GREENS FARMS ACADEMY
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT
We’re ready for tomorrow
WE’RE READY FOR JOY AND WONDER, FOR COMPLEXITY AND NUANCE, FOR DEVELOPING AND REVISING AND APPLYING NEW IDEAS.
WE’RE READY TO STRENGTHEN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN BODY AND MIND, TO EXPLORE UNCHARTED TERRITORY, TO SET AMBITIOUS GOALS—AND FIND THE COURAGE TO MEET THEM.
WE EMPOWER STUDENTS TO DO THE HARD, THRILLING, ESSENTIAL WORK OF SHAPING THEIR OWN WORLD, OF BUILDING THEIR OWN FUTURE.
IN THIS BOOK, WE SHARE A LIST OF ESSENTIAL FACTS, TELL A FEW INSPIRING STORIES, AND COLLECT THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GFA IN A HANDY ALMANAC. IF YOU’RE READY FOR ALL OF THAT (AND MORE!), THEN COME MEET US. WE’RE READY TO DO GREAT THINGS TOGETHER.
The quantitative GFA story
More than 750 students in grades
PreK–12, from 30 towns in Fairfield and Westchester counties
8:1 student to teacher ratio
15 students in the average class
27% of students identify as a person of color
200 Upper School students showcase original research, writing, and art at the annual GFA Symposium
18,000 square feet in our state-of-theart Performing Arts Center, including a STEAM shop, a global studies center, and a living roof
65 interscholastic athletic teams
22% of students receive financial aid grants
$39,000 average financial aid grant
$6.8 million total financial aid budget
3 ecosystems (salt marsh, Audubon woodlands, Long Island Sound) on our 44-acre campus
Roughly 370 steps from the MetroNorth Greens Farms station to campus
Founded in 1925
Motto: Quisque Pro Omnibus (Each for All)
I Learned How to Use My Voice
SADIE • GRADE 6
When someone asks what I will remember about Lower School I say my first day. I came to GFA as a fourth grader so I was brand new in a year when we were leaders of the Lower School. It was definitely hard, but everyone was so welcoming. I fit right in.
It was easy to be myself. I can do this if I want to do this and I can do that if I want to do that. It is not like other places. At first, I was nervous to do a lot of speaking in front of my friends, but with practice and their smiles it got much easier and now I love it.
I was on each of the Fourth Grade committees where we took part in different projects to help the larger GFA community in many different ways. I definitely learned how to use my voice.
I Don’t Really Stop Ideas
DENIS DALESIO UPPER SCHOOL VISUAL ARTS
Teaching the creative process requires partnership and my students are great partners. Each lesson, each semester, is about reaching a state of flow between us. I don’t want them to be discouraged from something that they came up with. My role is to guide them to develop the ideas, enhance them, create more content from them and I get to watch as more and more cerebral doorways open.
I let them lead the way, stepping in every once in a while to adjust the ship on its course. We are both on this journey together and I am learning new things alongside them as a working artist. Honestly, it is just so fun to watch these young people grow into fantastic creative individuals.
Campus favorite: All of it. We get to come into this really beautiful building and you cannot help but be inspired daily. Walking into the old mansion, I see so much history, interesting shapes, and layers of light. The architecture definitely gets into all of our subconscious.
There is Time to Be with People
TYRA • GRADE 12
Cycle nine is one of the most essential parts of my day. GFA is built around relationships. It didn’t take me long to realize that as a new ninth grader. There is actually scheduled free time at the end of each day to devote to meeting with teachers, getting guidance from a friend, and deepening those connections. We get a lot done here but I don’t feel rushed. There is time to be and be with people.
The night before my first preseason, I was so terrified to leave a school that felt like home. But GFA is such a welcoming place, within hours, I had people to talk to and a sense that I belonged.
Favorite GFA Tradition: Pack the House is a winter showcase for our sports teams. The energy is incredible. Everyone is there, everyone is cheering. You have to see it to believe it.
