The Magazine of The Thacher School
Fall/Winter 2023
17
Leading Us Forward
Jeff Hooper Becomes Thacher's Tenth Head of School
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Come West, Breathe Deep, Let These Hills Be Your Teachers Thacher Veteran Cam Spaulding CdeP 1992 Takes on a New Role in a Signature Program
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The Aims of This Place Emotional Health & Wellness at Thacher Today
CONTENTS 14 • Come West, Breathe Deep, Let These Hills Be Your Teachers T hacher Veteran Cam Spaulding CdeP 1992 Takes on a New Role in a Signature Program
17 • Leading Us Forward Jeff Hooper Becomes Thacher's Tenth Head of School
20 • The Aims of This Place Emotional Health and Wellness at Thacher Today
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26 • Asteroids, Albuquerque, and a Media Blitz Thacher's Astro Program and student research hits the headlines
ON & OFF CAMPUS
ALUMNI & COMMUNITY NEWS
01 • On the Ground
29 • From the Archives
Thacher's new Head of School Jeff Hooper reflects on the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
04 • The Pergola An assemblage of noteworthy school and community news.
10 • Scoreboard Highlights from the fall sports season.
12 • Outside Outlooks
26 FRONT COVER Head of School Jeff Hooper welcomes students on their first evening back to campus.
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Visiting scholars, artists, and experts spark new ideas and inspiration.
A backwards glance through the pages of CdeP publications.
30 • Gatherings Highlights from the many moments of connection this fall.
33 • Class Notes News and milestones sent to us by our readers.
36 • In Memoriam 40 • The Best We Can Do The Thacher community says goodbye to friend and former colleague Matt Balano.
ON THE GROUND A Message from Head of School Jeff Hooper
I
’ve often used the metaphor of an airplane trip to describe a school year. One of the many ways I find it an apt one is in the fact that a great deal of preliminary work and energy goes into getting the plane off the ground. Preparations are made, systems are checked, supplies are loaded, there is a somewhat chaotic boarding process in which strangers are thrust into close proximity, and finally you have lift-off.
While this year’s ascent was accompanied by a few bumps, namely an earthquake, a hurricane, and a covid surge leading up to our fall EDT departures, it also began with the arrival of exciting new additions to our faculty, staff, and
programs; international media attention for our Astro Program; and the expansion of our health and wellness initiatives, among many other milestones, all of which you can learn more about in the pages of this issue of the Thacher Magazine. As I write to you today, we are through the fall term and into the three-week stretch between Thanksgiving and Winter Break, a time period we have dubbed our “Winter FUNderland Weeks.” These 18 days of fun, sun, friends, and food is a joyful time of year devoid of end-of-term exam prep and full of peak Southern California days with glorious sunsets marking the end of a soccer game on New Field or the return of our riders to the barns for evening feedings.
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ON THE GROUND
It is in all these moments—both the temporary turbulence and the smooth rides at cruising altitude—that I am thrilled and honored to have been selected as Thacher’s tenth Head of School. As I shared with my colleagues earlier this fall, the start of the school year—and for me, the official start of this new role—is an opportune time to acknowledge how much we depend on each other. There is an important and grounding humility in recognizing that no matter how well any of us does at our jobs as individuals, our work only has relevance and value in concert with the work of so many others, just as any successful flight relies on hundreds of interconnected
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tasks and expertises that combine to make the journey possible. I am grateful for the partnership of the educators, students, families, alumni, and community members who contribute to this work, and look forward to all that we will accomplish together this year and beyond. In Community,
Jeff Hooper Head of School
ICYMI
THACHER Fall/Winter 2023
At Thacher, intentionality, genuine connection, and joy take center stage, and our social media shares a glimpse into our days spent together at Casa de Piedra. Follow along, like, and share to spread the word!
