Letter From the Head

Julia Russell Eells, head of school

Intersections present us with opportunities that come with inevitable questions and occasional trepidation, relief, and joy. Entering an intersection and then stepping over a threshold to a new path is—in many ways— what the high school experience is all about. In my career as a lifelong educator, I have found myself happiest when I am working with students and adults at those thresholds. Admissions, college counseling, faculty hiring, and creating new structures and spaces for growth and learning all incorporate choices at various forks in the road. The intersections and thresholds that we faced (and created!) in the midst of the pandemic, the presidential election, and the national reckoning of social and racial injustice challenged even the most seasoned and comfortable in the face of unexpected roadblocks and detours.

As we entered the academic year in August 2020, we did so with guarded optimism that we might return to a somewhat “normal” school year, but we were thwarted, week after week, by rising COVID cases. Ultimately, we were able to bring half our student body to campus by February, in rotations with the other half. As the school year wore on, our fierce focus was on our community’s well-being, academic growth, and safety. We closed out the year with the strong belief that we delivered a highly effective academic program that included space for deep dives on wellness, antiracism, and meaningful connection.

With the growing rate of vaccination and the subsiding of COVID cases by May, we held commencement for the Class of 2021 at our stunning Paul Goode Field athletics complex, on a windswept morning in the Presidio. After sending off the seniors, the faculty and staff returned to campus for an outdoor luncheon with the Class of 2020, offering them an opportunity to say goodbye to their campus and their teachers. More than 75 members of the class attended, and we learned that “last year’s seniors” had taken a variety of unconventional pathways in the fall of 2020. Some packed up and headed to college campuses; others traveled with friends, moving from Airbnb to Airbnb, while attending classes remotely. Some attended their first college classes from their bedrooms and kitchen tables at home while helping out with their families. Several took gap years to work on political campaigns or to intern in the tech, medicine, social services, or finance sectors. I believe the work we have done, as a school, to remain responsive to the needs of our students has resulted in the kind of creative agency that the Class of 2020 displayed at the height of the COVID crisis.

Julia Russell Eells meets with new faculty at opening meetings.

In this issue of the Journal, you’ll read about our students, faculty, staff, families, and alumni facing a variety of crossroads at school and in their lives. Navigating the third rail of financial aid in college and high school admissions; holding mirrors up to our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) programming and progress; unveiling Summerbridge’s increased alignment with the national Breakthrough Collaborative; carrying forward a historic capital campaign; and welcoming new leadership to the Head of School’s office all point to a school that is growing, stretching, and adapting to meet the needs of our students in a new world context. Our new-student enrollment continues to reflect the diversity of the Bay Area, and our college matriculation continues to reflect the ambitious inquiry of our seniors.

We could not continue on our path of institutional growth and self-reflection without the volunteer and financial (annual and capital) support of those who are listed on the pages of the 2020–21 Annual Report. Your willingness to partner with us on this journey—at all of the intersections—is a testament to the community’s trust in our shared vision and core values. As I contemplate the intersections that lie ahead for my June 2022 retirement, I do so with excitement for the arrival of incoming Head of School Matt Levinson, with the deepest gratitude to our donors and trustees, as well as heartfelt admiration of our students, faculty, and staff. I also carry the deep conviction that UHS is prepared to face many challenges at every intersection— equipped with the right tools and with steadfast confidence that a dynamic and bright future always lies ahead of us.

Julia Russell Eells

INTRODUCING MATT LEVINSON

On behalf of the UHS Board of Trustees and the Head of School Search Committee, it is our great pleasure to announce that Matt Levinson has been unanimously selected as our next Head of School starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Matt will succeed Julia Russell Eells in July 2022, following Julia’s remarkable nine-year tenure as Head of School.

More information about Matt, including a letter from Matt to the UHS Community can be found on the UHS Head of School Search web page.

Welcome New Faculty and Staff

JT Brown joins our staff as the new registrar, replacing Joanne Sugiyama, who served as our registrar for 33 years and retired at the end of the 2020–21 school year. JT has more than 20 years of experience as a registrar, most recently serving as the registrar at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, and holds a BA in business administration from Fresno Pacific University.

Our Language Department welcomes Ben Chang as a Spanish instructor. For close to twenty years, Spanish language— most notably Spanish-language acquisition—has been a central point of Ben’s life focus. He most recently worked as a Spanish teacher, advisor, and coach at the Nueva School, and previously served as a world language faculty member at Drew School and as a Spanish instructor at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. Ben earned a BA degree from Tufts University, an MA in Spanish philology from Middlebury College, and a Certificate in Elementary Education and Secondary School Spanish from the College of New Jersey in Mallorca, Spain.

