faculty, staff & friends… Thacher’s new Chinese teacher is Eric Shi (left), who most recently taught Chinese at Iowa State University; while there, he earned a master’s degree in applied linguistics. Previously, Eric taught English and served as a dorm parent at various high schools in China. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Joining him in Ojai are his wife, Emily, and their daughter Linda, who is studying at Ventura College. This year’s Thacher Fellow is Erica Jones (left, below), a graduate of Dartmouth, where she studied government and African and African American Studies. Last year she volunteered on the Obama campaign, taught in the Oakland Unified School District, and worked for the ACLU in Northern California. At Thacher, Erica is teaching history, working with the Indoor Committee, and helping to coach JV girls’ soccer. Assisting with the football teams this fall is Tony Franco, a graduate of Providence College, where he studied political science, and double minored in business and the development of western civilization. Tony played football at Braintree High School south of Boston and earned the Coaches’ Award for leadership. Finally, Thacher’s new Director of Finance and Operations is Connie Hanstedt CPA, who served as the business officer at Harvard-Westlake School for the past five-plus years. Previously, Connie has worked as a financial officer and controller for companies focused on a wide array of industries; she also teaches finance and accounting courses at Brooks Institute and at California
Lutheran University. She earned her bachelor of science in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge, and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Business from California Lutheran University. Interim Business Manager Joe Ribeiro and his wife, Sara, hit the rails for their trip east to their home in New England. As former business manager at Northfield Mt. Herman and Western Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Mass., Joe was able to jump in and effectively manage Thacher’s business operations until Connie Hanstedt arrived this fall. Thank you, Joe! Several of Thacher’s faculty members spent their summers working towards advanced degrees. Science teacher Heather Grant began her graduate work in Montana State University’s Masters of Science in Science Education degree program. History teacher Toby Elmore continued his work on his Masters of Liberal Arts at Reed College. English and Latin teacher Aaron Snyder completed his Master’s degree in English at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. English teacher Jake Jacobsen was a visiting scholar at Eton College, England, and took a course at Cambridge University. Assistant Director of Admission Aaron Mieszczanski attended a Peabody Professional Institute on Independent School Leadership at Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University. Two more babies joined Thacher’s Community this summer. Amy and Toby Elmore welcomed Stella Jean (left) on Aug. 21; big brother Charlie is thrilled to have a little sister. Another baby girl arrived on Sept. 14, to the delight of parents Ginger and Richard Maxwell (Bon Appetit/Food Service Director). Macy Joy joins older siblings Nina and Miles at their home in Oak View.
TRUSTEE NEWS Joining Thacher’s Board this fall is Cindy Castañeda CdeP 1988. She lives in Garland, Texas, with her husband Dr. Ray Canham and two sons Daniel (9) and Tomas (7) Fanning. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies from Harvard University, a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in higher education from the University of North Texas. Currently, Cindy serves as Executive Dean of Ethnic Studies, Social Science, and Physical Education at Richland College. She has served on Thacher’s Alumni Council since its inception in 2007. Another new Board member is Rajiv Dutta, father of Arjun ’10 and daughter Sarina. Since February 2009, Dutta has served as CEO of Palm, Inc. He joined eBay in 1998, where he held positions including CFO, Senior and executive vice president, and head of strategy; he also led the New Ventures Group and served as president of marketplaces until his retirement in October 2008. Rajiv holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics with honors from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University in India, and an MBA from the Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate School, California. He is married to Sumita Dutta; their family lives in Saratoga, Calif. Jennifer L. Kritz CdeP 1994 will serve as president of the Alumni Association for the next three years. For several 46 fall 2009
years, Jennifer has served as Class Representative and is active on the Alumni Council. Professionally, Jennifer has extensive experience in politics, public policy, and communications. She currently works for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick as deputy communications director for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Jennifer is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Columbia University, where she also earned a master’s degree in English. She also holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. A native of Santa Barbara, Jennifer now lives in Boston with her husband, Sam Ditzion; they’re expecting their first child in March. Becky and Ted Swift are serving as this year’s co-presidents of Thacher’s Parents Association. Becky is a graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is developing a women’s line of golf clothing in Santa Barbara, while also pursuing her passion as a nature photographer. Ted is a graduate of Yale University and a native of Chicago, Ill. He is CEO and president of Foarm, Inc., a manufacturing company in Santa Barbara. She and Ted have volunteered for many years at Thacher, as parent chairs of the Annual Fund for two years, and as parent chairs for Thacher’s recent capital campaign. They have two children, Dallas CdeP 2006, who is a senior at Northwestern University, and Natalie ‘10, a senior at Thacher.