case Studies in the Environment. She is the author of Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and a Senior Fellow at the Breakthrough Institute.

What sparked your interest in Environmentalism and Forest Ecology specifically? What experiences at MA (e.g., classes, clubs, projects) ignited this passion?

I grew up camping and hiking and always enjoyed spending time outdoors. I turned to environmentalism after my 1994 Minicourse, "Old Growth Forest Ecology." It was led by Greg King, an investigative journalist, and Tracy Katelman, a forester.

We headed to Humboldt County, hiked in the redwoods, and met with activists and academics who showed us the majesty

48

MARIN ACADEMY

and irreplaceability of these forests. Years later, inspired by this Minicourse, I went on to teach my own minicourse at MA called "Surfing and Saving the California Coast."

Tell us about some of your favorite professional accomplishments.

I have come to realize the importance of nuclear energy in addressing climate change. Last summer, I traveled to Jamaica with the Breakthrough Institute, where we taught rural high schoolers about nuclear engineering. I am confident they will pave the way towards the country's energy independence.

When I taught at the University of Southern California, my favorite part of the position was helping students succeed both in and beyond the classroom. The greatest honor of my professional career was being named USC's 2022 Mentor of the Year.

How did you end up reviewing your former Minicourse Instructor's new book, The Ghost Forest?

Greg and I never lost touch, actually! I eventually moved away from the type of radical environmentalism that was the focus of that minicourse. Despite our differences, he happily gave invigorating guest lectures in my courses. The Ghost Forest was Greg's life work and has been rightfully heralded by the mainstream press. I thought it needed recognition within academia, so I pitched a review to the prestigious journal Environmental History. It was an honor to come full circle.

If you could give one piece of advice to your high school self, knowing what you know now, what would it be?

Changing your mind is a source of strength, not a weakness. Minicourse made me a passionate forest activist, and I will always have that radicalism in my heart.

But I've come to identify with the ecomodernist movement, which advocates for solutions not always embraced by mainstream environmentalism. For example, I believe genetically modified organisms can address global hunger and spare land for nature. I am now a huge advocate of nuclear energy. My high school self would have disagreed with so many things I embrace as an environmentalist now. But we can change and still be committed to the broader cause. So retrospectively, I'd tell myself that changing your mind is a result of grappling with an ever-evolving world, and that's okay. Actually, it's great.

From the minicourse that impacted Jennifer’s life: famed redwood expert, Dr. Rudi Becking discusses an albino redwood with an MA student in Humboldt Redwoods State Park

NEXUS 2024

49

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Changing your mind is a result of grappling with an ever-evolving world, and that's okay.

Actually, it's great.

DR. JENNIFER BERNSTEIN '97

What are your hopes for the future of Forest Ecology? How can you and the Marin Academy community get involved and help out?

For one, we need to remain critical of popular solutions to environmental problems that aren't grounded in data. For example, environmentalists have boycotted the use of palm oil due to its degradation of orangutan habitat. But palm produces nearly ten times more oil per acre than other popular alternative oil crops.

So, boycotting palm oil means that more forests need to be cleared for agriculture, which is the primary cause of deforestation. If you want to address deforestation, boycotting palm oil is actually counterproductive. We need to make sure that straightforward, feel-good solutions live up to their promises.

There have been so many heartening developments in my lifetime. The complexities of forest ecosystems are much better understood. Sustainable forest practices have been widely (but not universally!) adopted. The mainstream media portrays humanity on a collision course with climate-caused disasters.

But this isn't an inevitable reality. Less acknowledged is positive progress being made, such as the decrease in the destruction of the Amazon since the 1990's. We need to relentlessly advocate for effective solutions to environmental problems, and we have every reason to be optimistic.

