Final Fall 2024 UHS Journal.36 pgs

UHS JOURNAL

FALL JOURNAL 2024

Inside these pages, you’ll notice a recurring theme: the butterfly. This powerful symbol represents the beauty of change, growth, and personal evolution. Just as a butterfly transforms from a caterpillar to a chrysalis, emerging with wings ready to take flight, the UHS community celebrates a similar journey.

Our new mission statement captures our highest aspirations, inviting us to embrace challenges as opportunities, foster resilience, and practice compassion in the face of change. The UHS experience of education, like metamorphosis, is transformational. It involves moving through stages of learning and self discovery, leading to personal and intellectual growth.

We invite you to explore these pages and join us in honoring the transformational experience UHS continues to shape and foster.

AP Art student Talia Venchiarutti `24 explores “identity, change, and vulnerability through the personification of nature… encapsulating the process of transformation” in graphite drawings.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Shaundra Bason

Nasif Iskander

Ruth McDaniels

ALUMNI NEWS

Marianna Stark 89

MANAGING EDITOR

Ruth McDaniels

ART DIRECTION & DESIGN

Lori Susi & Tamara Kreiss

PRINTER Bay Area Graphics

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kevin Kitsuda UHS Students & Faculty

ALUMNI NEWS & CLASS NOTES

Alumni updates and class notes welcome at UHSalumni@sfuhs.org

ADDRESS CHANGES

Reach us at communications@sfuhs.org

Jackson

San Francisco, CA 94115 The Journal is published annually for the students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of UHS. All

UHS JOURNAL

INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL

NASIF ISKANDER

Dear UHS Community,

One of the things that has kept me inspired at UHS for over 30 years is the fact that we are a school that is always striving to get better. We offer an excellent academic program with surprising richness and depth for a school our size. Our athletic program routinely out-performs other schools in our league. And we have built a diverse community of students and faculty that reports high levels of belonging and inclusion, and close, life-long connections to one another. Working from a position of great strength, we hold an aspirational vision of what the ideal version of our school would look like, and that vision inspires our students, faculty, and staff to imagine what we can do next to continue to improve our practice.

One of our most recent changes was the publication of a revised version of our mission statement, which is featured in this issue of the Journal. Over the course of last year, a task force made up of board members, administrators, teachers, alumni, and parents worked to gather input from a wide variety of stakeholders and draft a new and more concise statement. This statement recognizes the many other guiding documents we have developed in recent years, including the school’s Vision, Values, and our Statement on Equity and Community. In the context of this rich framing, our mission is now more succinctly focused on our most ambitious goals, resulting in a more memorable and inspiring statement.

I invite you to read the examples of projects described throughout this issue, and reflect on the ways that they will advance our ability to carry out our school’s mission. To get a sense of our efforts to more effectively ”engage our community of diverse voices”, and inspire the “spirited pursuit of learning” see the Equity and Community updates and the article about our work on Teaching Controversial Issues. You can read about how our Responsive Education Program strives to “empower purpose larger than self”, and how our Breakthrough Summerbridge program works to transform students' lives and expand their sense of what is possible. Taken together, all of our strategic efforts strive to deepen and more clearly articulate what we mean when we say that we intend to “provide a transformational educational experience“, the central theme of our educational vision for the last decade.

As we move through our 50th year of teaching and learning, we can be proud of the wonderful things UHS has accomplished in that time. I am thrilled to imagine what this remarkable community of students, educators, and families will do in the next 50 years!

Sincerely,

Nasif Iskander Interim Head of School

Commitment to Teaching Controversial Issues

Engaging in thoughtful discourse that encompasses a wide range of differing, and sometimes conflicting, perspectives is fundamental to the transformational education we aim to provide; we expect that each of us will listen, question, and deliberate across difference, open to the possibility of being changed by that exchange.

Research has shown that the discussion of controversial issues in an open classroom climate leads to increased political knowledge, interest, engagement, and tolerance, all crucial for strengthening a democratic society. Furthermore, it helps students build critical thinking skills, develop empathy and independent thought, and deepen their understanding of content.

For these reasons, we are committed to teaching controversial issues. Our approach will reflect the diversity of voices that make up our community, recognize the voices that aren’t present, and be guided by our core values of inquiry, care, integrity, agency, and interconnection. While we promise one another to “first do no harm,” we know that there

will be moments of unintentional hurt. Acknowledging and working to repair relationships in those moments is a foundational skill at the center of our development as members of a learning community.

INQUIRY: We always strive to learn, asking questions of the materials with which we work, one another, and ourselves. We each need to question our own assumptions and understand the life experiences that have helped shape our own perspectives.

CARE: We give ourselves and each other permission to take risks and make mistakes, trusting each other’s intentions. When harm is caused, repair will be integral to the learning experience.

INTEGRITY: We should engage with controversial issues in an open and honest manner, conscious of the difference between a judgment and a fact. The statements we make should reflect our own authentic thinking.

AGENCY: We are all learners as well as teachers; thus we all have a part to play in the teaching of controversial issues. We commit

This year, UHS faculty and staff are engaging in work with Judy Pace, Professor Emerita of Teacher Education at the University of San Francisco (USF), around reflective practice in teaching controversial issues. Dr. Pace’s scholarship examines classroom teaching and curriculum and its relationship to diversity, democracy, and sociopolitical contexts. A Fulbright Global Scholar in 2023–24, she has published four books, numerous research and practitioner articles, and a website with a framework and resources for teaching controversial issues. Prior to USF, she earned her doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and worked at Project Zero on project-based learning, portfolio assessment, teaching for understanding, and comprehensive school reform. Before that, she was a middle school social studies and English teacher.

to challenging ourselves to speak openly and taking responsibility for the impact of what we say.

INTERCONNECTION: We commit to engaging with controversial issues on both an emotional and intellectual level. Our classrooms reflect the broad range of experiences that each of us brings to the space, as well as a web of relationships that extends far beyond its walls.

In a time when critical examination and democratic discussion of important local, national, and global issues is so desperately needed, I am impressed that UHS is supporting a meaningful process of professional learning in this area. And I am delighted to work with such a thoughtful and collegial group of educators.❞

Judy Pace

Looking Forward

UHS Celebrates its Updated Mission Statement

At San Francisco University High School, we engage our community of diverse voices in a transformational experience that embraces the spirited pursuit of learning and empowers purpose larger than self.

SHAPING OUR FUTURE TOGETHER

As we approach our 50th anniversary, campus expansion, and new strategic design, the task force recognized that guiding UHS into the next 50 years will require that we lean into our aspirations. At this pivotal moment in our history, a bold new mission statement challenges us to reach higher; offers us a fresh opportunity to elevate our academic, programmatic, and institutional goals; and calls us to shape a future that reflects our fullest potential.

While growth, learning, and hard work remain ahead, our new mission statement illuminates our aspirations and serves as a guiding North Star, charting our path forward. Starting from a place of belief in our collective ability to be a transformational community of growth and progress, the task force was confident in the community’s capacity to embrace the updated mission statement as a galvanizing tool and powerful catalyst—one that inspires each of us to imagine and create what’s possible.

Explore the Central Themes

Why did we choose this moment in the school’s history to revise the mission statement?

In the summer of 2023, UHS launched a year-long initiative to review, reflect upon, and refresh the school’s mission. While our core values and vision have been constant, it became evident that our community and culture had undergone significant transformation within the everevolving educational landscape. With the last mission established in 2003 and several pivotal milestones on the horizon, the time had come to more clearly identify, articulate, and amplify the core guiding principles that shape our work.

It was also recognized that a refined mission, expressed in concise language, would help us align our actions with our identity, strengthening our distinctive position among Bay Area peer schools. By exploring and articulating our identity through a reflective, collaborative process, we held the belief that UHS would be even better positioned to continue building an interconnected and inclusive community of students, families, faculty, and staff.

With a renewed mission serving as an anchor to ground us and a compass to guide us, our community would be prepared to embark on its next phase of strategic planning and institutional growth.

How did we ensure an inclusive and comprehensive process?

In partnership with our educational consulting team from Mission & Data, an internal task force was established to bring broad representation to this work. With each member of the group bringing a unique lens to the

process, the task force was made up of faculty, staff, administrators, parents, trustees and alumni from a range of perspectives and backgrounds, including: research and data collection; academic programs; communications; equity and community; historical and institutional continuity; philanthropy; athletics; enrollment management and strategy; and more.

