CLASS NOTES

Mitch Folks'01 has been with Adobe for over four years and is currently a Group Manager, Product Marketing. After Harbor Day, he went on to Corona del Mar High School and received his B.A. in Business Administration from USD while continuing to play baseball. He worked in Chicago and Denver and married his wife, Allison, in 2019. In 2021, the growing family returned to Orange County and they welcomed their first child, Liam James Folks, in January 2022. So there’s a good chance you’ll see Mitch and his family around town either mountain biking, surfing, or riding e-bikes to the beach year-round!

Erin Grody Kingsley'01 is the Head of Global Demand Strategy & Operations for Google Cloud. In February, she connected with Harbor Day’s Director of Technology, James Gapp, to discuss Google and how some things she learned at Harbor Day helped her be successful in her various roles at the company.

Nick Gross'02 and his company, Find Your Grind, presented a panel discussion at the SXSW EDU conference on March 6. Alongside former Chancellor of New York City Public Schools and Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Dr. Rudy Crew and Lead Business Planner for General Motors, Tamara Gilbert (also a Find Your Grind Mentor as well as a fierce advocate for women in manufacturing), the panel discussed their own opinions and experiences on the importance of self-discovery for students and the transformative impact it can bring. For more information, visit [findyourgrind.com].

Laurielle Hofer Russell'04 is a Product Manager at Google, and has recently relocated back to Orange County with her family. After Harbor Day, she went on to Laguna Beach High School, then Brown University, where she earned a degree in Economics and played NCAA Division I Volleyball. After Brown, she started as an analyst with Morgan Stanley in New York and then moved to San Francisco working in investor relations in private equity. She joined Google in 2016 and worked in sales and go-to-market strategy before product management.

studio Innovation Department in New York City. He is an investor with venture capital firm M13, including Ring and ClassPass, among its portfolio. A Brown University graduate with a BA in Economics and Varsity soccer player, Jack is now based in Los Angeles.

Ellery Sever 09 has taken on a new role in Private Wealth with Katten Muchen Rosenman LLP, based out of their London office. Ellery is an international private client attorney focusing on international tax matters. 10’s

Arden Bronstein'06 works for a stealth startup, Scaled Success, as their Customer Success Team Lead and is based in Los Angeles. Arden graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism and completed her Master’s in Communication Management, Lambda Pi Eta (with honors) from USC in 2019. She recently got engaged and plans on many HDS attendees for the festivities.

Nicole Carter 08 is working in New York as a Management Associate, Global Brand Strategy & Innovation at Mastercard, following her MBA completion in 2022 from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Jack Gorab'08 has returned to the west coast after working first in investment banking with Jefferies, then as a fellow with Waterman Ventures, and on to Strategy & Operations with tech-startup

Daphne Janes'10, a UCLA graduate (class of 2018) and former UCLA Dance Team Captain and member, was asked to judge the audition for the 2022-2023 UCLA Dance Team last May and had the pleasure of meeting two other HDS alumni there who were auditioning, Lily Mohtashami'16 and Karina Grover'16. Janes tells us, “this past September, I had the opportunity to work with the girls again, as I was asked to choreograph a dance to be performed on the field at the Rose Bowl during a UCLA football game. It was such a full-circle moment to come back to UCLA, work with the current team, and connect with HDS alumni!” After finishing her third season as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, she moved to Europe last fall to pursue a joint international master’s degree in Global Economic Governance and Public Affairs. She is also applying to law schools in the hopes of studying sports law, combining her experiences in the collegiate and professional sports worlds with her passion for social justice. Ultimately, she hopes to pursue a career as a sports agent and advocate for women and girls in sports at all levels.

Signing Day And Class Of 2019 News

Jaden Kessler'19 heads to Harvard University in the fall after attending her first Harvard Club meeting, which introduced California Early Action & Early Decision students to each other. Jaden committed that night.

Ella Anvaripour will go to Southern Methodist University after graduating from Corona del Mar High School

Emily Cloherty will go to the University of California, San Diego, to play water polo after graduating from Corona del Mar High School.

Halland McKenna 11 married James “JD” Root on October 15, 2022, at the beautiful Stanly Ranch in Northern California. Halland has shared how special it was to be loved and celebrated by family and friends, including HDS families–two of her bridesmaids she met through HDS.

Madeline VanOtten'12 is now a Global Risk Management and Audit Analyst with Capital Group based in Orange County. She began as a summer associate in 2019 and was the first person Capital Group hired straight out of college into the Global Risk Management group. From an Associate in 2020 to Analyst in 2022, she led the summer speaker series, interviewing the CFO and joining several panel discussions about careers at Capital. She also mentors summer associates.

Aiden Rodriguez'15 was nominated for two Grammys this year as a songwriter and producer of the R&B album Candydrip by Lucky Daye. Aiden is a student at USC and paused coursework during the pandemic to focus more rigorously on his passion for music.

Nicholas “Nick” Walkow'15 will graduate from Ohio State University this spring and has accepted a position with J.P. Morgan on their financial advisor track based in Chicago.

Sarah Porter'19 will attend Fordham in the fall and compete on the rowing team. She has been rowing competitively at the Newport Aquatic Center since freshman year. She placed eighth in the women’s U17 8+ category at the US Rowing Youth National Regatta in May 2021 and a twelfth place finish out of 90 boats in the women’s varsity 8+ category at the Head of the Charles in October 2022. Her father Briggs'85 rowed in college (Georgetown), and HDS faculty member and Sarah’s mother Ethnea is a Fordham alumna.

Classmates will recall Annelise Rodriguez as a former student in the class of 2019, and she, too, has made her college selection. She is headed to New York University Steinhardt School for Fine Arts after graduating from Corona del Mar High School.

Ava “A” Walkow'19 has really enjoyed OCSA in the last four years. While Covid-19 had its challenges, affecting everyone socially, emotionally, and academically, A persevered and has many options for art school through early admission responses. They plan to pursue a major in illustration and dream of one day being a graphic novelist.

Reade Decker heads to Stanford University for sailing after graduating from Mater Dei High School.

Arya Emadi will go to Santa Clara University Business School after graduating from Choate Rosemary Hall.

Finn Genc heads to the University of California, Santa Barbara, to play water polo after graduating from Newport Harbor High School

Jaden Kessler will go to Harvard University after graduating from Mater Dei High School

Olivia Krotts will attend Princeton University to play water polo after graduating from Mater Dei High School

Sarah Porter will attend Fordham University in the fall and will be on the rowing team after graduating from Newport Harbor High School.

Darian Mahdi will go to Chapman University Dodge College of Film after graduating from Newport Harbor High School

Ryan Katkin will go to Cornell University after graduating from Sage Hill High School

2023.