YORK SCHOOL IMPACT REPORT 2020

REFOCUSED STORIES OF 2020

COHORT PROGRAM STARTS AT YORK COHORT DAYS

ONLINE LEARNING AND MEETING SPACE

NUMBER OF COHORTS OFFERED YEAR

GLOBAL PANDEMIC DISTANCED LEARNING BEGINS AT YORK

NUMBER OF LOCAL FIRES

NUMBER OF FOOD BANK VOLUNTEERS

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEER HOURS

NUMBER OF ACRES BURNED

IMPACT REPORT

2020

CONTENTS 2 Looking Ahead

A MESSAGE FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOL

3 In The Foreground

INTRODUCING NEW MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY

Señor Soto 4 Gracias A FOND FAREWELL

5-6 A New Perspective

ADVANTAGES OF DISTANCE LEARNING

of Field 7 Depth A COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER

8 Recharged THE FUTURE OF ENERGY of Love 9-10 Visions ROMANCE ON THE SUNNY HILLTOP Focus 11-14 In ALUMNI STORIES

15-16 Hindsight

YEAR IN REVIEW

of 2020 17-20 Class CELEBRATING OUR GRADUATES

21-54 Annual Report

PHILANTHROPY AT YORK

Memoriam 55-56 In REMEMBERING THOSE WE LOST of Trustees 57-58 Board YORK SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

under the earth always they reach for each other, they grow such that their roots are intertwined and create a system of strength which is as resilient on a sunny day as it is in a hurricane – adrienne maree brown 1

LETTER FROM the HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear York School Community, Living through a pandemic has shifted everyone’s perspective. The effects of COVID-19 on our lives have been profound with significant changes occurring in the ways we shop, conduct meetings, and learn. In only one year, our local communities have experienced a disorienting economic and social transformation.

But transformation brings opportunity. And opportunity brings hope, especially for our resilient and nimble community as we prepare York School for the future.

The pandemic has allowed us to sharpen our focus on improving how we teach. Compelled to teach online, the faculty seized the opportunity to hone their instructional skills, including effectively reshaping their curriculum for distance learning. Our teachers have confronted the enormous challenges of virtual learning by adopting innovative approaches, which will carry over to their in-person classrooms when we return to campus.

The pandemic also empowered us to rethink the daily schedule to accommodate distance learning, adding a Community Wednesday with designated times for clubs and tutorials. Led by a sophomore and junior, a group of York students used Community Wednesday to volunteer at the Monterey County Food Bank, the first high school to do so in the area. We were also the first high school to offer in-person, after-school cohorts, giving our students the opportunity to interact safely with their peers.

Across the school we responded to the pandemic with speed and creativity. In October, the school hosted its first virtual gala, raising nearly $100,000 in one day from our generous donors. The admissions team executed several new virtual events and adapted our inperson school visits to work online while safely hosting prospective families for personalized campus tours. We are the first high school in the Monterey area to offer an Accessible Tuition program in order to ensure our commitment to socioeconomic diversity and maintain affordability. Furthermore, the communications, marketing, and technology departments successfully launched a new website and student information system in the midst of the pandemic, a daunting challenge even in normal circumstances.

Despite the difficulties posed by COVID-19, we reinforced the school’s strengths by looking forward rather than backward. Most importantly, the achievements of this past year provide a sturdy foundation for future growth.

While the details of the future might remain clouded, our aspirations are clear: We want to preserve our outstanding educational program while exploring how to offer novel experiences that prepare our students to solve the problems of the 21st century. Of course, we will continue to produce high-achieving students with the academic confidence to thrive in college; likewise, we will reinforce our students’ well-known traits of kindness and compassion. But we will also deepen our efforts to have students contribute more to the wider Monterey community.

Naturally, our future success will rely on the positive and energetic response of our community. Each member can play an important role—no matter its size—in supporting our mission to educate the next generation of smart, ambitious, and empathetic leaders. In the following pages, you will read some of York’s extraordinary stories that unfolded during an extraordinary year. I hope you find them as inspirational as I have. Moreover, I am grateful for your continued support as we emerge from the pandemic a more dynamic institution ready to successfully adapt to new circumstances. Go Falcons!

With appreciation, Doug Key Head of School

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IN THE FOREGROUND

INTRODUCING NEW MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY

JON ZELJO Director of Teaching and Learning

ERIN WHITE Director of Philanthropy and Community Partnerships

DANKO DRUŠKO Director of Instrumental Music

ANGIE MCGREW PAYNE Executive Assistant to Head of School and Philanthropy Office Coordinator

Jon has been an educator for twenty-five years, as a history teacher, department chair, and program director in global education.

Originally from Maryland, Erin has lived on the Monterey Peninsula for the past seventeen years. Prior to York, Erin was the Director of Development at Santa Catalina School, where she completed a historic $50 million campaign and oversaw annual giving, alumni and parent engagement, special events, and development operations.

Born to Croatian parents in Germany, Dr. Druško is currently Music Director of Youth Music Monterey County, Youth Orchestra Salinas/El Sistema USA and Instrumental Director at York School. He spent two years as Visiting Assistant Professor and Director of Orchestra & Opera at the Northern Illinois University School of Music. He is a frequent guest conductor, clinician and pre-concert lecturer.

Born and raised on the Monterey Peninsula, Angie comes to York from many years in customer care management at Taylor Farms.

Jon knew from the time he was an undergraduate at Duke that he wanted to teach. Jon earned his M.A. in East Asian Studies from University of Virginia specifically to teach students about this significant part of the world. After spending a decade working with teachers on curriculum development, he has returned to the school world and believes he’s found the dream position, that is, working with and supporting both students and teachers.

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Her deep experience in independent schools also includes work in admission, advising, and serving as a dorm parent. A philosopher at heart, Erin is driven by a passion for learning and a commitment to helping others find meaning and purpose in their lives. In her mind, philanthropy is a natural gateway to conversations and actions that matter.

Danko has conducted professional, university and youth orchestras throughout Europe and North America. He holds a Doctor of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

She has a passion for learning and recently went back to school to pursue a degree in psychology. Angie’s incredible organizational skills and commitment to excellence, combined with her love for people naturally generates excitement to serve our students, faculty, staff and parents.

GRACIAS SEÑOR SOTO

Señor Soto’s welcoming “¡Hola, chavos, buenos días!,” has greeted nervous novices, thrilled third-years, and adventurous advanced students in York School Spanish classes for 27 years. The students followed along dutifully, holding out hope that their profe might eventually speak some English. What happened instead, through Gabriel’s thoughtful pedagogy and mucha paciencia, is that the students gained proficiency in Spanish and went on to use it for travel, summer abroad programs, university, work, and most importantly, soccer spectating. Gabriel Soto has provided thousands of hours of comprehensible input during his tenure at York, and has served as our authentic, living, fútbol-loving model of the culture of Spain, and more specifically, Catalonia. Gabriel has also intentionally followed a dynamic path of professional development, devoting time during summers and sabbaticals to the mastery of new teaching methods and technological tools.