50

MARIN ACADEMY

Annual Report

2023-24 Annual Fund Volunteers Parent Co-Chairs

Parent Volunteers

Julia Hartz

Dara Potter

Reza Aryanpour

Duncan Hatch

Ali Rezaian

Angela Bailey

Lorie Hirson

Catarina Schwab

Valerie Batchelder

Erica Hunt

Katrina Sent

Parent Class Chairs

Mead Blum

David King

Layli Shirani

Class of 2024: Gabriella Calicchio

Alison Borland

Helen Le

Molly Wadhwani

Emilia Buchanon

Kathryn Lorenzo

Jeanne Wang

Class of 2025: Katrina Sent

Sara Byrne

Walther Lovato

Spencer Wang

Class of 2026: Angela Bailey

Gabriella Calicchio

Kris Maretzki

Kathryn Whittley

Archie Chattha

Carol McDonnell

Jennie Winton

Jessica Eisler

Kelly Murphy

Suna Yalaz

Nancy Fawson

Lee Notowich

Jennifer Zalayet

Amy Felsenthal

Trent Nutting

Charley Zeches

Kena Frank

Vicki Peet

Andrea Zola

John Holzwarth Cary Hueser

Class of 2027: Benjamin Portnoy

NEXUS 2024

51

ANNUAL REPORT

We are extremely grateful to our community of supporters who make MA possible.

The following is a list of contributors to the 2023-24 Marin Academy Annual Fund and MA Celebrates, which directly benefits each and every student. Thank you!

HEAD OF SCHOOL'S CIRCLE ($100,000 AND ABOVE) Jennifer and Tony Smorgon In honor of Travis Brownley

VISIONARY CIRCLE ($50,000 TO $99,999) Anonymous (1) Nathalie and Nicolas Giauque Betsy and Ed McDermott Jordan and Maggie Silber Chris and Cindy Winship

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE ($25,000 TO $49,999)

Nate and Maria Bosshard Emily Mackenzie Brakebill

Alexandra Novakovich and Raja Moorthy

Mark and Stephanie Breitbard

John Moriarty Jr. and Liz Moriarty

Kirstin Hoefer and Robert Brown

The Nemer Family

Jeff and Kirby Burke

Rebecca and Ari Nessel

Christa Butler

Stephanie and Lee Notowich

Jen Chaiken and Sam Hamilton

Amy and Garrett Price

Julie Chaiken

The Schauble Family

Archie and Vijay Chattha

Isabelle and Ben Schuman In honor of Zachary Schuman '26

Dan Cohn and Lynn Brinton Carolyn and Chris Colpitts George and Kristina Conner Mike and Kristin Corey

Angie Taube

Jonathan and Kirsten Goff Sajot and Reetika Grewal The Haslett Family

Wyeth Goodenough and Sarah

The Bergholt Family

Rafanelli

Charlie Ehm and Ruth Ann Keene In honor of Annie Ehm '27

Margaret E. Haas Family Fund Ginnie and Peter Haas Jr. Kevin and Julia Hartz Maxwell Hayman '05 Lorie and Ron Hirson Kate and Chris Hobbs Chris and Holly Hollenbeck John Holzwarth and Sarah

Amanda and Craig Marmer

David and Hillary Fredrickson

Ian and Christine McGonigle

Wendy and Steven Gold

Mark and Victoria Nassi

Lizelle and Martin Green

Mark and Nancy Reagan

Brian and Erin Hansen

Jack Resneck and Ellen Hufbauer

Jimmy '85 and Laurie Hyman

Todd and Lindsay Rosoff

Chris and Michell Kawaja

Shannon McSwain and Jason Ross

Erica and Brian Hunt

David King

Catarina and Andy Schwab

Jim Kelly and Karen Yokoo Shem

Mark and Courtney Leary

Ed and Katrina Sent

and Sharon Klein

Carol and Doug Lee

The Strack Family

Christina and Eron Kosmowski

Patrice and Walther Lovato

Jason and Erin Wood

Sara and Andy Kurtzig

Carol and John McDonnell

Paul Levitan and Lauren Cooks

Sanjeev Mohanty and Guneet Malik

Anonymous (4) Sunil Agarwal and Jill Ostrem Bryan and Caroline Barber In honor of The Classes of '24 and '26

The Mackay Family David and Kristin MacKnight Graham and Erika Mannion Maretzki Family Bob McCaskill and Pam Martori

Chuck and Valerie Batchelder

Mark and Kelly McKane

Ari '94 and Mead Blum

Andy and Fiona McMillan

Cliff Booth

Jim Milligan and Wendy

Alison and Bo Borland

Anderson Aaron and Kathryn Money

MARIN ACADEMY

Michael and Hazel Kawaja In honor of Sadie '25, Quinn '27, and Grace '27

Chris and Sheri Ericksen

Killingsworth

Tabitha and Michael Lewis Fund

The Herpel Family

Jonathan Leone and Shannon Miller

Ed and Michelle Sarti

Levitan

Debra and Kevin Hakman

Adam and Rebecca Elegant

Sarah Friar and David Riley

DEANS' CIRCLE ($10,000 TO $24,999)

