STEVENSON SC HO OL
ALUMNI MAGAZINE
SPRING/SUMMER 2011
A LUM N I M AGAZI N E
Photo by Dennis Drenner
F EATU R E S 28 DR. ROLAND GRIFFITHS ’64 LEADS THE WAY IN PIONEERING THE STUDY OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
When caffeine was hardly considered a drug decades ago, Dr. Roland Griffiths’ research demonstrated how caffeine is a psychoactive drug with an associated withdrawal syndrome in humans. Years later, energy drinks became his focus, and today Griffiths is the lead scientist researching the effects of the hallucinogen psilocybin with a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In fact, it’s difficult to find a psychopharmacological substance he hasn’t studied.
34 BY MIXING PASSION WITH PURPOSE, ASHLEY ’02 AND AUSTIN ’05 COLEMAN ARE MAKING AN IMPACT ON A BROADER SCALE
When this sister-and-brother team set out to launch their own wine brand, they wanted to create more than great-tasting wine. They wanted to make a difference. With a strong family background in the wine business, Ashley and Austin Coleman are doing just that with Greater Purpose wines, which gives back 55 percent of profits to philanthropic causes. At the same time, recent wine awards give this duo industry credibility.
Cover photo by London-based fashion photographer Josh Olins (www.josholins.com)
Dr. Roland Griffiths ’64 at The Johns Hopkins University where he pioneers the research of mood altering substances. Read the whole story on page 28.
40 NEW YORK FASHION EXEC
ANDREW ROSEN ’75 TURNS CREATIVITY INTO NEW TRENDS Few people have the vision to set new fashion trends, but Andrew Rosen, founder and CEO of Theory, has met the needs of the modern, fast-paced, tech-savvy consumer with his clothing brand. In addition to running Theory, Rosen continues trendsetting by partnering with up-and-coming clothing brands and explains how this collaboration keeps him fresh. He also launched the Theory Icon Project, a charitable part of his business which sponsors philanthropic and artistic programs.
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DEPARTMENTS 3 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 4
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STEVENSON STORIES
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CONTRIBUTORS
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
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Catch up on the personal stories and adventures of fellow alumni.
64 VIEW FROM THE BACK PORCH
Frank Stephenson reflects on the positive effects of diversity and the role of adults in building a child’s confidence.
A freerunner, a fashionista, and three Expo gurus give self-expression new meaning for Stevenson alumni.
13 CAMPUS NEWS
Students’ quest for excellence was realized through awards, scholarships, artistic inspirations, and heartfelt relief efforts.
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18 SPORTS WRAP
Practice makes perfect for Stevenson Pirates in golf, track, tennis, swimming, and cross-country.
20 FACULTY NEWS Transitions and a new addition are the themes with Stevenson faculty.
22 THE PIRATE REVIEW
A showcase of larger-than-life paintings, engaging novels, and even innovative rap music.
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Spring term at Stevenson is filled with excitement and anticipation. More sunshine breaks through the fog, the final trimester of classes wraps up, new friendships begin as old relationships mature, and assembly moves outdoors. But spring also brings a sense of transition and growth to our community — one that is a natural and normal part of the Stevenson experience. For some time now seniors have been consumed with the college selection process. As we print this magazine, they are sitting for final and Advanced Placement examinations. Accomplishments celebrated, awards presented, and friendships shared — their days on campus grow fewer. And as they move on, they make room for the new students enrolling and new families joining the community — all eager to be a part of the Stevenson legacy and the “great adventure in learning.” Next year’s students will see some fresh faces as we induct a strong group of new teachers and say goodbye to several beloved faculty members, including Lindsay Jeffers ’65, Bob Tintle, Mary Pendlay, Sallye Foster, and Cindy Gates. Changes are happening among our coaching staff as well, as Germano Diniz ’88 hands off to Bruce Dini ’77 in football. Read the stories about these transitions in the “Faculty News” section.
In the Advancement Office, we welcome the transition of an alumna to a staff member — Elena Rhodes Sexton ’89 has joined us as the new Director of Communications for Stevenson School. Elena returns to the Peninsula after 15 years in corporate communications at Seagate Technology in Scotts Valley. She inherits the lion’s share of the heavy lifting for this magazine and will focus on improving the way we communicate with our alumni, parents, and friends. Significant growth is also occurring on our two campuses. After 45 years, renovation has finally begun on Casco Dormitory, formerly Senior Annex. It will be expanded to add more beds for boarders. The Carmel Campus (home to grades PK-8 and donated to Stevenson in 1988) has begun to refurbish space for new classrooms and the kids are getting a new turf field for a better athletic experience. Plans to add faculty housing on Faculty Drive are ready and waiting for permits. And the construction of a new health, wellness, and fitness facility, including a new pool, remains the biggest near-term programmatic challenge on the Pebble Beach Campus.
share with others. George Kelley ’68, Jeff Hildebrand ’67, and Skip Manning ’67 did just that when they each sent a “Letter to the Editor” reminding me that good golf at Stevenson actually started in the 1960s (earlier than the 1970s as stated in an article in the Spring 2010 magazine). But their real message was this — the hard work, commitment to strong values, and the enduring relationships with peers and adults at Stevenson were the most important influences for their success and happiness today. These personal letters remind us what is at the core of the Stevenson experience. Come back and visit soon, and keep those stories coming. Jeff Clark Director of Advancement & Editor
While these noteworthy transitions affect the structure and appearance of the campuses, at its heart, Stevenson is still your school. I encourage you to keep sending us your “Stevenson Stories” to
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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Have an opinion about the Stevenson Alumni Magazine? Any thoughts on a past story or an idea to share? We want to hear about it! Please email your feedback, opinions, and letters to alumni@stevensonschool.org and we’ll feature it in the next issue.
Fall/Winter 2010 Stevenson Alumni Magazine
I have a few moments in my “overthe-top” busy medical schedule to comment on the last Alumni Council Day. I particularly appreciated the credible glimpses we were afforded of the challenges (financial, academic competitiveness, marketing) of a modern prep school. The day was topped off for me with a true “Stevenson moment” at the reception, when Frank Keith responded to my statement that I needed to acquire another Stevenson tie by spontaneously ripping his own Stevenson tie from his neck and giving it to me as a parting gift! I have shared that story with my mom and wife, and as members of the Stevenson family, we will always cherish the gesture and its profound symbolism. Thanks again for the opportunity to stay connected with the Stevenson community in a very meaningful way. Sincerely, Sam Lyons ’73 The Alumni Council recognizes individual alumni for their contributions to the school. If you are interested in getting more involved with alumni activities, please contact Frank Stephenson at 831.625.8331 or fstephenson@ stevensonschool.org.
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I just finished reading “View From the Back Porch” and I can no longer put off what I have been meaning to do for quite some time and that is pay compliment to the extraordinary writing. During the 2009 – 2010 school year, inasmuch as my son PJ had decided that Stevenson was his number one choice for high school, should he be fortunate to gain admission, I read each of the installments of “View From the Back Porch.” I enjoyed them so much and found them so inspiring and insightful, I read those that were archived as well. I do believe that the manner in which Frank Stephenson so artfully describes life at Stevenson, both in the present and the past, in some measure influenced our decision to grant PJ’s wish to attend Stevenson, which by the way was very difficult for us as parents, being some 2,000 miles away. It appears that the decision was a wise one. PJ is very happy at Stevenson and is proud to be a Pirate, and we are equally proud to be Stevenson parents. Thank you very much for your wonderful words, and as always I look forward to the next installment.
I just read the latest issue of “View From the Back Porch.” I really have to say that I am very enamored with Frank Stephenson’s writing style and his take on daily life as it really is. I am always fascinated with his perception of things and how he makes the connection between real life and things of beauty out in nature. He gives us something to ponder, and relate to. He allows us to feel part of daily life on campus, even though we have children who are, by all natural processes, pushing us away appropriately. I just love reading the stories in each Pirate Log. I am most thankful to Mr. Frank Stephenson and to Mr. Warren Anderson for what you do for us “off campus” students of life.
All the best,
Very sincerely,
John Maniatis Parent of PJ Maniatis ’14
Sue Crampton, Parent of Sebastian Crampton ’14
FACT FIX: Chris Dalhamer’s ’89 graduation year was incorrectly cited as 1988 in the “Alumni Spotlight” in Fall/Winter 2010 issue.
STEVENSON STORIES EDITOR’S NOTE: Taking umbrage with our golf article in the first edition of the Stevenson Alumni Magazine, Jeff Hildebrand ’67, George Kelley ’68, and Skip Manning ’67 wrote in to say, “If you think that good golf began with the Bobby Clampett era at RLS, it started a little earlier with a fine group of young men from the late 60s.” Jeff, George, and Skip have given us wonderful stories of their golfing experiences prior to, during, and after their time at Stevenson.
These stories deserve to be read in their entirety, and so with thanks to Jeff, George, and Skip, we have created an online “Stevenson Stories” page on our website (www.stevensonschool.org/ stories). They are but a tip of the iceberg of Stevenson memories involving sports, theater, music, and a host of other moments our alumni recall from their days here; and we’d like to collect them. They are the threads that bind places like Stevenson together, and we invite all alumni to participate.
Their stories include a cast of characters, from professional musicians (including Robby Krieger of The Doors) to professional golfers, and from the 1960 U.S. Open when Skip latched onto Arnold Palmer's famous visor after his win, to George playing against Tom Watson at Stanford. They are stories of boys who found and worked at a passion that took them to college golf at USC, to playing in the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, and the 1975 British Open at Carnoustie, and to making careers of the game as professionals, golf course management experts, and president of the California Golf Course Owners Association. This generation of Stevenson golfers included George, Peter Fluor ’66, Steve Barlow ’67, Skip, Lee Danielson ’66, Jeff, Claude Wynn ’68, Jackson Booth ’68, and John Swanson ’66 and they came from Colorado and Bakersfield, from Berkeley and Pasadena, from the Central Valley and Texas, from Los Angeles and Arkansas. And they got to play their home course, Pebble Beach, every day and got to make the brand-new and “monster” Spyglass Hill their second home course when it opened in 1966. They consistently won league and CCS championships and were regarded as the cream of the golf crop from the talent-rich Monterey Peninsula.
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1. George Kelley at the 1985 Kapalua International Tournament 2. Jeff Hildebrand in full swing 3. George Kelley (left) with then head pro at Pebble Beach, Cam Puget 4. Skip Manning (right) presenting the famed visor to Arnold Palmer (center) with David Normoyle (left) assistant director of the USGA Museum
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CONTRIBUTORS 2
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1 PAUL
SCHRAUB is a professional photographer based in the Monterey Bay area and specializes in a wide range of photography, including architecture, portraits, promotion, lifestyle, art reproduction, food, products, and even dogs. With 25 years of shooting, Schraub is capable of meeting most any photographic challenge.
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JULEE KAPLAN is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant in New York. She has
been covering the business side of the fashion industry since 1999, having spent 10 years as a reporter at Women’s Wear Daily. Her work also has appeared in such publications as W, Glamour, Suede, and on AOL’s StyleList.com. She is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University’s Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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THOMAS KLETECKA, a native New Yorker, is a fashion and portrait photographer.
His passion for taking pictures turned into a profession in his late 20s. He studied at the School of Visual Arts and has been photographing professionally since 2001. He lives and works in New York.
DENNIS DRENNER is based in Baltimore, Maryland and has photographed extensively around the United States and all over the world. Dennis’ work has won numerous awards and his clients include such publications as the Washington Post, New York Times, US News and World Report, The Sunday Times (London), and Der Spiegel (Germany). 4
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JANET KORNBLUM is an award-winning, nationally known journalist with an
investigative background. At USA Today, she covered a wide range of topics from social networking to caregiving, green issues, health, science, and breaking news. As a founding writer and editor for CNET News, she has a deep understanding of the Internet — from the nuts and bolts on up. Janet is now a full-time independent journalist, writer, and investigator.
PAUL WILNER is a veteran reporter and editor, and he is a frequent contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. Wilner was also editor of the San Francisco Chronicle “Style” section and the San Francisco Examiner Magazine, and managing editor of The Hollywood Reporter. 6
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ALUMNI
SPOTLIGHT
Brian Orosco ’01 can leap a small building in a single bound. He can scale walls, turn rooftops into stepping stones, bounce off a bus, flip off a fence, and land on his feet. Something akin to an animated action hero, he is a professional freerunner who lets nothing get in his way.
Some call parkour a performance, while others see it as a sport. Brian considers it a lifestyle.
How did you get into freerunning? I was always an athlete. When I was in middle school I was one of those kids who would run and climb and jump off things. My buddy and I started with freestyle walking in shoes with grind plates on them. In high school, I put it in my back pocket forgot about it for a while, as I got interested in other
things. But my freshman year of college I got a call from a friend, who said, “Hey, there’s a name for the thing we used to do; it’s called parkour.” When I graduated and moved to San Francisco, I started searching for different things to do. I looked into club teams for softball or football, and then I thought of that conversation with my high school friend. I Googled “SF Parkour” and that’s what popped up. I’ve been involved with the local parkour community since that day.
How did you turn your freerunning hobby into a career? At a jam in Southern California, I met a group wearing shoes by a rock climbing company called Five Ten. I found that Five Ten was in the process of developing a freerunning shoe called, not surprisingly, the freerunner.
Photo by Andy Batt
Freerunning, often known as parkour, is a physical discipline founded in France, whose participants are trained to move fast and free, overcoming any obstacle in their path by shifting form and flexibility to suit the situation. Although parkour athletes are concerned with getting from point A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible, freerunning is more about self-expression, and involves both forward and backward movement. A hybrid of martial arts meets acrobatics meets gymnastics meets track and field; this is the stuff of stunt work.
BRIAN OROSCO ’01
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SPOTLIGHT
I set my sights on being sponsored by Five Ten and spent a lot of time developing my skill until I felt worthy of asking them to sponsor me. They became aware of my efforts and offered me a sponsorship deal. To pick up that sponsorship after training just a year, I began to see another side of it, that I could actually make something of it. Rather than it being a hobby, it was a career. During training, I met Paul Darnell out of Virginia, who was creating Tempest Freerunning, a professional team to be used in the entertainment world. Paul asked me to join the team, and I started doing backflips in my apartment. It was the first time I realized I might be able to change my life and do what I like.
Tell us about Ninja Warrior.
would have at least heard of Brian Orosco or NoSole (my nickname), but Ninja Warrior gave me a name apart from my freerunning counterparts. I’ve been to Japan four times and participated in American Ninja Warrior boot camp. My last trip to Japan was my most successful, as I was the only American to make it to Stage 3, and one of only five out of the original 10 competitors to advance that far in the competition.
How has parkour affected your perspective? Once you start training, jumping off walls, climbing over things, and catching air, you start to see the world in a whole different way; it all becomes a huge playground. Now, I view the world in movement rather than actual shapes. I feel about parkour the way you do when you fall in love with someone. I think about it all the time, it’s always in my head, I’m excited about it. I will do this till the day I die, till my body can’t take it. Even then, I’ll find a way to be involved. It’s part of me for life.
Brian shared some updates on his career since this article ran in 831 Magazine. He was recently featured on Jump City Seattle, the first ever parkour championship competition series (G4TV). Brian played a key role in the final competition, stepping up to the leadership position when a teammate broke his wrist. With some stellar performances in the “sudden death” round, Brian led Team Tempest to victory making it the first ever Pro Parkour League (PPL) champions. In an effort to support this rapidly-growing new extreme sport, his team Tempest Freerunning just opened the first gym solely dedicated to freerunning in California, and possibly the world. You can search “Tempest Freerunning Academy” on YouTube to check out the video which has already topped more than 2.5 million views. Brian’s mom, Mary Kay Orosco, who works in Stevenson’s College Center, had some comments to share as well. “I am so proud of Brian for stepping out of the mainstream and pursuing his passion. Not enough of us are able to do that!”
Article courtesy of 831 Magazine
Ninja Warrior has been a very important part of my success and the growth of my notoriety among the general public. Most people in the freerunning world
Photo by Andy Batt
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DE B B I E LIN ’01
Debbie Lin ’01 is a musician, a fashionista, a singer, a social advocate, a marketing professional, and a businesswoman — and that’s just this week. Her multifaceted, enthusiastic personality shines through in her online clothing and accessories store, dbyj (defined by your journey). And as the name suggests, dbyj.com is not just a web store — it’s a life philosophy. “Everyone always wants to put you in a box,” says Debbie. “You’re an artist, an athlete, a business person. It’s natural to assess things, but I believe we are more interesting and capable of being more
Debbie’s dbyj Sprightly Scarves are available in a variety colors. Go to www.dbyj.com to see the entire collection.
when we see ourselves as the sum of our experiences, not just one thing.” Offering bamboo scarves, boxers made of the “softest fabric ever,” and “cute and yummy” earrings, dbyj is about embracing your individuality, while mindfully existing in this world through ecological and economical fashion and community outreach. “I started out by wanting to make cool and unique accessories available and affordable, but it’s now about finding the perfect blend of classic comfort, timeless trends, and environmentally friendly products,” says Debbie. Having personally suffered from severe allergies, Debbie is always looking for natural fabrics and products. Bamboo, in addition to being the world’s fastest-growing plant, is completely biodegradable and naturally pest- and insect-resistant. It is also ultrasoft and absorbs greenhouse gases 400% more
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SPOTLIGHT
Debbie’s dbyj BOoXERS© are made from bamboo — super soft and ecological. The pajama set includes Soytton Timeless Tank and BOoXERS.
effectively than trees. dbyj features a variety of bamboo products, including “BOoXERS” (which are 70 percent bamboo and 30 percent organic cotton), scarves, robes, t-shirts, tank tops, headbands, baby items, and more. Debbie credits some of her adventurous, creative life approach to Stevenson for encouraging her to participate in a variety of disciplines. “Stevenson gave me the space and opportunity to find my own way. I was able to try new things in an environment that rewards students for their differences, rather than what makes everyone the same.” After Stevenson, Debbie went to UCLA to study music. In addition to her rigorous studies, she was president of the Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Societies, which encourage and reward academic excellence and assist students in recognizing and developing meaningful goals in society. She graduated cum laude in 2005 and received the UCLA Chancellor’s
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Service Award, the Women for Change Leadership Award, and the UCLA Distinguished Service Award.