Let us recognize how often an enthusiasm for learning accompanies an admirable career in teaching.

In addition to his demonstrable dedication to the craft of language teaching, Gabe extends warm collegiality to the staff and his fellow educators. If you have chaperoned, coached, team-taught, or spent lunchtime with Gabe, you appreciate his humor and gift of debate.

Gabriel Soto (our Ángel’s) retirement leaves a fine legacy of student linguists, and leaves his friends and colleagues with one fewer bright spot on this sunny hilltop.

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A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE RIGHT PATH During the summer of 2020, in the midst of planning for a return to school under pandemic restrictions, Head of School, Doug Key, and Dean of Students, Joyce Sherry, began discussing the essential need to position York School as an antiracist educational institution.

As the year progressed, the planning grew to involve a committee of faculty and staff who meet quarterly to talk about progress and next steps.

Joyce has engaged in several workshops and study groups, including One Schoolhouse’s consortium of schools conducting audits of their curricula and practices for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

ADVANTAGES OF DISTANCE LEARNING York School and its faculty have always been committed to a robust process of continuous improvement, and these challenging times have provided York an opportunity to enhance student experience, both online and eventually for on-campus learning.

To prepare for this goal, during the summer of 2020, the entire York faculty and academic administrative team completed a comprehensive multi-week professional development course in hybrid learning offered by One Schoolhouse, a leading organization in independent school online learning. York is the only school in the Monterey Bay area that completed this nationally regarded professional development course.

“What was amazing about the One Schoolhouse training, was that they focused on the benefits of online learning,” explained York’s long-time history teacher, Michael Borrowman. The training focused on a positive approach to introduce new kinds of lessons to enhance student experience in a remote learning setting.

“It’s been an invaluable experience,” continued Mr. Borrowman.

Another important element of distance learning at York is to maintain the social and emotional well-being of students and continue to foster York’s deep sense of community. To achieve this, York continued to hold all-school assemblies virtually, clubs met online, and town halls and virtual coffees with the Head of School were also offered to keep families informed.

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Faculty began professional development around talking about racism. It’s a painful topic, and we want to be able to engage in the difficult conversations while providing a safe space for our students. We partnered with the National Coalition Building Institute for a two-part workshop in understanding ourselves, celebrating diversity, and developing tolerance for the often challenging conversations about race. Further professional development opportunities wait for us ahead.

As the year got into full swing, several teachers committed to including equity work within their curricula. The language department, for instance, has explored international examples of bias, prejudice, and racism. The primary venue for our conversations is the advisory period, PATH. We kicked off our discussions with a convocation in which we introduced the year’s theme: “Developing as antiracist individuals and an antiracist school.”

In all-school forums and small group PATH meetings, we have grappled with many subjects.

Historical racism in America set the stage for contemporary struggles, and the PBS documentary series; “Race: The Power of an Illusion,” provided a launching point we needed for our discussions and learning. York School’s mission is more evident now than ever: to be an inclusive and diverse community, always evolving, learning and listening.

LISTEN. LEARN. REFOCUS. In the fall of 2020, Arts Department Chair, Spencer Williams, created a new class, Musical Theatre History: Broadway ReFocused. This course was designed to create a more inclusive approach to teaching about musical theatre’s past, with the intention of bringing everyone into the conversation: students, our York community, and even the broader theatrical community.

Broadway ReFocused is an educational platform that looks at Broadway’s past with a new lens to understand Broadway’s future. We celebrate stories of women, queers, black, indigenous, and people of color in musical theatre.

We study through a curriculum that is designed to dive deep into the social/political movements of the day to understand why a musical was produced on Broadway.

We listen by hearing new voices on the Broadway ReFocused podcast. Each unit, we interview underrepresented individuals to understand how we can do better in the future.

We refocus the stories of the past by creating blog posts that give a deeper and more comprehensive look at Broadway’s past.

We amplify these voices through our social media platforms to create a broader conversation.

Together we listen, learn, and refocus so that we can move forward in a more diverse and inclusive way.

During the course of the semester, we were fortunate to have ten Broadway professionals join our talks with our students: Broadway producers, choreographers, directors, artistic directors, casting directors, actors, and music directors. This gave York students an opportunity to meet BIPOC, queer, and women artists in the business today.

At the end of the semester, our students presented their two-show Broadway season to a panel of judges of BIPOC Broadway producers. They had to present a revival of a musical, a brand new musical, and tell us why these stories are important to tell in 2021. Guest judges and composers asked students difficult questions and gave valuable feedback. A total of fourteen industry professionals participated in the presentation.

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DEPTH OF FIELD

78 575 VOLUNTEERS FROM YORK

VOLUNTEER HOURS IN FALL 0F 2020

When crisis strikes, York turns outward to see how we can help. In spring of 2020, at the onset of COVID, several students designed face shields and masks while others worked on protective shields for nurses to use when intubating COVID patients. Mr. Brookhouser, Dr. Hanna, and Ms. Moneypenny helped with the production and delivery of these products to local hospitals. Over the summer, students volunteered at All-In Monterey County, a new community group offering fresh food and life essentials to those impacted by COVID. York faculty came together to donate supplies for a community breakfast, where students also stepped in to lend a helping hand.

The Food Bank for Monterey County is one of the donors of food to All-In, so Oscar ’22 and Lily ’23 quickly made the connection and began planning and organizing a volunteer day.

Due to COVID-19, the Food Bank lost many of their volunteers. The organization went from 500 volunteers to 60 National Guard members, and, finally, to just 15 National Guard members. York School was the only high school (and one of only 3 groups total) to volunteer. The experience turned out to be a lifeline to our local community, ensuring our neighbors receive nutritious food during this tumultuous time. By September 2020, with the fires affecting our communities, the Food Bank was providing food to about 50% of Monterey County.

Weekly volunteering at the Food Bank continues to this day and offers an opportunity for York students to give back, as well as a chance to safely come together in person.

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A COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER

“I’m so grateful that we’ve had the opportunity to volunteer at the Food Bank.

I feel like I’ve been actively helping the community throughout these past few months while also being able to reconnect with classmates in person.”

- Lily Berrysmith ‘23

RECHARGED

THE FUTURE OF ENERGY

For the past two decades, York School has positioned itself as an educational leader in sustainable energy. In 2003, the 9,000-square-foot Science Building was completed, the first green building in Monterey County. It incorporates a solar energy system and 30 environmentally sustainable elements. In 2008, York was the first school designated a winner of the Green Business Award in the Monterey area. By 2010, with the additional installation of solar panels on the school’s Day Hall in 2007, the school was producing 50% of its own electricity.

Ten years later, we continue to provide environmental leadership with the installation of an innovative solar tracker at the entrance to the athletic complex and outdoor lab.

Jim Newman and Herb Aarons, parents of York alumni, joined with Solaflect, an award-winning company from Vermont, to donate and install the solar tracker on York’s campus in February 2020. With this investment, York strengthens its commitment to implementing eco-friendly projects that benefit the community and offers our students unique learning opportunities. With former head of school Chuck Harmon’s enthusiastic support, Jim, Herb, and Solaflect believed that the school’s record of energy conservation, educational reputation, and premier location made York an ideal home for this inventive solar device.