I Never Had to Choose
CHARLOTTE
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
In Calculus, I know that if I try a problem and it doesn’t work, I’ll undoubtedly have my teacher and classmates there to help me figure out why and how to fix it. In the same way, if I’m trying out a new move on the field that isn’t quite there yet, my coaches and teammates will be right by my side with feedback and patience until I can get it right. At GFA, teachers, coaches, and classmates made me feel comfortable regardless of the outcome.
As a two-sport athlete, I never had to choose between reaching my fullest potential in the classroom or on the field. I was a part of championship teams in soccer and lacrosse, was named an Academic All-American, and am looking forward to playing lacrosse at the highest level in college. Excellence is a core value at GFA, and with the support of all those around me, I was able to achieve it on multiple fronts.
And even with all the success, the encouragement, relationships, and balance remain.
We never stop innovating
ERIC LEE • DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
GFA is a place where people do what they say—they set aspirational goals, and then do the hard work to achieve them. That is something I badly want to be a part of. Working with student-athletes of all ages to make the connection between mind and body, between dedication and success, keeps me ticking. Our program and students thrive because of the strength of the relationships between our athletes and the adults in their lives—on and off the field.
I love that our Lower School students get outside twice a day for recess. I love that I regularly get calls from coaches of competing teams complimenting our athletes on both that weekend’s win and the sportsmanship and grace our young women and men exhibited before, during, and after play. I love that I get to work with adults and children who show up in everything they do.
What I live for: Watching our Dragons deal with adversity, find answers within themselves and their teammates, and achieve—in the classroom and in competition.
I UNDERSTAND HOW SMALL ACTS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
QUINN
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Spending a few hours a week with seniors at Eldercare has really altered my view of the world. So has Special Day for Special People, where students play games and visit with adults and kids with disabilities on campus. It gives me perspective. I understand how seemingly small acts can make a big difference and be the highlight of someone’s day. Being present with a 95-year-old sharing stories or learning how a child with disabilities approaches projects alters the way you see things.
Our microfinance board club invests in small businesses that need a leg up. It is equal parts investing and community service. You don’t have to look far here to find a way to give back. These experiences have given new meaning to some of my International Relations “Utopia and Dystopia” class and changed my world outlook.
Teachers help bring balance
ELLIE • GRADE 6
I came here in PreK. This is the only school I have ever known and yet it always seems to change just when I need it to. When I was in Lower School, every day was just so fun. My parents still tease me that during vacation breaks I complained that I wanted to go back to school. By the time fourth grade rolled around, everything fit so well.
Then in fifth grade we got a lot more independence. Classes are harder and you have more teachers and more people to get to know, but somehow with that independence, you get closer to the teachers and your friends in some way. You can go to them for help with anything.
Some days now I show up less motivated and some days I show up feeling like I could change the world, but my teachers are equally bright when I enter the building each day. They bring a sense of balance. Middle School has been the highlight of my life so far.
I want my work to make a difference
WILL • GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
A lot of different moments pushed me to be a non-profit entrepreneur. Maybe the most inspirational was in my history class freshman year. We were having a debate about access to education and opportunity. Our teacher quietly led the discussion, adding in examples of innovations that changed the landscape of equality. He said, “It is only true equality if everyone has the same access,” and that stuck with me.
That spurred me to start The Fairfield Programming Association (FPA), after seeing how income disparity contributes to a shortage of education in programming and digital resources. I taught myself to code with free access in Lower School and those courses are now behind a paywall. Knowing the importance of access, I set out to create a learning platform that is like Khan Academy—that is free and not ad-supported. The development part has been fun and rewarding. The fundraising part, though, is definitely a new challenge that brought me out of my comfort zone.
Free advice: If you want to understand the spirit of the GFA community, come to a Friday assembly.
The foundation is deep
BOB WHELAN • HEAD OF SCHOOL
If you want to see how tall a building is going to be, look at how deep the foundation is.
Great teachers and great schools see in each student more promise, more greatness, than students often allow themselves to see.
We do that work. We promise that we will know and love your kids. We provide them with a sense of connection, a foundation of trust and respect, that allows them to embrace challenges, to stretch themselves, to go out into the world with wonder, courage, and compassion.
