FACULTY, STAFF & FRIENDS… The newest board members: (l to r) Nancy Yih, Bob Johnson, Diana Rauner, Tom McCloskey, and Ted Williams (not pictured, Mark Holman).
NEW TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
instructor GALLIA VICKERY joined forces with Music Director GREG HAGGARD to put dance to music for the International Festival of Music in Chongqing, China. Their 20-minute presentation performed by five young women was very well received. Spanish teacher JUAN SANCHEZ and wife, Xena Grossman, welcomed their first child, daughter Sierra Grossman Sanchez, on September 21. A few weeks later, when Sierra made her Assembly debut, a holiday was called in her honor. And, new associate director of admission and lacrosse coach TIM SULLIVAN and his wife, COURTNEY, expect their first child by spring. At the fall gathering in Cambridge, former math teacher TOM FOSTER shared about the impact of his sabbatical at the Woodstock School. Also at that event was former history teacher TOBY ELMORE, who now works at the Hotchkiss School, teaching history, working in admission, and coaching soccer. He, his wife, Amy (former director of Thacher’s Alumni Fund), and their two children are happily living in Western Massachusetts. SARA EDWARDS, who has worked in Olympus for the past 15 years, also serves as organist and choir director at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Ventura. She was recently asked to play for the Reformation service at Cal Lutheran University. After finishing a job in Santa Barbara, LUIS JUNGO returned to work at Thacher in both the Student Store and the Business Office. Along with 15 other artists, pastry chef and ceramicist ROBIN RILEY opened the Ojai Valley Artists gallery in July, just a few doors down from Ruben’s on Signal Street. She joins over 40 artists displaying wares that range from plein air oil and pastel paintings to textiles and ceramics.
After nine years on the board, JOHN CARVER CdeP 1953 retired in the spring and was lauded in the fall for his services. His legacy of support to the School is evident in The Commons, the true hub of student life that he made possible. Other retiring trustees were BRAD KREY (P Alexander CdeP 2007, Morgan CdeP 2010, and Katherine CdeP 2012), who served as treasurer and led the finance committee, and SAKURAKO D. FISHER (P Remy CdeP 2010) who was a very active leader of the development committee, always challenging the School to be more ambitious in setting Annual Fund goals. PAT and NEAL HOWE CdeP 1969 (P Brisha CdeP 2013) served as last year’s Parents Association chairs and set a new benchmark for fostering communication between the School and parents, especially those new to the boarding school experience. Some new faces joined Thacher’s Board of Trustees this fall. DIANA MENDLEY RAUNER (P Elizabeth CdeP 2002, Stephanie CdeP 2004, and Katherine ’16) is the president of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, a publicprivate partnership serving at-risk children and their families. She has a background in investment banking, holds a PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Chicago, an MBA from Stanford, and a BA from Yale. The father of another sophomore (Teddy), EDWARD WILLIAMS also joined the board; he is the managing partner at Springbok Partners, an investment firm that provides seed capital and consulting in the financial services industry. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, where he works for Bonneville Power Administration is MARK A. T. HOLMAN CdeP 1986, a cum laude graduate of Harvard College, where he majored in Russian and Soviet studies. Two other loyal Thacher volunteers rejoined the board after several years working on other projects. BOB JOHNSON CdeP 1967 (father of Nick ’16) formerly served as president of the Alumni Association and worked on the strategic plan in the late 90s. Bob earned electrical engineering degrees from Stanford, followed by an MBA and DBA from Harvard; he works in venture capital and has taught part time at Stanford, Caltech, UCLA, and Claremont Graduate School. TOM McCLOSKEY (P Todd CdeP 1993, David CdeP 1996, Lauren CdeP 1999, and Devon CdeP 2002) is founder of Cornerstone Holdings and holds a BA from Notre Dame and an MBA from Wharton. He hails from Aspen, San Francisco, and Kaua’i, where the family focuses on developing projects that steward the land and leave a positive legacy. NANCY and DAN YIH (P Stephen CdeP 2010, Chris CdeP 2012, and Ben ’15), who live in Greenwich, Conn., are serving as Parents Association chairs this year. Dan is the chief operating officer at Starwood Capital Group. Nancy worked in management consulting for Bain & Company and brand management at Colgate-Palmolive Company. And, finally, the board brought back from retirement former secretary TOBY ROSENBLATT CdeP 1956, who was named honorary trustee, a role he shares with JOHN S. LEWIS CdeP 1959 and ELIZABETH HELMS ADAMS for their selfless and extraordinary contributions to Thacher throughout the years.