NEW FACES AT FRIENDS Welcome to the Newest Members of Our Team!
We’re delighted to welcome a number of new faces to our SFFS community for the 2020–2021 school year!
Rochelle Brock, Lower School Teaching Assistant
Menfil Cardoza, Facilities Associate
Emelia Breen, Lower School Teaching Assistant
Emelia was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and has been living in Oakland since 2016. She graduated from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, with a BA in Culture and Communication. While studying and living in Ithaca, she worked as a teacher’s assistant in an elementary school classroom, as well as a substitute teacher at a local preschool. After graduating, she worked for the New York State Office Of Parks and Recreation, developing and implementing environmental education programs. After moving to Oakland, she began working at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, where she coordinated the school and community programs, which allowed her to teach STEM programs at elementary schools in all nine Bay Area counties. Her love of teaching and connecting with communities from all over has led her to meet and work with countless groups of young people, and she is delighted to be a part of the San Francisco Friends School community.
Rochelle was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. She relocated to the East Coast of America with her family when she was 10 years old. After graduating with her BA in Psychology with a focus in child development, she decided to start a new chapter in the Bay Area with her sister. For the past two years here, Rochelle was an educator for an after-school program that focused on artistic, social, and emotional development. There, she taught improv, jewelry/candle making, yoga/meditation, cooking, as well as other arts and tutoring. Along with education, Rochelle is very passionate about diversity and inclusion and bridging the gap between the two. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, dancing, hiking, and cooking. She also loves meeting and getting to know new people—so please feel free to say hi if you see her!
Menfil joins the Facilities Team at SFFS this year. He is originally from Guatemala, where he and his family (including brother Victor, also joining Friends this year!) own a banana farm. Menfil is a father of three, and enjoys time spent fishing and with his family. He is experienced in a range of skills, from carpentry to plumbing to construction. Victor Cardoza, Facilities Associate
Victor also joins the Facilities team this year and hails from Guatemala. With his family, Victor owns a banana farm in his home country. He loves to spend his free time fishing with his brother, Menfil (who has also joined the SFFS community!)... Victor brings a range of skills to Friends, including carpentry and construction.
SUMMER 2020
Todd Gjertsen, Director of Facilities
Todd joins SFFS with an extensive background in construction and operations management, having worked on many large hospital and school campuses before coming to Friends. Todd is looking forward to sharing his knowledge, skill sets, and talents at SFFS, and getting to know our professional and family communities, Omar and his crew, and our historic building. In his free time, Todd loves to cook and cycle.
ing. As Head of Outreach at CK–12, Carl enjoyed working with educators around the world to help them integrate these new digital tools to improve student learning. Carl has many passions that he enjoys to balance out his life. Cooking, singing, and travel are at the top of that list. Carl and his husband decided to create an adventure for their son when he was 11 years old and spent an entire year traveling around the world. The three of them lived in 12 countries for one month each and experienced unforgettable moments. “Fifth Grade Around The World” helped all three of them to understand the diverse cultures and beauty of the world’s peoples. Emilie Hautemont, Horizons AmeriCorps VISTA Member 2020-21
Carl Haley, Middle School Math Teacher (Maternity Leave Position)
Carl has focused his career around education since the very beginning. He started teaching right out of college in Malawi, Africa, with the US Peace Corps. It planted a deep seed that will forever guide his life. Since then, he has taught in a variety of schools around California and internationally, including Munich, Germany. Over the years, Carl has primarily taught mathematics, but has branched out to include classes of Spanish 1 & 2, video production, design thinking, and computer science. Seven years ago, Carl left the classroom to work with Pearson Education, and then the CK–12 Foundation to create digital products for intelligent learnNEW FACES
Emilie was born and raised in San Francisco and now lives in Marin County. She graduated from Swarthmore College in May 2020 with an Honors BA in French Literature and a minor in English. Emilie is passionate about sharing her love of books, reading, and writing, and has previously interned and worked at a small Moroccan publisher, at the American Library in Paris, and with the education and culture nonprofit Libraries Without Borders in DC. Although Emilie loves to travel, she is delighted to be back in her hometown, working with its teachers and students. She speaks fluent French, proficient Spanish, and enjoys trying new recipes, reading, and wishing for a dog.
Luis Hernandez, 3rd Grade Teacher
Luis joins SFFS after previously teaching at Prospect Sierra School. His resonance with our Quaker mission, experience in independent schools, love of this city, and good humor and graces make us all very sure he will be a wonderful addition to the team. Even though he’s just finished the BATTI Masters and Credential program, Luis is no stranger to independent school communities. He’s been in the education field for over 20 years, starting as an independent school student before transitioning to roles such as Development Manager at the Katherine Delmar Burke School; Admissions Officer for the Nueva School; and, most recently, as a 3rd grade associate teacher at Prospect Sierra. Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, Luis brings a sense of confidence about how schools work and comes with the ability to effectively connect and collaborate with administrators and families as easily as he does with students. Luis enjoys staying fit, healthy cooking, and playing music—preferably all outside.
