Nafisa MiddleAdams,School Teaching Assistant Nafisa was born and raised in San Fran cisco’s Bayview District. She is a graduate of UCLA, where she earned her BA in American Literature and Culture and En vironmental Literature. In her free time, Nafisa enjoys spending time in the Golden Gate Recreational Area exploring new sites. She is passionate about young people and their voices, and she looks forward to making inspiring connections with those she comes into contact with.
Bebi MiddleBacchus,School Math Teacher Bebi joins the SFFS community in 2022 bringing her passion for teaching math to middle schoolers with over 11 years of teaching experience in charter and independent schools. Bebi believes in rein forcing positive math language, and meets
Cathy Aragon, 2nd Grade Teacher Cathy Aragon grew up in San Jose, CA. She has a passion for creating engaging and equitable learning opportunities for students and adults alike. Cathy holds a AT FRIENDS
each student where they are at to unlock their true math potential. By prioritizing accuracy over speed and understanding over memorization, Bebi is flexible on her feet to adapt and teach skills in a new way when a concept just isn’t clicking for the student. Before joining SFFS, Bebi spent the last six years as the K-8 Math Department Head, 5th grade Math/Algebra teacher, and Middle School Advisor at Oakland Hebrew Day School. Bebi is an LA native and found her way to the Bay Area where she completed her BA in Lib eral Arts with an emphasis on Childhood Studies. After 14 years in the East Bay, Bebi recently moved to Bernal Heights with her partner. When she is not dream ing of math theorems, Bebi enjoys sleep ing in, dancing to soca/dancehall music, and traveling anywhere she can.
Kay Benitez, Horizons Partnership Program Coordinator Kay is invigorated after joining Horizons at the San Francisco Friends School this summer. They grew up in San Diego and was at home in the neighborhoods of Lo gan Heights & Bario Logan. They earned a BSBA in finance from the University of San Francisco, and joyfully assisted teaching for their economics’ Depart ment Chair. Before joining the Friends School, Kay organized mentorship and food pantry programs, and practiced restorative, social-emotional, and racially
SUMMER 2022
Welcome to the Newest Members of Our Team!
We’re delighted to welcome a number of new faces to our SFFS community for the 2022–2023 school year!
BA in History from Harvard University and Master’s of Arts in Education with a special concentration in Equity and Social Justice from San Francisco State University. She received her multiple subject credential from San Francisco State through the Bay Area Teacher Train ing Institute (BATTI). This fall she will begin a doctoral program in Educational Leadership at San Francisco State. Cathy has worked in education for 18 years in both private and public schools in San Francisco and most recently at the nonprofit California Teacher Develop ment Collaborative (CATDC) where she served as the Northern California Direc tor and Managing Director of Programs. Before joining CATDC, she worked at San Francisco Day School as a 2nd Grade teacher and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) instructional coach. She is excited to return to the classroom, joining the San Francisco Friends School community as a 2nd Grade teacher. When she is not teach ing, Cathy enjoys traveling, cooking, and learning languages.
NEW FACES
conscious learning, with Healthy Choices Americorps at Bryant Elementary and Dolores-Huerta Elementary. As a Partner ship Programs Coordinator for Horizons at the Friends School, Kay lives the dream of connecting students with the neces sary enrichments and scholastic support that uplifts personal aspirations, as well as community oriented goals. The economics of care is the forward thought for Kay. After the work day, Kay helps organize with local mutual-aid and abolitionist groups; they also love making music on their trumpet, live music, and holistic health practices.
Eliza is thrilled to be joining the Friends School community this fall. She grew up in the Bay Area and has called the Mission District home for the last three years. She holds a BA in International Development and Mathematics from Kenyon College and had the joy of studying abroad in Chile where she developed her Spanish language skills. Before joining the Friends School, Eliza worked in the year-round office of Camp Tawonga in both Program and Finance roles, including managing the financial assistance program. Eliza recently completed the Justice Outside Rising Leaders Fellowship, which focuses on creating more inclusive and just spaces in the outdoors. In her spare time, Eliza loves to attend drawing classes and swim in the ocean!