Jason and Jennifer Flegel

Victoria Peet and Steven Zimmerman

Mark and Meredith Deason

Dara and Scott '86 Potter

Laura and John Fisher

Cindy and Graham Weaver

Don and Tomoko Fortune

Cherity and Jason Payne

Elliott Felson In honor of Olivia '24 and Jake '27 Felson

Kristin and Andrew Dickinson

SCHOLARS' CIRCLE ($7,000 TO $9,999)

Christopher and Elizabeth Lane

The Fawson Family

Ann and Robert Devens

Lisa M. Faber

Ken and Aiko Kojima

The DeGooyers

Shelley Friedman and Tania Lowenthal

David Corey / Lara Glasgow Corey

Eliza and Michael Koeppel

Todd and Erika Chapman

Jeanne and Spencer Wang

Jessica and Michael Eisler

The Roy Jenkyn Family

The Appel and Samuel Family

Gregory and Susanna Daniels

The Cestar Family

Wendy and Jay Huck

Manish and Aparna Aghi

The Wadhwani Family

James and Jennifer Dutro

Suzanne Felson

Anonymous (6)

Amy Christensen and Drew Curby

Thomas and Sara Byrne

Marty and Amy Felsenthal

52

Makiko and Howard Smith

PATRONS' CIRCLE ($4,000 TO $6,999)

Eric and Bibi Moore Don and Skye Pillsbury

Carlos and Melissa Sanchez In honor of Tatum Sanchez '27 David and Margaret Sarratt Marcela Casciani Schwaegler Dave and Kathy Scially Mark and Jesse Strassman Mandy and Scott Tachiki Doug and Cynthia Tapley

Ali Rezaian '89 and Naomi Tamura

Michael and Kim Walz

Eric '94 and Lisa Schrumpf In honor of Nate Schrumpf '27

Stephanie and Charlie Withers Frank and Michelle Young

Brian and Maggie Shepard

George Yu and Frances Ho

Juliet and Kelly Starrett

Jennifer and Eddie Zalayet

Stephen and Beth Sutro

Steve and Shuyi Zhang

Tabreez and Maria Verjee Jeremy and Heather Wenner Charley and Robert Zeches

Fundraising Summary 2023-24 PLEDGES AND CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED Annual Fund Gifts

$

2,388,875

Capital Campaign

$

280,218

Other Restricted Gifts

$

17,550

Endowment Gifts

$

1,000

Total

$

2,687,643

• Annual Fund Gifts • Capital Campaign • Other Restricted Gifts • Endowment Gifts

88.88% 10.43% 0.65% 0.04%

Operating Fund Summary 2023-24 REVENUE AND SUPPORT Tuition

$

26,998,181

Annual Giving*

$

3,191,936

Interest and Other Income

$

1,185,586

Transfers

$

417,534

Endowment Uses

$

0

Total

$ 31,793,237

Represents gifts for current operations only and does not include any gifts for capital improvements or endowment.

*

• Tuition • Annual Giving • Interest and Other Income • Transfers

84.92% 10.04% 3.73% 1.31%

EXPENSES Salaries and Benefits

$

17,817,409

Financial Aid

$

4,358,677

Physical Plant

$

2,874,281

Academic Departments

$

2,850,400

Administration and Student Support

$

2,301,301

Loan Financing

$

1,591,169

Total

$ 31,793,237

• Salaries and Benefits • Financial Aid • Physical Plant • Academic Departments • Administration and

56.04%

• Loan Financing

5.00%

13.71% 9.04% 8.97% 7.24%

Student Support

NEXUS 2024

53

ANNUAL REPORT

PARTNERSHIP CIRCLE ($1,000 TO $3,999)

Josh and Halicue Hanna

Jon and Ushi Schick In honor of Skyler Schick '27

Randi Bakken

The Hassanein Family

Anonymous (13)

Duncan and Katherine Hatch

Jason and Kristin Schlesinger

Alon and Nicki Adani

Li He and Jing Sun

Dan Schwaegler

Nate Ballard In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Larry and Tania Albukerk