MISSION TASK FORCE

Juliet Ayertey

Justin Baker-Rhett ʼ08

Anne-Marie Balzano

Shaundra Bason

Fumiko Hoeft P ʼ26

Nasif Iskander P ʼ22

Tali Jang ʼ04

Matt Levinson

Nate Lundy P ʼ27

Ruth McDaniels

Laura Spivy P ʼ18, ʼ20, ʼ23, ʼ25

Anthony Thomas

Demond Walker

Julia Wong P ʼ26

Candace Yu ʼ00

Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, the task force met regularly and established a variety of opportunities for the community to take part in a reflection and feedback process. These included small and large group discussions; retreats; focus groups; online surveys; and one-on-one interviews with faculty and staff, students, trustees, and alumni. Through multiple cycles of data collection,

feedback loops, reflection, and working sessions, the task force created and refined responsive drafts.

Was the Board’s vote unanimous?

In the spring of 2024, after many months of listening, processing, writing, and editing, the task force was confident that the final draft was decisive, compelling, and ready to recommend to the Board of Trustees. In a unanimous vote and with great enthusiasm, the new mission statement was approved.

Where do these themes originate?

A key concept that the task force kept at the center of its process was that the mission exists within the broader context of our other core pillars, including our values, vision, equity statement, and community agreements. These elements work together to guide our actions and shape the culture of UHS, ensuring alignment across all facets of our school community. In reality, no part of the mission is truly “new.” The language and foundational themes are directly borrowed from existing pillars that have been integral to the fabric of UHS for many years..

With a focus on being succinct and clear, the task force listened carefully to community concerns, experiences, hopes, and dreams. The four themes that emerged were unequivocal; across constituent groups, there was a shared vision for amplifying the UHS transformational experience, community of diverse voices, spirited pursuit of learning, and purpose larger than self.

Engage-Embrace-Empower Equity and Community at UHS

Welcome E-chieh Lin, Dean of Equity and Community

E-chieh Lin began her career as both an Instructor and Program Coordinator with the Intergroup Dialogue Project in the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives at Cornell University. E-chieh then joined University Prep in Seattle as a Fine Arts Instructor and quickly

Living Our Values

moved into leadership, stepping into the roles of Assistant Director and then Director of Diversity and Community. Under her leadership, University Prep implemented a diversity strategic plan and E-chieh co-chaired the Board’s Diversity and Community Committee. She co-planned and executed an Equity and Inclusion Speaker Series, a 29-school collaboration. As part of her role at University Prep, E-chieh led all hiring processes and updated hiring protocols based on culturally competent and inclusive hiring practices. Prior to joining UHS, E-chieh served as the Director of Inclusion and Well-Being at Taipei American School, where she demonstrated strategic leadership through successful implementation of the school’s strategic plan addressing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

Parent & Guardian Affinity Spaces

In addition to a broad range of affinity spaces for students on campus, we are introducing Parent & Guardian affinity spaces this year as well. Affinity spaces are where a group of people who share a common identity come together to talk about the possible shared experiences. Although members of the group may share a common identity, such as gender or race, it does not mean that everyone in that group has had the same experiences. Rather, participants recognize that their identity has an effect on the way they move through the world.

The goal of affinity groups is to facilitate positive identity exploration and development towards the larger goal of creating an inclusive and thriving learning environment. Affinity spaces offer a time and space for the empowerment of the individual and of the group within the greater community. Affinity spaces, which can be formed through privileged and marginalized identities, can come together to think about how to engage someone of another identity, with respect and thoughtfulness. It is a space where we can help each other become better community members.

E-chieh earned her Master in Teaching from Seattle University and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the University of Washington. E-chieh is a frequent presenter at local, regional, and national conferences and was the Co-Chair of the NAIS People of Color Conference Local Planning Committee when the conference was held in Seattle.

E-chieh embodies strategic thinking, thoughtful implementation of programs, careful listening, and the ability to build and strengthen community through engaging different constituencies. Her skill in building community while also implementing strategic goals with passion, care, and unwavering dedication is one of the many reasons she was selected for this role.

Intergroup Dialogue Framework Resources

storycorps.org

Intergroup Dialogue Project at Cornell University

idp.cornell.edu

2024-2025 Community & Equity Projects

Among the initiatives we are prioritizing this year is the launch of an intergroup dialogue project for faculty and staff. The goal of these dialogues is to help participants practice the skill to communicate across differences; to develop a greater, more in-depth understanding of the issues we choose to focus on; and to develop a catalog of personal experiences with the issues, a collection like StoryCorps or the Human Library. These dialogues are a place where everyone can practice engaging in critical conversations, and teachers can practice the pedagogy of teaching controversial issues. Our goal is to run at least one dialogue per semester.

The intergroup dialogue framework we will be using is based on Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire’s theory that a person’s own experience should have emphasis and importance in intergroup education. Freire also talks about dialogue as a liberatory education.

The curriculum that we are adapting from is the University of Michigan’s Intergroup Relations program, which was founded by Patricia Gurin (University of Michigan), Ratnesh Nagda (University of Washington), and Ximena Zuñiga (University of Massachusetts Amherst) 36 years ago.

The structured program has an academic and a personal component. The academic component consists of reading about the issue (historical, contextual), and the personal component is where the participant’s experiences with the issue are personally shared and connected to the academic component.

This year, our first dialogue will be on religious oppression with a focus on Antisemitism. Our next dialogue will focus on Islamophobia

2024-2025 Equity & Community Initiatives

◗ Celebrating a range of heritage months and cultural holidays through performing arts, featured reading in the library, community events, and more;

◗ Restarting the stewardship and oversight committee and redefining its purpose and distinction; Reimplementing equity training for employees;

and anti-Arabness. Taking the time to explore both of these dialogues in separate, concurrent segments honors the intricacies of their histories and experiences of people who hold these identities. As a faculty member shared with me recently, Antisemitism and Islamophobia are not binaries, and Judaism and Islam should not be put in a place where they are pitted against each other.

◗ Evaluating programs within the Institute for Responsive Education;

◗ Engaging in internal research projects focused on equity issues.

Breakthrough Summerbridge Impact

Dara Northcroft

Executive Director, Breakthrough Summerbridge

In the summer of 2024, Breakthrough Summerbridge (BTSB) celebrated another year of impactful programming.

We had an excellent group of Teaching Fellows (TFs) this year; two were BTSB student alumni, and four returned after serving in previous years. This continuity demonstrates the value that both our students and TFs perceive in our programming and, most importantly, in the fields of education and youth development. In total, we welcomed 17 new TFs from all over the country, from as far as Hawaii and as near as right here in San Francisco. At the end of the summer, 75% of our TFs indicated that they plan to continue pursuing career opportunities in these areas. It is gratifying to know that we are truly helping to build the pipeline of future educators dedicated to equity and students’ holistic well-being.

As always, our students this summer thrived through fun, hands-on learning and many spirit-filled activities. Daniel, one of our 8th graders, commented, “BTSB’s projects and group activities let me connect with my peers, giving a strong sense of community while maintaining a big focus on academic growth.” The BTSB Olympics was particularly energized this year, as it coincided with the Olympics in Paris. We also loved witnessing our students envisioning the possibilities for their futures during our College and Career Day Adventures—diving into the world of coding at Google, exploring the UC Berkeley campus, and experiencing cutting-edge medical training at UCSF’s Kanbar Center.

Looking ahead, this is an exciting time for BTSB, as we are expanding our programming to include resources beyond middle school and into high school, as well as implementing other enhancements in curriculum and socialemotional learning. As we grow and enhance our programming, I am also thrilled to share that our program was one of five Breakthrough affiliates selected to receive AmeriCorps support. This funding will allow us to increase our compensation for TFs, making our program an even more compelling professional development opportunity for promising future educators.

With Breakthrough Summerbridge spirit,

Dara Northcroft

Executive Director, Breakthrough Summerbridge

QR Code to the most recent IMPACT REPORT

BY THE NUMBERS

For over 40 years, Breakthrough Summerbridge has transformed the lives of over 1,600 middle school students and over 650 high school–age and college-age “teachers.”

95%

of Breakthrough Summerbridge students have enrolled in academically rigorous college preparatory high schools.

80%

of Breakthrough Summerbridge students have gone on to four-year colleges and have pursued careers in medicine, business, law, art, or education.

72%

of Breakthrough Summerbridge teachers have gone on to work or volunteer in schools or other organizations that promote educational equity.