Eliza LowerCohen,School Teaching Assistant
Michelle grew up in Las Vegas, NV, where her father was a musician who worked for Elvis. She moved to San Francisco in 1985 and became a bike messenger while work ing on her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art at SFAI and SFSU, while playing in bands and painting. At SFSU she worked in the Media Center, where they had one of the first Macintosh Apple computers at the University, and she grew fascinated with the creative aspects of it, which informed her decision to obtain a Master’s Degree in Design at SFSU. After working in the design industry for a decade, Michelle decided to get a teaching credential while she was pregnant with her daughter, and after completion, began teaching pro gramming, computer science, robotics, animation and design in colleges and district middle and high schools. Recently, Michelle taught middle school computer science robotics for a summer school program and decided that a maker space is one of the funnest places on earth. She also works as an activist for social justice and still loves riding her bike.
Heather Darwin, Front Desk Receptionist
Isabella Child, Middle School Teaching Assistant
NEW FACES
Michelle Cernuto, Design & Technology Integrator
While at Bates, Isabella was involved in the Planned Parenthood organization on cam pus, rowed for the women’s varsity crew team, and hosted a radio show on campus with a friend. Prior to joining the Friends community, Isabella has done a variety of kinds of work, including with girls at a juvenile delinquent center in Albuquer que, on a farm in Martha’s Vineyard, and as a research fellow for the Yale School of Medicine. In her free time, Isabella enjoys hiking, skiing, swimming, cooking and spending time with her family and friends. She is excited to get to know the Bay Area and work at Friends!
Coming from Texas, Heather left the Lone Star state to join the Golden Coast in 2018, but her love for being around kids stems back to her high school days when she was actively heading a babysitting club. The oldest of three girls, she has always enjoyed interacting with kids and building healthy connections with them, nannying and camp counseling over the summers. She has receptionist experience of over 4 years, and loves to meet all types of people behind the desk and making sure everyone feels taken care of and cared for. In 2019, she attended San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology and got her esthetics license in the beginning of 2020, and still practices part time with pregnant and postpartum women when she’s not working the desk. In her free time she loves hiking with her dog and dabbling in several art mediums, as a former professional singer and competitive theater performer, alongside spending time with family.
Isabella was raised between New England (New Haven and Providence) where she learned to love old cities and the water and Santa Fe, NM where she learned to love the mountains and breakfast burritos. She is a recent graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine where she earned a BA in Rhetoric, Film and Screen Studies.
SUMMER 2022
Krissi joins the team at Friends with over 18 years of professional experience working with young children. Her passion for sup porting families landed her in admissions, beginning in 2016 at Alta Vista School and most recently at Katherine Delmar Burke School. When Krissi is not work ing, you will usually find her consumed with academics, as she wraps up a Race and Resistance Studies degree at San Francisco State University. In her free time, she loves to bake and spend time with friends and family outdoors. Krissi is the proud Mama/ Madre of two awesome humans and lives in the Bayview, with her partner Walid and kiddo Na’Imah (SFFS Class of 2025). and analytics for a food company. When not working, Sarah loves to grow plants, drink tea, cook, do crossword puzzles, and spend time outdoors.
Sarah is thrilled to be joining the Friends team! She grew up in New York City and attended Yale University, where she received a BS in Cognitive Science. She became passionate about education while working at Seeds of Peace, a youth leadership and development program, where she facilitated dialogue groups on identity and community and designed a garden-based education pro gram. She previously worked as a teaching assistant in computer science and in research
Connor hails from verdant, rusty Appa lachia, where he worked as an academic administrator at the University of Pitts burgh and taught ESL through the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. After study ing history at the University of Chicago and Southern New Hampshire University, he aims to pursue a Master’s in Education while gaining experience in a Quaker educational setting. An Attender of 57th Street Friends Meeting in Chicago as well as Pittsburgh Friends Meeting, Connor sees the good work at San Francisco Friends School as a marriage of Quaker testimonies and progressive education. Outside the classroom, Connor enjoys reading, cycling, traveling and cooking with friends. New to the Bay Area, he hopes to take advantage of the ocean’s proximity and learn to surf.