@thethacherschool (Main School Account)
@thachercdep (Alumni Account)
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Carly Rodriguez ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Scott Nichols CLASS NOTES/IN MEMORIAM EDITOR Aimee Brown-Nelson DESIGN Bacio Design PHOTOGRAPHY Scott Nichols Holly Roberts Carin Yates HEAD OF SCHOOL Jeff Hooper DIRECTOR OF ENROLLMENT AND PLANNING William P. McMahon DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT Jeffrey D. Berndt
Thacher is published twice a year by The Thacher School, and is sent free of charge to alums, parents, and friends of the School. Every effort is made to ensure that contents are accurate and complete. If there is an omission or an error, please accept our apologies and notify us at the address below. Copyright © 2023 The Thacher School Third class postage is paid at the Oxnard Post Office. POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to the following address. Editor, Thacher Magazine 5025 Thacher Road Ojai, CA 93023 thacher.org thachermagazine@thacher.org 805-640-3201 x266 How to Submit Class Notes Online: blogs.thacher.org/classnotes E-mail: alumni@thacher.org Fax: 805-646-1956
Thacher is printed by V3 using an environmentally friendly waterless printing process, soy-based inks, and recycled paper.
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THE PERGOLA
Surf's Up Jon Swift's fall activity surfing group enjoys a trip to Mondo's Beach, one of Ventura's well-known spots for reliable breaks and camaraderie amongst the surfers of all skill levels.
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THE PERGOLA
Lost in the Powerful Performances of Lost Girl Kimberly Belflower’s Lost Girl is set years after Wendy and Peter Pan’s well-known adventures, chronicling teenagers making the best of themselves and their feelings of love and loss, and letting one’s self move on. Sunny Balzary ’24 expertly navigated these emotions and turmoil as the lead character Wendy. Jay Jiang ’24, Danica Hernandez ’25, Dyon Thompson ’25, and Austen Faris ’26 all delivered powerful character portrayals. A special mention goes to Mateo Nix ’25 for a scenestealing emotional plea with Balzary towards the end of the play.
Awareness and Activism In recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month and Depression Awareness Month, the Emotional Health Task Force sponsored a tabling event where students were able to sign an anti-bullying pledge, write notes of encouragement to others and get literature on depression and suicide prevention.
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Honoring Affinity Following a long-standing tradition at Thacher of displaying a roster of awardees and leaders among student groups, the Multicultural Center now has a roll call of plaques displayed upon its walls, recognizing the important work of our student affinity group leaders. While we know that these lists do not fully capture the people and strategic organizing led by students, faculty, and staff to create a more inclusive school where diverse students feel an authentic sense of belonging, with the names listed on these plaques we attempt to document the long history of affinity groups at Thacher.
That’s the Spirit Among the themed dressup days for Spirit Week, it was “Twin Day” that brought out the most creative and exuberant lookalikes among the students and adults.
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THE PERGOLA
Cheerful Chores A new, or perhaps revived, tradition this year is the weekly campuswide Community Cleanup block. Each week, a rotation of class years takes on the tasks of cleaning up classrooms, tidying common areas, and generally sprucing up our campus home. The impact of the weekly chores has boosted pride for campus buildings and outdoor landscapes in a positive and meaningful way.
Communing with, and in, Nature Alumni & Development and Communications departments—along with Luca Pieretti CdeP 2020—took a few days away from campus in August and hiked up to Golden Trout Wilderness School in the Inyo National Forest as an inter-departmental retreat. The team members set goals and expectations for the upcoming year, refreshed themselves on backcountry camping skills, foraged for wild mushrooms, and delighted in the brilliant night sky and accompanying Perseid meteor shower.
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More Stately Mansions For the firs time since his official appointment as Head of School, Jeff Hooper gathered the community together on a sunny morning in September to read from the poem "The Chambered Nautilus" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, a Thacher tradition on the first day of classes. The nautilus remains an enduring symbol of our students' and the School's perpetual growth and recognition of our past.
Bio at the Beach Heather Grant's Advanced Biology classes visited Carpinteria State Beach for the culminating experience of their trimester focused on experimental design, data collection and analysis, and a taxonomic approach to marine protists, plants, and invertebrates in preparation for the field-based citizen science LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students) program.
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FALL
SCOREBOARD
Girls’ Cross Country
Boys’ Cross Country
Thacher’s Cross Country team continues to dazzle and amaze, once again filling a shelf in the display case with awards, medals, and trophies. Not only did they finish 1st in the Southern Tri-County Athletic Association (TCAA) Division 5, but the team also was 1st Place for small schools in the 35th Annual Ojai Invitational, and won 1st Place for small schools at the Twilight Invitational meet at Lake Casitas. Standout personal records were broken this season by Taylor Gudebski ’24, Sarah Sonenshine ’24, Lily Clemens ’24, Julie Lui ’25, Annikka Zhou ’26, Chloe Hamilton ’26, Avery Lieb ’25, and new teammate Olivia Thimons ’26. Seniors Clemens and Sonenshine returned from injuries to run for Thacher in the CIF postseason, and were also named to All-League honors along with Gudebski, Lieb, and Lui.