Robert Heath

Zack Scott '99

The Barad Family

Jeff Alpert and Lisa Wing

Jonathan Hinman and Jennie Winton

Jamin Seid and Deborah Jaffe

Falon Barmaki

Stephen and Taya Shoup

The Kenneth S. Baron Family

Lisa Edwards and Chuck Hornbrook

Mark and Julie Siegel

Hathaway Barry

Charles and Kira Skomer

Gail and Craig Barton

Andrea Newell and Paul Howe

Cameron and Lateefah Baxter

The Jacobi Family

Snyder Family Charitable Fund In honor of Megan (Snyder) Staub '07

Amy and Scott Jones

Lida and Kaveh Soofer

Jen and Scott Kabat In honor of Lilly Kabat '24

Shana and Cameron Stewart

Jessica and Kirk Kaludis

Rachel and Jeff Street

Phil Kaminsky and Lisa Materson

Dan and Michele Tedford

Bill Katz and Beth Kramer Katz

Jennifer Tiu In honor of Abigale Mullarney '27

Richard and Kelly Alpert Jonathan Altman '17 Joseph Arleo '84 and Michelle Kriebel Reza and Shirin Aryanpour The Ashe Family Rachel and Jonathan Aspatore Karl and Elizabeth Baldauf Ananya and Sudip Banerjee Mark Battat '79 In memory of Lee Battat Stella Beale In honor of MA Faculty and Staff Julie and Seth Bokser Joan and Nick Boodrookas Rob and Sari Bramble Bodie Brizendine and Bill Bullard Anne Travis Brownley and Elizabeth J. Katz Eric and Joanne Cain Lauren Casparis '05 Max Christoff and Emily Mackil Barbara Cohn In honor of Willa Cohn '27 Lionel Conacher and Joan Dea In honor of Chloë Conacher '15 Ed and Nancy Conner John L. G. Corsello and Karen M. Boezi John Cowan and Tessa Burns Robert and Meredith Davidson

Andy and Cary Hueser

Amy '93 and Justin Kaufman In honor of Sean Kaufman '25 Debbie and Scott Kay In honor of Rachel '21 and Andrew Kay '22 Molly Kenneth '90 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Heidi Paul and Darren Haggerty Stephen J. Hamano In memory of S. John Hamano

MARIN ACADEMY

Katharine Boyd

Tona and David Wheeler

Lizzie Bremner '04

Toney Whittley and Kathryn Jordan Whittley

John Bremner '06 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Hayley Burner

Jun Wu and Wenhui Gao In honor of Anthony Wu '27

The Burroughs Family

Jon Yolles and Stacey Silver

Thomas '74 and Emilie '76 Calhoun

Jason Lee '07 Xavier and Cynthia Lema In honor of Sebastian Lema '25 Jan Little and Rory Little The Andrew and Campbell Loft Family

WILDCAT CIRCLE (UP TO $999)

Elise Lufkin

Anonymous (36)

Helena and Stuart Maus

Marcelino Abrajan and Patty Gonzalez

Scott and Amanda Mulholland Sarah and Trent Nutting

Al and Susan Coe Adams In honor of Joani Lacey Alvar Aldana Diaz and Lilia Cervantes Gonzalez Mohamed Almuhtadi and Gaby Marin-Chacon In honor of Josué Marin

Zoë Gerry-Bullard Brunelle '04

Lori and John Butler

Evelyn and Tim Carr In honor of Elliana '24 and Cael '27 Eaton Manuel and Fatima Castaneda Anne Chaitin '81 In honor of Bill and Betsey McCluskey Richard Champe Eugenie Chan Shu Feng Chang and Michael Fitzgerald Seth Chanin '05 Nikki Cheng '01

Stephen and Lynn Perkins

Samuel Alvarado and Clara Gonzalez

The Pitts Family

Benjamin Amen '04

Gary and Carrie Pomerantz

Jessica Amen '98

Solomon Cheru and Haykel Yemiru

Erica and Ben Portnoy

Anne Lamoreaux Anderson '90 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Berta Chicas

Blanca Andrade

Hilary Colloff '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Lilli and Philip Ouyang

Alison and Danny Rabb Kate Gambs Knickerbocker '93 Todd and Kristi Ransick Leigh and Thad Reichley Daniel and Ashley Reid The Robert J. and Paula B. Reynolds Fund The Roley-Shirani Family Beth and Jonathan Rutchik