Houston Holmes, 4th Grade Teacher
Sophia Greco, Middle School Teaching Assistant
Sophia is a Chilean Californian learner, writer, language nerd, competitive swim mer, and fruit forager. Since she was sixteen she has enjoyed working with youth as a swim instructor, camp counselor, tutor, and teaching intern. As a recent college graduate in humanities and international studies, Sophia is interested in rhetoric and composition of all forms—poetry, narra tive, multilingual, experimental, multime dia, and everything in between. She is a native Spanish speaker with a passion for language learning and with varied fluency in Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese. In her free time, she can most often be found reading, identifying neighborhood plants, preparing new recipes, and taking naps in the sun with Sestra the cat.
Houston is thrilled to join the 4th Grade team at Friends. He was born and raised in Texas. He received a BA in Business from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Houston’s love for teaching started in
South Korea, where he was an English teacher in the city of Ulsan. This phe nomenal experience led him to pursue an elementary teaching certification. He went on to teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in Frisco, Texas, where he has been an educator for the past seven years. Houston brings a sense of positivity and humor to his classroom, believing that students learn best when they’re engaged and hav ing fun. During his free time, he enjoys writing children’s stories, often inspired by his students. He also loves reading, video games, traveling, and experiencing different cultures.
Krissi Lewis, Admissions Associate
Sarah Gross, Middle School Math Teacher
Connor Hestdalen, Lower School Teaching Assistant
Lizzie Rogal, Middle School Head Lizzie is thrilled to join the SFFS com munity as its next Middle School Head. Her adventurous career in education began with two years teaching on a remote island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, and then to Napa, California, to learn the ropes of progressive education at Blue Oak School. De spite Napa’s giant agricultural industry and abundance of open space, Lizzie noticed that equitable access to locally-grown food was limited. She founded BOCA Farm, an 8-acre produce farm and teaching garden. Lizzie left the farm to pursue an advanced degree, but the awe, surprises, heartbreaks, hope, and simplicity of the farming lifestyle remain close to her heart! Most recently, Lizzie was Head of Middle School at Crystal Springs Uplands School, where she had previously been Dean of Students. Lizzie thrives in the “healthy mess” of a strong and caring school environment, and she especially loves the energetic intensity of the middle school years. Lizzie holds a BA in Religion from Colorado College and a MEd from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She lives in San Francisco with her husband Keith, their daughter Violet, and their feisty terrier, Scout.
Keith DirectorPalmer,ofHuman Resources
NEW FACES
Kelsey Plough, Lower School Teaching Assistant Kelsey is a Bay Area native and comes from a family of educators. This passion for early childhood education led her to a career teaching preschool, and she will be joining the Friends community after several years of teaching children ages 2–6 years old. Kelsey holds a Bachelor’s degree in Justice, Community, & Leadership from Saint Mary’s College of California and earned her early childhood education credits from Whittier College and Cañada College. Kelsey is excited to be expand ing the breadth of her teaching practice into elementary school and to continue to form strong and meaningful bonds with older children and their families. She is passionate about social-emotional learning, teaching empathy and inclusion to young learners, and helping them form a solid foundation in peaceful problem-solving. Nothing brings her more joy than truly lis tening to students helping them feel valued and a sense of belonging in their classroom. She is also returning to school as a student and working towards her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and her MA in Teach ing through Bay Area Teacher Training Institute (BATTI). In Kelsey’s free time, she can be found supporting and advocat ing for equal opportunities for her college rugby team. She loves all things music, collecting vinyl records, and listening to a wide range of artists and genres.
Ann Nyhan, School Nurse Ann grew up in Ireland and still visits family and friends there and other parts of Europe every summer. After working in tech for a few years after college (UCC) in Ireland, she moved to San Francisco in 1995 with the plan to stay for a few years… and she’s still here! She earned her nursing degree at City College of San Francisco in 2005. Family and friends are very important to Ann and nothing brings her more joy than hosting dinner parties or organizing fun get-togethers such as beach picnics, games in the park, or hiking Mount Tam. Ann lives with her husband Charlie and their 14-year-old twins Sophia and David in the Ingleside neighborhood. Ann has a strong convic tion that every child has amazing and unique talents and potential; they just need to be encouraged and supported. She has been on PTAs and volunteered in classrooms and fundraisers since her kids were in kindergarten. Her top three favor ite things are people, food, and travel, in that order.