Setting themselves apart not just in their athletic prowess and speed, the boys’ Cross Country team also made quite a splash with their signature faux denim running “jorts” this season. The style points accentuated the team’s carefree and confident approach to another excellent season. There’s a great group of sophomores and juniors rising up through the ranks, all of whom benefitted from the leadership of senior co-captains Zander Schatzberg and Diego Escalante. Named to 1st Team All-League was Mateo Escalante ’26, who demonstrated his abilities to be not only a strong runner, but also exemplified qualities making him a role model and team leader for other Thacher runners.
Football Celebrating his 21st year as Head Coach and first as Head of School, Jeff Hooper’s 8-man squad notched a 3-4 overall record, and went 2-1 in their Tri-Valley League play this fall season. Captain Gage Grimes ’24 had a tremendous year, leading on both sides of the ball by rushing for more than 1,000 yards while also making life quite difficult for opposing offenses. A large contingent of seniors will be missed next season, but expectations are high for juniors Henry Molfino and Angus Harris, as both made important contributions to the team this season. Grimes, Harry Morfit, and fellow seniors Graham Rogers and Ian Housden collected All-League honors. 10 fall/winter 2023 10 fall/winter 2023
Girls’ Volleyball A dynamic and skilled group of players fought hard all through their fifteengame season, leaving their coaches wishing for a longer run with these wonderful people. Senior Ezinne Okonkwo garnered an All-Tournament award for outstanding middle blocking and net play. Her classmates Olivia Thomas ’24 and Paige Fitzpatrick ’24 excelled throughout the season and provided much-needed guidance for the younger members of the team. Expect a solid season next year with Caiden Bang ’25 leading a strong group of sophomores with Cata Brown, Bodil Clark, Emi KandaGleeson, and Tomoka Sato. Bang and Thomas captured All-League honors.
Girls’ Tennis Thacher’s girls’ tennis returned to the courts and took command of their schedule with an undefeated Frontier League record of 8-0, and an overall record of 10-3. Among those who dominated their opponents were the doubles team and co-captains Lila Rodriguez ’24 and Julia James ’24 who went 210-26 in games this season and earned top honors as Frontier League Doubles Champions. Widely considered one of the most spirited and good-natured Thacher athletes in recent years, Lexie Goodyear ’24 came away with a Frontier League 3rd Place Singles finish. Seniors Lila Janss, Annie Wang, and Grace Zhong provided ample experience and prowess to the team’s robust lineup. Next year’s roster will also be formidable as Linn Wallmark ’25, Tenzing Lama ’26, Hanna Housden ’26, and Georgia Browning ’26 chart their team’s path for this hallmark sport of Thacher Athletics. Named to 1st Team All-League were Rodriguez, James, Goodyear, Wang, and Lama.
Toad Band An honorable mention in our Scoreboard section goes to our Toad Band, a nearly 20-member assemblage of student and faculty musicians who’ve modeled themselves after a college pep band and play every-so-often at Thacher football and basketball games bringing energy, spirit, and talent to the sidelines. Lively renditions of "The Final Countdown," "Land of 1,000 Dances," "La Bamba," "and Survivor's classic "Eye of the Tiger" are all in their repertoire, led by the talents of Evan Avery, Director of Thacher’s jazz and chamber singers ensembles. The Thacher School 11 The Thacher School 11
OUTSIDE OUTLOOKS VISITING SCHOLARS, ARTISTS, AND EXPERTS SPARK NEW IDEAS AND INSPIRATION
Troy Kemp Award-winning educator, motivator, and strategist Troy Kemp came to campus in September, presenting to the community at a Head’s Invite in the Milligan Center. Mr. Kemp wove his personal story throughout topics that challenge conventional perceptions and traditional understandings of masculinity, how we address conflict, interpersonal dynamics, and self worth. His energy was matched only by the raucous applause that followed his address. The following day, Mr. Kemp offered workshops with smaller groups on the topics of community, belonging, motivation, performance, and more.