The solar tracker represents York’s long-standing aim to embrace state-of-the-art projects.

Unlike solar panels you see affixed to a rooftop, a solar tracker moves with the sun from sunrise to sunset. As a result of being able to point directly at the sun throughout the day, a solar tracker captures 40% more energy than traditional solar panels. During the past year, the school has already gained significant savings from operating the solar tracker.

Jim and Herb also anticipate our students utilizing the solar tracker in their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math courses to better understand the advantages of clean energy. The possibilities to incorporate the solar tracker in the curriculum are numerous and will give our students another distinctive learning opportunity. Additionally, the school envisions creating a solar garden dotted with solar trackers owned by local community members.

Chuck Harmon’s support as well as Jim’s, Herb’s, and Solaflect’s foresight and generosity enables our school to further our investment in renewable energy. Above all, our students will develop their knowledge about solar power and build their skills in environmental advocacy.

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vision of

romance on the sunny hilltop TOM AND KAREN MURRAY Tom Murray met his wife Karen when he decided to have a combination housewarming and Christmas party at the new home where he and his daughter Brianna had recently moved. He invited some of his old neighbors, one of whom said that her sister was visiting. Tom said, “Bring her along.” Tom and Karen started dating shortly thereafter.

Karen was living in Vancouver at the time, so needless to say, there were a number of trips between Monterey and British Columbia over the next couple of years. When they decided to get married, York’s Maureen Church Coburn Chapel seemed the obvious choice for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because York was the community where Tom felt most at home. The couple had planned a fairly small wedding, so the chapel was a perfect fit.

Further, Reverend Roger Bowen, York Headmaster at the time, was their chosen officiant, so everything naturally fell into place. Karen had already met a number of the York faculty; in fact, she had met several the same night she and Tom met, including physics

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teacher Nick Hart, who served as best man. Brianna served as a flower girl, while York alum Michelle Maruyama ’96, who had become a professional violinist, assembled a string quartet which sounded beautiful in the chapel. As the wedding was planned for early November of 1999, the afternoon light was perfect for both the ceremony and photos.

Years later, the time came for their son Andrew’s christening, Tom and Karen chose the York Chapel as their venue for many of the same reasons. Quite a few of the same friends and family were able to attend, adding a feeling of reunion to the ceremony. York’s marvelous cathedral baptismal font was an added bonus.

Tom Murray retired in 2018 after teaching at York School for 35 years. Karen is the owner of Edison & Melrose, a delightful tea and treats shop in Pacific Grove, and she has also catered many York events throughout the years. We hope to see their son, Andrew, on campus next year as part of York’s 2025 class!

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ASHLEIGH REIBERT ‘04 AND MICHAEL ANDERSON ‘03 It was in the Bishop library on the sunny hilltop, nearly twenty years ago, that Ashleigh and Michael Anderson first met. He was a junior and she was a sophomore. The two Falcons began dating shortly after meeting and even attended York’s prom together.

It is tradition at York that seniors are asked to record a personal video message to their future selves. When Michael recorded his,

he expressed hope in the video that “things will work out with Ashleigh.” Michael graduated in 2003 and started college in San Diego, with Ashleigh eventually following him to Southern California.

“At first, we attended two different colleges–I was at St. Mary’s in the Bay Area, Michael was at the University of San Diego. We studied abroad together with other college friends, and I ultimately ended up at the University of San Diego,” explains Ashleigh.

“Michael served on the York Board of Trustees, and we enjoy attending events, reconnecting with other alums and past teachers, and giving back financially. One of the best parts of our York experience was creating lifelong relationships with some of our classmates. Our experiences at York played a major role in shaping who we are today, and the critical thinking,

public speaking, and writing skills we honed at York contributed to our college and career successes. We hope that our daughters are interested in attending York a few years down the road,” said Ashleigh.

Ashleigh and Michael were married in 2009 and continue to live on the Monterey Peninsula with their two daughters. They regularly attend York events and are active alumni of the school.

Michael’s family business led the couple back to the Monterey Peninsula, where Ashleigh took a job as a kindergarten teacher.

Coming back to Monterey also meant coming back to York.

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IN FOCUS

ALUMNI STORIES she shared, “and one night I remember the chef caught me and said, ‘You want to work pasta, don’t you?’ because I was just staring and taking it all in. So I remember him catching me watching in awe of the whole thing…. He saw my love of pasta in my eyes, and he put me on the pasta station.” With the help of the sous chefs and Leta’s diligence, she was able to master her art at a professional level.

Fast-forward to a move back to Portland, getting married, raising two boys, and Leta then found herself engaging with the pasta-making world through Instagram. Seeing what other people did inspired her to share her own creativity with the medium.

As fate would have it, a cooking store opened up right near her home, and she was asked to teach pasta-making classes on-site.

Through social media entrepreneurship in the Instagram community and her connections through hosting local pasta-making classes and networking, Leta has continued to build her small business in recent years. While she would have spent a good amount of the year traveling to host workshops, due to COVID, she has reinvented and adapted her business model to offer digital cooking classes through the popular Patreon website and selling pasta from her (state certified) home kitchen.

Pasta Leta: A Passion for Pasta — Leta Merrill ’00 Leta Merrill’s journey to the culinary arts was not a direct one, but began with a love of cooking—and enjoying lots of pasta. Ask her mother and she will tell you that Leta and pasta were meant to be, even from a young age. After studying elementary education in college, she ended up enrolling in the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland with great enjoyment. Leta soon found herself with a fast-paced, hands-on learning experience at the Union Square Cafe in New York City, honing her craft.

What started as an internship and slicing bread soon became a full-time job preparing oysters and salads, but Leta still dreamed of pasta. “I could see the pasta station from where I was working,”

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While most of us buy the dried, machine-made packaged pasta at the grocery store, everything Leta makes is hand-shaped from scratch. While she can make multi-colored ravioli to orecchiette to pasta varieties you probably haven’t heard of, when asked for her favorite, Leta would say a simple cacio e pepe: toasted peppercorns and pecorino cheese. Her favorite way to cook, however, depends on what’s in season, selecting whatever looks best at the farmers market that day which she learned back in New York at her first restaurant job. “It’s kind of how the Italians approach cooking,” she said. “The chef taught me a lot about seasonal cooking and how to build a pasta sauce with whatever you have on hand. There’s a basic formula to building the sauce and executing it. Once you have the formula down, you can exchange ingredients as much as you’d like.”

Once quarantines are lifted, Leta looks forward to hosting her pasta-making workshops and traveling to (of course) Italy, sampling different specialties from each region. In the meantime, you can still enjoy her mouth-watering delights online and watch her business grow at @lemneats!

Arye explained, “It was a crazy adventure, learning to go from being a scientist to more of an entrepreneur and an operator.

Learning how the world of business works and the world of pharma works.”