Dr. Nandita Dinesh joins UHS this fall as the director of the Human Development Department. Nandita brings a wealth of experiences from the United World College, as the associate director of the Bartos Institute for Constructive Engagement of Conflict (2015–2018), head of performing arts (2015), and head of arts, theatre arts & literature teacher, and experiential education head (2011–2014). After graduating from Wellesley College with a BA in theatre studies and economics, she received an MA in performance studies from New York University and a PhD in drama from the University of Cape Town. We are excited to see her unique background in the arts, service learning, experiential education, and curriculum development helping the Human Development Department flourish. Our Athletics Department welcomes A’Jaee Foster as the assistant athletics director. A’Jaee has served as the assistant women’s basketball coach at Academy of Art University and as the director of analytics at Gonzaga University, where the women’s basketball team won a 2018–19 conference championship. She earned an associate degree in sociology, a bachelor’s degree in social work, and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.

Nelson Funes joins our Science Department, teaching Honors Biology and Advanced Bio electives. Nelson attended San Francisco State University, where he earned a BA in Latin American studies (Raza Studies), and was an Honor Scholar Graduate, with a concentration in biology, at Los Medanos College. His postgraduate studies were at the Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, where he earned his teaching credential with a concentration in biology.

Arts instructor Bria Goeller will be teaching Drawing and Painting III and co-teaching AP Studio Art. Bria is a San Francisco artist, designer, and educator with a BA in art and education from Emory University. She also studied at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (Denmark, Sweden, and Ireland) and the Sarah College for Higher Tibetan Studies (India). At Drepung Monastic University (India), she explored intersections between Eastern and Western medicine.

Our Human Development team welcomes De Shan Lett as our new Director of Learning Services. De Shan received her M.S.Ed. from CUNY - Lehman College, and her B.A. from Wayne State University, and attended a graduate program at Cornell University. De Shan lives by the belief that “life is about the journey, not the destination.” De Shan brings to UHS experience from the Charles Armstrong Day School, where she served as both Middle School Director and Associate Director of Equity & Inclusion. She also worked at Park Day School as Middle School Director, Burgundy Farm Country Day School as Director of Academic and Student Support & Interim Middle School Head, and the Emma Willard School as Director of Cognitive Skills.

Ernesto Mazar Kindelan

joins our Music Department as a music instructor, teaching Chamber Orchestra and Beginning Instruments. Ernesto graduated from Holy Names University with a master’s degree in art, and received a BA degree from Instituto Superior de Artes in Costa Rica. A highly skilled and versatile musician, Ernesto taught at the Golden Gate Bass Camp in San Francisco this summer, creating a curriculum including Latin, jazz, and improvisation courses.

Early this summer, our business office welcomed Laura Miller as the new director of human resources. Laura is a driven human resources leader with deep experience and success in building and growing teams, applying a people-centric focus, identifying opportunities, and delivering solutions. She previously served as the head of human resources at Seal Software in Walnut Creek and as the director of human resources at Ariat International in Union City. She holds a BS in business administration from California State University at Northridge and a Human Resources Management Certificate from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Nikhil Paladugu ’12 returns to his alma mater to join the Arts Department. Nikhil will be teaching all levels of our ceramics program. He received his BA degree in neuroscience and art from Swarthmore College and his MFA degree from the Art Center College of Design. As an alumnus of the UHS ceramics program, Nikhil strongly believes in the holistic capacity of creative and visual arts to empower students to maximize their potential.

In April 2021, Marjan Philhour joined our development team as our new campaign associate, responsible for major gift fundraising. She is also our liaison to the Parents Association. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Marjan was most recently a candidate to represent District 1 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. In addition to serving in the offices of Mayor London Breed, John Kerry, and Governor Gray Davis, she has provided counsel and oversight to nonprofits and private corporations in the areas of fundraising and strategy. Marjan also cofounded the Balboa Village Merchants Association, is a member of the Filipina Women’s Network, and has served on the boards of the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women and the SF National Women’s Political Caucus. Marjan and her husband, UHS’s own Byron Philhour, also became new UHS parents this fall, as we welcomed Joey to the class of 2025. Mary Stares joins our business office team as manager of operations, responsible for many of the day-to-day non-financial activities for UHS. Mary has more than 15 years of administrative and operational experience; she most recently served as a residential senior staff member at the San Francisco Zen Center. She has a BA in history and is a certified Canadian Red Seal Journeyman Carpenter and a Zen Buddhist priest with 22 years of practice and teaching, after receiving her monastic training in locations worldwide.

Teresa Vo joins the development office as a development associate. Teresa most recently served as the business resource associate at the YMCA of San Francisco, where she managed donations and development campaigns. She holds a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics from the University of California. n