54

Diane Boodrookas '10

The Tombo Family

Moriah '96 and Phil Buckley

Lida and David Morgenstein

Adam Gothelf '98 In honor of Hannah Engle '98

Peter Bonte and Sabine Modde

Peter and Anne Wooster

Robert and Sylvia Elman In honor of Kate '27 and Simon '25

Brian Goldman '03

Dorsi Bonner '04

Laurie Carvajal and Scott Williams

Shadan and Braden More '91

Richard and Patricia Gibbs

Coulter Boeschen '94

Janice and Daniel Leach In honor of Fineas '25 and Blythe '27 DeGooyer

Nick and Rebecca Eaton

Nikki and Dan George

Ellie Beyers

Chiara Brown '14

Scott Mollett '99

Steven Funk

Tania Bettis and Sam Evans

Katy Bremner '06

Ernest and Yelena Mishkin

Kena Frank and Joseph Fowler

Sasha Berson '92

John and Ginny Wilhelm In honor of Charlie Wilhelm '26

Brighid Dwyer '97 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Richard and Ona Flores

Noah Belkin '07

Eric D. Wiesen '93

Jesse and Katya Miller

The Flores Family In honor of Memo Flores '24

Leslie Beach '04

Dan and Candice Kimball In honor of Riley Kimball '27

Prathap and Leyla Dendi

Howard and Carol Fine

Susan and K.C. Stone

Erika Murdock Balbuena '01

Chiara Arellano '16 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 Ramiro and Nadia Arriaran

Josh Cherner '01

Jack and Courtney Coghlan

David and Carla Crane

Sayed Azimi

Astrid Hallock Craycroft '89 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Anika Backster '98

Duncan Cummings '13

Khalid and Aelish Baig

Mark Cunningham and Judy Klein In memory of those lost in the Holocaust

Jared and Michelle Baird

Kristina De Pizzol

Jeri Hall

Decision Brands In honor of Stella Beale

Ryan '94 and Beth Hall

Jessica Dell'Era Nussbaum '02 In honor of Donna and Patrick Dell'Era Scott DeMasi '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 Ben Denton-Schneider '07 Amie Dewane Jose Diaz and Marlene Sillero Juan Diaz and Idalma De Leon Rich Does Ann and Dan Doyle Sandra and Richard Drew

Hugh and Jean Halsell In honor of Casey Nutting '26 Candace Hamilton '00 Lorri Hamilton Durbin Lia Arnold Hanley '89 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 Greg '89 and Meghan Harris Jon Haveman Gracyn Hayunga '21 Charlotte Hee '20 Julie Helmbrecht David Herrero '03

Bill Driegert and Amanda Hyslop

Jenny Rosenberg and Randy Hibbitts

Felipe Dunn and Lani Bass

Hayden Hicks

Brian Ebke '05

Alejandro Higareda

Stouffer and Carrie Egan

Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Higgins

The Chattha-Eichbaum Family In honor of Randi Bakken, Liz Gottlieb, and Randee Paufve

Tina High

Ken Ellingboe Lou and Darcy Ellsworth Yow Asher Etlin '20 Craig Etlin and Erin Gordon David Fisher '12 Jonathan and Arminda Fisher

Joey Higuera and Angela Bailey Kimberly and Jake Hobson Bill and Patty Hohwiesner Kip and Sara Howard Ethan Howard '21 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 Robert and Kay Howe

Conor Flemming '10

Jerry and Billie Hurley In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Yea Flicker

Becca Hurwitz '14

Robert Fojt

John Hutchinson

Lyde Fleming Fowler '82

Irene Illan

Ashley Frazer '83

Bart Jackson '07

Abby French

Ian and Jacqueline Jaffee

Liz Frohlich Elizabeth Funk

Gabriella Calicchio and Michael Janes

Louvenia Gainey

Justin Jo '14

Len Galla In honor of Tracy Galla

Francesca and Jeff Johnson

Dezi Gallegos '13

Michael and Martha Joyce

Parent Co-Chairs

Class Liaisons

Nancy Galvin

Katerina Kakkis '16 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Wendy Huck