A Sustainable Future Through Biotech — Arye Lipman ’04 A machine the size of a toaster that zaps clean drinking water from the air—it sounds like science fiction, but for biotechnology entrepreneur Arye Lipman ’04 it is another exciting day at work. Arye oversees numerous cutting-edge projects like this at his firm, MarsBio, where he and his team do early seed investing in biotech and life sciences companies, as well as company incubation where they advise and help grow new, smaller companies.

Arye was always drawn to science from the beginning at York, particularly biology, so when it came time to apply for college, UCLA’s excellent life sciences program was a natural fit. UCLA’s unique work-study program allowed him to gain real world experience in a working lab as a technician beginning in his freshman year. This handson job at a cancer biology lab—studying different types of cancer, how they advance, and specific biomarkers—allowed Arye to work his way up, building his skillset and helping him create a network of grad students and professors working in the field.

His diligence paid off and he was brought on by a UCLA professor to become a founding member of a cancer diagnostics company.

It wasn’t all lab coats and test tubes, as

After absorbing as much as he could about the industry and years of cutting his teeth at his first job, Arye was looking for a way to give back to the scientific community that taught him everything he knew. “I had a lot of people in my network who were great scientists and had great ideas, but were really struggling to figure out how to turn them into a reality. So I started working on a few different angles to that problem,” he shared.

First was tackling the issue of lab space.

Along with a colleague, Arye helped organize rentable lab space—essentially WeWork for biology labs. They ended up building three spaces around Southern California, with eventually 30 to 40 early stage companies. From there, they started seeing a lot of great startups emerge.

It wasn’t only space Arye was looking to help with: funding was also a big challenge for these smaller startups. Location is everything, and while the LA area wasn’t particularly known for being a biotech hub, Arye and his colleagues were able to use their own networks to figure out ways to invest in these companies and connect them with capital. Soon enough, they had created their own venture fund: MarsBio. For the past year and a half at MarsBio, Arye and his colleagues haven’t been sitting back, waiting for the magic to happen. “We don't just give them a check,” he said. “We help them more than that. We work very closely with entrepreneurs to help them build out their team, develop a strategy, and raise more money. We kick the tires on the science.”

biotech industry, but he’s not stopping there. While the past twenty or so years has seen biotech support a profitable pharmaceutical industry, he has seen the value in biotech’s intersection with numerous other industries to help make our world better.

“How can we develop more nutritious food that's widely available?” he asks. “How can we develop new agricultural techniques that are more sustainable? How can we think about using biology to produce the fuel for our cars? How can we use engineering biology to make new fabrics for our clothing?” They might seem like daunting questions, but luckily Arye has the privilege of talking to some of the most brilliant scientists and has access to some of the world’s most amazing research. Working as a supporter, investor, and scientist, he could soon be able to provide answers.

The most exciting part is Arye isn’t the only one who has access to those brilliant minds. When asked what advice he would give to fellow Falcons interested in the scientific world he shared, “Consider reaching out directly to some of these scientists if you really like their work and learn from them. The vast majority of the scientists are always happy to talk to a young person who is excited about their field.”

Arye is always excited to connect with other York community members interested in science. You can follow his exciting journey and reach him via Twitter @aryelipman.

Seeing the challenges and opportunities inspired Arye to create solutions in the

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The Smiths Put Their Lab to Work — Spenser Smith ’04 Back in March 0f 2020, when there were limited COVID-19 testing resources in Monterey County, Spenser Smith ’04 and his brother, Bryant Smith ’06, tackled this issue head-on by raising capital for their lab, ARCpoint Labs of Monterey Bay, to procure instant result test kits that are less expensive and easier to be mass-produced.

As Spenser explained, “There just aren’t enough supplies in the system and everyone’s kind of fighting over the same supplies. It’s not really solving anything, it’s just moving it around.” Now with this new testing method, a finger prick and a few drops of blood can help tell if someone has been exposed, how recently, and if they have an active case or have recovered and are now immune.

As Lab Director of ARCpoint Labs, Spenser manages numerous testing procedures like genetics and wellness, food sensitivity, and micro nutrient testing, and he is personally passionate about genetics. During more “normal” times, the laboratory mostly focuses on wellness and genetics testing, the kind you might not receive at a hospital stay. For example, Spenser and his brother work with people who are adopted to help find birth parents as well as those with genetic predispositions. “It’s exciting to live in this particular time period when I can help somebody who has questions about where they came from,” he explained.

Recently, however, Spenser and his team have made a community effort to combat COVID, connecting with other York School classmates and faculty, as well as with first responders and medical professionals to perform tests. “Just as valuable as donations have been, people’s creativity [has been important]” he says. “Talking to each other, exchanging ideas, and connecting to people and resources in the community have been incredibly valuable.” Additionally, while the country continues to report record unemployment numbers, Spenser and his team have increased their staffing numbers due to the influx of lab testing due to COVID. York School has partnered with Spenser and ARCpoint Labs to gain a better understanding of COVID-19 testing and to use their lab for employee testing. Spenser was an important adviser for York School’s COVID Task Force, and he also appeared in the virtual INSPIRE! Auction Gala. We are so proud of the work Spenser ‘04, Bryant ’06, and countless other alumni are doing every day in this great time of need.

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Six Tips for Surviving a Racism Pandemic — Alana Washington ’04 We were delighted and honored to have Alana ’04 speak at one of our forums this year. Alana holds a B.A. from UC Davis with a major in Psychology and English Literature and a minor in African American Studies. She holds an M.A. from NYU in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology. Currently, she is the lead of Shipper Experience Design at Uber Freight. Prior to Uber Freight Alana held design leadership roles at Capital One and GfK Global Research, and she has worked in organizational development at HBO. Alana has served as a conference curator for Rosenfeld’s Design Ops Summit and Adaptive Pathís UX Week and has advised and been a keynote speaker for SF Design Week. Her popular presentations include “Designing for Access” and “Tips for Surviving a Racism Pandemic.” But perhaps most importantly, Alana is a York alumna who made her mark on campus as an excellent student, a valued member of choir, a stunning actor, a wise soul, and a faithful friend.

Here are Alana’s tips for making it through a racism pandemic: Prioritize health and wellness.

Breathe, engage with nature, and get the sleep you need.

Embrace protopian visioning.

We must understand how we’ve arrived at this time, so we need to learn and know the history of domination and slavery. Then we must use our knowledge to envision and create a better world.

Be in service to others.

When we get in our own heads, in feelings of alienation or self-doubt, or all the other ways we let our egos spiral, the easiest way to get back into purposeful movement forward is to find a way to serve others.

Change is political, economic, and social.

Work for all three. In communication with others we feel joy, and joy is the only sustaining emotion.

Modulate stressors.

When we feel overwhelmed, it’s time to disconnect for a while. Practice apologizing. We are human, we all make mistakes. Do not let the difficulty derail you. The best apology is an acknowledgement of harm, a self reflection, a promise to move forward, and is followed by a demonstration of learning.

Create milestones for yourself.

Write them down and every day work towards those milestones.

Every time we check off a step towards our goals, we get a natural dopamine hit.