We know that our work is effective. Our graduates go on to make a meaningful impact on the communities where they live and the organizations where they work. They’re grounded. The foundation is deep.
The Greens Farms Academy Almanac
A NOT-AT-ALL MISCELLANEOUS ASSEMBLY OF USEFUL FACTS ABOUT THE GFA EXPERIENCE
eight things that make us who we are
01. OUR MOTTO. (AND THE WAY WE LIVE UP TO IT.) Our motto, in English, is “Each for all.” We live up to it by lifting each other up. This is a school where everyone—students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni—is seen, and known, and valued. This is a place where you can be your full self—and where everyone supports you as you change and grow. We work across generations, across differences, and beyond stereotypes. The result is a powerful, and empowering, community.
02. OUR FACULTY. Setting modesty aside for a moment: They’re amazing. They’re smart, they’re compassionate, they love what they do, and they’re always looking for ways to make education more alive. They take seriously our mission to be partners with students and parents in the education of children. Most of all, they’re human: soulful and surprising, generous and goofy, open-hearted and multidimensional. They see—and honor—the humanity of their students.
03. OUR VERY REAL COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION. Our Lower School students wear uniforms, many of our Middle and Upper School classes gather around a Harkness Table, and we have a school crest that seems to have come from the Middle Ages. And yet: We do not stand still. We experiment. We take bold steps (see #4 and #6!) in response to the needs of our students and to the demands of the wider world. We’re not trendy; we’re relevant, engaged, and looking forward.
04. INQUIRIES AND ADVANCED INQUIRIES.
We developed Upper School Inquiries and Advanced Inquiries by asking: What do students need to be ready for tomorrow? They need global vision and global experience. They need the capacity to solve cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural problems. They need the skills to understand and transform the ways in which humans interact with the natural world. And so, from PreK–Grade 12, we offer coursework and programming that allows students to explore topics in greater depth than they would in traditional courses, working alongside faculty mentors to gain a new skill or new knowledge about a topic that is not covered in the curriculum. This is paradigm-shifting work.
05. OUR CAMPUS. It’s a 44-acre working lab, situated on three ecosystems: a salt marsh, Audubon woodlands, and the Long Island Sound. The views are breathtaking. There’s tradition here, starting with a magnificent Gilded Age mansion. But the future is here, too. There’s a stunning new Performing Arts Center, including a state-of-the-art theater, a scene/STEAM shop, and a Global Studies Center—all topped by solar panels and a living roof. There’s also a squash center, a new wrestling gym, and a sparkling new fitness center. What matters most is that when you come here, you feel like you belong.
06. OUR NEW SCHEDULE. Tomorrow’s school shouldn’t be bound by yesterday’s routines. We re-engineered our schedule to make our time together more flexible, more collaborative, and more productive. A few examples: Upper School classes that meet three times a week, in 65-minute periods. Intensive mini-term courses where students and teachers explore a single topic in depth. This is a school week built for the future.
07. THE GREENS FARMS METRO-NORTH STOP. More than 200 students arrive here every morning and, in a lively procession, walk a few hundred yards to school. The ride can be both social and studious, a bonding ritual and a mark of independence. The stop itself is a metaphor for who we are: A school that’s connected to the world. A community that comes together every morning, bringing different histories and experiences, ready to discover what’s possible.
08. YOU BELONG AT GFA. At GFA, the unique nature of our PreK–12 school offers meaningful opportunities that foster a sense of inclusion and belonging. Cross-divisional events such as GFA Voices, an evening where GFA students and families share the rich dimension behind family stories, student affinity groups that strengthen bonds between middle and upper schoolers, and our annual apple-picking tradition with Kindergarteners and Seniors bring this all full circle. Each student has a voice and a place here.
It’s the Lower School!
THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION. Each grade in Lower School is a step (or a hundred steps!) in a journey. Our teachers create an intentional, immersive experience that moves naturally from one week (and month, and year) to the next. We pay attention to fundamental skills and habits of mind, but we also practice leadership, develop social connections, and explore the outdoors. The result is a safe, fun, challenging education in cooperation and creative thinking, risk taking and resilience, identity and independence.
