A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dear Gillispie Community,
It is with gratitude and wonder that I look back on this past school year as we worked together to take critical steps forward, solidifying our belief that “the journey matters.”
This past year, we participated in a self-study conducted jointly by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC), which included an onsite visit by a team of California educators and a final report that commented on the various elements of the School.
Throughout the culminating report, the CAIS/WASC Visiting Team identified “Notable Strengths” that are, in large part, a result of your giving. Its observations noted:
Exceptional faculty and leadership;
A holistic financial assistance program, offering support beyond tuition, that reflects the School's dedication to an inclusive culture of socioeconomic diversity; Investments in capital projects that have enhanced the school's physical infrastructure, supporting its long-term growth and sustainability; and Gillispie’s strong culture of giving, consistently surpassing fundraising targets over the past decade.
How did we achieve this? Through excellent school planning and your generous support, we were able to install an advanced campus-wide public announcement system and additional cameras to greatly improve our communications capabilities and campus security. Because of you, Fielden Hall received a new roof, solar panels, carpet and wallpaper. Because of you, we updated technology, provided faculty with Responsive Classroom training, welcomed to campus insightful guest speakers, and offered robust financial assistance to families who would not be able to otherwise afford a Gillispie education for their children.
Your efforts also extended to our greater community. You helped us sort Legos; donate books, baby clothing, and warm jackets; give life-saving blood donations; assemble food and hydration bags for the unsheltered; create cards for homebound seniors and veterans; and sort produce for Feeding San Diego.
Philanthropy at Gillispie honors the altruistic spirit of our village, both within the walls of our campus and beyond. With this mindset, we continue to thrive through strengthening and enriching the Gillispie experience for your children. Our journey together is richer because we do it together.
With gratitude,
Alison Fleming Head of School
CONTRIBUTED INCOME 2023-2024
TOTAL CONTRIBUTED INCOME
$955,777
2023-2024 FUNDRAISING VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP
We give heartfelt gratitude to the following individuals who served as leaders in fundraising and community-building positions throughout the 2023-2024 year
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Jonathan Lischke, President
Ashley Jacobs, Vice President
Zoe Kleinbub, Secretary
Matt Emery, Treasurer
Viviana Faga
Dan Green
Helen Hall
Bill Hornung
Avelina Kauffman
Pietro La Greca, Jr
Tim Malatesta
Lynnsay Rogers
AnneMarie Sachs
Kelly Siberio
Nick Stone
Ashu Tyagi
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Ashley Jacobs
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR
Pietro La Greca, Jr.
ONEGILLISPIE ANNUAL GIVING CO-CHAIRS
Jennifer BianRosa and Ashu Tyagi
BOOTS & BLING CO-CHAIRS
Clair Aragon and Debora Burke
2023-2024
ONEGILLISPIE ANNUAL GIVING
HEAD OF SCHOOL CIRCLE ($10,000-$24,999)
Anonymous
Julie Glazer Scher and Mark Scher
Zoe and Eric Kleinbub
Mary and Jonathan Lischke
Alexis MacMillan
Kristine and James Shira
Stephanie and Nick Stone
The WBMJR 1974 Trust
FACULTY CIRCLE ($5,000 - $9,999)
Anonymous Apple
The Bon Coppel Family
Jan and Bill Bopp*
The Carraher Family
Hyunsuk and Sherman Chang
Cami and Kelsey Chase
Shu-Chen Chiu*
The Cravatt Family
Katie and Matt Emery
Amanda and Eduardo Esquenazi
Viviana and Daniel Faga
Anisa Gandevivala and Tyler Bohm
Alejandro Gaxiola
Katia and Anthony Graham
Sarah and Jean-Pierre Guillou
Liz and Thomas Halsey, Sr.*
Keely and Tom Halsey
The Hill Fund: Ken and Sandi Hill*
Ashley and Ted Jacobs
Elena and Jeffrey Leupp