“Stevenson gave me the space and opportunity to find my own way. I was able to try new things in an environment that rewards students for their differences, rather than what makes everyone the same.” As Debbie’s awards list proves, she also feels strongly about her role in being a “good global citizen” and helping others. Debbie’s brother died of leukemia when she was 12, and she donates a portion of dbyj proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and has plans to
donate to the Make A Wish Foundation as well. She also recently completed a half-marathon through the LLS Team in Training program. Debbie notes that although her Stevenson classmates might remember her wearing only high heels, her attire for her half-marathon was equally fashionable — a dbyj bamboo tank top, scarf, BOoXERS, and some “very stylish black” running shoes. “dbyj is not about getting rich; it’s about making a difference,” adds Debbie. Family, friends, alumni, nonprofits, and classmates are likely to get a discount if they ask. She says, laughing, “I give so much away — that’s probably why I’m not making much of a profit.” Debbie continues to define her own journey with future plans, including starting a nonprofit, launching an art and fashion show in the fall, recording a CD, publishing a book of haikus, and graduating from The New School with her master’s in media studies this month.
WILL HERTLEIN ’05 KIRSTIN OLSON ’05 RUSS STERTEN ’06 Since its creation at Stevenson 17 years ago, the Sophomore Wilderness Expedition has been the cornerstone and highlight of the school’s Outdoor Education Program. In fact, if you ask faculty, many would say that “Expo” has been the seminal Stevenson experience for a majority of the alumni who participated. For three recent graduates, Expo was all that was promised — and more. Will Hertlein ’05, Kirstin Olson ’05, and Russ Sterten ’06 have not only incorporated the great outdoors into their personal lifestyles but they returned again this year to help lead the expedition for current Stevenson sophomores.
“During Expo my senior year, a few of the other co-leaders and I started tossing the idea around that in a few years we would all come back and volunteer as instructors together,” recalls Will. And so the seed was planted, and years later, three alumni were able to return to help as leaders. “I am excited about being part of a program that made such a positive impact on me and to help others have a similarly profound experience,” says Russ. Kirstin agrees by adding, “I came back to this program because it changed my life.” For Russ, Will and Kirstin, being leaders at Expo is not entirely new to them. They all helped out as student co-leaders for Expo after their sophomore experience.
“Co-leaders had an uncommon level of responsibility, both because of the duty to ensure the other students’ safety, as well as the chance to give the sophomores the type of transformative experience that can only come from spending an extended period of time in the wilderness,” says Russ. Will goes further, adding, “Expo exposed me to new challenges and experiences, helped me grow as a leader, and gave me new friendships with classmates and instructors with whom I had had very little previous interaction.” Kirstin’s Expo memories are a bit more personal and emotional. She remembers getting off the bus after returning to 2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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SPOTLIGHT “The outdoors is what keeps me sane,” explains Russ, who is planning a career in education. Until then, the outdoors provides him with the perfect respite — a temporary escape from the hustle and bustle of modern life, the exhilaration of physical exertion, being surrounded by the beauty of natural scenery, and, of course, a great way to spend some uncompromised time with friends.
Will Hertlein ’05 at Machu Picchu
Pebble Beach, throwing her backpack on once again, and slowly walking back to the dorm. “Once I turned the corner of Douglas Hall, I cried the whole way back to Atwood dorm. I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness because I didn’t want to be back in the man-made world.” It was then she realized the life-changing impact of Expo. All three alumni continue to work hard keeping their love for the outdoors a part of their everyday adventures. Growing up in Monterey and then attending the University of Colorado has kept Will in close proximity to beautiful and accessible mountains, coastlines, and state and national parks. Even the majority of his vacations have been outdoor-oriented, including backpacking to Machu Picchu via the Inca trail and 12
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...she noted that there was no single lesson to be learned in those last hundred feet of trail. It was the entire experience that left an indelible imprint on her life. camping in the Gobi Desert and the Siberian tundra in Mongolia. In July, he begins working for Citigroup’s Investment Banking Division in the Global Technologies Group and says he is “particularly excited about this group as one of its main focuses is to cover clean technology.”
“I have to give my thanks to the Stevenson Outdoor Education Program for igniting the fire within me,” writes Kirstin. “It is solely due to this program that I am striving to be involved in wilderness conservation and preservation programs, wilderness education, and a life full of outdoor adventure and travel.” She is currently on a 30-day bike trip from Canada to Mexico called “pedaling border to border,” and is looking for a position in the search-and-rescue or wilderness education fields, or a wilderness ranger position. Kirstin noted that she was writing while sitting in her tent — in her backyard. “If you think it’s funny that I prefer to pitch my tent in the backyard rather than snuggle in a cushy bed, I would totally agree. But I thrive on nature’s ability to impact one’s life.” While preparing for this year’s expedition, Kirstin came across her weathered journal from her 2003 Expo trip. As she read through her daily entries, she noted that there was no single lesson to be learned in those last hundred feet of trail. It was the entire experience that left an indelible imprint on her life. Perhaps environmentalist John Muir was speaking for Kirstin and the many Stevenson alumni who return from Expo with a new appreciation for the outdoors when he said, “I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
C A M P U S & FA C U LT Y
NEWS
SYMPOSIUM 2011 INSPIRES & EDUCATES THROUGH ART The Symposium at Stevenson is an annual event that brings together the entire Pebble Beach Campus as a community of learners to study and discuss — on the same day — a significant issue of timely and global importance. Sponsored by academic departments on an annual rotation, this year’s symposium, titled Create & Connect with Art, the Original Social Network, was presented by the Fine Arts Department and organized by visual arts director Stephan Pratt. (continued on next page...)
Dance professional Darius Waldrup teaches students some hip-hop moves. 2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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NEWS SCIENCE FAIR HONORS Stevenson students took home an aggregate of 24 awards, citations, and placements in the 2011 Monterey County Science Fair. Kevin Tang ’12 earned nine personal awards, and along with Tom Kim ’12 and William Zhu ’12, represented Stevenson at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. This is the first time that Stevenson School has sent three individuals and two projects to this prestigious science fair. According to longtime science teachers Jack McAleer and Bob Tintle, Stevenson has never had this many entrants or winners in one year.
(Continued from previous page...) This year’s Symposium featured more than 30 individual and group performers and presenters, including actor Billy Boyd (who played “Pippin” in Lord of the Rings); Overtone, a South African a cappella group; and Alan Silvestri, Grammy Awardwinning composer for films such as Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, and Romancing the Stone. Stevenson alumni also returned for the event, including Gianni Aliotti ’95, an animator at DreamWorks; and Pam Keindl ’00, classical ballet dancer and instructor.
OMEDATOU! FÉLICITATIONS! Students recently shined at two foreignlanguage speech competitions. The Monterey Peninsula Alliance Française organized its inaugural Concours de Poésie Française, a French poetry recitation contest. Joseph Lee ’13 won first prize for his recitation. Alicia Cobbold ’12 won second prize. Fiona Heal ’12 and Cody Osborn ’12 each won Honorable Mention.
Students attended live performances (hip-hop, ballet, cultural dance, music), engaged in hands-on workshops and projects (documentary filmmaking, ceramics), and participated in discussions with leading arts professionals (brokers, composers, directors, photojournalists, sculptors, painters).
2011 NATHAN KRISSOFF AWARD RECIPIENT The Krissoff Award is named in honor of Stevenson graduate Nathan Krissoff ’99 who was killed in combat in Iraq in 2006. This year’s recipient is Cole Clark ’11. Cole was chosen by a committee of Stevenson faculty who used the exacting criteria that exemplified the award’s namesake: “The recipient should be utterly reliable, relentless in pursuing new experiences, loyal, fearless, unambiguous, and representative of the best that is Stevenson School.”
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Following the success of the French competition, Andy Chuang ’13 won first prize at the 5th Annual High School Japanese Speech Contest of Monterey County. He has also been selected as one of the finalists for the Eighth Annual AllUSA High School Japanese Speech Contest to be held in late May in Los Angeles.
STUDENTS SING THEIR WAY TO SACRAMENTO Eight singers were accepted out of nearly 1,000 students to participate in the 2011 All-State Honor Choir, which performed in Sacramento in April. Stevenson students selected included Kalinda Bittner ’11, Cole Clark ’11, Ben Hudson ’11, Erik Oh ’11, Paris Waranimman ’11, Michael Blackburn ’12, Jackie Choi ’12, and Frances (C.Y.) Lee ’12.
2011 ROBERT U. RICKLEFS SCHOLAR AWARD The Robert U. Ricklefs Scholar Award was established in 1985 by the Stevenson Alumni Association to honor our founder. It is given each year to a member of the junior class who exemplifies the values Mr. Ricklefs admired most in people: high scholarship, responsibility, consideration for others, loyalty, courage, and leadership.
Finalists for the Award are selected by vote of the junior class and the faculty; students receiving the most votes and who appear on both sets of nominations are the Ricklefs Scholar Award finalists. They submit a copy of their transcript, a resume, and an essay to the five alumni members of the Alumni Selection Committee and meet with the Committee for interviews. This year’s Committee
included Bob Lea ’57, Richard Stout ’62, Jennifer Keith Bergholz ’79, Peter Wilson ’92, and Farrah Kinney White ’94. Finalists this year were Carolyn Bruckmann ’12, Nick Halamandaris ’12, Casey Harlow ’12, and Tai Taliaoa ’12. The recipient of this year’s Award is Phil James ’12. The school’s motto, “Suaviter in Modo, Fortiter in Re” (Gentle in Manner, Strong in Deed), aptly describes these outstanding members of the Class of 2012.
Phil James ’12
Tai Taliaoa ’12 Nick Halamandaris ’12
Carolyn Bruckmann ’12
Casey Harlow ’12
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NEWS Anemone by Olivia Schultheis ’11
YOUNG SCULPTORS EARN TOP AWARDS Olivia Schultheis ’11 (right) and Paige McKay ’11 (left) earned top awards in the all-county sculpture competition organized by the Monterey Sculpture Center and bronze casting foundry in Marina. This year’s theme was “Indigenous Wildlife.” Olivia’s magical Anemone sculpture and Paige’s wonderful Octopus are on display in the Treasure Room Gallery in Rosen Student Center.
Larry Fischer, owner of Monterey Sculpture Center, and his staff of talented and dedicated professionals generously support our young student artists by donating materials, time, and inspiration to Mrs. Susott's teaching of this “Bronze Age” process.
JUNK TO FUNK
Where Art & Trash Meet The Carmel Campus recently combined environmentalism and fashion at the “Junk to Funk” fashion show, a culmination of a creative arts project 16
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Octopus by Paige McKay ’11
with students transforming everyday trash to serious fashion statements. Carmel Campus students from kindergarten through 8th grade made outfits out of all recyclable materials and modeled their creations for an audience of students, faculty, and family.
URIEL KIM ’11 HONORED AS GATES MILLENNIUM SCHOLAR Uriel Kim ’11 was recently chosen as one of only 1,000 talented students to become a Gates Millennium Scholar. This prestigious honor provides Uriel with good-through-graduation scholarship funds as well personalized professional development, leadership support, and academic resources throughout his college career. More than 25,000 applications were submitted for this program.
The program was established in 1996 and was initially funded through a $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Uriel will attend the University of Southern California and has been accepted into the school’s eight-year combined undergraduate and medical program.
The Gates Millennium Scholars Program promotes academic excellence and provides an opportunity for outstanding minority students with financial aid to support their highest potential.
Students Respond in Wake of Japan Disaster Just days after returning from winter break, both Carmel and Pebble Beach students responded quickly to help raise funds for relief efforts in the wake of the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster. Carmel Campus students from kindergarten through 8th grade handmade simple arts and crafts items. Everything was priced at $1.00 and then sold at the aptly-named “Dollar Market.” Within just a 30-minute break period, students raised more than $1,700 for the American Red Cross. Pebble Beach students, who were in the midst of planning a Fashion Show
fundraiser, decided to donate more than $2,100 raised by the event to Soles4Souls, an organization that donates shoes to people in need and that is involved in tsunami response efforts. Both campuses also participated in the Million Cranes Project. Students made origami cranes, which are a symbol of hope, and donated $1.00 for each crane. Each campus set the goal of making 1,000 cranes. With 1,000 schools participating in this project, Stevenson students were an important part of this $1 million nationwide relief effort.
2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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CAMPUS
NEWS
SPORTS WRAP
Photo by Katalina Photography
JUMPING TO STATE
GOLF ACHIEVEMENT & COMMUNITY COMMITMENT John Louie ’11 celebrated the 2011 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament with two prizes of his own. John was rewarded with two significant scholarships recognizing a combination of his golfing achievements and his commitment to the youth of the community.
Mikaela Welton ’12 competed in the California State Track and Field Indoor Qualifier Meet for Northern California held at Edwards Stadium at the University of California, Berkeley earlier this year. She finished 2nd in the women’s high school 300 meter hurdles. The top three finishers in each event qualify for the state competition. Mikaela is a cocaptain of the Stevenson track team.
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Through his long participation in Junior Golf, which started in 7th grade, John was awarded the Jim Langley Scholarship by the local AT&T Pebble Beach Golf Association. This award was officially presented to John during the “Payne Stewart Youth Golf Exhibition” at the Pebble Beach Driving Range during the AT&T Pro-Am Golf Tournament. John also was awarded the John Zoller Scholarship by The First Tee program, whose mission is “to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill lifeenhancing values, and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.” John will enroll at Middlebury College next year, where he will continue his golf career.
IT’S (STILL) MILLER TIME UC Davis freshman Kyle Miller ’10 was named the Big West Mens Tennis CoAthlete of the Week for matches played between April 4 – 10. The weekly award was the first of Kyle’s career and the first plaudit for the Aggies this season.
STUEWE WILL SWIM FOR BU Connor Stuewe ’11 recently accepted a swimming scholarship to Boston University. The Terriers compete in the American East Conference, where they finished second in the men's conference finals this spring and sent one swimmer to the NCAA Championships. “I wanted to swim for a high level program,” Connor said in an interview with the Monterey Herald. “Boston University was on the outside of my choices. But after a visit and talking with the coaches, it has everything I want.”
BOYS GOLF TAKES 2ND Stevenson’s boys golf team took 2nd place at the prestigious 2011 Champions Invitational this March at Terra Lago golf course in Indio, California. Stevenson, with a final round score of 300 (more than 10 strokes ahead of its nearest competitor), passed three teams and came within one stroke of Santa Margarita, the winning team. Thirty-four teams from across the U.S. participated in the event.
RUNNING TO VICTORY After dominating the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championships with a second consecutive title and winning the Mission Trail Athletic League Championship for the first time since 1987, the boys cross country team finished off its record-breaking season at the statewide meet in Fresno. The boys team, led by James Silvestri ’11 (CCS individual champion for the second year in a row), who placed 19th individually with a time of 16:14 for the 5k race, captured the third-place trophy in the California State Championships for Division IV. This is a remarkable accomplishment since Stevenson is the smallest Division IV school in the Central Coast Section. It has been a memorable season not only for
their great accomplishments but also for gutsy individual performances and incredible team pride and bonding that took place during the season. Representing our girls team, Vilma Laitinen ’11, our talented exchange student from Finland, competed as an individual in the Cross Country State Championships. She finished in 22nd place in the girls Division IV race with a time of 19:17.