Class of 2024: Shel Saxon and

Ernesto and Patti Garcia

Sara Marshall

Kristin Schlesinger

Miguel Garcia

Rachel Kaplove '07

Nathaniel Garrett and Michelle Mulkey

Piya Kashyap

Parties & Gatherings

The Kawaja Family

Lea Geli and Darby Doyle

Valerie Batchelder

Andrew Kay '22

Dr. Mark and Gail Glasser In honor of Hailey Rabb '27

Rachel Kay '21

Amy Felsenthal

Miye Goishi and Dara Schur Marisa Gomez Nery Gonzalez and Judith Vasquez Dan Griffis '07 In honor of Lynne Hansen

Ben and Ana Jordan

Damon and Janet Kerby Lanie and Ryan King Tad Kinney Lyn and Don Klein In honor of Andrew '09, Emily '12, and Amanda '14

Robin Grindley and Adrienne Low

Alex Klikoff '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Nate '06 and Caro Grossman

Kevin Kneafsey

Ethan and Cecilia Gunning

Gretchen and Brian Koch

2024 MA Celebrates Volunteers

Lida Soofer Beth Sutro

Class of 2025: Susi Daniels and Kathryn Whittley Class of 2026: Lenka Cernika and Andrea Vishveshwara Class of 2027: Chuck Hornbrook and Courtney

Wine Co-Chairs

Leary

Jay Huck

Special Thanks

Lee Notowich All Around Help Erica Hunt

Sara Marshall (saraflorals.com) for the beautiful flower arrangements!

Mark Gustavson '86 Rebecca Young Gustin NEXUS 2024

55

ANNUAL REPORT

The Kostick Family

Ted and Kelly Murphy

Clay Krebs '11 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

George Nachtrieb '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Daniel and Susan Krebs In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Marjorie Keeler

Evri Kwong and Elizabeth Block

Brandon Nicholson '01

Eloise LaHorgue '11

Kathleen Dell and David Norman

Zephrin and Jenny Lasker

Christna and Geoffrey Norman In honor of Felicity Schwab '26

Carinne Lemaire-George Edgar and Alida Leon Lily Leone '22

Jay and Angel O'Neil In honor of Michael O'Neil '25

Bobbie Head and Brian Lewis

Nick Ogden '15

Chunlei Li and Chunlan Qin

Tom Ogden '13

Toni Littlejohn

Will Ogden '17

Riley Long '21 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Corey Ohama '86

Fermin Lopez and Marilis De Leon

Brittany Ouyang '07

Fidel and Mirna Lopez

Erik Schweninger and Florencia Parada In honor of Eloi Vasquez '14

Libby Rader '05 and Family Henry Maas '18 Anastacia (Leach) Maggioncalda '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Barbara Oseroff Chloe Ouyang '11

James Parrinello '07 The Pickrel Woolley Family

Ken Mahone

Marina Pickrel '12 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Aaron Mandel '02

Beth Sherman Pierce '96

Lesley Margolis

Galen W Pittman

Alvaro Martinez and Sol Herrera

Peter Platt and Nancy Fee

Richard Masland

Jorge and Maria Poblano

The Mason Family

Bob and Gunilla Portnoy

Tory '10 and Noah '11 Mathieson

Kathleen and Che Prasad

The Matthiesen Family

Jessica Zee Price '90 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

David and Roxanne May Michael McCarthy '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

The Primer-Cohen Family

Jeffrey and Vanessa Thomas

Kristie Sallee In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Thea Thompson '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Margaret Sallee In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Hailey Todhunter '17 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Benicia Gantner and Rudy Samuels

Molly Tomforde

Rigoberto Sanchez and Amelia Carmona

Sheila Torres

Anthony and Betty Saris Jeanette Saris '06 Jason and Shel Saxon David Schlegel and Jennifer Smith Gaby Schneider '09 Jack Schow '06 David Schubert '79 Mike and Kim Schulist Andrew Schultz and Andrea Visveshwara Orr and Sharon Shakked Carola and Allen Shepard Nathan Sherman In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 Tom and Jan Sherwood

Kelly Thomas

Haley Tone '03 Leeann Trang '00 Kazuhiko and Lynne Tsubouchi Daniel and Christie Tyreus Tallula van de Heetkamp In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 The Verdi/Myers Family In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 Pic and Heather Walker Peter Walker Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Wallace In honor of Henry Blum '26 Ethan Wenner '23 Adrian G. West '93 Megan Wheeler Jack Whitescarver '19 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Harrison Shure

Dakota Whitney '90 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Eliza Singer '04