Alexis and Dan McCandless
Dunyelle and Armen Mukhaelyan
Melissa and Scott Murfey
Phil Patterson*
The Ren Family
Samir Sabbag
Dagmar Smek and Arman Oruc
Erica Tsai and Mark Chen
Eva and Matthew Turk
Martha Marshall Velasquez*
PATRON CIRCLE ($2,500-$4,999)
Anonymous (2)
Anax Biomedical Consulting
Miranda and Brian Aryanamid
Juan Carlos Bonilla
Alcira and Anthony Colombo
The D’Agostino Family
The Duerig Family
Meredith and Andrew Ellis
Dr. & Mrs. Carl & Jennifer Findley
The Fleming/Rosenthal Family
Helen Hall*
Heather and Nez Hallett
Lisa and David Held
Amanda and Ryan Hulett
Neelum Jeste and Kyle Fath
Michelle and Nick Kellermeyer
Caitlyn and Robert Kneip
Stephanie and Oscar Mancia
Susan and Craig McClellan*
Erin and Mitch Otolski
The Patel Family
Krissy and Cooper Patterson
Leigh Ann and Chris Pocek
Erin and Peter Preuss
The Rogers Family Foundation
Julia and Rusty Ross
The Seidler Family
Noelle and Ben Tashakorian
Danielle and Jake Wiener
Kristen and George F "Trace" Wilson III
The Family of Luna Zhang
2023-2024
ONEGILLISPIE ANNUAL GIVING
ADA GILLISPIE SOCIETY ($1,000 - $2,499)
Anonymous
The Alexander Family
Laura and John Alioto*
Clair Aragon and Alden Rothe
Dawn Galbo Bopp
Annette and Dan Bradbury
Melissa and Jeff Brockett
Jesse and Justin Castello
Sujatha Charlu and Raj Gupta
The Davalos Rabago Family
Susan and Richard DiMarchi*
Halo Dwyer-Clemente
Felicis Ventures
Kristen and Michael Finch
Monica and Ashley Flavel
Dr Jennifer Garza and Dr Cesar Figueroa
Katie and Matt Holt
Jessica Jagir and Guarav Sharma
Johnson & Johnson
Allyn and Dave Johnston
Nora Khatib and Hassan Kafri
Brooke and Terrance Martindale
Microsoft
Katalin and CJ Mody
Jen and Rob Munday
Maureen and Russell Murfey
Andrea and Zach Myers
Erica and Dominik Naczynski
Junichi and Hitomi Naganuma
The O’Neill Family
The Rafaat Family
The Reiter Family
Paul Reitzin* - In Honor of Hudson and Oliver Jacobs
The Revelli Family
AnneMarie Sachs and Adam Hill
Salesforce
The Siberio Family
The Suarez Family
Parissa Tadrissi and Kevin Jenkins
Beverly Tang and Daniel Green
Dana Vaccari
Joy and Rick Vaccari*
The Venieris Family
The Wilson Family
Jenny and Ed Wolfe
Steve Zellers
SAMUEL GILLISPIE SOCIETY ($500-$999)
Anonymous
Carol and Matt Baranowski
Cindy Chen
The Colin and Jane Scher Family Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation*
Becca and Jason Craig
The Finstad Family
Lindsay and Oliver Gratry
Uriel Grezemkovsky and Perry Kirkland
Sally and Peter Hanley*
Cindy and Scott Harris
The Hasler Waters Family
The Jacobs Family*
Hannah Kim and Jong Hong
Paige and William Kratz
The Leavy Family
Kristi Lethert and Matt Sharp
Maverick Levoff
Zenglin Liu
Jody and Forrest Mosten*
Angela and Justin Nadi
Meena Narayanan and Steven Carlson
Natasha Porlas and Chris Hedgecock
Ruth and Roy Sachs*
San Diego Foundation
Thomas and James Schu
Erin Sedloff and Theodore E. Dayno
Alli and Mike Thurman
Jordan Valutas and Matthew Jacobs
The Viani Family
2023-2024 ONEGILLISPIE ANNUAL GIVING
1953 SOCIETY ($250-$499)
Anonymous (2)
Monica and Rey Brito
Mindy Coates-Smith and R O Smith
Ashley Clark and Keil Miller
Ruby and David Dieguez
The Fahrner Family
Golnar Fakhrai and Kevin Castro
Dana and Jim Irwin
Lisa and Harleigh Johnston - In Honor of Ms. Walters
Marion and Fred Kneip*
Nicole and Brian Lahaie
The McCarroll Family
Jennifer Mendes and Moe Zarabi
Megumi Naoi and Bill Hornung
Alex Pfister
Erika Pfister
Nick Pfister
Debbie Rodriguez
Maria Sacchi and Emanuele Berti
Flory Shaio*
Mariam and Trevor Simpson
The Watkins Family
Claudia and Marc Wornovitsky
GIRARD SOCIETY & FRIENDS OF GILLISPIE (up to $249)
Anonymous (6)
Kimberly and David Abrams
Cassidy and Zachary Adams
Susan Adams
Sarah Baxter
Brian Belsha
Maureen Belsha
Kait Boisnard
Monica Bojalil
Debora and David Burke
Natasha Dudley Busick
Brittany Caraccilo
Jen and Matt Chaney
Cody Chang
Evan Chang
Helene and Randolph Close
Jessica Cohn
Liza Dutcher Meltz
Chip Edwards
Margie Edwards
Electric Lee
Andrea Garms
Whitney George Paul Ghiglieri
The Gomez Family
Anna Gonzalez
Susie Grecco
Michele Greene