THE DYNAMIC DUO Logan Finnell ’11 (right) and Anna Romeka ’14 (left) became one of the first Stevenson doubles teams to reach the finals of the Central Coast Section (CCS) Tennis Championships. After victories over St. Francis and Saratoga, Logan and Anna knocked off the #1 seed Archbishop Mitty in three sets before falling to Milpitas High in the CCS Finals Championship match. Despite the defeat in the final, hats off to Logan and Anna, both top-ranked singles players for Stevenson, who chose
to join forces to shoot for a CCS Doubles Title. Logan and Anna were awarded medals from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which is the governing body of CCS. Logan recently signed a Letter of Intent to attend and play tennis at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calfornia. 2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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FA C U LT Y
NEWS
PEBBLE BEACH RETIREMENTS With more than 80 combined years at Stevenson, several longtime Pebble Beach faculty members — Mary Pendlay, Bob Tintle, and Lindsay Jeffers ’65 — are retiring from teaching this year. Although words fall short of describing the impact
of these teachers on the Stevenson community, here are some memories and comments from faculty and alumni. “Mary, Bob, and Lindsay have dedicated decades of their lives to this school, and are leaving behind a rich legacy
Bob Tintle
29 YEARS AT STEVENSON
Biology, Chemistry, Head of Science Department 2005–2008, Field Ornithology, Animals in Society, Faculty Senate Chair 2000–2003, WASC Accreditation Lead 1998 and 2004, Varsity Baseball, Advisor
Lindsay Jeffers ’65
of learning, creativity, innovation, and achievement. I am proud to have worked with them, and will carry forward many of the traditions and values they have helped instill at Stevenson.” – Michele Grogan, Head of Pebble Beach Campus oystercatcher, oystercatcher!’ so loud that the oystercatchers flew away. I still hear his voice every time I see the secretive black oystercatcher.” – Bain Smith ’92, English
“Bob kick-started my passion for birds. Now, when I'm doing my own ornithological observations — watching a pygmy nuthatch, a brown creeper, a steller’s jay — I think back to our field trips and remember the infectious passion he had for identifying every species. One day, we were identifying shore birds, and suddenly Mr. Tintle yelled at the top of his lungs, ‘Oystercatcher,
34 YEARS AT STEVENSON
English, Computer Science, Outdoor Wilderness Program, Biking, Advisor, Resident Faculty “Lindsay is totally unflappable. The campus could be falling around him, and he’d take it all in, perhaps uttering a witty remark. He is so well read, with broad interests. Over the years, he’s come up with questions about physics that I’ve never been able to answer!” – Jack McAleer, Physics
Do you have a favorite memory or experience with Mary, Bob, Lindsay, Cindy, or Sallye that you’d like to share? Send your stories and notes of thanks to alumni@stevensonschool.org and we’ll feature them in the next issue.
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Mary Pendlay 21 YEARS AT STEVENSON
English, Public Speaking, Yearbook, Admissions & Safety Committee, Volleyball, Softball, Advisor “Mary is dedicated to the profession and has always been a very positive and loyal professional while at Stevenson. She has a genuine concern for her students and spends countless hours with them in extra help. Her love of literature and writing is admirable. For the past few years she has been writing a novel and will now have time to finish it. Mary has been a close friend and colleague for the past 20 years and I wish her the very best as she develops her future interests.” – Bill Hankison, English
And Baby Bates Makes Three Faculty members Justin ’99 and Aimee Bates recently welcomed their daughter Anna Harris Bates into the Stevenson community on April 12, 2011. Justin reports, “The new family is doing great. Anna is enjoying her first weeks on campus, and the school community has done everything to welcome her. Aimee is happy, healthy, and enjoying motherhood, but she certainly misses the classroom and her students. I love being a dad, and am lucky enough to get home during free periods to change diapers!”
Carmel Campus Transitions
THE HANDOFF: DINIZ TO DINI After eight years as head varsity football coach, Germano Diniz ’88 is passing the ball to Bruce Dini ’77. Germano leaves the program on a high note, finishing this season with a 6–4 record. Other memorable moments include the first and only night game and the first win against Pacific Grove since 2000. “Stevenson football is about developing character and building strong, confident young men,” said Germano. “You do that, and the wins will come.” Don ’71 and Deke’93 Dormer recently presented Germano with the 2011 Don L. Dormer Coach’s Award, which is given each year in recognition of the coach who “cajoles and inspires his or her team to its greatest potential, and who exemplifies and teaches the importance of competing with honor and respect.” Germano plans to focus on his teaching, continue coaching freshman basketball, and spend more time with his family. Bruce brings more than a decade of coaching experience to his new role, having been the head varsity lacrosse coach at Carmel High for eight years, and assistant coach for both Stevenson varsity football and lacrosse for the past two years. Bruce plans to build on Germano’s momentum and continue the
“proud tradition” of Stevenson football, of which he was a part for two years. Bruce credits his excellent coaches, such as Wally Goodwin and Lou Young, for much of his success in athletics and life. “Being part of a great program can be a transformative experience in a kid’s life,” said Bruce. “And I invite all alumni to come back to a game, say hello, and share a special story from their days as a Pirate.”
As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” In that spirit, Stevenson says good-bye to two longtime Carmel Campus faculty members — Cindy Gates and Sallye Foster. As Cindy and Sallye move on, colleagues shared some memories. “Cindy and Sallye encompass the Stevenson’s Carmel Campus mission — they bring the ‘delight’ to learning and the ‘joyful’ to life. They will both be missed by faculty, staff, and students.” – Molly Bozzo, Head of Carmel Campus
Cindy Gates 17 YEARS AT STEVENSON
4th Grade, Spanish, English, History “A mentor, leader, and pioneer in curriculum development, Cindy has been an ardent advocate for our students since she joined Stevenson in 1994. She has a wicked sense of humor and a unique ability to merge disciplines such as art, literature, and history, providing students a multi-dimensional learning experience.” – Kathryn Haggquist, Spanish, and Kathryn Koontz, English & History
Sallye Foster 21 YEARS AT STEVENSON
3rd Grade “The word ethereal comes to mind when I think of Sallye. She is our own fairy who has quietly graced generations of children with her magic. She is one of the most quietly revolutionary teachers I know. Both of my kids blossomed with her. She is a true teacher. Teaching isn’t a job for her, it’s who she is.” – Kirsten Matsumoto, 5th Grade 2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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The
PIRATE REVIEW
Stevenson alumni continue to inspire others with their unique talents and through a variety of creative ventures. Here we have a collection of alumni authors and artists, showcasing larger-than-life paintings, engaging novels, and even innovative rap music.
BIG, BRIGHT, AND A LITTLE WILD The “Moto” Art of Guenevere Schwien ’98 Picture oil pooling on the asphalt where it spills beneath a motorcycle at the curb, the viscous liquid refracting a rainbow of colors in the sunlight. Imagine dipping a brush into the swirls of color, that it might reflect such slick color across the canvas. Guenevere Schwien ’98 paints in oils, not dipped from the street, but lifted from a bright palette of fine art oils that go thick and wet, in bold and rich strokes that dry slowly and retain their viscosity and shine, resulting in tangible texture and vivid color. And provocative portraits of motorcycles. She paints not merely the bike usually, but something about it, some aspect of the machine or what she thinks about it or how it feels to ride one in commuter congestion or out on the open road or back where no one else goes or maybe just around the block. Whatever the path, the motorcycle is merely the vehicle behind the excitement, the thing that “Ducati Big Wheel,” Oil on Wood Panel, 47” x 35.75,” June 2009
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“SRX 6 Fork,” Oil on Wood Panel, 36” x 54,” August 2007 transports the artist from passive to aggressive and gives her a reason to paint. “Motorcyling is about the excitement and adrenaline and the fun,” says Schwien, 32. “When I get on the bike, I have so much more confidence. I feel the excitement; it lights me up. I want to convey that feeling in my paintings.” Schwien’s dual inspiration is the recollection of the ride and the drive to paint, fueled by a passion for art and guided by a fine art education. Her work is big, bright, loose, and a little wild, much like her experience on the bike. “Guenevere’s work is edgy and unique,” says Susan Klusmire, executive director of the Carmel Art Association. “Her passion for motorcycles is boldly expressed in her work. It is uplifting to see how accomplished this young artist is.” Article courtesy of Carmel Magazine, Inc.
“Nine Foot Ducati,” Oil on Wood Panel, 9ft, 2010 Guenevere earned her BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2005. She’s since received honors from the Santa Cruz Art League, the California Open–Long Beach Arts, and the Academy of Art. She was also
awarded the Jentel Artist Residency in Wyoming. Guenevere lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Her work can be found online at www.gueneveres.com and in galleries in Carmel, California and Houston, Texas.
2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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The PIRATE REVIEW
SURVIVING CHADWICK A REVEALING COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL by Phillip Wilhite ’76 White flight, the Black Panthers, the golden age of NBA basketball, Oakland’s Free Huey rallies, integration: All of these giants come together in Phillip Wilhite’s debut novel. Set in a boarding school, Surviving Chadwick explores the basic inequalities in our society through the eyes of Isaiah Isaacson, a young black man from Oakland. Though the majority of the novel is told in flashback, Wilhite’s novel feels fresh and contemporary — as though proving how little the system has changed, and how hard it is for the underdog to get ahead. In 1989, Isaiah Isaacson receives an invitation to his 15-year high school graduation. Simply holding the newsletter opens a floodgate of memories, both good and bad. “When I was younger, Chadwick had meant a good education, privilege, upward mobility, and rich white folks, values I wasn’t prepared to embrace back then,” Isaiah explains. “A visit to Chadwick and a reunion with my lost love just might provide me with the inspiration I needed for moving forward.” Although he has found professional success, Isaiah’s marriage is collapsing, and he is eager to reconnect with Jenaye, the young woman he fell for almost 20 years ago. Aided by a collection of old pictures and letters, Isaiah plumbs his memory for traces of who he was at Chadwick, and why he didn’t fit in there. The strength of Surviving Chadwick is its juxtapositions. Told from an outsider’s
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perspective, the manicured lawns and polo ponies leap out in lurid detail. One of Isaiah’s teachers drives a yellow Lamborghini. In comparison, Isaiah’s African-American blue-collar parents push him to succeed at Chadwick as a means of fulfilling his potential —
A heartfelt story of first love and a young man’s fight for identity, Surviving Chadwick is a portrait of a special time. integration is their son’s ticket out of the inner city. But Isaiah seems happy being an outsider. He resists being sucked into Chadwick’s white culture, hanging Black Power posters in his room and refusing to change his style to fit in. He’s hyperaware of the inequalities in his environment, chafing at the “traditional” courses and rituals that his classmates deal with effortlessly.
A heartfelt story of first love and a young man’s fight for identity, Surviving Chadwick is a portrait of a special time. Isaiah breaks barriers of all kinds, and the reader roots for him at every turn. Excerpted from Foreword Reviews, an online review magazine.
Phillip was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and grew up in East Oakland. After Stevenson, he earned a degree in political science at the University of California, Berkeley. At Cal, he was awarded a basketball scholarship, became the starting point guard, and was voted the team’s Most Inspirational Player. He later attended the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and is now a business banker. As a writer, Phillip’s work has been published in sports articles for the Oakland Tribune, freelance news stories for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and book reviews for the Philadelphia Tribune.
PICKING BONES FROM ASH A “SOLID AND GRACEFUL” DEBUT NOVEL by Marie Mutsuki Mockett ’88
“A book of intelligence and heart.” — Amy Tan
Picking Bones from Ash explores the struggles women face in accepting their talents, and asks what happens when mothers and daughters dare to question the debt owed each other. Fusing imagination and suspense, Marie Mutsuki Mockett builds a lavish world in which characters journey from Buddhist temples to the black market of international antiques in California, as they struggle to understand one another across cultures and generations. Here are just a few excerpts from recent reviews and author commentaries: “[Picking Bones from Ash], so firmly anchored in a sensuous reality, veers into a dream world. A reader has the sense that even the author was driven by her most powerful character: the original mother, raising her daughter alone, shunned by villagers, forced to make decisions that haunt her descendants.” — Los Angeles Times
strong-willed women, each in search of something just out of their grasp; the sacrifices they make for their daughters; and the unseen repercussions of choices made long ago.” — Booklist “Beginning in a world as solid as Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres, Picking Bones from Ash takes the reader down a rabbithole as matter-of-factly supernatural as that of Haruki Murakami’s Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. This wiry and delicate novel, as grounded as it is surreal, goes down like a tall glass of water. Except it’s spiked: Like Rumi, the younger of Mockett’s
“A book of intelligence and heart. As Mockett reveals, the ghosts of our mothers are always with us.” — Amy Tan After Stevenson, Marie graduated from Columbia University with a degree in East Asian languages and civilizations. Picking Bones from Ash is her first novel and was shortlisted for a 2010 Saroyan Prize. Past honors for her work include a Pushcart nomination, semifinalist for the James Jones First Novel contest, finalist for the Katherine Anne Porter Short Story Competition, and the Rona Jaffe Award nomination. She lives in New York City with her husband, her son, and three cats. You can find more reviews at www.mariemockett.com.
Photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
“Mockett presents a well-written and notable story of three generations of
two heroines, you will be haunted until you finish this book.” — Ellis Avery
© Rachel Eliza Griffiths
“Solid and graceful…Mockett combines the best elements of a mystery story, ghost story, magical realism and the complex difficulties in deciding what is ‘best’ for our elders and offspring.” — Star Tribune
In February 2011, the paperback edition of Picking Bones from Ash was released.
2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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The PIRATE REVIEW
PIRATE REVIEW
THE “INDIE RAP” OF MUSIC INNOVATOR MC LARS Andrew Nielsen ’01 Andrew Nielsen ’01, who performs as indie rapper MC Lars, mixes hip-hop beats and punk guitars with fast-talking rhymes. He’s credited with pioneering a new musical subgenre, and references notable writers and political figures ranging from Shakespeare to Noam Chomsky in his humorous and intelligent lyrics. “I love hip-hop, but I wanted to do it my own way,” Andrew explained during a New York Post interview. “I think it’s a new movement. There are lots of people who have grown up with hip-hop and love it, but want to find a balance between hip-
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hop culture and a culture they are more familiar with.” After Stevenson, Andrew attended Stanford University. As part of his undergraduate experience, he participated in the Stanford in Oxford program, where he studied Shakespeare and performed at pubs on the weekends. He built a small following, and soon signed with Truck Records in 2003. After graduating with a BA in English literature, he toured the US, Europe, Australia (where his songs hit the pop charts), and Asia, and has been a guest lecturer at colleges across the country. He
also recently completed a “library tour” speaking on hip-hop and postmodern culture at libraries nationwide. Andrew’s music has appealed to everyone from “mommy bloggers” to intellectuals to teens. “I’m going to be every middle schooler’s nightmare and plug music I pilfered from my kid’s playlist, via a shout-out from my blog, no less: MC Lars is the bomb,” wrote Melinda Roberts of TheMommyBlog, one of the top-ranked blogs for mothers in the nation. “First thing I said when I listened was, ‘Hey, a rapper with a grounding in literature?’ Mama likes.”
WE WANT TO FEATURE YOU IN THE NEXT PIRATE REVIEW! Have you published a book, released a wine, opened a new restaurant, or been featured in an art show? We want to know! Please email us at alumni@stevensonschool.org to be considered for the next Pirate Review.
Roberts went on to critique several of Andrew’s songs on his album This Gigantic Robot Kills, including “Hipster Girl,” where “MC Lars does for Hipsters what Frank Zappa did for Valley Girls in 1982,” and “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” which “says it all for all of us out here who are recycling, fidgeting with the HVAC, and cursing that Hummer taking up the whole road in front of the school when you know the family lives like four blocks away.” But in addition to his funny and insightful social commentaries, Andrew also has a sincere side and speaks out for causes that are important to him. He produced the anthem for the American Heart Association’s “Be the Beat” program, as well as a music video about depression awareness. When Andrew’s friend and college roommate Patrick Wood committed suicide, Andrew wrote a somber and haunting song titled “Twenty-Three.” But in addition to working out his own
emotions through his music, he wanted to help people battling depression. “We contacted the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), an organization that had helped Patrick’s mother as she dealt with the loss of her son,” recalled Andrew. “I asked if
“...it’s the fact that MC Lars genuinely just seems like a nice guy with a lot on his mind – not to mention a clever way of putting it all. ” — Sputnik Music
they wanted to join forces to spread our message of suicide prevention and survival after suicide. They loved the song and graciously pledged their support.” Andrew and AFSP produced a powerful video for “Twenty-Three” that is now posted on YouTube.
With an ever-growing and diverse fan base, Andrew’s music career continues to move forward with a new tour scheduled for fall 2011 and his third album Lars Attacks! scheduled for release this summer. Summarizing the appeal of Andrew, Sputnik Music, an online music review website, wrote, “The best thing about the music of MC Lars is that you don’t necessarily have to be into hip-hop to enjoy his music – it’s very easily enjoyable for music fans from various niches on account of its witty humor and broad array of musical backing (ranging from solo-filled rock & roll to Baltimore club sounds). But most importantly, it’s the fact that MC Lars genuinely just seems like a nice guy with a lot on his mind – not to mention a clever way of putting it all.” Stevenson alumni can experience the music of MC Lars “live” at Alumni Weekend June 10–12, 2011. For more on MC Lars and his upcoming tour, visit www.mclars.com.
This Gigantic Robot Kills is available through Amazon.com and the iTunes store.
MC Lars performing at Groezrock, a music festival is Gestel, Belgium in 2010. See him live this summer on the VANS WARPED TOUR 2011. For more info go to www.mclars.com/site/tour.
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By Janet Kornblum
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Dr. Roland Griffiths ’64, a pioneer in psychopharmacology research, is uncovering the effects of mood altering substances and why humans use them. Photo by Dennis Drenner
JUST A FEW DECADES AGO, America’s workers may have gathered around the water cooler for their daily dose of office gossip. But Roland Griffiths, a young assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was far more interested in the daily dose they were getting from a different piece of ubiquitous office equipment: the coffeepot. “In any work environment there were always coffeepots,” said Griffiths, Stevenson School, class of 1964. “It wasn't unusual for people to drink four, six, eight cups of coffee a day.” Griffiths, who came out of grad school with a Ph.D. and a passion for psychopharmacology, was no different.
Neither were his colleagues. They were studying a wide range of psychoactive drugs — everything from alcohol and nicotine to amphetamine, pentobarbital and diazepam (aka Valium). But they didn’t think much about all the java they were downing. Nobody did back then. “Coffee was so socially normative that it wasn't even really considered a drug,” Griffiths said. Griffiths started thinking and it occurred to him that coffee “is every bit as much a drug as anything else we're studying. I wondered about it.”