At our forum, Alana encouraged students to educate themselves on the things they are passionate about. Most importantly, she urged them to allow themselves to bring their whole selves to every institution they join. We know we are stronger and better when our diverse community feels empowered to engage fully and honestly, knowing they will be respected, honored, accepted, and cherished.

Thank you Alana, for taking the time to share your words of wisdom with our Falcons.

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HINDSIGHT July 26, 2019 York School wins Business Excellence in Education and Training award from Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.

A YEAR IN REVIEW

November 21, 2019 th TEDxYorkSchool 55th TEDxYorkSchool event: Effect event:The Ripple Effect

October 26, 2019 Sarah Stoker ‘21 wins “Outstanding Representation” at Lyceum Model UN.

November 15, 2019 Leonardo Del Toro ‘21, wins Youth Philanthropist of the Year, 28th annual National Philanthropy Day.

September 27, 2019 Henriette Diouf ‘20 wins first place at the Albricias prose competition.

December 8, 2019 Leonardo Del Toro ‘21, Courtney Hand ‘21, Anna Mejia-Contreras ‘21, Kate Popky ‘21 and Gabrielle Schmidt ‘21, organized a benefit for CPY’s Youth Angel Project and raised over $3,500 for the second year in a row.

December 6, 2019 Winter Vocal Concert–first time ever at Carmel Mission.

February 28, 2020 Jupiter Berrysmith ‘20 wins Silver Key award at Central Coast Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

September 4, 2019 Start of 8th grade Toastmasters program.

November 14, 2019 Sophia Sanico ‘20 named First Team, Kevin Daliri ‘21 and Leonardo Del Toro ‘21 named Second Team, Leonardo also won the Richard Chamberlain Sportsmanship award for the 2019 water polo season.

October 2019 Yucatán, Mexico fall field trip with Ms.Kiest.

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November 21, 2019 Sam Wisner ‘20, is the Monterey Rotary “Good Citizen” essay finalist.

November 18, 2019 Michael Julian ‘22 sets winning record at CSM Crystal Springs Cross Country competition.

January 24, 2020 E’raya Johnson ‘20 was the keynote speaker at the Monterey County 3rd Annual Youth December 2019 Violence Prevention Fall PCAL League Awards & Intervention Adrianna Brown ‘23 Conference.

Kevin Daliri ‘21 Leonardo Del Toro ‘21 Michael Julian ‘22 Myra Khieu ‘23 Sooyeon Kim ‘20 Camilla Martin ‘22 Juliet Oliver ‘22 Sophia Sanico ‘20 Alana Shapiro ‘21 Sarah Stoker ‘21 Daniel Xu ‘22

August 7, 2020 Virtual Alumni Reunion featuring Ibrahim Al-Marashi ‘91, Adam Brodsley ‘85 and Dr. Emily Gill ‘95.

March 2020 May 8, 2020 Winter PCAL League Awards Spring Arts Festival Festival Nora Butler ‘20 Kaeden Ellawendy ‘20 Juan Galarza ‘20 Edwin Gao ‘20 Fletcher Gaucher ‘20 Quincy Key ‘23 Jason Khan ‘22 Celeste McGuire ‘22 Anna Mejia-Contreras ‘21 Esmie Ortiz ‘22 Cynthia Ortiz-Naranjo ‘21 Justin Vu ‘20 May 20, 2020 Stone Yang ‘20 Juliet Oliver ‘22, Alan March 16, 2020 Owen Yu ‘20 Yang ’22, Jason Mao ‘21, Courtney Hand ‘21 and and Winston Chu ’21 were Gabrielle Schmidt ‘21 awarded 1st place in state are county winners at (and 2nd in the nation) at the National History Day the TEAMS Engineering Essay competition. Courtney was national STEM competition. also a state finalist.

March 18, 2020 Distance Learning begins at York School.

Sophia Sanico ‘20 recognized as CCS Scholar Athlete of the Year from over 150 schools, and over 158,000 students in the region.

2020 October 7, 2020 York School’s Activism Club hosts an election forum with candidates running for U.S. Congress and State Senate.

August 25, 2020 York students begin to volunteer at the Monterey County Food Bank.

December 11, 11, 2020 2020 Winter Arts Festival Festival

May 12, 2020 Senior gift deliveries.

August 16, 2020 River & Carmel fires erupt.

October 23, 2020 York School hosts socially distanced SAT on campus.

April 16, 2020 Jasmine Agha ‘21 receives award in the World Affairs Council Monterey Bay Global Teen Essay Contest for her paper.

October 26, 2020 Camilla Martin ‘22 is recognized for her diplomacy skills as the delegate from Israel in the Disarmament and International Security Committee at UCSB’s Model UN Conference.

July 4, 2020 Monterey County Pops! live broadcast of Fourth of July concert from York’s Gawain Family Theater.

September 14, 2020 After school cohort program begins.

April 13, 2020 York School faculty and students design, create, and deliver protective gear to local hospitals.

16

Drive Through Recognition

! e s ’ t t a e L ebr l e c

17

The culmination of a student’s academic career is graduation. This emotionally-charged event is always the highlight for families, students, and faculty. York decided to postpone in-person commencement until August, but was committed to an end-of-year celebration to give the Class of 2020 a sense of closure and recognition. The pandemic has had such an impact on the social lives of our students and we wanted to make sure they were properly celebrated.

On the day that would have been their commencement, York faculty and staff lined up along the school’s decorated driveway, holding up congratulatory signs, cheering the seniors on as they drove by in their graduation caps and received their final gifts until the in-person commencement planned for August.

It was a joyous day, filled with excitement, cheer, and genuine affection for each senior.

As the students drove through campus in their decorated cars, it was clear how happy and excited they were to celebrate their accomplishments. Teary-eyed parents, waving from their cars, conveyed feelings of gratitude and joy for York finding a way to celebrate their graduate.

Congratulations, Class of 2020!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

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CLASS OF 2020

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

In August of 2020, we were delighted to welcome 47 graduates of the Class of 2020 to the York alumni community. These graduates have excelled in many ways. They showed us what true resilience, commitment, and camaraderie looks like amidst a global pandemic that had a major impact through their final months at York. We are so proud of each of you, and can’t wait to see you back on campus.

Congratulations and welcome new alumni!