Cole and Grace Wilbur

Jeanne-Marie Sinnott '02

Ann and Jim Wilhelm

Susan Slater In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Bill and Theresa Wilka

Steven Spangenberg Alessondra Springmann '03 In honor of John Hicks Raymond St. Francis and Susan Peterson In honor of Theo St. Francis '13

Jaime Willett and Laura Brumage Kyle Wilson '22 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 David and Susan Withers The Witte Family In honor of Peyton '17 and Tristan '14 Witte

Sean and Liz McDermott

Arturo Puente and Beatrice Gomez

Brian McElroy and Porsia Tunzi

Desmond Raitt and Mylinh Huynh

Jean Stephan McKinley

Annabelle Gibson Reber '93

Jermaine Standfield Sr. and Jenise Standfield

Jason McKinney and May Wong

Mark W Redor '75

Nicole Stanton

Mike Meier '98

James and Diane Reed In memory of Dan Reed '05

The Steenhausen Family In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Jennifer and Kevin Rees

Lucy Stovell '21

Thomas and Susan Reinhart

Amy Strauss '05

Isaura Resendiz and Arturo Morales

Angus Strawbridge '16 Ethan Strull '18

Mate Revishvili '23

Phillip Ziegler and Tobey Hiller In honor of Chiara '22 and Cade '26 Savage-Schwartz

Anya Sturm

Hannah Rich '08

Andrea and Mark Zola

Amanda Mehan Sugarman '93

Stéphane and Janiece Richard

Daniel Zolotow and Mary Stewart

James and Patricia Swanson

Louisa Ritter

Karin Swanson '09 In memory of Don Alexander, former MA educator

Denisse Melgar Sebastian Melrose '20 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88 Ari Mendez-Penate '02 Jacob Mergendoller '07 Erin Miwa '97 Glenn and Laura Miwa Enrique Moo Canul and Mirna Gramajo Al and Michelle Moore

Alice Nguyen and Alistair Roberts

Alexia Moore '89 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Agapito Rodriguez and Yolanda Mancia

James Morrison and Anne Wilbur

Sabino Rodriguez and Carolina Batres

Robert and Wendy Swenson

Tomas Rodriguez

Stephen Morse '88 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

56

Melissa Neal

Joan Sallee In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Rachel Swanson Taylor Tan '06

Lucas Mortimer '22

Jesse Roselin '95

Andy Tanenbaum '86 In memory of Greg Kenneth '88

Amira Mostafa

Hal Rosenberg

Richard and Sally Taylor

MARIN ACADEMY

Lori Howard and Greg Wolff Marie Woodson Maddie Wooster '22 Manuel Zapata and Leny Gonzalez Nancy and Larry Zee

The following is a list of gifts received for all other Marin Academy funds during the 2023-24 year. We are grateful for all gifts to restricted designations as we build support for the future.

ENDOWED FUNDS Chris Detrick Endowment Fund for Music Anonymous (1) Steve and Christina Carroll Brian and Erin Hansen Devens Family Student Support Fund Endowment Ann and Robert Devens Lindsay Eckert Henry Memorial Fund Beth and Tom Eckert Lorie and Ron Hirson

Alec Lee Aim High Scholarship Endowment

SPECIAL GIFTS

Anonymous (1)

Nell and Nelson Branco

MA Scholarship for World Languages

Richard and Judith Burns

Jim Stambolis

The Donald and Carole Chaiken Foundation

The Warner Family

Anonymous (1)

Anne and David Claman

Carol L. Morse Scholarship Fund

Jon and Angela Cohen

Bruce Morse

Sloan and Roger Barnett

Stacy and Matthew Perry Timothy Reid Sachleben Sullivan Family Fund Alisa and Keith Stimson

Floyd Construction Lindsay and Chris Dunham Mark Evans

Parasol Foundation Trust Scholarship

George and Renate Lee

Parasol Foundation

David Ogden '82

Greg Little and Alicia Nogales

2024-25 MAPA Executive Board Beth Sutro (Chip '27), MAPA President

Cary Hueser (Brooks '26), VP Communications

Mead Blum (Henry '26), VP Treasurer & Operations

Rebecca Nessel (Jonah '26, Deven '28), VP Staff & Parent Support

Lorie Hirson (Noah '25, Ari '27), VP Community & Inclusion

Lisa Savage (Chiara '22, Cade '26), VP Student Support

Wendy Huck (Tyler '22, Alegra '27), VP Programs

Andrea Zola (Catherine '23, Stephanie '26), Secretary

ANNUAL REPORT

2024-25 Board of Trustees Paul Levitan (Board Chair)