H G Fenton Company
Kim Haas
Ashley and Max Hauser
The Heliar Family
Veronica and Fabian Herrera
Erica Hurley
Max Hurley
Stella Hurley
Eric Inigo
Sara Johnston
Avelina and Eric Kauffman
Cheyenne Kibblewhite
Fabi Knight
Denia and Tom Koerner
Diana Leard
Viktoriia Lebedynska
Abigail Leib
Ian Lewis
Heidi Long
Lydia Lundgren and Michael Porter
Lorrie Luyties
Vivien Valenzuela Mallick and David H. Mallick
The McCormick Lelyveld Malatesta Family
Sara Meredith
Jeff Morton
2023-2024 ONEGILLISPIE ANNUAL GIVING
GIRARD SOCIETY & FRIENDS OF GILLISPIE (up to $249) con’t
Amy Pavlik
The Roher Family
Rusty Ross* - In Honor of Ruby Ross
Theron Royer
Deborah Schwartz*
Ellen and Evan Shallcross
Aaron Steensma
Jacob Steensma
Alexa Tamayo
Stavroula Traitses
Sanae Vaughan
Michelle Verkh-Kent and David Kent
Susan Walters
Lily Wang and Weiping Lin
Ed Whelan
Dolores Williamson
Jenny Wong and Roger Oen
Alexander Wornovitzky
Natalia Wornovitzky
Dee Dee Young
GIFTS WITH RESTRICTED PURPOSES
Financial Assistance
The La Jolla Kiwanis Foundation
The Thomas J. and Theodora Lynch Fleming Foundation
Campus Improvement
The Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation
Kristen and George F. "Trace" Wilson III
New Parent Welcome Party
Mary and Jonathan Lischke
Classroom Safety
Amanda and Mitch Thrower
THANK YOU TO OUR ALUMNI FOR CONTINUING TO ENRICH AND SUPPORT GILLISPIE SCHOOL!
alumni graduating high school this year gathered on campus in May for a warm and nostalgic gathering Students, parents, teachers, and staff had a great time together, including touring the campus which has changed quite a bit since they were students here!
Gillispie
LIFETIME GIVING
In 2018, Gillispie School established giving societies to recognize individuals, corporations, foundations, and organizations whose cumulative generosity has made a significant impact on our school These giving societies recognize donors whose cumulative gifts have reached more than $50,000
Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy Please contact the Development Office to correct any errors or omissions.
$2,000,000+
Anonymous
$1,000,000 - $1,999,999
Anonymous
Michael and Karen Stone/The Michael and Karen Stone
Foundation
Rogers Family Foundation/Lynnsay and John Rogers
The Tang Family
$500,000 - $999,999
The Kao Family
$250,000 - $499,999
Casey and Marc Armstrong
Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation
Sally and Daniel Lawrence
Dagmar Smek and Arman Oruc
$100,000 - $249,999
Anonymous (2)
John Barbey*
Rochelle and Bill Bold
Thomas Bombardier
Annette and Daniel Bradbury/Bradbury Charitable Fund of the AYCO Charitable Foundation
LIFETIME GIVING
$100,000 - $249,999 (con’t)
Sheryl and Todd Duncan
Katie and Matt Emery
John Fowler
Keely and Tom Halsey
Liz and Robert Jackson
Jane Keller
Lesli and Osman Kibar
Kelly and Mark Kjos
Zoe and Eric Kleinbub
Michelle and Pietro La Greca
La Jolla Kiwanis Foundation
Alexis MacMillan
Patsy and David Marino
Laura Oberfield and Alejandro Doring
Alexis and Morgan Dene Oliver
Erin and Peter Preuss
Jessica Schuster and Justin Kass
Amy and Harrison Stoneham
Kathliene and Jon Sundt
Tami Tucker
$50,000-$99,999 Anonymous
Sepi and Peter Arrowsmith/Arrowsmith Family Trust
Louise and Bill Boehm
Kimberly Butterwick and Jonathan Scheff
Nikoo and Jack Chitayat
Anne and Eric Chodorow
Rebecca and Jason Craig
Lisa Fisher and David Held
Julie and Bryan Garrie
Suzanne and Ralph Giannella
Jessica and Michael Goff
Paula and Paul Grayson
Tory and Rick Gulley
Tracy and Jay Hagan
Lisa and Brian Hersman
Mia and Joseph Kelly
Barbara G Kjos*
Ashley and Ted Jacobs
Jennifer and Matt Landa
Jill and Brian Lane
Amanda and Troy Latimer
Mary and Jonathan Lischke
Melissa and Scott Murfey
Erin and Mitch Otolski
Kristi and Dick Pfister/The Pfister Family Foundation
Qualcomm Incorporated
Penny Robbins Ryan and Mike Ryan
Margery Schneider
Emaluisa and Javier Serhan
Kristine and James Shira
Kate and Greg Spiro
Stephanie and Brian Sweeney
The Thomas J and Theodora Lynch Fleming Foundation
2023-2024 EVENT FUNDRAISING
BOOTS & BLING!