CLASS OF 2020 Cheyenne Avina Sophie Barth Jupiter Berrysmith Nora Butler Josefina Camacho Stuart Carruthers Hayden Concepcion-Deyo Matthew DaCosta Henriette Diouf Kaeden Ellawendy Vivian Fei Yulissa Flores-Ibanez GRADUATES COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES

19

Juan Galarza Matthew Galloway Edwin Gao Fletcher Gaucher Jordan Goodwin Jared Griffith Thomas Hall Rikiya Jochi E’raya Johnson Sooyeon Kim Madison Kimball Alexander Lin

47 8,500 101

Jiacheng Liu Matteo Lorenz Tobey Malone Albert Matei Nathan Nguyen Annabelle Norman Alexa Ortiz Luke Rosenblum Sophia Sanico Micheal Scholis Rohan Sethi Luke Song DISTINGUISHED GLOBAL SCHOLARS SCHOLARSHIP AND MERIT AWARDS RECOGNIZED BY NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Francesco Spadaro Vianne Storrs Daisy Swanson Annushka Veliko-Shapko Justin Vu Samuel Wisner Stone Yang Owen Yu Jonathan Zhao Andy Zhou Guanjia Zhu

6 $3.5 million 27%

56 COMMENCEMENT th

CHARGE TO CLASS: Michael Borrowman WELCOME: Josefina Camacho, Student Body President VALEDICTORY ADDRESS: Jordan Goodwin, Valedictorian WELCOME NEW ALUMNI: Doug Key, Head of School FAREWELL: Luke Rosenblum, Senior Class President SPECIAL AWARDS Emod Brunner Award: Jordan Goodwin Faculty Award: E’raya Johnson, Jiacheng Liu Head of School Award: Jared Griffith Parent of the Year: Mike & Leslie Galloway Student of the Year: Josefina Camacho Distinguished Global Scholars: Francesco Carriglio, Annushka Veliko-Shapko, Jiacheng Liu, Jordan Goodwin, Rohan Sethi, Matthew Galloway

August 6, 2020

COLLEGE DESTINATIONS: Arizona State University Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo University of California-Berkeley* University of California-Davis* University of California-Irvine University of California-Santa Barbara* University of California-Santa Cruz* University of California-San Diego California State University, Long Beach* Central Washington University University of Chicago University of Colorado University of Denver Howard University Monterey Peninsula College*

New York University Northwestern University* Pepperdine University Pitzer College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of San Diego University of San Francisco* San Francisco State University San Jose State University Santa Clara University* Scripps College Seattle University Tufts University University of Utah University of Wisconsin-Madison

*Multiple Students from Class of 2020

20

PHILA 21

ANTHROPY 22

FINANCIAL REPORT July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020

24%

FOUNDATIONS

The 2019-20 school year was unlike any other, and we are grateful to the many alumni, parents, trustees, and friends who came forward to support the school during such challenging times.

9%

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

4%

CORPORATIONS

In-person learning ceased on March 13, 2020 and the annual spring gala, scheduled for that weekend, was postponed until fall.

This greatly affected contributions for the 2019-20 school year. Fortunately, the gala was re-envisioned as a virtual event for October 2020, and was highly successful.

Proceeds from that event will benefit the 2020-21 school year and will be reflected in next year’s Impact Report.

33%

CURRENT AND FORMER PARENTS

21%

CURRENT AND FORMER TRUSTEES

6%

ALUMNI AND CURRENT STUDENTS

2%

CURRENT AND FORMER FACULTY & STAFF

1%

CURRENT AND FORMER GRANDPARENTS

$ 496,519

$ 5,199,561

CONTRIBUTIONS

TUITION AND FEES

$ 450,964

INCOME $ 516,513

FUNDRAISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

EXPENSES

INTEREST AND INVESTMENT RETURN

$ 48,973

OTHER INCOME

$ 1,306,869

ADMINISTRATION

$ 3,745,823 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

$ 1,199,081 FACILITIES

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We all have experienced extraordinary changes in our lives over the last year. We have been called upon to be flexible and resilient in ways we could not have imagined. To those who have suffered loss, we hope you feel the caring support of your York community.

Despite the daunting upheaval caused by the pandemic, we can take inspiration from the way in which this community has come together to overcome obstacles. Truly the crisis has brought out the best in all of us. I am particularly touched by the commitment of the faculty and staff to excellence in distance learning, by the dedication of the Board of Trustees, and by the unwavering support of York students and their families.

With the extraordinary leadership of Doug Key, along with the school’s leadership team, we were able to swiftly and seamlessly navigate the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the prolonged shutdown of in-person learning. Our response was multifaceted.

We established the COVID Response Fund to address the financial impact of COVID-19 on our school. We created a COVID Task Force to deal with the safe return of students to campus, and we established new Tactical and Strategic Design Committees to further advance our planning efforts. Faculty and staff were integral to these committees, devoting countless hours above and beyond their teaching responsibilities. As Board Chair, I am grateful to all our trustees for their wisdom, generosity, and committee participation. I would especially like to thank Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Norelle Boyce. She brought her energy and focus to numerous Board committees as well as chairing our first and very successful virtual gala.

The pandemic imposed significant financial hardship on the School, as is reflected in the accompanying financial report.

COVID-19 created additional costs for safety measures, tuition assistance, and professional development for our faculty.

Now, more than ever, we rely on the generosity of our community to help us meet the challenges of this time. York’s mission to deliver exceptional education to a diverse group of students remains the focal point of our efforts and it is with great pride that we continue on this path.

I am confident that York will emerge a stronger, more agile school as a result of our efforts and teamwork. Thanks to you, the foundations of a healthy school are strongly in place as we look to a brighter future.

Sincerely,

Ellen Gaucher Chair of the Board of Trustees

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DONOR SPOTLIGHT: KAREN AND DAVE ROSSUM

Dave Rossum laughs as he and his wife, Karen, stitch together names of York students who babysat for their son, Nick ‘02, when he was a toddler. “They were the first to introduce us to York,” says Dave. “We were just blown away by these kids. They were so smart and kind.” Nick attended a selective elementary school in Santa Cruz, and the Rossums engaged with York as a potential high school for him early on. They attended York events for several years and became familiar with the faculty and students. “We observed that York kids were really different,” says Dave. “They genuinely liked and cared for each other. All were included.”

Nick decided to go to York in eighth grade, and the family moved from Aptos to Monterey. They hosted parties for the eighth grade class and participated in “Adopt a Family,” a program that connected freshman families whose children attended eighth grade at York with new eighth grade families. “That was our first involvement as parents at the school,” says Karen. “We became very active with Adopt a Family and hosted a new eighth grade family the following year. It was a wonderful program for both parents and students.”

The Rossums increased their involvement when Dave joined the technology committee and served as a science fair judge in Nick’s early years at York. Meanwhile, Karen parlayed her skills as a professional organizer to help faculty and staff with an array of needs, including file organization and time management. In 1999, Dave joined the Board of Trustees and eventually served as Chair.

25

During that time, the school achieved many milestones, including opening a new science building, acquiring Fort Ord land, and appointing Chuck Harmon as York’s 10th Head of School. The Rossum family supported the science building project and established the The Jack Rossum Chemistry Lab in memory of Dave’s father, an analytical chemist who ran the laboratory for California Water Service Company.

Nick graduated in 2002, and Dave remained a trustee for a few years until he retired from the Board in 2004. The Rossums remained connected to the school through regular visits to campus and by helping students who were interested in attending Dave’s alma mater, Caltech. They decided to support The Chuck Harmon and Elizabeth Miles Financial Aid Endowment when Chuck announced his retirement from York. “Having served as Board Chair at the time, I took a lot of personal pride in Chuck’s appointment as Head of School,” says Dave. Karen adds that their desire to advance York’s commitment to “need-blind” education was also a motivation and noted that nearly all of their family’s philanthropy serves education.