Meg Kingsland, Middle School Humanities Teacher (Maternity Leave Position)
(TEFL) certification. She taught English to K–5 students in Prague, before deciding to move back to the States. For the past two years, she has worked at Reading Partners, a national nonprofit that supports student literacy growth by engaging community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring sessions to students falling below benchmark in reading. Outside of teaching, she loves writing, roller-skating, and being with her pets. Salvador Martinez, Lower School Teaching Assistant
Meg is a native of the Bay Area, and graduated with a history degree from Duke University. She then returned to California to teach middle school humanities for five years at the Menlo School in Atherton and the Hamlin School in San Francisco. She took a 20 plus year break from the classroom to raise her five kids, all of who are SFFS alums or alumni-to-be (Annie ‘13; John ‘15; George ‘17; Sam ‘19; and Eliza, current 8th Grade). Having been part of Friends from its earliest years, Meg has enjoyed being involved in many aspects of the school, having served as PA coclerk in 2016–2017, as well as a frequent substitute in the Middle School for the past two years. Meg is looking forward to stepping back into the classroom fulltime this fall. Kaylin Mansley, Lower School Teaching Assistant
Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Kaylin received her BA and MA from Penn State University. After graduating, she moved abroad and received her Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Salvador is a Bay Area native who recently returned to California last year with his husband, 4-year-old son, and mini poodle, after living and working in London and New York City. He joins Friends as a teaching assistant with 12 years of classroom experience, teaching schoolbased yoga and mindfulness programs. Salvador has a BA in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Cross-Cultural Studies from San Francisco State University. In his yoga and mindfulness training, he is learned in Children’s Yoga and Mindfulness, Yoga Therapy, and Embodied Yoga Anatomy and Kinesiology. Salvador and his family live in the East Bay and love exploring all that the Bay Area has to offer, from parks and beaches to museums, concerts, restaurants, cafes, and ice cream shops.
Elissa “Lissie” McAlvey, Middle School Math Teacher
Lissie will join the SFFS faculty as the 8th Grade math teacher in August. Lissie joins Friends after five years at the Nueva School. A native of Michigan, she brings a host of skills and experiences to Friends. Among her previous responsibilities at Nueva, Lissie served as a grade level dean, scheduler, and equity and inclusion leader. She was also an official Equity and Inclusion Representative for the middle school and the leader of Girls Adventure in Math, which helps young women get more involved in the realm of mathematics and leadership. Lissie is fluent in Spanish and brings experience as a collegiate basketball player to 250 Valencia. We are excited to bring in a curious, mathematical thinker to help us in the next chapter of designing meaningful learning experiences at Friends, and look forward to Lissie joining us. Gabby Miller, Middle School Art (One-Year Replacement)
Gabby returns for a second tenure as the interim middle school art teacher. Gabby was last with us in the 2014–2015 school year and returns to rekindle and deepen meaningful bonds with the community. SUMMER 2020
Gabby holds a MFA from UC Irvine and has extensive experience in youth arts education, advocacy, and engagement. Gabby has taught at UC Irvine, the Oxbow School, and Millennium School, and has served as a Board member of Dhamma Dena Mediation Center since 2018. In addition, Gabby served as a Board member and as Program and Outreach Coordinator for Bay Area Girls Rock Camp. Gabby brings experience as an independent artist, lecturer, published author, and inspiring leader back(!) to SFFS. Welcome home, Gabby!
NEW FACES
Laura Medina Quintanar, Horizons Executive Director
Laura was born in Mexico City and raised in San Francisco. She was the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. Previously, Laura attended City College of San Francisco (CCSF) where she served on the Associated Students Council as the Head of the Interclub Council. In that position, Laura supported efforts to pass
the Student Achievement Gap resolution, which implemented resources aimed at improving the academic outcomes of historically under-resourced student populations. She facilitated trainings for CCSF staff and faculty to equip them with tools to better serve the unique needs of the undocumented student population. After college, Laura continued to break barriers in educational access through her work in the nonprofit sector. She was the Director of Programs at SMART, a college access nonprofit that helps lowincome students become the first in their families to go to college. A life-long learner, Laura is trained in conflict resolution, adult learning, and curriculum writing. Most recently she earned her a Master’s Degree of Public Administration from San Francisco State University.