REd Day Conflict + Community (Engagement)

March 6, 2024

Over the years, we’ve all seen an increase in the kinds of conflict we face in our day-to-day lives. Internal conflict, conflict with loved ones, conflict with systems or institutions. Some conflict remains unresolved, and some conflict is resolved and placed behind us. Some conflict is just plain avoided. What is evident, however, is that we are all in need of skill and tool development to move through conflict, especially in a world where interpersonal, political, ideological, and identityrelated challenges abound.

Last spring, the UHS student, faculty, and staff community embarked on a series of conversations and activities to increase our self-awareness, learn and practice skills, and increase curiosity and capacity about facing and moving through conflict. This skill takes time to build. Organized by Alexandra Simmons, Dean of Student Life, this Responsive Education (REd) Day took shape with the help of the Student Life Committee, who helped to frame this series and create a narrative arc; Demond Walker, who introduced the community to the Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory; and Marjan Philhour, who tirelessly

identified community engagement opportunities across the city.

This REd Day also presented an opportunity for our community to step outside of our campus and dive into various community engagement opportunities around the city. Students, faculty, and staff traveled across San Francisco to engage in beautification and

UHS’s Institute for Responsive Education (REd) programming provides opportunities for students to dive into topics and community engagement projects related to health, wellness, equity, community, and identity development. Through weekly classes, daylong symposiums, workshops, guest speakers, and hands-on projects, students continue to better understand themselves and the world around them as they move through UHS. REd Days offer students and faculty an opportunity to explore a topic in depth as a community; they also serve as a reminder of our “purpose larger than self.”

clean-up projects with a variety of local organizations. The community showed up with curiosity and a willingness to engage deeply.

Included in this REd Day were student activities at these community organizations:

◗ SF Parks and Recreation: Clean-up at three different locations in Golden Gate Park

◗ Refuse Refuse: Street clean-up in the Mission neighborhood

◗ Ella Hill Hutch Community Center: Planting trees, weeding, and cleaning in support of beautification and landscaping work

◗ Black Point Historic Garden: Supporting incoming native wildflower bloom and the native insects and birds that benefit from it, by weeding out introduced, invasive plants

◗ GLIDE: Preparing sandwiches for the Meals Program and assembling vaccination kits for the Walk-In Center

◗ Richmond Neighborhood Center: Beautifying the Center’s surrounding landscaping and delivering meals to homebound neighbors

Leadership at Meet the Senior Administrative Team

UHS

The Administrative Team supports and sustains one another in the leadership of San Francisco University High School. As stewards of the school’s mission, vision, and values, the team remains nimble in driving the strategic design, optimizing the daily operations, and aligning our efforts and initiatives for maximum impact.

"We are committed to maintaining a relentless focus on the student experience, nurturing a positive school culture, and authentically sharing University’s distinct narrative."

In partnership with faculty, staff, and other key constituents, a number of strategic academic, programmatic, and institutional projects are underway. With continuity of leadership and thoughtful innovation, the team is excited to be leveraging its strengths and collaborating across every area of the school to work on a number of initiatives, including:

Articulating the Student Experience of the Classroom

◗ Teaching Controversial Issues

◗ Catalytic Context: Articulating Institutional Goals for Student Learning

◗ High Impact Teaching Statement

◗ AI in Education

◗ Intergroup Dialogues

Designing How to Work

Together Better

◗ Restorative Practice

◗ Admin and Staff Professional Growth Model

◗ Shared Decision Making & Academic Governance

◗ Professional Development and School-Wide Training

Designing Our Future and Telling Our Story

◗ Data Infrastructure

◗ Long Range Financial Sustainability

◗ Campus Expansion Projects

◗ Branding & Storytelling

Shaundra Bason Director of Strategic Philanthropy

Nasif Iskander Interim Head of School

Kate Garrett Director of College Counseling

Rob Kinnard Chief Financial and Operating Officer

Howard Levin Director of Technology

Nate Lundy Director of Enrollment Management and Strategy

E-chieh Lin Dean of Equity and Community

Ruth McDaniels Director of Communications

Dara Northcroft Executive Director, Breakthrough Summerbridge

Sarah Odell Dean of Faculty

Alexandra Simmons Dean of Student Life

Byron Philhour Dean of Teaching and Learning

Megan Storti Director of Institutional Data & Strategy

Anthony Thomas Director of Athletics and Physical Education

Cultivate With Care

Sarah

Odell

Dean of Faculty

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of NAIS’s Independent School magazine. Reprinted with permission.

My longtime mentor, Rebecca Moore, an English teacher at Phillips Exeter Academy (NH), once told me that she wanted to spend the first half of her career taking care of students and the second half of her career taking care of adults. Like her, I feel called to care for the adults in the schoolhouse, and now will have the unique opportunity to do just that in my new role as the dean of faculty at San Francisco University High School (CA). In many ways this position feels like a

dream—I get the most joy from supporting faculty members so that they can create intellectually stimulating and exciting learning environments for students every day. The best day is spent observing classes and talking to faculty about the choices they are making in their classrooms and helping them feel supported in that work. But, as the work of schools continues to increase in complexity and the demands on teachers continue to grow, this work has never been more challenging or more important.

More and more talented educators are leaving our schools. In the 2022 Gallup Panel Workforce Study, K–12 teachers reported the highest levels of burnout, at 52%. “The Demographic Transformation of the Teaching Force in the United States,” published in 2021 in Education Sciences, also documents the deepening and troubling national teacher shortage. I’m tracking these trends as I take on this new role and tapping into the research to reflect and help me think about how to attract excellent faculty and how to keep them feeling healthy and whole and continuing to give all that they have to students and colleagues.

I often turn to research and literature for ideas and inspiration, and one that’s been particularly influential in my thinking and planning is Strategic Human Resources Management in Schools: Talent-Centered Education Leadership by Henry Tran and Carolyn Kelley. Tran and Kelley write that schools often make mistakes in their overemphasis on process and don’t focus enough attention on the educator’s experience of working at the school. They underscore a finding from a 2006 survey about teacher working conditions from the Center for Teaching Quality: “Teacher working conditions are student learning conditions.”

And that point—thinking about caring for teachers—really hit home.

Scope of Work

As I was discussing the demands of coaching a varsity sport with a colleague, memories of my early teaching jobs (between 2013 and 2018), when I was the head boys’ and girls’ varsity squash coach, came rushing back. I loved coaching squash. The sport was a formative part of my own life and education, and to this day, I believe I learned more about teaching students on the squash court than I did as an English or social sciences teacher. But when we were in season, I was exhausted. I’d drive three hours on a Wednesday afternoon to another school, coach nine matches, and drive back. I wonder what kind of teacher I was the day after road matches. At both schools where I worked, I asked for an assistant coach.

But both schools had strict policies that teams with 12 or fewer students would not have more than one coach. The administrators believed they were being equitable—why should squash have an assistant coach when boys’ varsity basketball or girls’ crew only had one assistant and two to three times as many students?

And there it was: Teacher working conditions are student learning conditions. If an assistant coach was out of the question, would it have been possible for me to have one class removed from my schedule, or perhaps a reduced co-curricular load in a subsequent semester? Were there other possible moves that could have helped get me through those semesters—to show up well for students both on my squash teams and in my English classes?

Who Cares

To build on the notion that teacher working conditions are student learning conditions, it’s important that we acknowledge that care work for students and faculty is not evenly distributed. Terri Watson’s research shows that women and people of color disproportionately take on the burden of caring for both children and adults at school. Watson refers to this phenomenon as “motherwork.” And when the well-being of students are at the center of an ask, women and people of color are likely to agree to additional burdens. This was also evident in my own 2022 research study for my dissertation, “Listening for Resistance: Stories Challenging the Binary in K–12 Educational Leadership.” According to “Unbroken, But Bent: Gendered Racism in School Leadership,” a May 2020 article published in Frontiers in Education, the faculty that we need most visible to our students, such as faculty of color, are often the most burned-out and the least likely to say no when more is asked of them.

As part of my doctoral work, I’ve sought to understand the gendered ways in which schools message who is a leader. Alice Eagly, Linda Carli, and Hannah Riley Bowles all document the ways in which masculine ways of being (decisive, rational, individual) are seen as the qualities of a good leader while feminine ways of being (relational, communal, caring) are seen as incongruous with leadership. I read the National Academy of Sciences report on sexual harassment in the hard sciences, engineering, and medicine. One of the findings in that report that has forever stayed with me is that Title IX turned universities into compliance factories but had little impact on culture. If the focus of well-researched and intended policies is only for us to make sure that we are staying within the parameters of those policies, we are losing sight of the fact that human capital is the most important resource in schools.

Teacher working conditions are student learning conditions.