WHAT LEADERSHIP LOOKS LIKE. Our fourth graders—the oldest students in the Lower School—take an active role in leading their community. Together, we organize committee groups (such as leading our weekly Assembly or planning a Spotlight guest speaker experience) which allows students to take an even greater responsibility for the well-being of the Lower School.
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE HERE. It’s spacious, light-filled classrooms. It’s family-style lunches and weekly assemblies. It’s a full gymnasium and an organic garden, a science lab and a robust service learning program. It’s dedicated classrooms for world languages and music and art and technology. It’s a salt marsh and Audubon trails. It’s a playground and a courtyard and a community assembly room. Most of all, it’s the warmth and spirit and brilliance of the inspiring people who want to be here.
A WORD ABOUT WHAT WE WEAR. Lower Schoolers wear uniforms. Why? They make getting dressed in the morning super-simple, they keep everything equal, and they convey a general sense of respect for learning. Details matter. So does an inclusive, affirming community.
AN ALMOST RANDOM, HIGHLY MEANINGFUL EXAMPLE
OF THE WAY WE WORK. A little while ago, our PreK students built an exhibit at Earthplace, a nature center in Westport. The exhibit allows you to work through—and possibly help solve!—nitrogen pollution in the Long Island Sound. Building it required hands-on work in specialized topics across disciplines: the biology of kelp and oysters, digital photography and computer applications, exhibit design and engineering, sculpting and painting and measuring. And the result was a form of civic engagement. Oh, and the whole process was a blast. All of those things are happening most of the time in the Lower School.
Middle School is so much better than “middle school”
WE BEGIN TOGETHER. Every Middle School student belongs to a “house,” with each one of them named after an aspect of our surroundings (Audubon, Marsh, Orchard, and Sound). The house system allows students to form connections within the larger Middle School community. Every student also joins an Advisory—a group of 10 or so students, under the mentorship of a faculty advisor, who meet daily to talk about academic work, social dynamics, and political issues. (Advisors also collect cell phones for the school day.) Crucially, advisors serve as a link between home and school. We also begin new experiences together: At the end of Middle School, seniors meet with eighth graders to talk about what’s ahead in the Upper School.
WE (RE)SEARCH TOGETHER. One thread that runs through the Middle School experience: Research. Students write (and revise!) papers, conduct (and re-try!) lab experiments, and, in eighth grade, complete a year-long Capstone project, culminating with a defense of their thesis to peers and teachers. It’s like an ongoing workshop in close observation, analytical thinking, and the clear, compelling presentation of evidence and ideas.
WE STAY STRONG TOGETHER. That commitment starts with a three-season athletic requirement. At a time of significant physical growth, we offer interscholastic and
recreational options that develop coordination, confidence, sportsmanship, and sport-specific skills. For much more about athletics at GFA, see page 24.
WE SERVE TOGETHER. We believe that service is an education in empathy, collaboration, and responsibility. That’s why we build it into our curriculum. A few examples: many students choose an extended engagement tutoring in local schools and volunteering at an eldercare center; fifth graders produce a Halloween Carnival for their Lower School friends; the entire Middle School community participates in annual service events, from food drives to bike-a-thons.
WE GET AMBITIOUS TOGETHER. Our facultyled travel programs are an immersive intellectual and social experience; recent examples include sustainability at the Island School in the Bahamas, culture and community in the Pacific Northwest, and French language and culture in Quebec. All Middle School students participate in the Middle School Science Exposition researching topics such as a charities-based app, a reactive climbing helmet, and a prototype for an automated, floating, trash-collecting robot. Anything is possible.