That wonder led to experiments, and the results were groundbreaking. They showed “that caffeine is really quite psychoactive,” he said. Put another way, Griffiths found what many coffee drinkers now take for granted: that caffeine “actually produces a substance dependence syndrome; some people are dependent on caffeine much in the way they can become dependent on cigarette smoking or cocaine or amphetamines.” Furthermore, he proved that people could detect the presence of caffeine at doses “far lower than anyone ever had imagined before,” he said. An average 6 oz. cup of java has 100 mg of caffeine.
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“JOLT COLA WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. BUT THEN RED BULL EMERGED IN 1987 AND THE REST IS HISTORY. THERE ARE NOW HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF ENERGY DRINKS THAT ARE MARKETED. THEIR CAFFEINE CONTENT CAN VARY ANYWHERE FROM 50 MG, WHICH IS LIKE A SOFT DRINK, TO OVER 500 MG.” – Roland Griffiths
People could detect caffeine at 10 mg and lower. That meant that caffeine was so potent that just a few sips from your daily cup of coffee could change your mood. Griffiths’ studies “have been critical,” said Matthew Johnson, who works with Griffiths at Johns Hopkins. “There is no question that Roland has conducted the most important work in demonstrating that caffeine is a psychoactive drug with an associated withdrawal syndrome in humans.” Griffiths, 64, has spent his career doing pioneering work, say those who know him and who are familiar with his work. “He’s a great scientist,” said Johnson, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “He’s very detail oriented, very open minded, and has an incredible ability to look at data — to look at a clinical phenomenon — and really kind of address it from any number of perspectives.”
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“We may have as many as 20 different studies ongoing with all kinds of different drugs, including psilocybin and caffeine and smoking and cocaine and other opiates,” Griffiths said. ENERGY DRINKS H H H These days, his caffeine research is focused on the effects of so-called energy drinks, especially when combined with alcohol. When he first researched caffeine, soft drink companies insisted they were using it only as a flavor enhancer — and not as a stimulant. But everything changed with the introduction of Jolt Cola in 1985, which not only added more caffeine but used it in its advertising to entice customers. Its slogan at the time was “All the sugar and twice the caffeine.” With 72 mg of caffeine rather than the 35 that Coke delivered, it still had less caffeine than an average cup of coffee, Griffiths said.
Griffiths has written or co-authored more than 300 papers.
But the intention was clear. They promised to stimulate their customers.
In fact, it’s difficult to find a psychopharmacological substance he hasn’t studied.
Jolt Cola went out of business. But then Red Bull emerged in 1987 and “the rest is history,” Griffiths said. “There are now hundreds and hundreds of energy drinks
STEVENSON SCHOOL
that are marketed. Their caffeine content can vary anywhere from 50 mg, which is like a soft drink, to over 500 mg.” No longer can people claim ignorance of caffeine’s drug effects because the drinks are marketed “for functional ends — that is, as a stimulant.” “What we have is aggressive advertising of a psychoactive drug — in this case, in the form of energy drinks — to youthful populations,” Griffiths said. In one study, Griffiths and his colleagues found that college students who consume energy drinks were subsequently more likely to start abusing prescription stimulants such as amphetamines and Ritalin. In addition, when college students mix energy drinks with alcohol the results can be disastrous. “It appears that kids get into a lot more trouble with alcohol when it's co-ingested with caffeine,” he said. Several studies have shown that the combination of alcohol with energy drinks is “associated with greater rates of accidents and greater rates of sexual assault.” The reason this happens is still not completely known. “There may be at
Photo by Dennis Drenner
Dr. Roland Griffiths and colleague Matthew W. Johnson, PhD at The Johns Hopkins University
least two mechanisms underlying these effects: One is that caffeine makes alcohol more reinforcing so people drink more of it because they feel better and/ or people drink more because they can't detect how intoxicated they are.” “So they keep drinking when they would normally have stopped drinking. And they just may be drinking longer because of the caffeine. ” “We're just initiating a study right now in which volunteers will be coming into our lab and consuming either an alcoholic beverage or an alcoholic beverage plus caffeine to look at some of these interactions,” Griffiths said. CAFFEINE IS EVERYWHERE H H H Regardless of his findings, caffeine is not likely to go away or be banned. “Caffeine is ubiquitous,” Griffiths said. “You're probably not more than ten minutes away at any point even on the
road from where you could purchase a legal dose of caffeine. It makes it so our society is completely permissive with respect to caffeine.”
actually would say ‘Yes.’ I'm not sure they would have 20 years ago.”
But at least now, people are aware of the effects.
Some 80 percent of the world's population consumes caffeine daily. “It makes sense that our culture has been permissive with respect to its use.”
“When we first started publishing our work on withdrawal and the reinforcement effects of caffeine, the food industry in particular mocked the research,” he said. “And I think now, 20 years later, if you say to someone, ‘Are you addicted to caffeine?’ a lot of people
Griffiths still uses caffeine “intermittently,” he said. “Caffeine is a great drug. It's a great stimulant, but I know that I can become physically dependent on it pretty quickly. I guess I'd rather use it when I needed it rather than use it chronically.”
“THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT ROLAND HAS CONDUCTED THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK IN DEMONSTRATING THAT CAFFEINE IS A PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG WITH AN ASSOCIATED WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME IN HUMANS.” – Matthew Johnson, The Johns Hopkins University 2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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OTHER RESEARCH H H H While his caffeine studies continue to this day, more recently he has begun studying a drug that is virtually at the other end of the spectrum — and had been virtually off-limits to scientists since the 60s. Griffiths had been drawn to the sciences since his Stevenson days and began focusing on psychopharmacology while at Occidental College, class of ’68.
Hallucinogens have a long and complex history that predates the 20th century. Many cultures have been using them ritualistically for hundreds — possibly thousands — of years. They believed that using hallucinogens gave them a window into the mystical, often yielding spiritual awakenings and transformations. Scientists had been studying hallucinogens and had made advances
“ROLAND IS DOING TREMENDOUS WORK. HE’S VERY, VERY MODEST AND VERY HUMBLE BUT AN OUTSTANDING SCIENTIST WHO HAS MADE GREAT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD.” – Charles Grob, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center After college, he bypassed a chance to go into the Peace Corps and instead took a full scholarship to study psychopharmacology at the University of Minnesota before going to Johns Hopkins. While he has studied a panoply of drugs, focusing particularly on drugs of abuse, he was drawn to study psilocybin later on in his career after his meditation practice prompted an interest “in spiritual experience and spiritual transformation.”
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in the 60s, but their study was virtually halted due to abuses during the counterculture years. When Griffiths received a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study a different hallucinogen, ketamine, “I decided to change that to study psilocybin and just explore what happens.” He is now a part of a small number of elite scientists who have begun
GRIFFITHS WAS A PIONEER IN PROVIDING A THOROUGH DESCRIPTION OF CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL: About half of daily users experience withdrawal symptoms if they completely abstain from caffeine. The most common symptoms are headache, fatigue, and impaired concentration. About 15% have such severe symptoms they’re unable to do their normal activities.
studying hallucinogens again in a laboratory setting. That took “courage,” said George Bigelow, who works with Griffiths — and has known him since they went to grad school together. “He recognized that they were in potential funding quicksand in this area, both politically and financially, and has proceeded cautiously. It’s taken perseverance and caution.” PIONEERING RESEARCH H H H “So as far as I can tell, we were the first group in the United States to have approval to administer psilocybin to healthy volunteers in probably 40 years,” Griffiths said. “There had been this long hiatus of human research with these compounds. The hurdles we were up against in getting that approval were created by a strong cultural bias against administering these compounds.” But the fear, he said, was based on “misinformation.” People really thought that these compounds were too dangerous to administer, that people would go psychotic, that people would jump out of windows, that people would become addicted to them. “What we're showing is that in fact we can conduct these studies safely,” he said.
“Remarkably, the daily caffeine dose that produces withdrawal is quite low – 100 mg,” Griffiths said. That’s the caffeine equivalent of a single small cup of coffee or two to three cans of caffeinated soda. “An important implication, which now has been demonstrated experimentally, is that daily consumption of caffeine is largely maintained because morning caffeine consumption suppresses lowgrade withdrawal symptoms after a period of overnight abstinence,” Griffiths said.
always “better than less information,” he said. “That’s the strong bias I have.”
Roland and his children Jennie, Sylvie, and Morgan in Vail, Colorado.
STUDY RESULTS OUTSTANDING H H H In his initial study, published in 2006 in the prestigious scientific journal Psychopharmacology, 36 volunteers, carefully screened and monitored, were given psilocybin in a laboratory setting. None of the volunteers had previous experience with a hallucinogen. The results were remarkable — even profound. People reported having life-changing experiences that they said were among the most meaningful experiences of their lives, Griffiths said. And they continued to experience those changes even more than a year after they took psilocybin, according to Griffiths’ studies.
If patients “have an experience of transcendence and unity consciousness, it may significantly ease the existential anxiety prompted by their serious illness,” Griffiths said. Griffiths and his colleagues are also studying “cigarette smoking and whether psilocybin can facilitate the stopping of smoking because work of that kind had been done in the 1960s, particularly with alcohol.” Griffiths is quick to add that the same drugs, especially taken without supervision, “are potentially really quite dangerous. We have shown that we can do research with them safely, but that doesn't mean that recreational use of these drugs is safe.”
“This is not something we typically hear from our laboratory studies,” Bigelow said. “It’s quite dramatic... It makes it more believable when it’s coming from someone who is a rigorous scientist who doesn’t have any agenda,” Bigelow added.
For some, they can lead to “enduring psychiatric illness.” Another significant concern is that anxiety and panic reactions can lead to dangerous, even lethal, behavior, Griffiths said
FUTURE STUDIES ON PROMISING THERAPIES H H H
But just because drugs can be dangerous doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be studied, he said. “You can discover things that may end up being misused.”
The work is promising enough that now Griffiths is running a study in cancer patients who are anxious or depressed. [see: www.cancer-insight.org]
Photo courtesy of TEDx MidAtlantic 2010
Roland joined leading thinkers, activists, artists, scientists, philosophers, and entertainers at the TEDx MidAtlantic 2010 conference for a series of talks, presentations, and performances. TED events have been called “Journeys into the future, in the company of those creating it.”
In the end, Griffiths is a scientist who believes that getting information is
Griffiths’ colleagues and fellow scientists, in fact, say that it is Griffiths’ solid reputation as an excellent scientist and researcher that allows him to be trusted enough to study what are arguably very dangerous drugs. “He is not a psychedelic proselytizer or enthusiast,” Bigelow said. “He’s a rigorous scientist — one who believes that psychopharmacology and processes and consciousness are important aspects of what needs to be studied.” “He’s been one of the very highly respected people in the field,” Bigelow added. “He’s creative and has done a pretty broad diversity of work.” Johnson attributes Griffiths’ work to his “childlike wonder and curiosity about the world that I think drives a lot of his research interests.” “He has a real inquisitiveness about things. He enjoys figuring things out,” he added. “He’s inspiring.” “Roland is doing tremendous work,” added Charles Grob, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. “He’s very, very modest and very humble but an outstanding scientist who has made great contributions to the field.”
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Ashley during the trip to Haiti in March 2010
FOR ASHLEY AND AUSTIN COLEMAN ALONG WITH JOSH LITTLE, THE WINE BUSINESS WAS ALL IN THE FAMILY, BUT THEY DECIDED TO CHANNEL THEIR TALENTS TOWARD A GREATER PURPOSE.
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After considering a career in fine arts and fashion, Ashley decided to harness her abundant energies by combining her two passions: fine wine and her generation’s idealistic determination to help make the world a better place. As CEO of Greater Purpose, an innovative wine company making waves in the viticultural and charitable world, the 26-year-old Stevenson graduate and her brother Austin Coleman ’05, come by their roots honestly. The great-grandchildren of Julio Gallo, co-founder of one of the best-known wine brands in the world, have never been afraid to get their hands dirty. “My great-grandfather and his brother [Ernest] started the Gallo Winery in 1933, and built it from the ground up,” she says. “They started with nothing and made it into one of the most respected and largest family-owned wineries around. My dad had a viticulture background at Fresno State and he grew grapes, so my brother and I, from the time we were very young, would go out and pick grapes every summer during harvest. We looked forward to it, even though it was very
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hard work. It made us appreciate the value of hard work and all that goes into making a bottle of wine.”
(www.greaterpurpose.com), of “giving back 55% of profits to benefit orphaned and abandoned children around the world.”
After Stevenson, Ashley graduated from the University of Notre Dame, earned a master’s in business at the University of the Pacific, and worked in sales for Gallo for three years overseeing 800 key accounts in California. But when she and other family members got together, they always searched for ways to apply their unique skills and advantages to serve a greater purpose.
Ashley is CEO, Austin is the chief financial officer, and Ashley’s friend Jennifer Luna, the company’s first hire, serves as the company’s charity ambassador, overseeing charitable giving, booking and coordinating events, and helping with social media.
“We wanted to take an industry that hasn’t targeted the new millennial generation so far and create something that would focus on that age group and also make people feel good about what they were purchasing,” says Austin, 25. The result: Greater Purpose, a unique wine brand with the stated aim, avowed in its mission statement and on the home page of its website
Ashley and Austin’s cousin Josh Little ’05 was also one of the Greater Purpose founders, although he has now moved on to a job with the Gallo sales office in Los Angeles. But job titles aside, it’s clear from a conversation with Ashley and Austin that everyone chips in as needed, and everyone does a little of everything. It’s all part of a greater philanthropic trend to give back in these troubled times, by wineries and others, including
“Our mission statement is built into our DNA. If we all have the mentality that we can help one person, then together we can help millions of people. Together we are strong.’’ – Ashley Coleman
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MAKING THE GRADE In the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Greater Purpose Smooth was awarded a Gold medal, and the Bold took a Silver. They were chosen out of 5,050 entries from 23 states by a team of 63 judges doing a blind tasting. One Hope Wine in Newport Beach, which donates half of its profits to charity, and Roots of Peace, which turns mines into vines in Afghanistan in conjunction with numerous wineries.
doing a blind tasting, the Greater Purpose Smooth (White Label), which combines Cabernet and Zinfandel, was awarded a Gold medal, and the Bold (Silver Label), a blend of Cabernet, Zinfandel and Syrah — both affordably priced at $14 — took a Silver.
But the Colemans’ youth-oriented approach, complete with a hip website with videos showing Ashley’s visit to Haiti after the earthquake, an active Twitter feed, and a link to a clothing line selling t-shirts designed by Ashley with the Greater Purpose logo, sets them apart.
“That was exciting,” Ashley said. “It felt like fate. I came across the fact that the contest deadline got extended on the Internet, and I thought, ‘Why not enter?’ We’d been kind of timid…We just wanted a wine that was approachable and not stuffy.’’
1. Greater Purpose Founders: Siblings Austin ’05 and Ashley Coleman ’02, and their cousins Josh Little ’05 and Geoff Coleman. 2. Ashley (center) and Austin (left) with Great Grandmother Aileen and Great Grandfather Julio Gallo.
So do their recent Gold and Silver Awards in the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Chosen out of 5,050 entries from 23 states by a team of 63 judges
Not bad for rookies, even ones with such impressive pedigrees.
“But we knew that people use awards to help them make decisions. So we barely made it into the competition, crossed our fingers, hoped for the best — and both our blends got medals.’’
But Ashley insists that it’s not all about the glory — or the grapes. “Our mission statement is built into our DNA,’’ she says. “If we all have the mentality that we can help one person, then together we can help millions of people. Together we are strong.’’ Her brother echoes her enthusiasm. “Our real future is to be part of a greater cause,’’ he said. “For now, we want to focus on one thing, and do that well. But we might branch out into clothing, or maybe a coffee line, and ultimately be a lifestyle brand of products that people can enjoy, but that also serves a greater purpose.” Including the fashion component, and the hip videos on the company site, which Ashley oversees, is a way for her to incorporate her other passions into the Greater Purpose of the new company.
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EVERYDAY THEY LIVE AND BREATHE THEIR BUSINESS.
Greater Purpose t-shirts are available for purchase at www.greaterpurpose.com/store/apparel. Enter coupon code "GOPIRATES" to recieve 20% off!
From blending wine, directing package design and merchandising, to pouring at events and even delivering wine out of the backs of their cars, the founders approach each aspect of Greater Purpose with passion, which has contributed to its success.
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1. Pre-release wine tasting event for family and friends at Fort Mason Park in San Francisco, which was attended by many Stevenson alumni 2. Austin, Josh and Ashley 3. Ashley pouring at Chloe Rose Boutique, owned by Marissa Olson ’02, during the Union Street Wine Walk event 4. Ashley and Josh on bottling day with some of the first cases of Greater Purpose Wine 5. Greater Purpose bottle labels 6. Josh, Ashley, and Austin at the label printer 7. Ashley and Jennifer Luna during their trip to Haiti in March 2010.
Ashley and Jennifer traveled to Haiti in March 2010 to bring 300 pounds of food, clothing, and supplies to children suffering from the aftermath of the earthquake, in efforts coordinated with the Global Orphan Project.