Mandy Tachiki (Vice-Chair) Robert Brown (Vice-Chair) David Corey (Vice-Chair)

Travis Brownley (Head of School) Jon Bretan (Faculty) Kevin Rees (Faculty) Beth Sutro (MAPA President) Archana (Archie) Chattha

Brighid Dwyer '97

Erica Hunt

Isaura Resendiz

Jessica Eisler

Christina Kosmowski

Ali Rezaian '89

Tomoko Fortune

Ed McDermott

Catarina Schwab

Wyeth Goodenough

Scott Mollett '99

Sigurd Strack

Lorri Hamilton Durbin

Stephanie Notowich

Spencer Wang

Brittany Ouyang '07

KaTrina Wentzel

Maxwell Hayman '05

Florencia Parada

New Members Jon Bretan (Faculty) has been a member of the Science Department and has coached Cross Country at MA since 2010. He has taught all the chemistry and physics courses MA offers and coached runners on the Cross Country and Track and Field teams. He is very happy that MA keeps his Wilderness First Responder certification current so he can continue to take students on trail runs and outings. In 2016, MA gave Jon the opportunity to create a unique physics elective called "Electrical Engineering + Computer Science," in which students learn about the physics of electronic components and how they are combined to create our modern information infrastructure. Since then, the class has become one of the pillars of MA's physics offerings. He also teaches an electric guitar-building Minicourse, bringing his experience as a musician and guitarist/bassist to the physics lab. A Marin County native, Jon grew up in Novato, attended Novato High School, studied Physics and Astronomy at UC Berkeley (BA '04), and returned to Novato High School, where he taught for five years before coming to MA. Jon lives in San Rafael with his wife, a middle school teacher, and daughter. When not at MA, he can typically be found running the beautiful trails of Marin or playing music for North Bay theater productions.

Tomoko Fortune and her husband Donald live in San Francisco and have three children: Kenzo, Aiko '27, and Tai. She is a diversified equity Portfolio Manager at Capital World International in San Francisco, one of the Capital Group companies. Previously, she was Partner of Criterion Capital Management, a technology-focused investment management firm, where she oversaw global internet investments and served on the Management Committee.

Tomoko grew up in Tokyo, Japan and has a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Tomoko previously served on the board of the Jamestown Council and the Board of Trustees at Town School for Boys as Treasurer.

She currently serves on the Dartmouth Investment Committee and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.

58

MARIN ACADEMY

"Storm Clouds" by Callie Z. '24

Beth Sutro (MAPA President) and her husband, Stephen, live in Ross with their three children Chip '27, Annie, and Boden. She received her BA in Economics from Stanford and MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Beth has spent her career in consumer marketing, strategy, communications, and social responsibility at Gap V°] > ` >Ì > Õ LiÀ v ÃÌ>ÀÌ Õ«Ã] L Ì ÕÃi > ` >à > V ÃÕ Ì> Ì° - i à VÕÀÀi Ì Þ Ì i Marketing Director at Sutro Architects. Beth serves as the President of the Marin Academy Parent Association and has held many volunteer roles at the Ross School Foundation and PTO. When she is not on the sidelines of her kids' sports games or music performances, she can be found hiking with her dog all over Marin County.

KaTrina Wentzel lives in Minnesota with her husband Paul, dog Soba, and frequent visitors.

With a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and over 30 years in schools as a teacher and administrator, KaTrina spent the bulk of her career working in progressive schools using research on learning, teaching, and youth to create deep, transferable learning for all. She is the Director of Learning Design at reDesign, an educational thought leadership group that works with schools, districts, and states to advance equitable and meaningful education.

When not working, she spends her time with family, baking and decorating cookies, or listening to great music.

NEXUS 2024

59

1600 Mission Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Connect With Us

MA.org @marinacademy

Think. Question. Create.

Marin Academy students marry art and science, explore the meaning of space and place, and bring their visions to life through creativity and the latest technology.

Many voices are welcomed and encouraged at MA, allowing our students to cultivate the tools they need to live their lives fully, and the inspiration to contribute as compassionate citizens of the world.