The incomparable, interconnected Upper School experience
THE ACADEMIC/INTELLECTUAL/ETHICAL (ALSO SOCIAL/ EMOTIONAL/PHYSICAL)
PART. The Upper School academic/intellectual/ethical experience includes (but is in no way limited to): The GFA Symposium, a conference featuring a keynote speaker and presentation sessions in which students share original research. Intensive, faculty-led travel courses to Spain, China, Peru, Rwanda, and more, most of which involve research and service (studying spider predation at a field station on the Amazon River; working with teachers in Kigali to explore new classroom practices). Full integration of the arts into the curriculum, including coursework in digital design, photography, and fine arts. Membership in Global Online Academy, a consortium of more than 50 of the world’s finest independent schools, allowing students to take innovative online courses with peers from around the world. Access to adventurous off-campus programs like the School for Ethics and Global Leadership in Washington, D.C., the High Mountain Institute, and School Year Abroad in countries like China. In and out of class, on and off campus, our students go into every experience with their hearts and minds open and their hands ready for work.
THE SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL/PHYSICAL (ALSO ACADEMIC/
INTELLECTUAL/ETHICAL) PART. The Upper School social/emotional/physical experience includes (but is in no way limited to): Class retreats at the beginning of every school year—a chance to bond in a fabulously unfamiliar setting. An always-evolving list of student-supported clubs. Performances and gatherings sponsored by student groups, including coffee houses, a cappella throwdowns, and Harmony for the Homeless, a musical talent show benefiting local shelters. An accomplished athletics program that in one recent spring season recorded one national tournament berth, two national titles, and three Fairchester Athletic Association championships. (For much more about athletics at GFA, please turn the page.) This is an experience—and a community—where everything is connected, where every part belongs to a greater whole, each for all.
“THE ABCS OF LITERACY INSTRUCTION: IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR DYSLEXIC STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES”
“BLOOD DIAMOND LEGAGICIES: MINING, SECURITY, & FAILURES OF RECONCILIATION AFTER SIERRA LEONE’S CIVIL WAR”
“THE MATH BEHIND THE CT SCAN”
“THE BIZZARE WORLD OF THE VERY SMALL: QUANTUM MECHANICS”
“DIVERSITY IN DATASETS: AN EXPLORATION OF RACIAL DIVERSITY IN FACIAL RECOGNITION”
“ZONES OF OPPORTUNITY: THE STATE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN WESTPORT AND NEW CANAAN, CONNECTICUT”
dragon nation
Our philosophy is that education happens everywhere. Working out in our sparkling fitness center, playing on a team for an award-winning coach, exploring a new activity—all of this is education, and we take it seriously (and joyfully). We learn about integrity and leadership, creativity and resilience, confidence and character. The results are often impressive: in the past 10 years, more than 300 student-athletes have been named 1st team all-league in the Fairchester Athletic Association, more than 60 teams have ranked in the top five in their FAA division, 27 teams have played in the New England Tournament Finals, and GFA has won the conference’s Sportsmanship Award five times. The way we get those results—the process—is transformative.
IN THE UPPER SCHOOL. Our Upper School athletes participate in 50 activities, including interscholastic sports, independent studies, and fitness classes. Our varsity teams feature outstanding coaching (many of our coaches have coached at the college level or competed professionally; eight have won Connecticut Coach of the Year), remarkable individual achievement (in the past ten years, we’ve had twelve 1,000-point scorers on our varsity basketball teams, eight All-Americans, three national prep champions in wrestling, and a Gatorade Player of the Year in basketball), and stellar team results (GFA teams are regular finalists in the FAA and New England Prep School Athletic tournaments). Not surprisingly, in any given year, 20–25% of our seniors are recruited athletes at outstanding college programs.
IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL. In the Middle School, we have a threeseason athletic requirement—and a year-round belief in the importance of honoring your own health, testing your abilities, and working with teammates toward a shared goal. You can be athletic in lots of ways, from fitness to field hockey, from recreational frisbee to interscholastic lacrosse. Fifth and sixth graders get to sample all of our sports in an intramural program that emphasizes fun and skill building, while seventh and eighth graders get to put on the GFA uniform, compete against other schools, and learn all of the enduring lessons that come from being members of teams. We’re here to help you love it and learn from it.
IN THE LOWER SCHOOL. Our physical education and sports programs in the Lower School focus on staying healthy, learning new skills, and loving being active. Our P.E. teachers will often say things like: “We get outside. We get dirty. We get sweaty. We learn how to take turns, listen to coaching, and work through challenges. The foundation we set for our youngest learners through the sports requirements serves as an essential part of the Lower School education. We are molding good teammates for life.”
INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC TEAMS.
Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Sailing, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Tennis, Track & Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Wrestling.
GRADUATES PLAYING…
LACROSSE AT BATES, COLBY, KENYON, MIDDLEBURY, OCCIDENTAL, PENN, TUFTS, COLGATE, AND HAMILTON
CROSS COUNTRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO AND TUFTS
VOLLEYBALL AT DARTMOUTH, BRYN MAWR, AND EMORY
TENNIS AT CORNELL, BOSTON COLLEGE, DAVIDSON, MIDDLEBURY, MICHIGAN, AND WESLEYAN
SOCCER AT COLGATE,
SWARTHMORE, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL, KENYON, HOBART, RICHMOND, AND PITZER
SAILING AT BROWN, CONNECTICUT
COLLEGE, UPENN, AND GEORGE WASHINGTON
BASEBALL AT AMHERST, WILLIAMS, GRINNELL, AND TUFTS
SQUASH AT COLBY, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL, AND ST. LAWRENCE
GOLF AT UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
FIELD HOCKEY AT BARNARD COLLEGE AND COLUMBIA
TRACK AND FIELD AT DARTMOUTH
BASKETBALL AT EMORY, WILLIAMS, BOSTON COLLEGE, ITHACA, AND WILLIAMS
WRESTLING AT STANFORD, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, U.S.
MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT, WESLEYAN, AND CORNELL
ROWING AT UC BERKELEY, HARVARD, AND WISCONSIN
AND THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING!
Before and after GFA
We’re looking for students—and families!—who are always asking: Why? Students who ask: How can I help? Students who stand up for themselves—and for others. Students who instinctively appreciate the connection between mind and heart and body.
HERE’S HOW WE HELP: We consider each student’s application without regard to their financial capacity. We maintain (and strive to expand) a financial aid budget of about $5.8 million, dedicated exclusively to families who demonstrate financial need. Our average aid grant is $39,000 per year. Our goal: A campus that reflects the diversity of our region. And a dynamic, pluralistic education in which every voice matters.
NOT THAT THIS IS EVERYTHING, BUT: COLLEGE! Our College Counseling Office takes a grounded, holistic, and fit-focused approach to the search process. We consider each student’s achievements and ambitions, and look for colleges capable of deepening and extending them. We stay focused on what we’re doing right now (global thinking, compassionate community engagement, cross-disciplinary research, etc.)—and we make smart, strategic plans for what’s next. Not coincidentally, our alumni tend to feel exceptionally prepared for college coursework.
LET US OVERWHELM YOU WITH SHORT PORTRAITS OF FASCINATING GRADUATES
Prasanth Akkapeddi ’92 majored in English at Yale, earned a J.D. at Columbia, and is now the General Counsel at Kraft-Heinz in Chicago. He has served on the GFA Alumni Council and on the Board of Trustees.
Lexie Tilghman Bartlett ’06 graduated from Dartmouth College and Stanford Business School. Bartlett is currently a Principal at General Atlantic and worked previously for Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, and Warburg Pincus.
Deirdre Daly ’79, P ’08, ’10, ’12 attended Dartmouth College and received her J.D. from Georgetown University. She was a U.S. Attorney for the State of Connecticut from 2013 through 2017 and the first woman to be presidentially appointed to the role. She is currently a partner at Finn Dixon & Herling. Daly served as Co-President of the Board of Trustees at GFA from 2007-2010.
Rebecca Brock Dixon ’95 graduated from Vanderbilt University and is a successful entrepreneur. Her newest venture is as co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of the*gameHERs, a community for female gamers and industry leaders. Dixon has served on the GFA Alumni Council since 2010.
Clay Garner ’13 graduated from Stanford University with a degree in East Asisan Studies, won a Schwarzman Scholarship to study at Tsinghua University, worked at Google, was the Deputy Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San José, and is now an Advisor & Strategist at AI company, Raive
Charlie Hall ’92 is the drummer in The War on Drugs, a Grammy award-winning band that melts the hearts of cynical music critics. He was the inaugural Janet Hartwell Fellow at GFA in the fall of 2019.