Ashley and Jennifer plan a second trip in July 2011, this time to Uganda, in conjunction with the Plant A Seed Foundation, “to raise money for a sustainable chicken farm for 1,500 orphan kids,” Ashley said. “This project will provide nutritious meals for the children as well as provide a way for them to raise money from the sale of the eggs and chickens, which will go back to support their education — a truly sustainable solution. We not only want to be contributing money to make this project happen, but we also want to have a hand in building the farm and be able to witness the positive impact taking place firsthand,” Ashley added. They’ve taken note of the most recent disasters, too. People ordering wine on their website, or through Facebook or Twitter (@greaterpurpose), can specify if they want their portion of the charitable donations to be given to Japanese relief by entering coupon code “LOVEJAPAN.” Stevenson alumni, faculty, staff, and parents are eligible for a 20 percent
discount by simply punching in the coupon code “GOPIRATES” if they order wine from the website. They are able to give back such a large amount of the profits because of an unusual business model. “We don’t own the vineyards—we source them from other well-known wineries on the North and Central Coast, taste through hundreds of lots of wine, and then we craft the blend,” Ashley said. “As a result, we are able to make a very high-quality, great-tasting wine for an incredible value that gives back 55 percent of profits to a greater cause.”
by such a caring and talented faculty and to have also endeared such incredible friendships that have all truly shaped who I am today,” says Ashley. “I learned a lot about responsibility at Stevenson from living in the dorms,” Josh said. “We learned a lot about hard work and responsibility. And the relationships I had with teachers and mentors taught me about leadership — Dan Powers in economics, Sam Salerno in English, and Erica Mirich Igleheart, who taught environmental science and biology.” Austin said the Stevenson model of “trying to prepare their students for
“The very nature of Stevenson challenges you to be the very best version of yourself in every aspect of your life. I would not be the person I am today without the education and experience I received at Stevenson.” – Ashley Coleman Austin, who graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with an agriculture degree, agreed. “We wouldn’t have been able to come up with a 55 percent profit number if we had a generic winery with all the capital and production costs involved.” Everyone said the Stevenson experience helped instill the spirit and skills needed for the new venture. “The very nature of Stevenson challenges you to be the very best version of yourself in every aspect of your life. I would not be the person I am today without the education and experience I received at Stevenson. It prepared me very well for the life ahead and I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to be educated
college, where no one’s going to hold your hand and tell you how to do something, you just have to take it on yourself” has served the siblings well. “I don’t have a boss to tell me when I have to be at work or what I need to get done,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to use our time wisely and get it done. Expectations have to be high. We give it our all.” By mixing passion with purpose, Ashley and Austin prove that you can create an inspiring brand that makes an impact on a broader scale.
The most recent project of the sister-and-brother duo is blending and bottling their first white wine — a blend of Riesling and Gewürztraminer sourced from Monterey. “This wine in particular is going to attract a lot of ‘non-wine drinkers’ and will hopefully grow the wine-drinking culture among the millennial generation. It’s a very unique and refreshing blend that is already receiving rave reviews,” Ashley said.
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Andrew Rosen's Journey
From Forest to Fashion By Julee Kaplan
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It may be a quiet Monday afternoon in Manhattan’s trendy meatpacking district, but just inside the five-story Theory headquarters building on Gansevoort Street, people are buzzing. The Theory team — designers and public relations associates — are readying the showroom for a press preview scheduled for the next couple of days. Everything — from the lighting in the room to making sure there isn’t a wrinkle on a blouse — must be perfect. Olivier Theyskens, Theory’s famed Belgium-born artistic director, is also here thumbing through racks and making sure his sophomore collection for Theory will present flawlessly to the press. The 34-year-old Theyskens just came on board last June and now controls all artistic direction for the Theory brand as well as his own collection, Theyskens’ Theory. After leading design at such couture houses as Rochas and Nina Ricci, the celebrated designer’s first Theyskens’ Theory line is just now hitting stores.
Above photos from the Spring 2011 Theory Collection
Andrew Rosen ’75, Theory’s founder and CEO, is running a bit late — but it’s no wonder, since his day is usually jam-
packed with back-to-back meetings. Rosen has become one of the most sought-after and respected executives in the industry. After partnering with several rising young designers in the market — Rag & Bone, Alice + Olivia, and Gryphon, to name a few — and helping them form their own businesses, he might even be credited with creating what we now know as the contemporary market. “So let’s talk,” Rosen says, sitting in a white chair in his large, modernly decorated corner office overlooking almost the entire meatpacking district. He’s dressed comfortably — perfectly fitted dark jeans and a nylon track jacket over the typical business suit. Hanging on the wall over his desk is a giant blackand-white photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr., and two smaller framed images, one of Marlon Brando and one of his father Carl Rosen. They are people who continue to inspire him, he says.
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For Rosen, the fashion business is clearly in his blood. His dressmaking grandfather Arthur Rosen opened Puritan Dress Company in Boston more than a century ago. That business eventually was taken over by his father, who moved it to New York and became one of the first dressmakers to develop modern licensing, creating businesses with a series of wellknown names, including Gloria Swanson, Diane von Furstenberg, and ultimately Calvin Klein Jeans. “My dad was an innovator and driving force in the industry, and I knew I would eventually enter the business,” Rosen says. “I was always around it.” But it wasn’t always easy. After graduating from Stevenson in 1975, Rosen entered college. After just one year, he dropped out — “I really just wanted to play golf,” he says. Soon he needed a job, so he began working in one of Puritan’s factories in Massachusetts. Rosen says that’s where he really learned the downand-dirty side of the garment business. After about a year in the factory, Rosen was promoted to a sales position at Calvin Klein Jeans, and moved back to New York to work in the showroom at 1400 Broadway. “It was a good time for me to be in that designer sector, since it was really only the beginning of that designer-ascelebrity craze, and I had just about as much experience in the area as anyone else did,” he reminisces. When his father died in 1983, Rosen immediately became CEO of Puritan Fashion Corp., a NYSE Company, which at that time had been doing business only with Calvin Klein Jeans, and had become a $300-million-dollar brand. He was 25 years old. Then in 1985, Klein and his business partner bought the company and very publicly took over the business that Rosen had been running. “They didn’t want some kid running their brand,”
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Rosen says. “The whole experience was very daunting.” But he ended up staying on board at the firm and worked for them for the next four years. In 1989 he went on to become CEO of Anne Klein, which, at the time, was one of the most respected names on Seventh Avenue. He would hold that position for six years. Then one day, after a disagreement with the owners of the brand, he was fired. “People think that in order to be successful, things always have to go well, but really you learn from the mistakes you make and are better in the end because of them,” he explains. “I started my own company when I was 40 years old, and the best thing about that was that I was able to make those mistakes at other companies.”
that would eventually revolutionize the apparel business. Suddenly, pants that weren’t comfortable could be comfortable with Lycra. And with that, Theory was born. “I was sick of being in a corporate environment and wanted to have fun working,” Rosen says. “I thought that with Theory I would have this little company and maybe I would do a $15 to $20 million business. You know, enough to make sure my family was comfortable.” In 1997, its first year at retail, Theory brought in $5 million in sales. By the second year, it reached $20 million in sales. “We just kept growing and really I didn’t think it could be this fun to create a company,” he says. After years of profitability, in 2003 Theory merged with Japanese holding company
“People think that in order to be successful, things always have to go well, but really you learn from the mistakes you make and are better in the end because of them." – Andrew Rosen After his time at Anne Klein, Rosen was ready to start his own business. While in talks with designer Elie Tahari to run his company, Rosen presented Tahari with an idea. That idea was Theory — a clothing brand that addressed the needs of the modern, fast-paced, tech-savvy consumer.
Link International to form Link Theory Holdings. In 2009, Link International was acquired by Fast Retailing Co. of Tokyo, owners of the Uniqlo chain. Rosen knew that this new partnership with the firm could mean some massive global growth for Theory.
“The world was changing so fast with the Internet and we were becoming so mobile in our day-to-day lives,” he explains. “I wanted to make clothing for that modern woman with a more versatile lifestyle.”
Today, the parent company of Theory is still Fast Retailing and Rosen serves as CEO. Besides Theory, the company owns the Helmut Lang brand, purchased from Prada in 2006. Today, the Theory brand alone brings in well over $500 million annually.
Rosen says Tahari took to the idea right away and introduced him to Lycra, a highly durable and super-stretchy fabric
Besides running the Theory business, Rosen has invested his own money in other contemporary businesses in the
Andrew Rosen (center) with Marcus Wainwright (left) and David Neville (right) of Rag & Bone.
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Theyskens’ Theory Fall 2011 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City
Olivier Theyskens
industry. His first investment was in Alice + Olivia, a 9-year-old brand founded and run by Stacey Bendet, a high-energy, super-motivated, and ultra-creative young designer. Alice + Olivia started much like Theory did — gaining loyal followers for its must-have, great-fitting pants. After that he invested in more — Rag & Bone and Gryphon, Haute Hippie (started by Theory’s former president of women’s sales, Trish Westcoat-Pound, who Rosen says has paid him back), and luxury lingerie retail concept Kiki de Montparnasse.
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“He has taught me everything I know about this industry and inspired me to design and create in a way that is a business. That is his genius." – Stacey Bendet, Alice + Olivia “I like starting things; if you stay in your own company, you don’t get a good perspective on the world. Partnering with other brands keeps me current,” he says. “I felt that I could do in contemporary what Louis Vuitton and Gucci did in the designer sector. I could have a whole bunch of different businesses.” And, according to Bendet, Rosen has been a dream partner.
“He has taught me everything I know about this industry and inspired me to design and create in a way that is a business. That is his genius. He knows how to take creativity and have it become profitable. Not many minds in the world of fashion work that way,” she raves. “I have such respect for him that I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t say ‘Andrew said’ or ‘Andrew thinks….’”
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1. An earlier portrait of Andrew 2. Andrew’s father, Carl Rosen 3. Andrew and his son Austin 4. Andrew with Joe Wandke at the 2009 Stevenson Holiday Reception at Theory in New York.
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While Rosen says he is open to investing in more young companies, he will not partner with just anyone looking to break into the fashion industry. Currently, Rosen says he is working with his son Austin, who spent some time working at Rag & Bone, to find a company they can invest in together. “I like to invest in people who I think I can help, but there has to be something there… a clear vision of what the brand is all about,” he explains. “There has to be something to work with.” In addition to his investments, Rosen has become well known for his charitable work. He launched the Theory Icon Project and over the years, has promoted and partnered with several philanthropic and artistic programs. Sponsored Icon Projects have included a photographic installation and promotion with charity: water — an initiative working to provide clean, safe drinking water to people in need, a holiday promotion with Tom’s Shoes that helped provide needed
shoes for Ethiopian children — and a collaboration with pop artist Christopher Lee Sauvé to create a limited-edition t-shirt benefitting New York City public schools, to name just a few. In addition to his charitable contributions through his business, Rosen remains an active Stevenson alumnus, and regularly hosts the annual New York Alumni Holiday Reception at Theory. “Andrew genuinely enjoys interacting with our alumni and sharing with them insight into his business and leadership style,” says Joseph Wandke, President of Stevenson School and longtime friend of Rosen. “He makes himself available for their questions and has personally led tours of Theory during the parties as well.” Rosen has also contributed generously to Stevenson over the years and was instrumental in the school’s library renovation. As for the future of Theory, Rosen looks forward to the creativity that Theyskens
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will continue to infuse into the brand. He says that when he originally met with Theyskens, he wanted to start his own brand and was looking for Rosen to invest. For starters, they agreed that Theyskens would design his own capsule collection for Theory’s spring 2011 season, which was presented to the press in September 2010. After some rave reviews, on October 25, it was announced that Theyskens would become artistic director of the entire Theory brand starting with the fall 2011 collection, and would continue to design his Theyskens’ Theory collection in addition to the main line. The collection would be his own take on modern sophistication. Hence, Theyskens’ Theory. “While Theory is still doing very well, I want to go a step beyond, and I know that Olivier brings that,” Rosen says. “I want to turn up the game a bit. After all, that’s what it’s always been about in this business.”
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The stories and adventures of Stevenson Alumni embody the school’s mission to lay the groundwork for a fulfilling life. Read on to learn more about the personal achievements and life experiences of fellow alumni.
1956 Nick Greenwich ’56: My wife Penny and I celebrated 50 years of happy marriage this past February. I feel I was fortunate to attend the first year of Stevenson School, 1952-1953, then known as Del Monte School for Boys. I have already shared some information about those early years with the school. I plan to continue my efforts to extend those memories for the school so I would like to reminisce with other students about those formative times.
1957 Gerry Stratford ’57: A fascination with the game of golf, its history and its architecture had preoccupied my writing for some time and eventually lured me to St. Andrews where the game began and then to the northern Highlands and glorious Dornoch. What originally was thought to be the “once in a lifetime trip” then became an annual pilgrimage. Friendships were formed, secret spots discovered and revisited, an interest in Scotland’s larger history was forged, etc. Last year, when our oldest grandchild turned 15 and graduated from elementary school, I invited him to join me on my annual trek. The celebratory journey was marvelous. We started of course in London, mixing Churchill, Westminster, the Tower and the London Eye with more modern experiences such as Sticky
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Fingers (Bill Wyman’s noisy eatery) and the New London Theater for War Horse. We visited Wimbledon where my dad had played Fred Perry in 1935 and we remembered stories Pop had told me about that meeting. We went to William the Conqueror’s Castle at Warwick and the town of Stratford (of course) where we saw Romeo and Juliet gloriously interpreted by the RSC, and then traveled by train to Glasgow. A dear friend took us inside the stadium where Celtic plays, we saw the trophies, and slipped into the locker room. Graham was able to sit in the players’ field-side bench and run on the grass. Old Reekie (Edinburgh)
Gerry Stratford ’57 and his grandson Graham standing on the 700-year-old Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole at the Old Course at St. Andrews
beckoned and we walked the Royal Mile to another castle, and visited the tavern of Deacon Brodie (aka Dr. Jekyll, this being an RLS connection). Finally, the golf clubs were unpacked and we played together with my Scottish friends on all of those wonderful courses. The game has never been so much fun.
1958 Jerry Westheimer ’58: I graduated from the University of North Texas with a BBA degree in Administrative Management. I worked for the largest bank in Dallas, Texas (First National Bank in Dallas)
from 1964–1971. I moved home in 1971 to work with my father in our family oil company. In September of 2004, I became president of our family oil company, President and CEO of the Jerome Westheimer Family Foundation and Chair of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Foundation in Oklahoma City, OK. I am involved greatly with the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma where I sponsor the Westheimer Competition — where 3 person student-teams deliver presentations before a panel of judges from the business community for cash prizes totaling over $10,000. I also sponsor the Westheimer Competition for the NROTC program for Midshipmen and Marine officer candidates. I am retired from working for a salary but am quite busy with my present work related businesses as well as my volunteer activities.
1960 Peter Douglas ’60: Completing my 26th year as Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission, and although in the midst of my second bout with cancer, I intend to carry on
Raymond Snow ’60 and his wife Suzanne
as long as possible. Looking back, I am reminded how profoundly my life was affected by 4 and a half years at RLS. A solid educational grounding, finding my spiritual holdfast, and calibrating my ethical compass were life gifts given while at RLS. I was on scholarship support while there which inspired me to dedicate my life to public service in the hope of giving back and paying forward my good fortune. Raymond Snow ’60 visited the school with his wife Suzanne. He has been retired for 16 years from the practice of law and has four children and eight grandchildren. He was here for a year and a half and has many fond memories of Stevenson, which saved him from a “desultory life” at public school. He went on to the University of Missouri, from which he graduated in 1965 with a BS in Chemical Engineering. He worked with Bechtel Corporation for five years while attending USF Law School, and became a civil litigation lawyer in 1969, in Fremont.
1964 Lou Ogaard ’64: I hold a Ph.D. in botany and ran a mine reclamation program for the North Dakota Public Service Commission for over twenty years. I retired for a couple of years, lived in Bolivia and now work for a non-profit which is involved in research and development of algae to biofuel. I hold dual citizenship in Bolivia and the United States. I administered the research and development program to convert algae to biofuel at CEHMM.org and now handle compliance and data management issues. I coached soccer at the secondary level for over twenty years, including two boy’s State championship teams at Bismarck High School in the 90’s. I am a ham radio operator with skill in high
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Joel Harris ’68 and his wife Patti at Machu Picchu
speed Morse Code, and I enjoy downhill skiing, camping and hiking. The first web site links to several publications of mine. The second is the site where I work (www.psc.nd.gov/public/consinfo/ amlpubs.php) (www.cehmm.org).
1960 Mike Handler ’65: I am living in Santa Fe, New Mexico now after several years in the Bay Area, and love the openness and art/music scene here. I have my own blues band (Marc and Mike’s Country Blues Revue – on Facebook) and attend and sometimes play for lots of music events and cruises during the year. I’m semi-retired now and a first-time grandfather (!), but manage to put in some time as Operations Manager for a jazz organization in Santa Fe and also as a jazz and blues DJ on our public radio station, KSFR-FM. I’ve also done a lot of extra work in films made here, and was recently seen as one of the “dead guys” in True Grit!
Please email your personal stories* and digital photos* for the “Alumni at Large” section to alumni@stevensonschool.org.
*Please limit your update to 300 words or less. Personal updates must be written in the first person and will be reprinted as provided, please check your grammar and spelling. Updates may be edited for appropriateness. All photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please identify the people in the photo(s).
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1967
that tiny speck of land 2000 statute miles from the nearest sizable city or landmass.