The Game Plan

As I begin my new role, I’m sharing research and learnings that I believe schools need to heed before it’s too late and we lose the talented faculty members who are drawn to our schools, create our communities, and care for our children. I want to practice the human-centered management that Tran and Kelley draw on—understanding the faculty experience of what faculty work feels like.

In spring 2024, I visited my new school and met with faculty to hear what was on their minds, and this past summer, I began having informal conversations with faculty about their work. This fall, my goal is to get into every classroom and have a conversation with every faculty member about their hopes and aspirations as educators, helping them find professional development that supports their visions. The clearest recommendation out of Tran and Kelley’s research is that schools that help design bespoke professional development support for their teachers are the highest functioning learning environments for students.

Everything we do in school leadership needs to align with the mission of the school as well as to maintain fiscal responsibility. Fulfilling these expectations is nonnegotiable for effective institutional stewardship. But the schools that set themselves apart by retaining great talent will be the ones that remember that teacher working conditions are student learning conditions. This is how we keep the student experience at the center, by taking care of our adults.

Alumni Honors 2024

Eric Lau, PhD, ’99 is an associate professor in the Tumor Microenvironment & Metastasis Department at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Ten years ago, he discovered that L-fucose, a sugar found in seaweed, triggers immune responses that shrink melanoma tumors. The sugar, L-fucose, looks and tastes like other sugars, but unlike those

Alumni Honors is designed to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of alumni who embody our core values of inquiry, care, integrity, agency, and interconnection. Each year, we celebrate an alumna/ us/x who is a leader in her/ his/their field and making important contributions at a local, national, or international level through personal accomplishment, professional achievement, or humanitarian service. We invite our entire community to nominate candidates: alumni, current students, current and past parents, and current and past faculty/staff. Nominations are reviewed on a rolling basis and recipients are honored at Reunion Weekend. The selection committee consists of the Alumni Council, head of school, and president of the board of trustees.

made from corn or sugarcane, it won’t cause weight gain or diabetes. Eric received his BS (Molecular Biology) and PhD (Molecular Pathology) from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and did his postdoctoral training (Signal Transduction) at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla. He was nominated by Melissa Holman-Kursky ’99 and Diana Ziola Jansson ’99 Last May, Eric and the Class of 1999 celebrated their 25th reunion.

A breakthrough discovery alone isn’t enough to improve patient outcomes. Funding Eric’s provocative concept of fighting cancer with a sugar was a risky investment—one that Moffitt Cancer Center took on when it recruited Eric to the faculty of its Tumor Microenvironment & Metastasis Department in 2015. Over nearly seven years, Eric and his team uncovered that L-fucose triggers immune responses that suppress melanomas, findings that are expected to safely enhance cancer therapies. Because it’s cheaper than any anti-cancer drug, it could be more accessible to patients. The next chapter of Eric’s scientific story—locating a manufacturer to produce L-fucose for clinical trials—is yet to be written. A story less known—his personal story—has made him the scientist he is today.

Unbeknownst to most around him, Eric’s time at UHS was a rocky and painful journey of self-discovery. Coming to terms with being gay, while under the pressures of a

conservative Asian culture, drove him deep into a closet constructed of AP classes and laboratory internships at UCSF and the San Francisco VA. His workload was intended to project an archetypal pre-med image, but it ultimately undermined his grades. However, seeing mentors like arts instructor Fred Cushing, who was living a genuine, successful, and happy life as an openly gay man, gave Eric hope for his future.

However, the summer before Eric began attending UCSD, his parents’ discovery of his sexual identity would mark the beginning of the end of their relationship. Estranged from his parents and alone in San Diego, Eric needed to support himself outside of tuition. He worked challenging but lowpaying research jobs, which gave him valuable experience but barely enough money to make ends meet. After earning his BS in Molecular Biology, he applied to graduate school and was wait-listed for the UCSD Molecular Pathology PhD

program, despite support from the top scientists he’d worked for. When he met with the graduate dean to explain his less-than-stellar grades, he was advised to “not make excuses” for poor performance. Eric found the courage to share that working full-time with a full undergrad courseload was not a choice for him, and that sticking with research in the face of his parents’ rejection had made him a more driven and resilient scientist than his peers. Eric received his acceptance letter the following week, and the dean would become one of his strongest advocates.

After earning his PhD, he did his postdoctoral training at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla. Although Eric’s dedication to cancer research came from losing his grandmother to non-smoker’s lung cancer, he focused his studies on melanoma because therapies that are effective for melanoma—one of the most aggressive cancers—are often effective for other cancers. L-fucose may be one such therapy. Eric’s irreverent sense of humor piqued his initial interest in L-fucose. One day, while he was screening for genes that might control melanoma biology, one memorably named gene stuck out to him: FUK. FUK encodes for the protein that allows cells to use L-fucose. He found that FUK levels decrease as melanomas progress, suggesting that melanomas don’t want L-fucose around. This prompted a simple experiment: Give mice melanoma. Feed them L-fucose. The result: L-fucose shrank tumors by 50–70% and reduced metastasis.

When Eric presented his research at one of the largest international melanoma conferences, leaders from major research institutions, including Moffitt, took note and went on to recruit him. After he joined Moffitt in 2015, he and his senior PhD student discovered that L-fucose induces specific anti-tumor immune responses. This finding,

highlighting a potentially safe new way to improve therapies for cancer, was published in the journal Nature Cancer in January 2023.

The next step is to find a manufacturer of L-fucose for clinical trials for melanoma (and, eventually, other cancers). Current production is limited—just enough for a trial that is saving the lives of a handful of children with a rare immune disorder. Eric envisions a day when treatment for cancer is as simple as the treatment for the children in this trial: pudding cups fortified with L-fucose.

For Eric, promoting a culture of compassion in research is as important as breakthrough discoveries.

In 2018, Eric co-founded Moffitt’s Patient Researcher Forum with his husband, Dr. Liem Quang Le, Moffitt’s Doctor of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine. This forum strategically orchestrates laboratory tours, clinical crash courses, and emotional storytelling in an innovative program that engages patients and caregivers with researchers. This unique effort, along with the L-fucose work, led Dr. Jill Biden to visit Eric’s laboratory in 2022 as part of the White House Cancer Moonshot program.

As an out, married gay man of color, Eric has found Florida’s politics to be deeply disturbing and severely undermining of cancer research operations in the state. In response, he has been involved in several community efforts, including fundraising for Florida’s largest nonprofit civil rights advocacy group, Equality Florida. In 2023, the high-profile journal Nature Reviews Cancer commissioned him to write about his experiences as a gay Asian scientist overcoming discrimination and to share ideas for how research centers and scientists can support diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Eric’s lifelong mission has been to pay forward the support and opportunities afforded to him during the darker times of his earlier life. He is intentionally out at Moffitt, vocal about protecting the rights and well-being of trainees and staff, and is known as a nurturing mentor who inspires his students to think about the intentions underlying their efforts, and, in the words of his UHS math instructor Ben Jacobs, to “question how you know what you think you know” in science and in life.

Welcome

New Trustees

Back row L-R: Kimberly Fullerton, Alec Perkins, Nasif Iskander, Paul Wythes, Scott Haskins, Nehal Raj, Courtney Young-Law, Mallar Battacharya, Steve Cheung, Craig Brumfield. Middle row L-R: Kimi Peters, Lily Beischer, Ginny Conner, Kendal Black, Lisa Congdon, Andy Nakahata, Efrain Perez, Sean Hamer, René Picazo.

Front row L-R: Brenda Mira, Gabby Parcella, Nadya Ramsaroop, Julia Wong, Holly Hagens, Elizabeth Mooney, Sheila Cuthbert, Candace Yu. Not pictured: Will Bartlett, Leonard Chung, Paul Cooper, Karen Hall, Tali Jang, Tomás Magaña, Clayton Timbrell, Tanguy Serra, Laura Spivy.

The San Francisco University High School Board of Trustees is a volunteer board composed of UHS parents/guardians (past and present), alumni, and community members. The board reflects the school’s diverse community and draws its expertise from many areas, including education, law, medicine, finance, community development, and nonprofit leadership. Trustees serve in a governance role and work on various committees that support our strategic design for the school’s long-term health, including finance; community and equity; investment; buildings and grounds; risk; campaign; and governance.

To read bios for our Board of Trustees, SCAN HERE

The mission-driven work of the Board of Trustees supports the success of UHS. We are committed to engaging the school’s diverse community in a transformational experience that embraces the spirited pursuit of learning while empowering a purpose larger than the self. This important work will continue to inform and inspire our efforts in the years to come.