APRIL 13, 2024
Our spring FUNdraiser, Boots & Bling, reminded us how much we can accomplish when our school community comes together. Gillispie families and friends laughed, danced, and generously supported our school and children. Because of your generosity, the event grossed more than $460,000, $160,000 of that going to campus safety enhancements and upgrades to our beloved Fielden Hall
Our heartfelt thanks to Boots & Bling Chairs Clair Aragon and Debora Burke who championed a great event committee to ensure a fun and successful event for our school
BOOTS & BLING SUPPORTERS
Boots & Bling Live Auction Supporters
Katie and Matt Emery
Meena Narayanan and Steven Carlson
Erin and Mitch Otolski
Kelly and Julio Siberio
Noelle and Ben Tashakorian
Kristen and George F “Trace” Wilson III
Paddle Raise Supporters
$10,000
Miranda Amid and Brian Aryan
Jennifer BianRosa and Ashutosh Tyagi
Lauren and Kevin Carraher
Kaiya and Tom Duerig
Katie and Matt Emery
Ashley and Ted Jacobs
Michelle and Nick Kellermeyer
Lynnsay and John Rogers
Kristine and James Shira
Kelly and Julio Siberio
$5,000
Alison Fleming and Brock Rosenthal
Alexis and Daniel McCandless
$2,500
Amanda and Eduardo Esquenazi
Jessica Jagir and Gaurav Sharma
Mary and Jonathan Lischke
Erin and Mitch Otolski
Johanna Palomino and Peter Diebitsch
Dunyelle Rosen and Armen Mukhaelyan
Maria and Santiago Suarez
Amanda and Mitch Thrower
Erica Tsai and Mark Chen
Kristen and George F. “Trace” Wilson III
$1,000
The Alexander Family
Dawn Galbo Bopp
Debora and David Burke
Sarah and Jean-Pierre Guillou
Heather and Nez Hallett
Neelum Jeste and Kyle Fath
Andrea and Zach Myers
Letty Nowak and Marius Venter
The O’Neill Family
The Reiter Family
Parissa Tadrissi and Kevin Jenkins
Danielle and Jake Wiener
$500
Clair Aragon and Alden Rothe
Carol and Matt Baranowski
Michelle and Pietro La Greca
Annie and Aaron Schu
$250
The Davalos Rabago Family
Paul Ghiglieri
The Hasler-Waters Family
Lakewood Builders
Ellen and Evan Shallcross
Sponsorships and Donations
$20,000+
The Rogers Family Foundation
$10,000-$19,999
Julie Glazer Scher and Mark Scher
*indicates Gillispie grandparent / indicates alumnus/former student
BOOTS & BLING SUPPORTERS
$5,000-$9,999
Anonymous
Natalia Coppel and David Bon
Ashley and Ted Jacobs
Kristine and James Shira
Bobbie and Joe Velasquez*
$2,500-$4,999
Clair Aragon and Alden Rothe
Lauren and Kevin Carraher
Helen Hall*
Lynnsay and John Rogers
Nancy and Ernst Rothe*
Amanda and Mitch Thrower
$1,000-$2,499
Anonymous
Debora and David Burke
Alcira and Anthony Colombo
Katie and Matt Emery
Amanda and Eduardo Esquenazi
Liz and Thomas Halsey, Sr *
Heath Benefit Partners
Jessica Jagir and Gaurav Sharma
Caitlyn and Robert Kneip
Mary and Jonathan Lischke
Alexis MacMillan
Melissa and Scott Murfey
Andrea and Zach Myers
Paradisea
Erin and Peter Preuss
The Ren Family
The Revelli Family
Maria Elena and Santiago Suarez
Parissa Tadrissi and Kevin Jenkins
Marcela Valladolid and Philip Button
*indicates Gillispie grandparent / indicates alumnus/former student
Up to $999
Bank of America Private Bank
Cami and Kelsey Chase
The Duerig Family
Viviana and Dan Faga
Anisa Gandevivala and Tyler Bohm
Dana and Jim Irwin
Victoria and Kyle Leavy
Kathleen and Ken Lundgren*
Lydia Lundgren and Michael Porter
Darrow Milgrim
Jeff Morton
Aniela Naczynski*
Erica and Dominik Naczynski
Brian Pezze
Barbara Reiter*
Erica Tsai and Mark Chen
Dolores Williamson
Kristen and George F. “Trace” Wilson III