We congratulate Steve Covell ’67 on being chosen as Grand Marshal of the 2011 Good Old Days Parade, held April 9 and 10 in Pacific Grove. “A tireless worker on community projects,” Steve has lived in P.G. since 1962 and has been a building contractor in the area since 1980. He and his wife Jan have two grown children living in San Francisco, and he is a member of the PG Rotary Club and of the Board of Directors of the University of the Pacific, from which he graduated in 1971 with a degree in business and marketing.
In 26 years of leading these trips this was the most challenging one to plan and execute. Easter Island has limited accommodations and is not used to large influxes of tourists at any one time. I had to secure our hotel rooms and ground transportation five years in advance. The biggest challenge, though, was the weather. The eclipse would happen at the start of the Austral Winter and the end of the wet season, and the probability of seeing totality was 40 to 45 percent. In fact, any significant cloud cover would cause what eclipse-chasing aficionados refer to as a “cloud out.” It rained hard and steadily on July 10, and at pre-eclipse briefings tour members looked like they might throw me into a volcanic crater as a sacrifice to the ‘weather Gods.’ Having chased eclipses for the past 36 years since 1973 as a member of a Harvard Observatory team, I reminded the group that in 17 prior eclipses I’d seen a lot of dramatic, unexpected things happen meteorologically in the hours just before an eclipse begins!
Joel Harris ’68: view of eclipse from Easter Island July 11, 2010.
1968 Joel Harris ’68: Last July Patti and I led 92 “umbraddicts” to South America and Easter Island through my astronomical tour company, Twilight Tours Inc. (www.twilighttours.net), to observe the July 11 total solar eclipse on
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Sure enough, the storm front passed over during the night and left only scattered clouds and stiff winds for us to contend with on the morning of the big event. As can be seen from the accompanying photo, conditions were nearly ideal. The only clouds arrived at the final moments of totality, and these actually enhanced the “diamond ring effect” heralding 3rd contact - the formal conclusion of the total phase of the eclipse. I was a hero instead of a goat!
and Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, CA, where I serve as the RS-68A engine program’s risk focal and corrective action board integrator.
1969 Greg Giustina ’69: My professional teaching career spanned thirty years. I taught special education and elementary school in the public schools of Wyoming, Oregon and Arizona. I taught middle school and high school in the Philippines and Thailand. The Far East has been my home for twenty-five years. Recently I retired from teaching in order to pursue a demanding meditation and yoga regimen and a lecture schedule advocating World Peace. Last year I wrote a book which documents the final day of urban warfare, May 19, 2010, on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand. My book, Metro-Rage, published under the pseudonym, Greg Lee, is available at amazon.com and a few select book stores. Bill Hirsch ’69: I was born and raised in Arcadia, CA, just a furlong from Santa Anita Racetrack, and after graduating from Stevenson I studied Business and Animal Husbandry at CSU San Luis Obispo. I currently live in Floral Park, NY, and Hallandale, FL, with my wife Mary Ryan, a Sports Commentator for network and cable TV and life-long horsewoman. I am the Founder/Director of the highly popular Trackmen Golf Club (www.trackmengolfclub.com) and the Managing Member of three Trackmen Golf Club Racing Stables, four Quindecim Stables, Wade Racing LLC, and Twenty Star Stable. I have also published several Turf Gourmet Dining
The next total eclipse, on November 14, 2012, will occur in Australia and will traverse the city of Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. While eclipse chasing is my avocation, my day job, is as a systems engineer and rocket scientist at Pratt Bill Hirsch ’69 at the track
Guides (www.turfgourmet.com). For the past 25 years I have been Sole Proprietor of W.J. Hirsch Jr. Thoroughbred Racing Stable based at Belmont Park in New York and Gulfstream Park in Florida. My grandfather Max Hirsch is the legendary Hall of Fame trainer who won 3 Kentucky Derbys, 4 Belmont Stakes and the 1946 Triple Crown with King Ranch’s Assault. My father is W.J. “Buddy” Hirsch; he was inducted into Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1986 alongside his father, Max. I am a licensed Thoroughbred owner in New York, New Jersey, Florida and West Virginia, and am proprietor of the Hirsch Thoroughbred Management, LLC (www.hirschthoroughbredmgmt.com).
1970 News from Diane Schaeffler about the boys is that Jimmy Schaeffler ’70 was selected by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to moderate one of a handful of Super Sessions at the 2011 NAB Show in Las Vegas, in April. He is chairman and chief service officer of his own company, The Carmel Group (www.carmelgroup.com), and is involved with multiple ventures involving TV and the NAB, including authoring two NABpublished books, one about DVRs and the other about digital signage. Jimmy has also published two policy papers for the
NAB, one dealing with the 2007 XM-Sirius radio merger, the other with the topic of broadcaster copyrights. Their two Stevenson sons, Willy ’00 and Cory ’05 graduated from Denver University with MBA’s in 2010; Willy works as a business analyst for Sport Obermeyer in Aspen, CO and Cory is a development analyst for Technicolor’s new product, called MediaNavi, in Burbank, CA.
1971 Rob Arnott ’71 is chairman and founder of Research Affiliates, a research-intensive asset management firm that focuses on innovative products and explores novel
WE REMEMBER MERLE GREENE ROBERTSON Former Stevenson teacher (1968 – 1977) Merle Greene Robertson died April 22, 2011 in San Francisco. She was 97. Artist, art historian, photographer, and Mayanist, Merle was internationally famous for her contribution to the investigation and preservation of the art, iconography, and writing of the Maya civilizations. Her extensive rubbings, over 5,000 in total, are housed in the Merle Greene Robertson Collection of the Rare Book and Manuscript Department of Tulane University’s Latin American Library. An early believer in experiential education, Merle and her husband and Dean of Students Robby Robertson took Stevenson students to Mexico and Guatemala to map archaeological sites and assist her with her photography and rubbings, one of which hangs in Douglas Hall. The following are excerpts from notes about Merle from alumni. They deserve to be read in their entirety and are posted online at www.stevensonschool.org/stories. “Rarely can one point to an individual as having had a singular effect on one’s life, but in my case Merle Greene Robertson was such an individual. In the spring of my senior year, my class went with her
Merle Greene Robertson with Stevenson students in Guatemala
to Guatemala for several weeks. Here, we visited a functioning archaeological project at the Maya site of Yaxha and carried out original research at another center called Ixtutz, finding and recording new hieroglyphic texts. For me, this trip sealed my journey into Maya archaeology. She continued to be involved in my life after Stevenson and became known to my children as ‘Grandma Merle.’ Her impact on my life and on the broader field of Maya archaeology has been profound. She will be sorely missed.” – Arlen Chase ’71, Mayan Scholar “Merle was an extraordinary teacher who utterly changed the trajectory of my life.
She awakened my passion for archaeology, a passion that would take me to Central America again and again, make me multilingual (Spanish and Maya) and shape my studies as an undergraduate at Harvard. In teaching me to look back, she also taught me to look ahead. In teaching me to look closely at artifacts, she taught me that the small and the ordinary carry the secrets of their makers, their hopes and fears for the future. Above all, she taught us all that for all our differences, humankind really is one community, not merely across cultures, but also throughout time.” – Paul Saffo ’72
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1974 approaches to active asset allocation and more efficient forms of indexation. He graduated summa cum laude from UC Santa Barbara in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science; he is past editor of the Financial Analysts Journal, has published many finance journal articles and is coauthor or editor for several books on investing.
tend to my livestock. I am a Captain in our local fire district and just received a commendation for serving 35 years. I am a 5th generation farmer in California and hopefully one of my children will carry on the tradition. And remember when you sit down at the dinner table tonight to include the farmer that raised the bounty on your table in your prayers.
Ralph Keeley ’71: I am very proud to be associated with the Class of 1971. Although a few of us (The Gnomes) were not destined to fame and fortune, we will manage to weather overwhelming odds to be able once again to meet and share stories of our past and things to come. Mr. Keith was right — my college years after Stevenson really would not do me a whole lot of good. I am doing now what I always wanted to do, FARM. I own and manage Keeley Family Farms. We grow rice, walnuts, corn, and safflower. I started to work for my father in 1974 and evolved from there. I have three great children — one of which just left a staff position with Congressman Wally Herger to come home and help me. When I have time I like to fly my Stearman, hunt, and
1972 Jeff Anderson ’72: Hope all is well at Stevenson. Charlie Bates suggested that I submit the group shot from our Annual December Bohemian Club lunch (see below). Bruce Deane ’72: I am now a government civilian (GS-15) working in the Pentagon for the Air Force in Test and Evaluation of all major weapon systems acquired by the Air Force and upgraded over time. I retired in 2006 after 30 years of service (RLS’s first Academy graduate), then was a Program Manager for SAIC in support of the Air Force in the Pentagon until December 2010, when I was appointed to my current Federal position.
William Godwin ’74: I have been working as an engineering geologist since the mid 1980’s, and currently am employed at Fugro Consultants as project manager on large nuclear power plant and infrastructure projects worldwide. I spent a majority of 2010 and early 2011 in Abu Dhabi, Arizona, and Seoul, Korea, with a short jaunt to Christchurch, New Zealand to do a reconnaissance after the September earthquake. I have been married to my wife Diana (fellow 1974 grad of Carmel High) for 27 years. Following the graduation of my second daughter, Diana and I will be relocating back to the Carmel area in late 2011 or early 2012. I look forward to getting involved in local activities soon thereafter. Jerome Politzer ’74: I have joined the Monterey law firm of Horn, Lloyd, Karachale, Dyer, Schwartz, Law & Cook, Inc. I am a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law, and a certified public accountant.
1975 NATO News reported that on January 5, 2011 at the Babylon Conference Center
Annual December Bohemian Club lunch. Front row, left to right: John Todd ’71, Bart Rinker ’72, Jeff Anderson ’72, Charlie Bates ’72, Leighton Hills ’72, Steve Perrelli-Minetti ’72, Phil Coniglio ’72. Back row, left to Sright: Winston Boyer ’72, Brian Call ’74, Bill Pickford ’73, Skip Olinger ’71, Bill Burkett ’74, Mark Holmes ’75, Peter MacDonald ’72, Christopher Zuber ’76, Mark Swope ’71, Dwight Holing, Jim Flagg ’74, Mike Winton ’74, Charlie Winton ’71, and David Henderson ’72. Kevin McNeely ’71 also attended but missed the picture! 50
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in central Baghdad, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter ’75 assumed command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I). As NTM-I commander, Michael will assist Iraqis in establishing enduring security stability by advising, assisting, training, and equipping Iraqi Security Forces, and organizing out-of-country training at NATO institutions in various countries. The Mission has been running since 2004 and is not a combat mission. To reinforce it, NATO is working with the Iraqi government on a structured cooperation framework to develop the Alliance’s longterm relationship with Iraq. Jacques Lord ’75: We moved into our replacement home August of 2009, after losing the old one in the October 2007 wildfires, and expect to finish the details by August 2011. Once completed, we will submit for LEED Platinum certification of a single family home that was built for less than $220 per square foot. I was laid off in May of 2009 and found fulltime work in June of 2010. In the interval I built two landfills in Fontana, CA, worked as a safety superintendent at San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, wrote closure reports for two major hazwaste sites, and consulted to five other companies. Now I am a contractor to the Navy and cleaning up the former Alameda Naval Air Station. My four girls are healthy; two in college, two in high school. My wife Marcyn and I enjoyed an all-expenses-paid trip to Banff, Canada for three nights so that I could be a magician for a convention of Canadian landfill operators at their final banquet. Thanks to (Stevenson English Teacher) Biff Smith for giving me another way to put food on the table, with style! I published an essay on the subject of “Dwellings” in Wild Apples, a journal of the environment, arts, and
literature, in their Fall/Winter 2010 issue (www.wildapples.org).
1977 Paul Alota ’77 is a practicing dentist and owner of Great Wall Dental (www.greatwalldental.com) in Kent, Washington. Colman Burke ’77 is a partner in The Tax Group Inc., in San Francisco. He earned a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from UC Berkeley in 1981 and a law degree magna cum laude from the Univ. of San Francisco Law School in 1987. His practice covers a broad range of federal income tax matters in a variety of contexts, domestic and international, including international financings, investment fund offerings, tax planning for financial institutions, and corporate transactions.
1978 Vera Stone-Williams ’78 lives in Hawaii and is a published author; one of her books, WASPS — Women’s Airforce Service Pilots of WW II, is being reprinted. She is working on some motion picture scripts and worked as an extra on the television series, Lost, all while raising two children. As a member of the first group of girls (41 of them) to enroll at Stevenson in the fall of 1976, she is interested to organize a reunion. How about Homecoming Weekend, September 30 – October 1, 2011?
1979 Jun Hirai ’79: The earthquakes and tsunami were unbelievable. I just wanted to let everyone know that my family is safe and doing fine. And thank the American people for helping us. Craig Lewis ’79: We are living in Los Angeles and recently met up with
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Craig Lewis ’79 with his wife Robyn and their children Joshua (9), Hanna (7), and Jacob (4)
Mazier Shams ’79, Mark Monro ’79 and Steve Bracker ’79 for a great afternoon happy hour. Did I say a very happy hour? My wife Robyn and I have three children now — Joshua (9), Hanna (8) and Jacob (4) — and they are surprisingly very energetic — not sure from where they get that. We hope to visit Pebble Beach soon so the kids can take it all in.
1980 Glenn Snyder ’80 is a Principal in Lifesciences Strategy and Operations with Deloitte Consulting LLP in San Francisco. He has 21 years of experience providing management consulting services to the life sciences and health care industry and leads the company’s market access consulting services. Glenn earned a B.S. in
Please email your personal stories* and digital photos* for the “Alumni at Large” section to alumni@stevensonschool.org.
*Please limit your update to 300 words or less. Personal updates must be written in the first person and will be reprinted as provided, please check your grammar and spelling. Updates may be edited for appropriateness. All photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please identify the people in the photo(s).
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Roberto Tenenbaum’s death. I remember his big, smiling face and intelligence. Engineering at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, an M.S. in Engineering from USC, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Betsy have two sons, Reid and Grey.
1981 Liz Ashby ’81: I am Owner, Designer, and Manufacturer of EXA Design Inc, featuring Resort Wear apparel sold worldwide. In 1998, EXA Designs Inc. was sold offshore and I formed Elizabeth Ashby Designs Inc., continuing to license original graphic designs in the golf, apparel, and paper product industries. I and my longtime partner Jon Close, Emmy award-winning film composer and pianist, reside in Carmel and own a music production company, OnShore Productions.
1982 Here’s an update on Suzanne Mark Bray ’82 excerpted from a news article entitled, “Why Don and Suzanne Bray Support GreenTown Los Altos.” Don and Suzanne Bray are Bay Area natives and have lived in Los Altos since shortly after their marriage nearly 20 years ago. They are the parents of three children, all of whom attend Los Altos public schools (Egan Junior High and Los Altos High). Don is the co-founder and President of AltaTerra Research, a professional services firm providing research and consulting on clean technologies for the business marketplace. Don first got involved with GreenTown about three years ago and quickly began to contribute to the organization in several ways, including co-chairing the Working Group on Water and Waste. In that role, he helped to organize community forums and to write and present a report and recommendations to the Los Altos Environmental Commission and the Los Altos City Council. The efforts of this working group influenced the new waste
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contract recently signed with Mission Trail Waste Systems. Don now serves on the Los Altos Environmental Commission. Suzanne is currently participating in the yearlong Acterra “Be the Change” environmental leadership program and focusing on land preservation. She recently signed on as the vice chair of the GreenTown education program. Don and Suzanne have enjoyed being involved in GreenTown. They like getting to know a broader circle of people who share a common interest and like being able to contribute when time permits. The Brays are also donors to GreenTown, and they hope that their contribution will encourage others to donate, too. “There are lots of groups trying to make change at a state level, but GreenTown focuses on Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Working at a community level, you can really get things done,” says Don. Suzanne adds, “We’ve lived here a long time and there’s a good chance our kids will end up here. When you love a place like this, you want to do what you can to make it a great place to live.”
1982 Shawn Morrison ’82: I am so sorry and saddened to hear this news about
Peter Donlon ’85 and Kim Huggins Donlon ’86 with their children James and Jessie Claire
1983 Tony McHale ’83: I have been proudly serving the citizens of Ventura County for the last 12 years as a Ventura County Firefighter. However, in November of 2010 I was promoted to the rank of Engineer and could not be happier. I now get to do what most young boys dream about... I drive a Fire Engine. It’s been a great and honorable career and I look forward to going to work every shift... My best regards to all my wonderful classmates of the Class of ’83. Amy Heard White ’83: I survived the Christchurch earthquake along with my terrific colleagues at Statistics New Zealand.
1984 James Liang ’84 visited with his wife of two years, Karen Chim, and shared an update. He loved his time here and will send his children here when he has them and they are ready. He graduated from UC Davis in 1990 with a BA in Economics and then got an MBA from Golden Gate University, in Finance. He returned to Hong Kong in 1996 and is self-employed and runs a finance company.