Each new trustee is deeply dedicated to ensuring that UHS successfully maintains institutional, academic, and programmatic continuity; upholds its core values; and continues to empower an outstanding high school experience for every student.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW TRUSTEES

Craig Brumfield P ’27 was raised in New Orleans, LA. He attended St. Augustine, USMA, Howard University, and The University of Chicago. He is currently a Portfolio Manager in equity market neutral investing with Sennosen and a co-founder of c+o holdings, a systems optimization company. Craig’s domestic and international work experience has focused on Financial Services and Technology including stints with AXA Group, Citigroup, and BoozAllen & Hamilton. Craig serves on the Board of Directors of St. Augustine. Previously, he served on the Board of Trustees of San Francisco Day School, the Advisory Board of Breakthrough San Francisco at SF Day School, and the Visiting Committee for The University of Chicago.

Ginny Conner P ’24, ’26 is currently the UHS Parent and Guardian Association president. A graduate of Duke University and Pacific Dental School, Ginny then trained at the University of Michigan as a Pediatric Dentist. She has worked both in private practice and as an Associate Clinical Instructor at Pacific Dental School. Ginny has previously served as Parent Association President and on the Board of Trustees at the San Francisco Day School, and she is currently on the board at the California Tennis Club. She and her husband, Ed (‘91), have two daughters, Alison (‘24) and Lauren (‘26). Together they enjoy travel, playing family tennis, and spoiling their dog, Poppy.

Kimberly Fullerton ’81, P ’27 is a partner at Spencer Stuart, a global leadership advisory firm, where she has chaired the Board Nominating Committee and advises CEOs, HR executives, and boards on leadership. Specializing in technology, Kimberly places C-Suite executives across various industries and recruits for public and pre-IPO boards. Passionate about diversity in leadership, she focuses on advancing women and people of color to F500 C-Suites. Previously, she was managing partner of a top international legal search firm and began her career as a corporate lawyer. Kimberly served on Burke's Board of Trustees for eight years in various leadership roles. She holds a J.D. from UC Law San Francisco and a B.A. in English from UCLA. Kimberly lives in San Francisco with her husband Stephen Johnson and their daughter, Violet (UHS '27).

Scott Haskins P ’26 is President of Sierra Maestra Properties, a real estate investment firm focused on properties in California. Previously, he was vice president of acquisitions and development for The Hunter Group. Scott has led projects worth over $2 billion, covering more than 4 million square feet and 750 residential units, including notable San Francisco developments like the Ritz Carlton condo conversion and a Presidio hospital-to-apartment transformation. He is a former board member of Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association and SF Architectural Heritage and served as trustee and board chair of Marin Country Day School. Scott holds a BS in Finance from SDSU and an MS in Real Estate from UW-Madison. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter.

Tali Jang ’04 is a San Francisco native. She attended Burkes, University High School, and UC Berkeley, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and received a B.A. in Communications. Tali is a Marketing and Communications veteran, having spent 14 years at Google leading global Consumer Marketing strategy and operations for flagship products including Search, Maps, Gmail, and Photos, owning internal and external VP- to C-level communications, and producing company-wide events and initiatives. More recently, Tali served on the UHS Mission Statement Task Force, which reignited her involvement with the school. She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband, AJ Asver. They share 5-year-old identical twins, Theo and Jasper, who attended The Little School, where Tali served as a Trustee on the Board, member of the Diversity Committee, and DJ at the annual fundraiser for discounted tuition.

Kimi Peters P ’27 was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan and holds a B.A. in Economics from Keio University. She served on the board of trustees at Alta Vista School and was the DEIB chair of the board. She worked for most of her career as a TV producer at NHK (Japanese Public Broadcaster) as well as producing independent films. Between 2000-05, she worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan and the United Nations, stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the post-war reconstruction effort to work on the rebuilding of the national TV station and create a public broadcasting system. Kimi has also been published extensively in books, magazines, and newspapers. Nowadays, she enjoys producing olive oil at the family farm with her husband Greg and their two children, Taiki and Kiko.

René Picazo P ’27 is an investor and former President of Allspring Funds Distributor, where he oversaw a $200bn wealth business and the distribution of investment products through broker dealers, insurance companies, and registered investment advisors. Previously, he was Managing Director of the Global Institutional Client Group at Wells Fargo and led strategic relationships at UBS, focusing on the West Coast. René has international experience from his time at Merrill Lynch, covering clients in Latin America and in Italy, Spain, and Portugal while based in London. He earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Georgetown University and holds series 7, 63, 79, and 24 FINRA licenses. René is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and serves on the advisory board for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Courtney Young-Law, Ed.D P ’27 is a leadership coach and facilitator focused on empowering individuals. She previously served as Chief Programs Officer at Coro Northern California, where she developed leadership programs for organizations such as the UC System and Water Solutions Network. With a background in higher education, she is passionate about fostering thriving communities, serving on boards and committees at local schools and the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco. Courtney holds advanced degrees in education from Mills College and Harvard and earned her bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Texas. She has lived in San Francisco for over 20 years with her husband Chris and their two children, Calder (UHS ‘27) and Corina.

A Conversation with Decorator Showcase

Executive Director

Stephanie Yee

What is your background, and what attracted you to the Showcase Executive Director position?

After years in consulting and tech, I was eager to transition into the nonprofit sector. The fact that I grew up in a family of educators and thoroughly enjoyed my independent high school experience made my attraction to UHS a natural one. When I got to know several community members, the hiring manager approached me about the upcoming Decorator Showcase role. After interviewing, I realized it was a perfect fit. I was particularly drawn to the fact that the event raises funds for financial aid. Now, a year later, I’m loving the dynamic nature of my role. It requires stamina, autonomy, and agility—one moment, I might be troubleshooting a construction issue, and the next, strategizing for sponsors. I appreciate that I’m not confined to a desk; every day brings new challenges. Plus, Showcase itself is such a compelling event—creative, community-driven, and backed by strong partnerships.

What surprises you most about Decorator Showcase?

I’ve been most surprised by the event’s rich history and extensive impact. Decorator Showcase began just a few years after the school was founded, initiated by current parents at the time. That first year, it raised around $35,000 for the Financial Aid Program, and now, in its 45th year, it generates over $1 million annually. It’s not just the school team that makes this happen—we work hard, but during peak season, hundreds of volunteers, designers, donors, sponsors, and visitors come together to ensure Showcase’s success. It truly is a joyous labor of love!

What is your work style, and how does it fit within your job?

I thrive in interactive and fast-paced environments, often juggling multiple projects at once. I feel energized when I’m encouraged to dream big, and I value ownership of my work, which allows me to explore new ideas. It’s remarkable to find myself in a position I hadn’t even known existed, one that aligns perfectly with my skills and interests. The UHS community is an added bonus—it’s a fantastic place to work!

Where do you see opportunities for growth and connection between the event and UHS?

I hope to scale some of the programmatic aspects that recur each year, which will enable us to focus on expanding the event further. I’m excited to build a strategic vision that integrates Showcase within both the school and the design community. My goal is to raise awareness of the connection between Showcase, UHS values, the support from the design community, and our commitment to enhancing educational access. I love witnessing the pride that UHS parents and students already have for Showcase, and I hope it continues to bring joy to everyone involved.

2898 Broadway 2024

San Francisco Decorator Showcase

We send our deepest appreciation to the hundreds of people who supported a successful 2024 Decorator Showcase and to the thousands of people who visited the home. The passion and dedication of our designers, sponsors, advertisers, and our fantastic volunteers shone in every aspect of the event. We couldn’t have made the experience so seamless without the leadership of Parent Co-Chairs Amanda Hoenigman P ’21, ’24, and Jenni Zaidi P ’24, ’27, and we’re proud to have exceeded our goal of raising more than $1 million for the financial aid program at UHS. To all the generous supporters who made direct donations, the groups who rented out the house for evening parties, and the thousands of visitors whose ticket purchases boosted our funding, we thank you.

The 2024 Showcase home at 2898 Broadway boasts five floors of living space, with commanding views of the San Francisco Bay and beyond. It opened with 31 thoughtfully designed spaces appointed by a talented team of designers. In just four months, this 11,000-squarefoot Dutch Colonial Revival–style home was transformed from top to bottom. We were proud to feature several UHS community members, including arts instructors who exhibited their work, Mark Harris, Gale Jesi, Nikhil Paladugu ’12, and Lisa Carroll; music instructor Terrence Brewer, who performed at events; and UHS parents Zoe Prillinger and Luke Ogrydziak, who designed a space.