The Rossum family continue to speak highly of the classical education, language skills, and deep relationships their son, Nick, received at York. “We were very impressed with the quality of education and York’s whole ethic and way of being with kids,” says Dave. “We are delighted to do what we can.”

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inspired

AUCTION GALA 2020

Every year, we look forward to coming together for some great fun, delicious food, and drinks to collectively raise funds for York. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, we shifted this annual event to be virtual. This was a new experience for all of us, but one that turned out to be a lot of fun and a huge success.

We created an engaging, heartfelt, and exciting event that was able to reach a far greater audience than our usual in-person fundraiser.

York even had guests and alumni world-wide watch the livestream and participate in our gala!

We deeply appreciate everyone’s support and look forward to the day when we can all celebrate York School in person again.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW GALA

SPECIAL THANKS TO MASTER OF CEREMONIES Joseph W. Heston Former President and General Manager KSBW 8 NBC, Central Coast ABC, Estrella TV Costa Central HOSTS Doug Key, Head of School Kate Popky ‘21, Student Body President AUCTION COMMITTEE Norelle Boyce, Committee Chair Terry Bare Marianne Gawain ‘76 Heather Oliver Grace Khieu ‘16 Kelly Lepai Felicia Pfleger AUCTION VOLUNTEERS Angela Burks Sara Hall Jane Hand Wendy Schmidt

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Bright & Inspired Mocktail INGREDIENTS 3 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice ¾ cup of lemon juice (about 4 lemons) ¾ cup of lime juice (about 6 limes) 1 ½ cups of unsweetened cranberry juice ¼ cup of simple syrup 1 tablespoon of lime cordial (optional) 12 drops of bitters for a pitcher (or 2 for a glass)

DIRECTIONS Squeeze all the juices Add the cranberry juice and simple syrup (optional; add lime cordial) Add bitters Mix together and refrigerate (It is best if made in the morning, so it gets really cold) For an extra touch, you can make fancy ice cubes with lemon and lime slices frozen inside ahead of time.

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RAISE THE PADDLE DONORS COVID RESPONSE FUND Mary Acquazzino Michael Anderson ‘03 and Ashleigh Anderson ‘04 Lucinda Ashby William Atwood Colleen and John Bailey Norelle and Rob Boyce Francois and Kassandra Brenot Agnes Chien and Howard Nelson Shirley and Edgard Coly John Daniel Alfred Diaz-Infante Pam Durkee Lisa and Todd Dwelle Daniel Fenton ‘76 and Denise Fenton Lowry Fenton ‘72 Julia and David Foster-Bates Scott Fujita Mike and Leslie Galloway Ellen and Paul Gaucher Marianne Gawain ‘76 Leidi and Elias Godoy Debbie Hale Sara and Craig Hall Beverly and Lyman Hamilton Rich Hamilton and Debra Schadeck Jeff and Jane Hand Joseph and Elizabeth Heston Keith and Barbara Ingram Greg Jamison Scot Johnson Quinn Kennedy Doug and Michelle Key Kim Kiest Sean and Lynn Kragelund Julie Lambert Douglas Lee Melissa Martella Tritia Moneypenny Tom and Karen Murray Ben Nurse and Alicia Brent-Nurse

29

Fana and Doug Oldfield Heather and Michael Oliver Fane and Corie Opperman Mariah Peralta Steve Peters Donald and Marcia Pompan Alyssa Pompan ‘17 Joshua Pompan ‘14 Robert Poulin ‘85 Gary Ray and Katy Castagna Sean Raymond and Cameron Hunter Deborah Rich Kathleen and Mike Scarr Kenneth Scates Wendy and Andrew Schmidt Gabriel and Mechele Scholis Kirsti Scott Joyce Sherry Matthew Simis ‘88 and Michael Gray Jon Smock and Cynthia Schroeder Melanie and Jon Stackpole Nancy Stout Nicholas Sturch Ana Toledo and Emmett Linder June Trachsel Gerald and Nan Traynor VisionSoft, Inc. Liz Welden-Smith ‘01 Jamilynn and Mark Willaman York School Board of Trustees

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS PLATINUM VisionSoft, Inc. York School Board of Trustees GOLD KSBW 8 NBC Central Coast ABC, Estrella TV Costa Central Ottone Leach & Ray SILVER 1st Capital Bank David and Julia Foster-Bates Hartnell College Foundation HGHB Architects Integris Wealth Management Union Bank BRONZE Coldwell Banker, Gay Dales Kent Construction Steinbeck Peninsula Equine Clinic Toro Park Animal Hospital

VIDEO CONTRIBUTORS Michael Borrowman Kevin Brookhouser John Daniel Ellen Gaucher Doug Key Kim Kiest Heather Oliver Tritia Moneypenny Alyssa Pompan ‘17 Kate Popky ‘21 Gary Ray & Katy Castagna Spenser Smith ‘04 Cammy Torgenrud

VOICE CONTRIBUTORS Lily Berrysmith ‘23 Kevin Daliri ‘21 Angela Goulart ‘21 Colin Hodges ‘21 Ian Partlow ‘23 Celeste McGuire ‘22 Cynthia Ortiz-Naranjo ‘21 Ben Simpson ‘22

30

IN MEMORIAM REMEMBERING THOSE WE LOST

31

JACK BASKIN, an entrepreneur and major philanthropic supporter of York School, died at his home in Carmel on January 12, 2020.

He was 100.

BEVA FARMER was born in Berkeley on May 12, 1928. She graduated from Carmel High School and continued on at UC Berkeley, where she was a member of Born in upstate New York, Baskin was the first Alpha Phi, International House. in his family to attend college. His parents, She met and married Peter Farmer, and they who spoke no English when they immigrated had five children. Three of their children to the United States from Russia, insisted attended York School: Mark ’68, Sarah ’72, that he study engineering. and Jonathan ’77.

Baskin studied mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado and earned a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from New York University. He was a pilot and served as an aeronautics instructor during World War II. In 2006, Baskin was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame in recognition of his role in establishing the Baskin School of Engineering. He received the inaugural Fiat Lux Award from UC Santa Cruz in 2005 in honor of his service to the campus.

Jack and Peggy Downes Baskin have a 40-year history of involvement with York and deep commitment to the School’s mission, programs, and students. They have been an instrumental part of the school’s philanthropy with a focus on tuition assistance.

Jack is survived by his wife, Peggy Downes Baskin; daughters Marianna Baskin, Gabriel Mejia, and Elaine Baskin; stepsons Nicholas Baran and Scott Dewar; stepdaughter and York faculty member, Cammy Torgenrud; their spouses and children; and an extended family of loved ones.

SELWA SAID, 90, died peacefully on March 9, 2020.

A resident of Monterey County for 72 years, she was born Selwa Norma Barbara Aide on Aug 12, 1929 in Winsted, CT. She was the eldest of four daughters born to Montaha Akel Aide and Nicholas Aide, who had emigrated from Lebanon to the United States. In 1947, she married Kamil T. Said, who was creating the first Arabic Language Beva was an artist: calligrapher, painter, Department at the Army Language serigrapher, and other media. She was School, later Defense Language Institute, also a beloved art teacher at York between in Monterey.