1985 Alan Arrivee ’85: My most important news is that my 12-month-old daughter Beatrice Louise Kneupper Arrivée is now walking. She lives here in Oxford with my wife Courtney Kneupper and myself. I am a filmmaker and writer, and Assistant Professor of Cinema in the Department of Theatre Arts at The University of Mississippi. As Cinema Director, I am very excited about helping to realize the university’s proposed interdepartmental Cinema Minor for Fall of 2011. My short film Silent Radio, which I wrote and directed, was awarded Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography at The European Independent Film Festival 2007 in Paris. It also received the 2007 Long Island International Film Expo’s Best Actor award (Eric Winzenried) and its Triple Play Award for Best Technical Integration (Cinematography, Original Score and Art Direction), and won the Best Short Subject Award at the Ellensburg Film Festival. It has been the Official Selection of over twenty film festivals, including Staten Island and Breckenridge. I also received story credit on the feature film The Road to Empire, directed by Michael Sibay, which received the Platinum ‘Remi’ Award for Best Work-In-Progress at the 2007 Houston WorldFest. I am also a professional actor and member of the Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Randle Gladney ’85: I just retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel after 22 years of service. I currently live with my wife Trisha in Ft. Walton Beach, FL.
1986 Kim Huggins Donlon ’86: I am working as self-employed interior designer for Simply Detailed (www.simplydetailed.com). My
husband Peter Donlon ’85 is working as Vice President for Sales with Earthbound Farm. We were high school sweethearts who met at Stevenson, and we will be married 20 years in July 2011 and are looking forward to seeing the Class of 1986 at the June reunion! Ken Ibrahim ’86: I continue to work in the field of visual effects and recently finished working on Tron: Legacy at Digital Domain (Venice, CA). I am currently working on the upcoming Transformers film. I hope to take a break after this rigorous production and head to Greece for vacation and back to Monterey for a relaxing breather. I’m currently living with my girlfriend in northern Santa Monica and am getting my house in Venice, CA ready to rent. In addition to feature films I also scored the soundtrack to a Nintendo DS game called WonderWorld and am currently working on both the music and audio for an upcoming iOS interactive children’s book. I continue to do music as a hobby in any spare time I have. My personal website is www.shuri-ken.com. Deirdre Kato ’86 earned a BA in Art History from UCSD Revelle College in 1991 and an MD from the Royal College of Surgeons (Dublin, Ireland) in 1999. She worked in Dublin for a bit and completed her residency in OB/GYN at Tufts/New England Medical Center in 2004. Since then she has worked with Kaiser Permanente as an OBGYN in the Northern Virginia area.
1987 Brian McCormick ’87 and his dad Rob McCormick are getting some press in Seattle Magazine for their Memaloose wines. Read the article at http:// www.seattlemag.com/article/dining/
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Ken Ibrahim ’86
washington-wines/new-hybrid-winesmerge-washington-and-oregon-grapes. Brian, a Dartmouth College philosophy/ religion major who fell in love with food and wine, received his Master’s in Enology and Viticulture from UC Davis after receiving his science degree from the Philadelphia School of Textiles. His early training included work at Zind Umbrecht in Alsace and extensive vineyard supervisory responsibilities with a contract grower in Dry Creek Valley. He is a very serious amateur chef, baker, etc. With his wife Maria and two children he farms Idiot’s Grace certified organic farm in Mosier, Oregon (cherries, pears and grapes). Lisa Muss Harrison-Barker ’87: I am a homeschooling mom now to my youngest (Aiden, age 7) and I love the freedom and fun of it. I also homeschool my 13-year-old son, John Daniel, part time. Teaching 2nd and 8th grade at the same
Please email your personal stories* and digital photos* for the “Alumni at Large” section to alumni@stevensonschool.org.
*Please limit your update to 300 words or less. Personal updates must be written in the first person and will be reprinted as provided, please check your grammar and spelling. Updates may be edited for appropriateness. All photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please identify the people in the photo(s).
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Grace ’18 currently attend Stevenson at the Carmel Campus. Lewis Ward ’87: I am Research Manager, Consumer Markets (Gaming), withIDC (International Data Services), in Cambridge, MA (youtube.com/user/ AnalystGoneWild).
1988
Bob Padgett ’87
time is a blast, especially with my oldest son’s special needs. Twins Rachel and Nicole are taking AP classes at Greenfield High and juggling drama and sports. They will be graduating in 2012. Sadly, my youngest daughter, Becca, passed away July 11, 2010 just shy of her 9th birthday. She valiantly lived with Batten Disease and fought well with a tremendous spirit. As I write this we are still missing our Boo, and I doubt that will ever change, but it does get easier. My husband and I distract ourselves with the excitement of raising our brood along with nine cats. Yes, nine. I don’t know what we were thinking. For fun I review children’s books on my blog BiblioReads.com. I focus on books for ages 0–12 and give my gut reaction. It works, the blog is growing and my kids love the books we get to review. Bob Padgett ’87: In April I delivered a speech at the North American Conference of the Elgar Society regarding my discovery of the hidden Principal theme to Sir Edward Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations. In musicology this riddle is equivalent to Fermat’s Last Theorem, and has defied any credible explanation for over a century. My blog concerning my original research is available at enigmathemunmasked.blogspot.com. I am a violin, viola, and piano instructor. My son, Matthew ’16, and daughter,
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James Anderson ’88: We’ve got a 7-month-old boy, Charlie, and a 2-year-old girl, Emma. I can’t believe how fast they change and they keep my wife, Linley, and me on our toes 24/7. Professionally, I continue to advise public pensions on their real estate investments, mainly in Latin America (Tierra Partners, New York City). I am working out the details of starting a hedge fund and if things work out, that will be my new venture for 2011 and — fingers crossed — new career. One piece of news that I would like to share is that after many years of toying around with song writing and guitar, I bit the bullet and got in touch with a former RLS colleague, Luther Russell (Spirit) ’88, who is a very talented musician and producer. Luther agreed to produce my first album and we just finished mastering. I am still not sure what, if anything, will come of it but it’s one of those life endeavors that James Anderson ’88 with Luther Russell (Spirit) ’88 and daughter Emma at his Brooklyn studio.
just feels good to have under my belt. Luther and I worked together over a sixmonth period and went into a studio in Brooklyn last January to track ten songs. It was a terrific experience and you can check out the goods at http://glorydogs. bandcamp.com.
1989 Mark Peterson ’89 and Mia Bambace Peterson ’89 tell us they live in Carmel Valley with their two children, Isabel and Jake, who are following in their footsteps as students at the Stevenson Carmel Campus in 3rd grade and kindergarten, respectively. Mark is the Principal in Peterson Communications, a technology public relations and marketing company (www.petersoncom.com), a profession he has been immersed in for the past 15 years. Mark received his BA in Communications from Oregon State University and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He is a lecturing professor in the School of Business at California State University Monterey Bay and is active in a number of Monterey Peninsula charities and organizations. Mia studied art at Santa Clara University and owned and operated women’s boutique clothing stores for a number of years with her sister, Dana Bambace Duarte ’91. Mia is now working on a new art education business and is actively engaged in the
Susie Weinman ‘90 (fourth from the right in blue striped shirt) with LA Mayor Villraigosa and Homeland Security interns
Stevenson Carmel Campus. They report that they feel so fortunate to have attended Stevenson; and love spending time with many of their close friends and families that are part of the Stevenson community.
1990 Kelly Baker San Filippo ’90: My husband, Russ, and I welcomed the birth of our second son, Aidan, on September 18, 2010. Aidan and his big brother, Ethan, are 13 months apart. Whew! Life is keeping us very busy! I am fortunate to be at home with the boys, and Russ is a firefighter with the City of Piedmont Fire Department. We live in Monterey, CA. Susan Weinman ’90: In the summer of 2010, I was a Homeland Security and Public Safety intern for Los Angeles Mayor A. Villaraigosa. I wrote and designed a Family Preparedness Guide. The
Aidan (6 months) and Ethan (19 months) sons of Kelly Baker San Filippo ’90
Emergency Management Department of Los Angeles published 1,000 copies for distribution. I completed my Master’s in Public Administration in December 2010. I became of member of the Golden Key Honor Society. I continue to be an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles.
1991 Zac Alinder ’91: I am currently a Partner at the law firm, Bingham McCutchen LLP, in San Francisco, CA, and my practice focuses primarily on intellectual property litigation. In November of 2010, we took a software infringement and computer fraud case to trial on behalf of our client, Oracle, against a rival software company, SAP. On November 23, 2010, the jury awarded our client $1.3 billion in damages. The jury verdict was the largest jury verdict of any kind in 2010 and is the largest copyright verdict ever awarded. Miya Ando ’91 has been commissioned by the City of London (England) to create a sculpture made from World Trade Center steel to commemorate the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001. For those wishing to see her work, her 2011 exhibition schedule includes Paris in June (www.galerie-quang.com), Tokyo in October (www.g-sho.com), Seattle in November, and Los Angeles and San Francisco in December (www.loraschlesinger.com). Miya’s
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Rio and Marin children of Rie and Dai Yamada ’91
gallery in Brooklyn can be viewed at (www.miyaando.com). Dai Yamada ’91: Hi Stevenson! I just wanted to give you an update on my life! We had a recent addition to our family. Rio was born on 10/31, a Halloween baby. I am currently enrolled in an MBA program at Northeastern University in Boston focusing on international management and finance. I am scheduled to complete the program in May!! Needless to say, working full time as a Sr. Product Manager for NEC Corporation, while caring for 2 babies and studying is quite tiring. I’ve had to sacrifice sleep for the time being. My wife Rie and the kids still live in Sacramento, but are planning to relocate to the South Bay in the not-toodistant future. This year will be my
Please email your personal stories* and digital photos* for the “Alumni at Large” section to alumni@stevensonschool.org.
*Please limit your update to 300 words or less. Personal updates must be written in the first person and will be reprinted as provided, please check your grammar and spelling. Updates may be edited for appropriateness. All photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please identify the people in the photo(s).
2011 ALUMNI MAGAZINE
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20th year, and am looking forward to seeing everyone.
1992 Hillary Joseph Fredrickson ’92 and husband Dave ’92 are living in Madrid, Spain for the next two or three years after accepting an offer by his company to relocate. They expect to return to Marin County at the end of their tour. Aengus Jeffers ’92: I wanted to let you know that I am no longer with Horan Lloyd Law Offices. I have opened my solo law practice on the fifth floor of the Professional Building in downtown Monterey, at the corner of Franklin Street and Calle Principal. My colleagues at Horan Lloyd provided me the mentoring and the opportunities that molded my current practice, for which I am thankful. It was a very difficult decision to leave the firm, but I wanted the flexibility of a solo practice to make more time with Betsy and our two boys. My parents gave me excellent adventures backpacking and travelling while growing up and I would regret not giving our boys the same opportunities. I cannot thank my colleagues enough for their support and help in this transition. I will be continuing the same land use work I have been involved with for the last ten years, and I will still be working with my friends at Horan Lloyd.
1994 Janette Bunch Byrne ’94: I live in my hometown of Las Vegas, NV with my husband Patrick Byrne and our two sons Seamus (5) and Padraig (1). After working several years in commercial real estate, we acquired an avocado grove in Ventura, CA in 2007. I handle the financials and marketing for the company (www.paradisegroveavocados.com).
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1995 Ryan Anderson ’95: Brandon Sams ’96 visited me at my house in Denver, Colorado over Christmas. I also went to Samantha Lieberman’s ’99 wedding in Monterey last fall. I am still in real estate with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty, in Greenwood Village (www.RyanAndersonHomeFinder.com). Alison Biondi ’95: Since finishing my MBA in international business in 2005 in Rome, Italy, I have been living in the Bay Area for the past 5 years. I currently live in San Francisco’s Marina/Cow Hollow district and am the operations manager for an Italian renewable energy company headquartered in Southern Italy that specializes in large industrial solar and wind installations. My job and personal passion for travel take me to Europe often, but not frequently enough. I lived in Italy for 4 years, speak fluent Italian, and hope to get another opportunity to live in EU again. Kim Clark Ratto ’95: I married Jeff Ratto ’95 at The Vintage Club in
Janette (Bunch) Byrne ’94 with Seamus (5) and Padraig (1)
Indian Wells, CA in November 2008. Shortly after the wedding, we bought our first home in Pacific Grove, CA. We now divide our time between work, restoration of the house and travel. Jeff has continued to work for USC as a designer and consultant along with building his own design business. Please view his work and contact information at rattodesign.com. We say good-bye to my older sister and dear friend, Katherine A. Clark (March 2010), and most recently to Jeff’s grandfather, Albert G. Ratto (January 2011). They are loved and greatly missed. Elizabeth Nelson Harvey ’95: Since Stevenson, life has taken me on many exciting adventures. After earning a Linguistics degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1999 and a Master’s from Webster University in 2003, I joined the US Army as I was on an ROTC scholarship for the final two years of school. Serving my country is one of my proudest accomplishments and I am honored to be a member of a mere 10% of the US population that has served. At the ripe age of 20 I entered active duty service as a Lieutenant in the Military Police Corps. The Army took me to many faraway places; some more desirable
responsible for Security Compliance and Expense Management. While in New York, I met my wonderful husband, James. We were married in Chicago and our terrific son, Nate, was born in 2007. We recently moved to Pacific Grove and are thrilled that we live closer to family, are able to enjoy the Peninsula’s abundant opportunities, and raise our family in one of the best parts of the country. It is truly a magical place and the education and confidence that are engrained in us at Stevenson truly do carry through to very enriching lives.
Charlie (4 months), Henry (2 years), sons of Wendy and Graham Rule ’95
than others. Career highlights were my airborne days at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, deploying to Kosovo, and serving in Korea. While in North Carolina I was part of the XVIII Airborne Corps, where I was a Jumpmaster, which is one of the most difficult certifications to achieve as we literally have the lives of our fellow paratroopers in our hands. Jumpmasters are responsible for ensuring that everyone is suited up correctly, spotting the drop while in flight by hanging our bodies halfway out of the aircraft, and sending the jumpuers out into the breeze. I have lost a few friends overseas and everyday I think about my former Army buddies who are still serving today with great fondness and with a thankful heart. After leaving the military, I joined AIG in New York City. I have been very fortunate with AIG and every new direction our company took seemed to open more doors for me. I had the opportunity to move back to California and now work for AIG in a remote position in the Chief Adminstrative Office
Graham Rule ’95: I am very pleased to announce that last October Wendy and I welcomed our second son, Charlie, to our family, joining older brother Henry. We are all well and recently moved to Dubai where I am Regional Head of Multinationals, Middle East and North Africa Global Banking and Markets with the HSBC Group.
1996 Walter Chan ‘96 is an Associate Physician and Instructor in Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. He earned his BS degrees in Biomedical Engineering and System Science and Engineering from
Washington University in 2000, and his MD degree also from Washington University in 2004. In 2010, he completed his clinical training in gastroenterology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and earned a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University. His clinical and research interests include the diagnosis and management of esophageal diseases, motility disorders, and inflammatory bowel disease.
1997 Ali Hijazi ’97 visited the School with his wife, Bita Mafizadeh. He is a hedge funds analyst with Perinvest, an independent investment manager focused on alternative strategies, in London, UK (www.perinvest.co.uk). He graduated from the London School of Economics in 2000 with a bachelor of science in Accounting and Finance, and earned an MBA from the London Business School in 2006. Kestrin Pantera ’97 is a working actor, musician, and filmmaker. She has appeared at Sundance, Cannes, and SXSW International Festivals; and has won awards at Malibu Film Festival. She worked on Nickelodeon’s Emmynominated Ni Hao, Kai Lan and appeared in numerous critically acclaimed music
Ali Hijazi ’97 and his wife Bita with Dave Miller during their visit to Stevenson
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Please email your personal stories* and digital photos* for the “Alumni at Large” section to alumni@stevensonschool.org.
*Please limit your update to 300 words or less. Personal updates must be written in the first person and will be reprinted as provided, please check your grammar and spelling. Updates may be edited for appropriateness. All photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please identify the people in the photo(s).
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Medical Center of Los Angeles in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. I earned my Doctor of Medicine degree at Creighton University, where I also earned a Master of Science in Clinical Anatomy. I recently asked Stacey Frank of Los Angeles to marry me while enjoying the view in Big Sur. The wedding will be on Labor Day weekend and will be attended by Stevenson alums Thomas Hattori ’97, Judah Padilla ’98, and Dominic Boitano ’97 as well as my sisters Alison Scherling David ’94 and Laura Scherling ’01. In my free time I enjoy darkroom photography, a hobby I started at Stevenson summer camp and in high school. My images, some of which date back to Stevenson, can be found at www.joshuascherling.com.
Kestrin Pantera ’97
videos, films, plays, and commercials. Her comedic short PSA For Cats premiered on ComedyCentral.com. As a cellist, vocalist, and performer she has collaborated with groundbreaking artists Beck, Weezer, Soko, Adam Freeland, Brandi Carlile, Cary Brothers, and Rob Dickinson. Her band, his Orchestra (http://myspace.com/ hisorchestra), licensed several songs to MTV’s The Real World and Kourtney & Khloe, and had a live national MTV Canada performance and northeastern tour. She recently scored the film Same Difference by Guggenheim artist Cathy Opie, and her most recent release is Prof. Lacroix’s new single on TBM Records: “Legend Gold.” For more on Kestrin, visit her website at hello.kestrin.com.