Since 1977, Showcase has raised more than $18 million, which has provided access to San Francisco University High School for hundreds of deserving, talented Bay Area students. The 46th annual Decorator Showcase will be open in spring 2025, from April 26 to May 26. Check the website for more information by visiting decoratorshowcase.org, and follow us on instagram at @sfshowcase for special updates. We look forward to welcoming you back next year!

Sketch of this year’s Showcase home at 2898 Broadway, by Clay Seibert, Photography and Fine Art

Terrence Brewer (Instructor of Music Performance & Music History) playing guitar at Showcase

The

UHS California Street Campus

Countdown to Opening

The construction of UHS’s first space built from the ground up is on schedule, for the campus to open for instruction in the fall of 2025. A state-of-the-art STEM Center, full-size gym, and ample community space all contribute to opportunities for students, faculty, families, and fans to more fully experience the UHS community. The new campus also provides for a modestly larger student body, and for opportunities to reimagine spaces in existing buildings— Performing Arts and Fitness Centers as well as expanded gathering spaces. Be on the lookout for details of an opening celebration, which will coincide with the school’s 50th anniversary, and reach out to Shaundra Bason at shaundra.bason@sfuhs.org for more information or to get involved.

California Street Campus Building and Grounds Committee: Spotlight

on Alums

Clayton Timbrell ’00 is the principal of Clayton Timbrell & Company, founded in 2004. Clayton has managed numerous complex construction projects, including the complete renovation of a 10,000-squarefoot Presidio Heights home, a ground-up guest house and renovation of an existing William Turnbull house in The Sea Ranch, California; and the management of a substantial portion of work for the 2010 Decorator Showcase. Clayton began serving on the UHS Board of Trustees in the fall of 2015 and is also on the Decorator Showcase Design Advisory Board. As an experienced general contractor, he offers an invaluable perspective on a large building project, having a clear understanding of all the parties involved and how they weave together to make a collaborative team. He has also been involved with the Buildings & Grounds committee at Hamlin School, where he has overseen large-scale projects. “As a UHS alumnus,” Clayton says, “I know firsthand the deficits that this project solves for, positioning UHS for another fifty years of excellence.” Clayton received his BA in Art History and Literature from UC Berkeley.

Elisabeth B. Congdon ’93 is a development director at The Prado Group. Since joining Prado in 2007, she has been involved in new development entitlements and construction, as well as renovation of mixed use and residential projects in San Francisco (including Prado’s two other projects in the neighborhood: 3333 California Street, formerly the UCSF Laurel Heights campus, and 3800 California Street, formerly California Pacific Medical Center). In the fall of 2021, Lisa began serving on the UHS Board of Trustees and the Building & Grounds Committee. She’s excited to be a part of the expansion of the school as well as the future re-purposing of the existing buildings. She received her BA in political science and MA in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley.

Inside the New UHS California Street Campus

◗ Approximately 47,400 square feet

◗ 6 science lab classrooms, 4 general education classrooms, and 1 maker space

◗ Faculty and administration offices

◗ Indoor Commons: approximately 1,800 square feet with flexibility for programming

◗ Outdoor Terrace: approx. 2,700 square feet

◗ Athletics: approx. 10,000 square feet

◗ 1 competition court meeting NCAA standard dimensions (50' x 94')

◗ 2 cross courts (50' x 84')

◗ Seating for 600+

◗ Targeting zero net energy and LEED Platinum

CLASS OF 2024 COLLEGE ADMISSION STATISTICS

By the end of their time at UHS, our graduates are inspired, confident, and ready for their next adventure. With the support of our experienced college counselors, students map out paths forward that best match their values, passions, and aspirations. While we take pride in the broad range of excellent colleges and universities that our students choose to attend, we are proudest of who they are when they graduate from UHS: individuals ready to live lives of integrity, inquiry, and purpose larger than the self.

GRADUATION JUNE 3rd, 2024 PAUL GOODE FIELD

The Class of 2024 graduated from University High School on June 3, 2024 in a memorable ceremony at Paul Goode Field. Students dressed in caps and gowns as families and friends filled the field. Graduates participated in a program that included speeches from administrators, trustees, faculty, and students, all of whom shared inspiring messages about perseverance and purpose. Musical performances concluded the event, with a heartfelt farewell as they headed off to start their next chapter as UHS alums.

Congratulations to the Class of 2024!

Bringing UHS Values to Life

UHS Athletics aligns its program with the school’s values, which challenge each individual to live a life of inquiry, care, integrity, agency, and interconnection. With a proud tradition of excellence and achievement, our teams are dedicated to reaching their full potential, embracing both a serious commitment to their sport and a joyful approach to competition—an outlook that fosters positive experiences and leaves a lasting impact on the lives of young student-athletes.

Our student-athletes develop a genuine passion for their team experience and their sport. With over 80% of our students participating in at least one interscholastic team, athletics is a vital part of the UHS experience for many of our students.

While we take pride in our accolades and championships, we place even greater value on the student-athlete experience. Red Devils graduate equipped with essential skills and values, including effective teamwork, communication, and disciplined work habits. Every athlete, from 9th graders trying out for cross country to seasoned varsity soccer players, is valued and respected by their coaches and encouraged to grow as contributing members of their chosen program.

The success of our athletic program is not measured by our win-loss record, but by how Red Devil Athletics enriches the UHS experience and prepares our graduates for success in college and beyond.

UNIVERSITY UNITED

University spirit is alive and well! This year, we are hosting events known as University United–our version of Spirit Rallys. University United events bring our community together to support activities throughout the school year.

GO DEVILS!

The 2023-2024 year in sports culminated in UHS being named Cal-Hi Sports Division IV School of the Year for the ninth time: Division V (‘98, 99, 02, 03, 04, 18) and Division IV (‘21, 23, 24). This distinction is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes and coaches.

NEW IN ATHLETICS

This year, we are offering students an opportunity to work with and learn from the Athletic Trainer. The Student Athletic Training Program (SATP) is designed to educate and connect interested students as they explore the field of sports medicine. Students learn the basics of athletic training and its significance in the healthcare field. Working under the guidance of the Athletic Trainer, they learn a variety of information, including basic first aid, taping techniques, orthopedic injuries and assessment, and various general medical conditions.

Joining the Student Athletic Training Program is a great opportunity for those who are interested in sports medicine, who want to be a part of the athletic program, or who would like to join a community during high school.

league championships in the last six years

57 20 16 86 81% 47% BY THE NUMBERS

NCS championships in the last six years state championships

athletes competing in college in the last six years of students competing in athletics of students playing multiple sports

Donor Spotlight

Nadya Ramsaroop & Maneesh Jain

As parents of students at UHS, we have come to deeply appreciate the school’s unique environment and the profound impact it has had on our daughters. We’ve witnessed firsthand the remarkable synergy between the eager students and the dedicated faculty, creating a supportive atmosphere that fosters individual growth and success. From our perspective, faculty and staff who consistently go above and beyond to foster care and lifelong learning is the secret sauce of UHS.

When our daughters chose to attend UHS, one of the key factors was the school’s ability to cater to their diverse interests, because UHS offers so many pathways to explore and grow. Our STEM-focused daughter graduated with a profound appreciation for the humanities, while our humanities-oriented daughter has been inspired to delve into deeper nuance while simultaneously exploring STEM fields. With ample opportunities for mentorship, leadership roles, and involvement in athletics, both girls have thrived in ways we didn’t expect.

Another key factor for our family is UHS’s awareness that we always have room to grow alongside an authentic commitment to walk the talk of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The school’s vision is grounded by the fundamental belief that collaboration among people with diverse backgrounds and life experiences is essential to deep learning. This is a school community that celebrates and centers diverse identities and perspectives, and as an institution, UHS works actively to alleviate structural and systemic barriers that prevent us all from bringing this vision to life.

Alumna Donor Spotlight Amelie Lipman ’04

“As a student, I knew I was getting a great education at UHS. I loved learning from enthusiastic faculty and staff alongside my incredible classmates. To this day, I am amazed by the conversations we had as teenagers in and out of the classroom, and the way Civ’s lessons still influence how I experience the world. But I also knew how fortunate I was to be getting that education, and always believed that shouldn’t be determined by a family’s ability to pay. Getting to work with the outstanding Breakthrough Summerbridge students as an after-school tutor, summer teaching fellow, and office intern shaped me just as much as being a UHS student did. All of those moments led me to work in the education nonprofit sector, including seven years in development at Breakthrough New York. I will always believe that every student deserves to have teachers who care for them as deeply as mine did.”