1979-1982.

Since 1978 Selwa was known to countless She and Peter lived in Pebble Beach for students of her Effective Communication 30 years, then nearly 20 years at The Sea and Relationship Building classes and Ranch. After Peter’s death, Beva spent her seminars in Monterey, which drew students final 13 years in Sebastopol, where she from throughout the U.S. and beyond. died in Blackberry Cottage on Sunday, In 2015 the Monterey County Commission September 20, 2020 at the age of 92. on the Status of Women named Selwa Said an Outstanding Woman of Monterey County, recognizing her as a tremendous benefit to society. For fifteen years, Selwa also worked in the administration office at York School in Monterey.

Selwa was predeceased by her parents; husband of 55 years, Kamil; sister Zanah Cornell; nephew Rob Daoud. Survivors include sons, James and John; stepdaughter, Ghity; sisters Elaine Aremia and Lila Daoud; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, and other loving family members.

32

THANK YOU

We thank the following trustees who recently completed their service to the board: Mary Adams Tom Adcock ‘89 Marianne Gawain ‘76 Mary Gray-Reeves Kate Popky ‘21 Gary Ray The guidance and support they provided during their tenure is deeply appreciated by the entire York community.

Marianne Gawain ‘76 and Gary Ray have both graciously agreed to continue to serve York School through their ongoing committee work.

Rev. Lucinda Ashby is bishop of the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of El Camino Real. Before serving as an ordained priest in Northern California and Idaho, Bishop Lucinda taught and headed a private school in Sacramento, founded and built a school in Capay Valley, and served as a Chaplain in Carmichael, CA. She has also taught at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley.

Carlos Camacho is the proud parent of two York students. Carlos has a degree in industrial engineering.

He worked for the US Army as a civilian doing work in logistics planning and then came to California to work in Silicon Valley in software development. He was part of the

33

founding team for Agile Software, which is now part of Oracle. Carlos served on the All Saints Day School Board of Trustees for five years. He is currently semi-retired and is a partner at Selection Massale, an importer of small production wines from Europe. Carlos serves on the Admisson & Marketing Committee.

Rich Hamilton is the parent of York alumnus and his wife Debra Schadeck have been long time supporters of York School. Rich serves as COO and CFO for Big Sur Land Trust. He joined BSLT after having spent most of his career in financial management in the real estate development and resort management industries,

including 14 years with the Pebble Beach Company. Rich serves on the Finance and Investment Committees.

Heather Oliver is the parent of two current York students. She has a degree in Agriculture Business and is the former Director of Training: Americas for Seminis Vegetable Seeds. She was Director of Trade for California Women for Agriculture, and founding Director of the Pacific Agribusiness Alliance, a representative to the So. California District Export Council.

She is Co-Chair of the Philanthropy Committee, serves on the Strategic Design Committee and the COVID-19 Task Force.

Celeste McGuire‘22 is the student representative to the Board and her involvement throughout the York community allows her to portray her peers’ opinions accurately.

Celeste also participates in cohorts and clubs at York.

YORK SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2020-21 OFFICERS Ellen Gaucher Chair of the Board Norelle Boyce Vice Chair of the Board Javier Aldape Treasurer Kathleen McInnis Scarr Secretary

BOARD MEMBERS Javier Aldape Brenda Aronowitz** Bishop Lucinda Ashby* Peggy Downes Baskin** Norelle Boyce Marilyn Calciano Carlos Camacho Alfred Diaz-Infante Dan Fenton ’76 David Foster-Bates Scott Fujita* Ellen Gaucher Marianne Gawain ’76** Debbie Hale Rich Hamilton Greg Jamison Scot Johnson, Faculty Representative Doug Key*, Head of School

Giff Lehman Celeste McGuire ‘22, Student Representative Kathleen McInnis Scarr Ben Nurse Heather Oliver Matt Simis ’88 Ana Toledo Jerry Traynor Jim Tunney** Steve Webster**

BOARD MEMBERS Tom Adcock ‘89 Javier Aldape Brenda Aronowitz** Bishop Lucinda Ashby* Peggy Downes Baskin** Norelle Boyce EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Marilyn Calciano Doug Key Head of School Alfred Diaz-Infante Ellen Gaucher

Chair of the Board Dan Fenton ’76 Marianne Gawain ‘76 Vice Chair of the Board, David Foster-Bates Co-Chair of Advancement Scott Fujita* Committee Ellen Gaucher Norelle Boyce Co-Chair of Advancement Marianne Gawain ’76 Committee Mary Grey-Reeves Javier Aldape

Treasurer, Chair of Finance Debbie Hale Committee Greg Jamison Kathleen McInnis Scarr Secretary Scot Johnson, Alfred Diaz-Infante Chair of Committee on Faculty Representative Trustees Doug Key*, Jerry Traynor Chair of Strategic Plan Head of School Gary Ray Chair of Audit Committee,

Immediate Past Chair

Giff Lehman Ben Nurse Kate Popky ’21, Student Representative Gary Ray Kathleen McInnis Scarr Matt Simis ’88 Ana Toledo Jerry Traynor Jim Tunney** Steve Webster**

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Doug Key Head of School Ellen Gaucher

Chair of the Board Norelle Boyce Vice Chair of the Board, Javier Aldape

Treasurer, Chair of Finance Committee Kathleen McInnis Scarr Secretary Debbie Hale Chair of Committee on Trustees Heather Oliver Co- Chair of Advancement Committee Ben Nurse Chair of Admission and

Marketing Committee

** Trustee Emeritus * Ex-Officio

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2019-20 OFFICERS Ellen Gaucher Chair of the Board Marianne Gawain ’76 Vice Chair of the Board Javier Aldape Treasurer Kathleen McInnis Scarr Secretary

** Trustee Emeritus * Ex-Officio

34

Thank you for your support!

YORK SCHOOL IMPACT REPORT IS PRODUCED BY: Felicia Pfleger Director of Communications and Marketing Grace Khieu ‘16 Media Specialist

CONTRIBUTORS Lily Berrysmith ‘23 John Daniel Oscar Fadem ‘22 Ellen Gaucher Bella Hockersmith Doug Key Kelly Lepai Felicia Pfleger Joyce Sherry Erin White Spencer Williams

PHOTOGRAPHY DMT Imaging Grace Khieu ‘16 Felicia Pfleger

GRAPHIC DESIGN Felicia Pfleger

York School recognizes and thanks those individuals, foundations, corporations, and organizations included in this report for their generous contributions during the Fiscal Year 2019 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020).

Gifts received after June 30, 2020, will be acknowledged in next year’s Impact Report.

While we strive to provide accurate recognition of our donors for this report, errors and omissions sometimes occur. If you contributed as a donor and your name was inadvertently omitted, listed in the wrong place, or misspelled, please accept our sincere apologies and contact us at 831.373.4438.

CLASS OF

2020

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