1998 Erik Chin ’98 visited recently and tells us that he lives in Shanghai and started his own company (G2VProducts.com) manufacturing and selling stainless-steel water bottles. His company is a spin-off of his father’s company, with which he also works. He has kept in contact and made new Stevenson contacts while in Asia. He even ate at a Japanese restaurant 58
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in Shanghai named “Ippoh,” which is owned by fellow Stevenson alumnus, Toyoichiro Seki ’81. Caroline Diel ’98: I am married since 2008 to Sylvain Taurisson, a Frenchman. Our first daughter, Anouk, was born December 8, 2010. I am responsible for the viticulture and enology in our family winery Schlossgut Diel in the Nahe Valley, Germany. Our website is www.diel.eu. Kat Ridolfi ’98: I recently located to Washington, DC after living in California for most of my life. My husband, Lloyd, decided to change careers and is attending Georgetown Law School. I joined the DC office of Ann Arbor, MI-based aquatic science and engineering firm, LimnoTech. In this new position, I’ll continue my work assisting municipalities and the federal government to develop watershed management plans, analyze and interpret water quality data, and anything else water quality related. We are excited to be on the East Coast and look forward to taking advantage of all that DC has to offer! Josh Scherling ’98: I am currently a resident physician at the Cedars-Sinai
1999 Adam Kubryk ’99: I am putting the finishing touches on gemlust.com, a new jewelry website that I helped co-found with my mother, Renée. GemLust aims to be the world’s best private online jewelry club and will feature heirloom-quality pieces at incredible members-only prices. The site should be launched and active by May. Sabrina Lea Hiltunen ’99: I married Greg Hiltunen on September 25th at Bayonet and Black Horse golf club. Greg and I met while working at Quail Lodge Golf Resort in Carmel and now live in
Anouk Taurisson, born 12/8/10, daughter of Caroline Diel ’98
Anne Truscott ’99: I live in San Diego and am currently working in Rancho Santa Fe as an Escrow Officer. I will be getting married in San Diego to Dave Wilson on September 3, 2011!
2000
Joshua Scherling ’98 and fiancé Stacey Frank at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
Phoenix where Greg is an Executive Chef and I am a Senior Enrollment Advisor at the University of Phoenix (also where I received my MBA in 2009). Stevenson classmate Lindsay Wilson ’99 was my maid of honor and my brother, Graham Lea ’02, was a groomsman. We honeymooned at the Grand Wailea in Maui. Samantha Lieberman ’99: On October 23, 2010, I married Joseph Spector at MPCC in Pebble Beach. Our wedding party included my brothers Josh Lieberman ’97 and Andy Lieberman ’95, as well as Sarah Smith ’99. Other Stevenson alums at the wedding included Ryan Kitagawa ’99, Ryan Anderson ’95, and Sarah Jacobson ’90. One unexpected guest showed up for the weekend, a rainstorm, which moved the wedding indoors, but it only made the ceremony more cozy. For our honeymoon we went to Kauai. Joe and I live in San Francisco where Joe works in business development for Say Media, an online advertising company, and I work in fundraising for the National Kidney Foundation.
Bernie Anderson ’00 is a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Lucas Graduate School of Business at San Jose State in 2010. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara in 2004. He began working in the financial services industry in 2005. He lives in Oakland and works in the Berkeley office of Morgan Stanley. He is active in many community organizations, including “A Better Chance” and “Inroads.” Sonja Bebber ’00: I graduated from Stanford in 2004 with a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering and expect to graduate with an MBA from the Stanford graduate school of business next month. I will return home to NYC after graduation and got engaged earlier this year. John Billings ’00: For the past 7 years,
Matt Hermsen ’00 with his son Nicholas Thomas
I have been a Realtor with Long Realty Company in Oro Valley, AZ. My wife, Megan, joined our business in 2007 and together we have earned the esteemed Chairman’s Club award with our company, maintaining our position in the Top 1% of Tucson Realtors. Charging through the tumultuous market has
Sabrina Lea Hiltunen ’99 and Greg Hiltunen
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Please email your personal stories* and digital photos* for the “Alumni at Large” section to alumni@stevensonschool.org.
*Please limit your update to 300 words or less. Personal updates must be written in the first person and will be reprinted as provided, please check your grammar and spelling. Updates may be edited for appropriateness. All photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please identify the people in the photo(s).
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Elena Liao ’01 is a Demand Forecaster with Victoria’s Secret Beauty, in New York. She offers a note about paper napkins from “the green book” (www. readthegreenbook.com): Try to use fewer paper napkins. Each American consumes an average of 2,200 two-ply napkins per year, or just over 6 napkins per day. If each worker used just 1 less napkin per day, it would save about 150 million of them from the trash — enough to provide a napkin to every person who eats a hot dog on July 4th! Brian Orosco ’01: See Alumni Spotlight on page 7. Aubrey Elizabeth Barber, daughter of Alex Silvestri Barber ’01
been a challenge, but with determination we have confronted the reality head on. We list various banks inventory, as well as maintain a non-REO business with our buyers and sellers. We were blessed with the birth of our daughter, Leighton Ann Billings, on March 3, 2009. Our love and affection toward her is unequaled. She is a true angel and we feel so fortunate to be her parents. We look forward to watching her develop into an accomplished young lady. Matt Hermsen ’00: Shannon and I had our first child, Nicholas Thomas Hermsen, born December 11, 2010! I became a partner at Flinn Ferguson Corporate Real Estate in October 2010. Heather Mann ’00 was married on April 9, 2010. Jason Schmidt ’00 graduated from UC Davis in 2004 and earned an MBA degree in 2010 from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
2001 John Bell ’01 writes that from Stevenson he went on to UC Davis to study art, then moved to Spain in 2005 and became a graphic designer. He married a girl from Córdoba, and is currently the art and
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design director at a company that makes technology for the disabled and elderly. And he is about to become a father. Debbie Lin ’01: See Alumni Spotlight on page 9. Nic Kissell ’01 graduated from Santa Clara University in 2005. He was married in 2010 and is doing his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Connecticut. He intends to do a fellowship in Endocrinology.
Alex Silvestri ’01: My husband Chris and I welcomed a baby girl, Aubrey Elizabeth Barber, on January 24, 2011. She weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. She is everything we have been dreaming of and more. Loriann Smoak ’01 continues to split her time between New York and California. In April she opened her store, Condor, at 259 Elizabeth Street, in the Nolita neighborhood of downtown Manhattan, about 12 blocks southeast of Washington Square (www.shopcondor.com). It is a concept boutique selling contemporary women’s fashion, accessories, and small
Amanda Schaper ’02 racing the Garda Marathon on Lago di Garda, Italy, where she was the fastest US female finisher
home accessories, including great gifts for all sourced domestically and globally from her travels to nineteen countries last year. The products are both modern and ethnic, designed and created by craftsmen from around the world.
2002 Amanda Schaper ’02: It has certainly been an eventful nine years since my time at Stevenson! Hard to believe it’s been that long. I had a great time attending UCSB, where I attained a degree in Environmental Science, minor in Technical Writing, certificate in Graphic Design, and an outside emphasis in party. After graduating, I stayed in Santa Barbara for four years working as an Environmental Planner with a private consulting firm. This proved to be an interesting career, but lacked a certain creative excitement that I was after. During this time, I developed what can only be described as a passion for cycling, especially mountain biking. I began racing mountain bikes in 2006 and after much success, including a California State Championship, I now compete in both cross-country and cyclocross at the elite level. In early 2010, I was ready for a career change and set my sights on working in marketing for the cycling industry. Within only a few months, I landed my dream job: marketing manager for a company called Crankbrothers. Crankbrothers makes very high-end mountain bike components with a focus on design, and is frequently called the Apple of cycling. Our design studio is located in Laguna Beach, where I now live, and everyday I’m surrounded by some of the most interesting and creative people I’ve ever known (save my fellow Stevenson jazz band musicians and field hockey teammates, of course). I’ve been with Crankbrothers for about a
Willy ’00 and Cory ’05 Schaeffler at their Denver University Business School Graduation
year, and have already traveled to Europe multiple times, and even had the chance to participate in a 40-mile mountain bike race in Italy. The travel opportunities are one of the biggest perks of my job. I also love working with our professional athletes and planning marketing campaigns and events worldwide. My weekends are typically spent running around from one race to the next, riding bikes in some amazing places. Last year, I managed to race cyclocross in California, Nevada, Colorado, and Oregon in a two-month time span. To say that I keep myself busy is putting it lightly, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the hectic and adventurous lifestyle I have, and I plan to keep it up as long I can physically keep up. Kelsey Engelbrecht ’02 graduated from Brown University and is in her third and final year at Harvard Law School.
2003 Katie Kohn ’03 graduated from NYU in 2007 and has entered a PhD program in Film and Visual Studies at Harvard.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
2004 Will Gifford ’04 is a “top gunner” in training, flying FA-18s out of Lemoore AFB in Visalia (CA); and Jack Britton ’04 is living in New York and working with Major League Baseball. Monica Chambless ’04: I moved to New York City after finishing my studies at Purdue University in 2008 where I studied both fashion design and business. I currently work as a Sales and Marketing Coordinator for MaCher Inc. developing innovative products for a variety of major brands in beauty, fashion, travel, and liquor industries. I have run into many familiar Stevenson faces from my early years at the Lower and Middle School as well as high school while in the Big Apple. It’s amazing how small a world it is out there! Ashley Guzik Schelcher ’04: My husband, Michael Schelcher ’04, and I welcomed our daughter Lorelai Anne just before the new year on December 29. She is a happy, healthy baby and the three of us are enjoying our recent move to San Diego.
Please email your personal stories* and digital photos* for the “Alumni at Large” section to alumni@stevensonschool.org.
*Please limit your update to 300 words or less. Personal updates must be written in the first person and will be reprinted as provided, please check your grammar and spelling. Updates may be edited for appropriateness. All photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and please identify the people in the photo(s).
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in a Theatreworks USA tour this spring, and am very much looking forward to exploring this half of the country.
Sam Given ’05
We hope that she will someday be a Stevenson graduate as well, Class of 2028. Mike is on a goodwill mission to South America with the USS Thach (FFG 43) and hopes to be back in August in time for my brother James Guzik’s ’05 wedding to his college sweetheart, Kate Doolittle.
2005 Catlin N. Erwin ’05 graduated from NYU in 2009 with a BA in Politics and is working in New York in Global Investment Banking, Financial Institutions Group, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Sam Given ’05: I moved to New York from Los Angeles last September to continue pursuing my Broadway dream. My boyfriend of 2+ years, Nick, followed me out here and we are living on the Upper East Side, enjoying our busier life. I spent most of the fall auditioning and dancing every day of the week, while also filming another independent film, The Bloody Indulgent, a rock musical vampire thriller starring Kevin Richardson from the Backstreet Boys. I play an eccentric dancer set on making a splash in the club circuit (not that big of a stretch). It’s set to premiere in major cities next summer. I will be traveling the East Coast
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Noelle White ’05: After graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a double major in economics and communication, I was very pleased to get a job as a field representative for Assembly Member Bill Monning. Being in the political arena has been both an education and a challenge and I am enjoying it immensely. At the end of April, I look forward to serving as a delegate at the California Democratic Convention. I serve on the Board of Directors for the Carmel Area Democratic Women’s Luncheon Club and on the Management Team for the Monterey County Young Professionals Group. My life is quite busy, but, luckily, I have scheduled some R&R on an upcoming trip to England, Italy and Spain.
2006 Max Bradley ‘06 is a senior at Princeton University and working with a group of Princeton alumni from the Class of 1956 in a college-awareness and counseling program for kids in Trenton public schools. So far this year he has worked with about a dozen kids to find suitable colleges for them and help them through
Kristen Lee ’05 and Noelle White ’05
Christina Tseng ’07
the application process. They are the first in their family to go to college. Jeni Miller ’06: I graduated this year from Northwestern University in Chicago with a B.A. in Economics and Chinese. I can’t believe I haven’t been back to campus since graduation. Shame on me, I know! However, my cousin, Annie Miller ’12 transferred to Stevenson this year from Carson City, NV, as a junior and absolutely loves it. I am working/training for a plastics company in Minnesota for the time being but will be moving to Singapore hopefully sometime next year to work in their Asia offices. It seems that Stevenson is doing really well and the students are exceling in the classroom, arts, and sports fields. It’s great to be a Pirate!
2007 Michael Magruder ’07 will graduate from NYU Stern School of Business in May 2011. Lisa Goldstein ’07 transferred to UCLA from San Francisco State. Kate Law ’07 will graduate this year from the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration; she is Chapter Secretary of NSMH, the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality. Christina Tseng ’07 is a senior at the Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and will complete a dual degree in Accounting and Finance this spring. She will spend the summer in New York, in an internship
IN MEMORIAM ALUMNI Amy Lynn (Vreeland) Aaland ’80 Benedikt Heinrich Bringewald ’02 Charles Morris ’76 Peter Perkins Rand ’66 Tracey Jeanne Shea ’03 Roberto Jacobo Tenenbaum ’82 FACULTY & STAFF Anna Bohrmann Merle Greene Robertson
with Deloitte, and return to UrbanaChampaign in the fall to complete an MS in Accounting.
2008 Joy Chen ’08 is a junior at California Institute of Technology and is majoring in Biology. She spent her first semester at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. William Lally ’08 is a junior at Boston University majoring in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Aerospace studies. Justine Oh ’08: I am completing my third year at UC Irvine and majoring in Film & Media Studies and minoring
We are saddened by the notification of the following deaths in our Stevenson community since June 2010: Anagh D. Chatterjee Father of Ritwik ’94 and Mekhala ’98
Marilee Kirwan Mother of John ’78
Robert Coy Bonner, Jr. Father of Clifton ’86 Philip Mark Coniglio, Sr. Father of Philip, Jr. ’72
Larry “Sonny” Mignano Father of Brian ’78 and JoLynn Mignano Johnsson ’79, and father-in-law of Penny Hunter Mignano ’78
Marjorie Collins Matthews “Jerry” Foote Mother of Richard ’82
Jack J. Miller Grandfather of Jack Britton ’04
Larry Frisone Father of Robert ’82 and grandfather of Emily ’15
Margaret Tustin Miller Mother of Gerald Tustin ’63
CURRENT PARENTS
Daniel Garren Grandfather of Ross ’03
Alvirda Hyman Grandmother of Ben ’14
John W. Gilroy, Jr. Father of John III ’78
Jon Margolis Father of Claire ’11
Lena Josephine (Jody) Givetz Mother of Bruce ’65
ALUMNI PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS
Homer Hayward, Trustee Emeritus Father of William ’81, Hope ’83, and Wendy ’86; and grandfather of Hannah ’18 and Will ’21
Ilene Badke Mother of Robert ’77, Brenda ’81, Glenn ’82, Michael ’82, and Deeanne ’84 Margaret Bates Grandmother of Charles ’07 and Roderick ’98
in Management. Alongside my academic endeavors, I have also made extracurricular involvements an enriching part of my college experiences here at UCI. I have served as a Campus Representative, or tour guide, since my freshman year, and more recently became an active member of the national co-ed community service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. I am also interning with a film production company and will be spending half of my summer at UCI as a Student Parent Orientation staffer, helping incoming freshmen integrate into college and campus life. I look forward to this summer, as well as to making the most of my fourth and final year at UC Irvine.
Wesley Walker Hazlett Father of Richard ’71 and Michael ’73 Norma Jean Hodges-Keyston Step-mother of David ’72, Douglas ’73, and Dee Ann ’78
Gordon Raub Father of Charles ’02 George Wayne Rodeback Father of David ’79 and Glenys ’90 Frederic Courcelle de Sibert Grandfather of Frederic ’04 Louis V. Schmidt Father of Phillip ’72 Louis John Ungaretti Father of Cynthia Ungaretti Lundberg ’89 and father-in-law of Kent Lundberg ’88 Ann Verdin Whitworth Mother of Chris ’77
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VIEW FROM THE BACK PORCH
Upon Reflection
BY FRANK STEPHENSON, DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
Before I read the hotly debated Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, I had read one of her earlier books, Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance – and Why They Fall. The thesis of the latter is that pluralism and tolerance are characteristics of every rising power, and that “intolerance, xenophobia, and calls for racial, religious, or ethnic ‘purity’” are characteristics of every power in decline. For decades, American colleges, universities, and independent schools made conscious efforts to create and embrace diversity on their campuses. This effort provided significant opportunities for underrepresented students, but it also accrued great benefit to the European-American majority who met them on the level playing field of education and saw close up the power and possibility of the pluralism and tolerance to which Ms. Chua refers. A visitor to Stevenson today will find a brilliant tapestry of cultural and ethnic variation that adds strength and vitality to the school community and its program. Indeed, from my exalted perch as a dorm parent in Casco/Douglas, the freshman boys dorm, I see 30 boys from all over the United States and the world who live, work, and play together in the safety of this place and,
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who with their day student classmates, will never be able to look at people different from themselves with anything like the intolerance and xenophobia that Ms. Chua describes. As for Tiger Mother, I squirmed at some of the battles the author had with her two daughters (and husband) and the rigidity of her position on issues like sleepovers. It is easy to argue with her methods, to say that there are limits to parental control, but I think it is difficult to disagree with her overarching belief, which is that children cannot on their own determine the limits of their capabilities. The role of adults is to help them see that they are better than they think they can be, and that with hard work and dedication, and fearlessness in the face of failure, they can achieve a level of success in one endeavor that will not only enrich their lives but will give them the confidence that they can be just as successful in another. This premise is exactly what Mr. Ricklefs, our school’s founder, believed at Stevenson’s beginning in 1952; and is exactly what the school communicates in one way or another to its students today. Go Pirates!
STEVENSON SC HO OL
ALUMNI MAGAZINE
SPRING/SUMMER 2011