Amelie is the assistant director for prospect research at Columbia University. She and her Norfolk terrier puppy, Rikki, enjoy strolls in Central Park on the weekends.

UHS has long been known for excellence, but what is even more profound to us is that students are inspired to be their personal best, where collaboration is emphasized over competition in the classroom. One striking example, among many, is the challenging sophomore class Civ and the Arts, where teachers inspire the students with interdisciplinary intellectual connections. We’ve seen our daughters actively participate in classwide shared study guides and witness the class find joy in helping one another through this rite of passage. Captivated by the contagious enthusiasm, we often find ourselves wishing we could experience the class alongside them.

We are particularly impressed by how the school balances academic rigor with genuine care. While our daughters work hard, their experiences are filled with love and excitement, largely due to a teaching staff that is committed to fostering a lifelong passion for learning. The extra support provided through office hours and flexible scheduling truly demonstrates the faculty’s dedication to each student’s success. Each of our daughters has easily found multiple mentors and supportive adults on campus to foster any interest or simply provide support.

Reflecting on our own high school experiences, which often lacked personalized attention, we recognize the significant difference UHS has made in our daughters’ educational journeys. The level of individualized care they have received is unparalleled and has been instrumental in shaping their experiences. It’s been a joy to see how they have each crafted their own unique path, yet still both equally benefited from the UHS experience.

Ultimately, we are grateful for the opportunities UHS provides. We believe the school not only nurtures academic excellence, but also encourages personal growth, helping students thrive in all aspects of their lives. Our daughters are not just learning; they are developing into well-rounded individuals, ready to move into their futures.

Alumni Class Notes

In August, Kevin Kirkpatrick ’79 published a work of dystopian science fiction, Ocean of Breath: Heart Center, under the pseudonym Kamich Aelk.

Bradley Solomon ’81 shares, “Solomon College Advising has had an exciting first year. I continue to work with students and their families as they apply to college. I would love to work with families that have ties to UHS. Wishing everyone well…”

Go, Jenny Hitchings ’82! Jenny shares details of her record-breaking running streak: “After breaking the 55–59 marathon world record (WR) in London on April 23, 2023, in 2:45:27, I broke the 60–64 age WR at the Chicago Marathon on October 8, 2023, in 2:49:43. The Chicago Marathon did not disappoint. The weather was spectacular for racing, the crowds were insane, organized, and I hit all my goals: (1) I broke the WR of 2:52:13 (or :01, I’m not certain) in 2:49:43 (gun time). (2) I broke the American Record (AR) of 3:02. (3) I ran a sub–2:50. 4) I broke an AR for the 1/2 Marathon (breaking my own record I set nine days earlier) in 1:23:39. And, unbeknownst to me, I broke four other ARs as well (15K, 20K, 25K, and 30K). Would I have liked to have run

faster? Of course, but that’s not what the day brought me. I’m good.”

Members of the Class of 1988 came out to Book Passage in Corte Madera to celebrate the publication of Father Verses Sons: A Correspondence in Poems, written by brothers Ari Gold ’88 and Ethan Gold ’88 and their late father Herbert Gold, and published in March by Rare Bird. In his lifetime, Beat Generation compatriot Herbert Gold published more than thirty books, including the bestseller Fathers. Ari is a filmmaker and winner of the Student Oscar. His films have been selected at Sundance four times, and his upcoming movies, Helicopter and Brother Verses Brother, are companions to this book. Ethan is a songwriter, performer, and composer residing in Los Angeles and Berlin. He is releasing a trilogy of albums about the modern world, Earth City.

Anne Tolpegin ’88, Broadway actor, performed in a spring/summer touring production of Stephen Sondheim’s Being Alive at Theatre Works San Jose. Front, L to R: Melinna Hanin, Nell Branco, Matt Young, Darcy Yow Ellsworth. Back: Anne Tolpegin, Noah Levy. (Also in attendance: Ben Stewart.)

Manuel Covarrubias ’89, faculty member in the Engineering and Technology Department of the Contra Costa Community College District, was awarded tenure last spring.

Samantha Bley DeJean ’89 is featured in Forbes magazine’s inaugural list of America’s top 200 lawyers. Forbes says, “DeJean’s specialty is complex, familylaw trial work, a high-conflict, highasset field where clients are typically referred by word of mouth. She boasts a reputation as a fierce advocate in the courtroom… her client list isn’t advertised [because] discretion is crucial in high-net-worth family law. DeJean is linked to high-profile divorce and custody cases involving Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and Grimes and Elon Musk.”

Last March, Maury Sterling ’89 walked the SXSW red carpet at the world premiere of My Dead Friend Zoe to celebrate his role as co-producer. The film is available for streaming.

Last spring, Nicole Berry ’91 joined the Hammer Museum as the senior director of donor engagement. She previously held the role of executive director of the Armory Show art fair for eight years.

Aaron Fung ’00 writes, “I moved from Chicago to North Bergen, NJ, for work—speaking of which, I am now the Head of DEI and Culture for the Americas region at WSAudiology, a manufacturer of hearing aids! :-) Anyone who is in NY or NJ should look me up!”

Ali Wong ’00 won the 2024 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress and a 2024 Golden Globe Award for Best Female Actress for her role in the Netflix series Beef

Zoe Savitsky ’03 moved to Canada last year to pursue her PhD in law, after a distinguished career in practice, including most recently as Supervising Deputy City Attorney with the Oakland City Attorney’s Office. She’s studying at York University Osgoode Hall Law School, where she was chosen as a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholar. Her area of study focuses on how corporations develop their speech or expression powers, which are sometimes used for harmful deception.

Last April, Jonah Newman ’12 made a UHS campus appearance at All School Meeting to share his debut graphic novel, Out of Left Field, a big-hearted and funny YA graphic novel about learning to be yourself. Jonah’s book is based on coming-of-age and comingout experiences at fictional Diamonti High. After ASM, Jonah met with members of the UHS LGBTQ affinity club Spectra and gave away more than 20 free copies of his book, which was made possible by the UHS Alumni Association. Jonah lives in Brooklyn with his husband , Adam.

Pictured: Jonah and ’23-’24 Student Body President Jamie Scanlan.

Last spring Jacqueline Lee Fong ’19 and Cameron Ehsan ’20 received one of Stanford’s highest academic awards, the J. E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement. This award is given to the top 25 students of each year’s senior class in Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences. A special part of this award is recognition of the high school teacher who most influenced the awardee’s scholastic career. Jacqueline chose Ryan O’Donnell, English and theatre instructor, and Cameron chose Roselyne Pilaar, French instructor. Cameron graduated last spring with a BS in Biology, and is going on to UCSF. Jacqueline concurrently received her BA in Psychology, with distinction and with a minor in East Asian Studies, and received her MS in Management Science and Engineering. When we checked in with her in August, Jacqueline shared that she is looking for a full-time position focusing on product management, UX research, or consulting.

Nathan Evans ’21 was selected as one of 31 undergraduate/graduate students for the 2024 Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program, a summer internship and executive mentorship program inspiring the next generation of commercial spaceflight leaders. Nathan is studying engineering at Harvard University, where he is president of the Harvard Rocket Propulsion Group.

Alexandra Wythes ’23 and her mom, Mai Mai, did a volunteer docent shift at the 2024 Decorator Showcase in May. If you would like to be a Showcase volunteer, please contact us at decorator.showcase@sfuhs.org. We

have many different types of Showcase volunteer roles and time commitments for alums and parents of alums.

Twelve athletes in the Class of 2024 will be going on to play in college next year. Nationwide, only six percent of high school student athletes go on to play at the next level. Congratulations to these college athletes!

Kamila Baker lacrosse, Skidmore College

Cole Boake basketball, Claremont McKenna College

Mila Chan volleyball, Connecticut College

Jordan Chau track & field, Occidental College

Ohene Dah track & field, Emory University

Madeleine Dimitre volleyball, Carleton College

Gabriella Kelley basketball, University of Pennsylvania

Lucinda Laughlin cross-country, Washington University, St. Louis

Dean Myers fencing, Haverford College

Isabella Ong soccer, UCSB

Will Perkins basketball, Colby College

Lauren Williams golf, Le Moyne College

FACULTY

Joel Chapman, past music instructor, conductor, bass-baritone, songwriter, and power wheelchair user, now in New York, is developing an app called Transit Access to put accessibility first. This app will be the first resource to check when you find an elevator is out of service; when you don’t know where to board; when you don’t know the accessible signage to look for. Learn more about Joel’s project at indiegogo.com/ projects/transit-access#

Last winter Joe Di Prisco, past English instructor, published his eighth book, My Last Resume, a compilation of new and collected poems spanning more than five decades. Joe is the chair of the New Literary Project, driving social change by unleashing artistic power in neglected, overlooked, and undervalued communities.