In-Kind Donors
52 Remedies
Laura and John Alioto*
Jennifer BianRosa and Ashutosh Tyagi
Buddhi Yoga
Candroy Screen Print Embroidery
The Carraher Family
Hyunsuk and Sherman Chang
The Davalos Rabago Family
Danielle Douglas, M D Dentique
Katie and Matt Emery
Ali and Nikou Fakhimi
Nadia and Bob Foster
Anna Gonzalez
Heather and Nez Hallett
In-Kind Donors (con’t)
Amanda and Ryan Hulett
Zoe and Eric Kleinbub
Kopari Beauty
Michelle and Pietro La Greca
Abbi Leib
Marrow Fine Jewelry
Brooke and Terrance Martindale
Martha McCandless*
Melissa and Scott Murfey
LoveJames Jewelry
Zoe Rafaat, M.D.
Lynnsay and John Rogers
Julie Glazer Scher and Mark Scher
The Seidler Family
Kristine and James Shira
Azadeh Shirazi, M D
Parissa Tadrissi and Kevin Jenkins
Chelsea Van Voorhis
Ed Whelan
BREWS, BITES & VINES
September 14, 2023
On September 14, 2023, over 150 Gillispie friends gathered for "Brews, Bites & Vines," our annual fall parent social.
Thanks to our wonderful community partners, we enjoyed a delicious selection of food and drinks while mingling on Pirtle
Field This event brings new and returning Gillispie families together to toast to a fantastic year ahead! Cheers to the fabulous volunteers!
Boots & Bling Committee
Co-Chairs
Clair Aragon
Deborah Burke
Jaime Alexander
Sarah Austin
Sherman Chang
Kelsey Chase
Helen Hall
Heather Hallett
Lillian Huang
Zoe Kleinbub
Pietro La Greca
Tim Malatesta
Amanda Mehrens
Melissa Murfey
Andrea Myers
Paulina Rabago
Lynnsay Rogers
Mariam Simpson
Julie Scher
Jessa Sever
Kelly Siberio
Amanda Thrower
Erica Tsai
A hallmark of a Gillispie education is a commitment to community service and developing empathetic global citizens with an understanding of the broader world. This year, Gillispie School:
Collected over 900 books which were donated to St. Vincent de Paul, under the leadership of Grade 2; Sorted 11,000 pounds of produce at Feeding San Diego, and made boxes to distribute to over 250 families in need;
Collected and donated 33 units of blood to the San Diego Blood Bank, thanks to the Grade 3 Blood Drive; Assembled 1,500 food and hydration bags for Lucky Duck Foundation to assist with outreach to the unsheltered;
Collected warm jackets and baby clothes which were donated to Father Joe’s and Gently Hugged charities; and
Created birthday cards and notes of encouragement for homebound Meals on Wheels clients, Veterans Village residents, and the Lucky Duck outreach teams.
PHILANTHROPY REPORT DISCLAIMER
This report acknowledges contributions received between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, to the ONEGillispie Annual Giving Fund; 100% tax-deductible contributions to the Boots & Bling fundraiser, and 100% tax-deductible contributions to special campaigns Every contribution to Gillispie makes a difference and is deeply appreciated The list of donors has been compiled with every effort made to assure that the records are accurate We sincerely regret any errors or omissions that may have occurred
If an error has been made, please notify the Development Office so that we may correct our records
Dana Irwin, Director of Development and Community Relations dirwin@gillispie.org or (858) 459-3773 x 133
The Gillispie School community is devoted to educational excellence for children in preschool through sixth grade Gillispie Values: Integrity, Compassion, Attitude, Respect, Effort
7380 Girard Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037 gillispie org (858) 459-3773