Keith grew up in the Midwest near Chi cago and Lake Michigan. In high school he had the opportunity to attend an im mersion program in Germany, and he fol lowed that up with a junior academic year studying at the university in Hamburg. At Indiana University he majored in German and minored in Linguistics. While explor ing teaching, he received a Fulbright Assistantship at two schools near Vienna. But the lure of nicer weather and friends brought him to the Bay Area for 17 years. While in San Francisco, he earned a MS in HR Management at Golden Gate University. He began his career working at independent schools in 2006 at Drew School. His time in the Bay Area was fol lowed by several years exploring life in Se attle and then the Los Angeles area, before returning again to his friends in the Bay Area. Keith enjoys spending time with his friends and his Italian Greyhound, and he’s an avid follower of tikatheiggy on social media.
Stefani Wulkan, Lower School Learning Specialist
Pankti joins the SFFS community as its third-ever head of school, bringing with her extensive experience as a science and math teacher, middle school leader, and Quaker educator. She has worked in schools for almost three decades, most recently serving as both the Middle School Head and Dean of the Faculty at Friends Seminary, a K–12 Quaker school with a 200-year history in New York City. Until her recent move to the West Coast, Pankti also served as a faculty member and director for the Divi sional Leadership Institute of the New York State Association of Independent Schools. Pankti grew up in Queens, NY, with par ents who immigrated to the United States from India. She spent many summers in Mumbai, connecting with extended family. Her commitment to diversity and a sense of belonging come from her own experi ences growing up as a first generation child of immigrants and experiencing schools through this lens. She is fluent in Gujarati and conversant in Hindi and Spanish. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, and her Master’s Degree in Teach ing, from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where she was also an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship recipient. Pankti, along with her wife, Josie, and their two children, Anjali and Mira, are excited to start a new phase of their lives in the Bay Area, where they have close friends and family. They look forward to exploring the natural beauty of the region together, hiking through redwoods, climbing mountains, and adventuring at nearby beaches. And while her daughters are eager to go camping, this New Yorker plans to take her NorCal transformation one step at a time.
Chis MiddleUskert,School Learning Specialist
Stefani grew up on the East Coast in the suburbs of New Jersey. Upon graduat ing from the University of Maryland, she began teaching at Friends Community School (FCS) in College Park, MD, in the elementary program. After several years at FCS, Stefani earned her Master’s in Special Education from Johns Hopkins University and she and her husband moved to the East Bay in 2005. Stefani began working at Raskob Day School, a special ed school in the Oakland Hills, and worked there for 17 years, originally as a classroom teacher for three years and then the remaining years as the Assistant Director and Lead Teacher. In her free time, Stefani and her husband, Josh, son, Adam (18) and daughter, Samantha (13) enjoy traveling, taking walks in the hills, and spending time with her extended family that live in the area. Ste fani is excited to join the SFFS school and is looking forward to reconnecting with the Friends community.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Chris has spent the past 15 years as both teacher and administrator in public and private schools in the Bay Area. Prior to teach ing, Chris worked as a set designer for TV and movies, attended culinary school, and served with the Peace Corps in Uganda. He earned a multiple subject teaching creden tial and BA from the University of San Diego and an MA in Educational Admin istration from San Francisco State Univer sity. He is excited to bring his experiences with him to his new role as Middle School Learning Specialist. Chris lives in San Francisco with his partner, Dominique, two sons, Dez and Harry, and dog Eevee. Together they enjoy cooking, reading, going on runs (usually short), fishing (often unsuccessfully), and laughing (as often as possible).
Maria Gorbea Zuffanelli, Middle School Humanities Teacher Maria is a native Californian; raised in Santa Cruz county, she has called San Francisco home since 2010. She earned her BA and MA in English Literature from San Francisco State where she was a recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Achievement Award. She is a dedicated educator who has spent 7 years working with students of all ages; From teach ing Humanities at Presidio Hill School, mentoring young educators in her role as a Camp Director for Galileo Learning, teaching English within the Composition and Literature departments at San Francis co State University as a Faculty Lecturer, to her latest role as 5th grade Humanities teacher with SF Friends School. Maria believes in empowering her students to think critically about the systems in which they live in order to become active global citizens. You can find her walking with her wife and their dog along Ocean Beach or on road trips, exploring our State and National Parks.
Pankti Sevak, Head of School