Othar Hansson ’83 studied computer science at Columbia and UCLA and earned a Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley. His name is on 16 patents. He is a principal engineer at Google.
David Haskell ’97 graduated from Yale and was a
Truman Scholar his junior year, co-founded Kings County Distillery, is a gallery-represented ceramist, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of New York Magazine.
Jennifer Kuperman ’91 graduated from Middlebury College and has an M.A. in organizational psychology from Columbia University. She was Head of International Corporate Affairs at Alibaba Group and sits on the board of Post Holdings, BellRing Brands, and Coach Arts. Currently, she is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at the financial technology company, Chime.
Elizabeth MacDonough ’84 is a graduate of George Washington University and Vermont Law School. She has served as the U.S. Senate Parliamentarian since 2012, the first woman to hold that position in either the Senate or House of Representatives.
Ace Patterson ’07 has a B.A. from Columbia University and M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Patterson — stage name, “Call Me Ace” — is an independent hip hop artist who has worked in marketing at Facebook and was the Global Program Manager for Music Label Partnerships at YouTube. He recently founded Five Mics, a digital hip-hop gaming studio.
Chris Temple ’07 graduated from Claremont McKenna and is a humanitarian, producer, and documentary filmmaker, best known for the documentaries Five Years North, Salam Neighbor, and Living on One Dollar. His projects have raised over $91.5 million dollars for the films’ causes.
Isabelle Von Kohorn ’93 holds a B.A. from Princeton University, an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D in Investigative Medicine from Yale University. She was Chief of Neonatology and NICU Medical Director at Holy Cross Health and is currently Vice President of Medical Affairs at Pomelo Care, which provides 24/7 virtual care for pregnant women and newborns.
Giselle Wagner ’73, P ’05, ’08 graduated from Smith College and Columbia Business School. She retired as Chief Operating Officer and Management Committee Member at Bridgewater Associates after a career in finance and is currently a Leadership and Executive Coach. She is a former trustee of the school.
A FEW COLLEGES
GFA GRADUATES ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED
Amherst College
Barnard College
Bates College
Boston College
Boston University
Brown University
Bucknell University
California Polytechnic State University
Clemson University
Colby College
Colgate University
College of the Holy Cross College of William and Mary
Colorado College
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Denison University
Duke University
Elon University
Emory University
Fairfield University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Hamilton College
Harvard University
Indiana University
Lafayette College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Middlebury College
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Pratt Institute
Princeton University
Santa Clara University
Smith College
Southern Methodist University
Swarthmore College
Trinity College
Tufts University
Tulane University
Union College
United States Military Academy at West Point
University of California - Berkeley
University of California - Los Angeles
University of Chicago
University of Colorado - Boulder
University of Connecticut
University of Denver
University of Georgia
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond
University of St Andrews
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Villanova University
Wake Forest University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University
The world we build.
IT’S A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE DEFINE SUCCESS ON THEIR OWN TERMS. WHERE THEY KNOW THAT CURIOSITY IS THE BEGINNING OF EMPATHY. WHERE THEY STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN PASSION AND INTEGRITY. WHERE THEY HOLD THEMSELVES TO HIGH STANDARDS AND PUSH THEMSELVES TO SET NEW STANDARDS. WHERE THEY RESPECT THE POWER OF COLLABORATION. WHERE THEY MAKE SPACE FOR EVERY VOICE; EMBRACE DIFFERENCE; BUILD CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS BORDERS.
IT’S A JOYFUL, INTERDEPENDENT, LIBERATING WORLD. WE’RE PROUD TO WORK TOWARD IT, EVERY DAY.
GFA ENGAGES STUDENTS AS PARTNERS IN AN INNOVATIVE, INCLUSIVE, AND GLOBALLY MINDED COMMUNITY TO PREPARE THEM FOR LIVES OF PURPOSE.
GFACADEMY.ORG
Greens Farms Academy does not discriminate against any person in admission, financial aid, program involvement, employment, or otherwise because of sexual orientation, race, religion, age, gender, national origin, or disability.