Diane Schroeder shares that 2024 Schadenfreude was held at Rob Spivack’s home. This annual event takes place on the first day of the UHS fall semester, when beloved colleagues are returning to their classrooms. Front row: Bruce Lamott, music; Joanne Sugiyama, registrar; Diana Wild, librarian; Rob Spivack, science. Back row: Carolyn McNulty, history; Jon Reider, college admissions; Sudie Sides, history; Everett Rosemond, Spanish; Prudy Kohler, arts; Diane Schroeder, athletics.

Last March, Sublunary Editions published a novella by English Instructor Michael Holt, The Seaside Hotel. In October his short story collection, How We Got Into This, was published by 11:11 Press.

MYSTERY FOR THE CLASSES OF THE ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s…

An anonymous member of our community has turned in a piece of lost property, and we hope you can help us find the owner. The UHS Alumni Association has received a contract of indentured servitude for a man named Matthew Norman of Great Britain, dated 1741. We believe that the document was brought to a UHS history class during the latter part of the 20th century and forgotten by the student who brought it in. The document is in remarkably excellent condition. The UHS Library is unable to steward this document, so we hope one of Matthew Norman’s descendants will come forward to claim it. We have been in touch with Scott Norman ’81, who says he is not the right Norman. Please contact UHS.alumni@sfuhs.org with any leads, or with suggestions for where we can donate this piece of history.

RTY PIZZ

Pizza Party introduces Pizza Party Professional!

We’re so glad to see so many alums getting together IRL… this is a record number of Pizza Party submissions!

We have a new twist on Pizza Party: Pizza Party Professional! Thanks to the Alumni Association G.O.L.D. (Graduates of the Last Decade) committee for suggesting this enhancement. Now, TWO alums can get up to $50 reimbursement when they meet in person for career networking or mentorship over coffee. Use the Red Devil Alumni Network on LinkedIn or Alumnifire to find an alum you’d like to ask for career advice, a new job, advice on grad school, etc. Not sure who to reach out to? Want to offer yourself as a resource? We suggest posting in our private LinkedIn Group or on Alumnifire!

Ethan Isenman ’17, Ben Guggenheim ’17, Ishmael Maxwell ’17, Jake Tulchinsky ’17, Rowan Mcgarry-Williams ’17

Hayden Deffarges ’20, Mary Qiu ’20, Lukas Bacho ’20, David Wignall ’21, Sarah Walcott ’22

Sam Kominowski ’20, Catherine Ko ’20, Alex Sheft ’19

Braeden Wong ’20, Eva Krueger ’20, Emily Lai ’20

Justin Tse ’07, Izzy Rittenberg ’07, Annie Shapiro ’07

Philadelphia Black ’23, Sophie Jones ’23, Anya Armentrout ’23, Victoria Mann ’23

Lindsey Simon ’11, Vika Smilansky ’11, Zoë Fuchs ’11, Katie Kirkland ’11, Emmeline Hill ’11: “Welcome baby Aria Smilansky!”

Jordan Tse ’09, Jaslyn Law ’07, Henry Rittenberg ’11: “Welcomed Jordan and Henry back to the Bay with pizza!”

Alumnifire

Benjamin Johnson ’23, Mary Kelly ’23, Kalyani Nair ’23

Judith Edwards ’19, Colin Cooper ’19, Roxie Miles ’19: “Colin and Judith are starting their PhDs at UC Berkeley, in chemistry and microbiology, respectively!”

When you get three or more alums together for any kind of snack, we’ll reimburse you up to $50. Just send us photos with your tablemates, the restaurant check, and the reason for your get-together. Only one submission per person per year, please, and only UHS alums may be in the photo to qualify for reimbursement. Find details at sfuhs.org/pizzaparty.

Katy Chamberlain Hope ’96, Leslie Brenman ’96, Crissy Wong ’96

Leslie Manace Brenman ’96, Katy Chamberlain Hope ’96, Crissy Wong ’96: “Crissy, Katy, and I, along with two other friends since kindergarten, celebrated our birthdays in Tahiti last fall.”

Sabrina Adler ’98, Jessica Weber ’98, Charlotte Cooper ’98, Dan Shain ’98

Alex Low ’98, Sabrina Adler ’98, Dan Shain ’98, Jessica Weber ’98

Ian Browne ’17, Emily Minus ’17, Camila Vergara ’17

Alex Sheft ’19, Amy Yu ’19, Tulasi Holdridge ’20

Ella Tang ’20, Jenna Tam ’20, Clara Chung ’20

Dash Nakahata ’23, Orlando Scheil ’23, Claiborne Martell ’23, Isabelle Oh ’23

Zoe Kosmowski ’23, Victoria Mann ’23, Sophie Jones ’23, Anya Armentrout ’23, Tobin Parkhill ’23

Catherine Kawaja ’20, Paige Pedrero ’20, Hayden Deffarges ’20, Devan Paul ’20

Lily Zhong ’18, Jolie Villegas ’18, Jane Rand ’18

Matthew Gin ’21, Mishka Shirin-Stroh ’21, Shrey Varma ’21

Norbu Globus ’16, Samantha Lam ’16, Spencer Alexander ’16, Elise Marlin ’16

Sam Kominowski ’20, Catherine Ko ’20, Tulasi Holdridge ’20

Sarah Camacho ’19, Reed Schwartz ’19, Fiona Brauer ’19

ONE DEGREE

WHAT’S YOUR ONE DEGREE EXPERIENCE?

One Degree is a recurring section of the UHS Journal magazine, sharing stories of alumni who work together or volunteer together after UHS. What’s your One Degree experience? Send us the story at UHSalumni@sfuhs.org. See page 30 to learn about ways to expand your career network and make meaningful connections with other alumni.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“By total random luck, some fellow UHSers and I found each other here at the Gates Foundation! A few months ago, Helen, Carolyn, and I had lunch together and took a picture to prove it.” Austin Moreman ’15 shared that she was working on the Immunization Team with Helen Matzger ’84 on an interim assignment. In the course of getting to know each other, they realized they were both from San Francisco, and Helen went on to introduce Austin to Carolyn Wendell ’04. Left to right: Austin Moreman ’15, Program Assistant, Office of the President—Global Development; Helen Matzger ’84, Deputy Director of Vaccine Programs; Carolyn Wendell ’04, Deputy Director of Strategy, Planning, and Management for Early Learning.

Marin Country Day School

Mare Kalin Manangan ’87 and her former 3rd-grade student Kirk Steyer ’13 reunited in the classroom as teaching partners at Marin Country Day School after 20 years apart. Kirk joined her as an associate teacher for the 2023–2024 school year. For both, it was a full-circle experience and a stellar year. This year, Kirk is an associate teacher in 4th grade, while Mare will continue to teach 2nd grade in the Willow classroom at MCDS. Mare has been with MCDS since 1999, and has held many important roles over the years, including founder of the Turtle Rock summer program, head of the Middle School, and co-director of the STEM summer program WonderLab. She has been teaching 2nd grade for 15 years.

Wonderfest

Last winter, Hillary Moses Daluz ’99 spoke about the field of forensic science at Wonderfest. Hillary is a fingerprint examiner for the U.S. Army and a director of the International Association for Identification. She is the author of five books, including Fundamentals of Fingerprint Analysis and Courtroom Testimony for Fingerprint Examiners. Established in 1997 by past UHS science instructor Tucker Hiatt, Wonderfest’s mission is to inspire and nurture a deep sense of wonder about the world. Wonderfest programs— including public science gatherings in the San Francisco Bay Area and online science discourse & video — aspire to stimulate curiosity, promote careful reasoning, challenge unexamined beliefs, and encourage life-long learning. Kendra Kramlich ’00, science enthusiast and investment advisor, is a member of the Wonderfest board of directors.

From the Department of Getting Older

This is a first for UHS! Diane Schroeder, past associate athletic director and director of physical education, shares that “Peter Callander, MD, ’83 replaced my hip, and Minung Yoon, MD, ’83 was my anesthesiologist!” Diane’s surgery was performed at Novato Community Hospital.

INQUIRY AGENCY CARE INTERCONNECTION