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Ron Faris P ’26 Ron Faris P ’26 is the VP/GM of Nike Virtual Studios. During his visit to campus, Mr. Faris gave a Head’s Invite talk about the power and importance of storytelling and chronicled his work creating viral marketing programs for Nike through a proprietary app and endorsements. These experiences provided Faris plenty of material for his workshop with students, guiding them as they designed their own shoes and crafted the stories behind their unique designs.
Greg Smith Dr. Gregory Smith joined us as an Anacapa Scholar in early November, speaking about his use of science to unravel mysteries surrounding the artworks at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Using a range of spectroscopic, chromatographic, and imaging techniques, his team employs the tools of chemistry to discover lost paintings, explore the material history of objects, and detect forgeries. His lecture explored the various roles that chemists can play in a fine arts museum, culminating in recent research repurposing the world’s oldest man-made pigment—Egyptian blue, first synthesized in 3200 BCE—as a luminescent fingerprint dusting powder to catch modern-day criminals.
Dr. Smith’s in-class lesson with Dr. Vyhnal’s Advanced Chemistry: Applications in Art and Archaeology, provided students with direct, hands-on experience in analyzing a sample textile purported to be authentic but showed signs of potential forgery.
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Come West, Breathe Deep,
Let These Hills Be Your Teachers THACHER VETERAN CAM SPAULDING TAKES ON A NEW ROLE IN A SIGNATURE PROGRAM When Cam Spaulding CdeP 1992 graduated from college in the Pacific Northwest, he decided to walk home. For him, that meant a nearly 1700 mile journey down the Pacific Crest Trail. That journey, however, sealed his fate as a lifelong outdoorsman—both personally and professionally—and fortunately for us, ultimately led him to the important role he has taken on at Thacher. 14 fall/winter 2023
The Thacher School has operated Golden Trout Wilderness School for over 50 years, connecting thousands of students, alumni, families, and other visitors with the ancient Foxtail pines, endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, and a wide range of other unique flora and fauna that make up the beautiful alpine ecosystem of the southern Sierra Nevada.
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“...every human being is entitled to a fundamental connection to the natural world and a familial relationship with it.” - CAM SPAULDING
his way back to Thacher, first in the Horse Department, and then teaching English and running Golden Trout Wilderness School where, for the past 15 years, he has been hosting programs for Thacher students, alumni, teachers and families, and for high school students from around the state who hail from underserved communities and underrepresented populations. Now, in his role as Director of the Outdoor Program, Cam brings with him a lifetime of experience, a deep love and knowledge of Thacher’s history, culture, and community, and a commitment to both fostering a love of nature within the students and faculty and generating a greater understanding of natural systems and their critical role in thriving communities and healthy individuals.
Cam and new faculty explore Golden Trout in August 2023
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rowing up camping in the Sierra with his family, Cam’s love of nature started early and propelled him into a career in the wilderness. In addition to a brief post as a Jungle Cruise guide at Disneyland—that counts, right?— Cam worked for the School of Urban and Wilderness Survival, spending 66 weeks in the field living primitively with troubled teens in southern Idaho. Eventually he made
This summer, in a note to Head of School Jeff Hooper, Cam shared his perspectives on camping, why we prioritize it, and how we can ensure that every person in our community has the opportunity to create their own connection to the natural world. “When we ask our faculty and students why we value camping as an institution, I think the most common answers would fall along several lines... • We do it to create deeper connections to each other as a community • We go into the wild to court the adversity that inevitably accompanies such adventures, hoping that it will result in greater personal and community resilience
• A nd we go to experience the innumerable beauties with which California is so uniquely blessed These all are valuable and potent results of time spent traveling to and through the natural world. To these I would add a few focal points: • We go not only to make connections with each other, but to deepen our connection to nature as curious intellectual observers and citizens of the natural world. With a deep connection to nature, a sense of responsibility and stewardship towards it often follows. • We spend time away from the sound and structure of humanity so that we may more clearly listen to the world and to the myriad lessons it has to teach. For this, we must also allow time for solitude on our adventures, and for quiet personal and group reflection. • W hen we spend time out in open, wild spaces, and look up at night out into the unfathomable vastness beyond our world, we can achieve a better understanding of what it means to be a human being... how small we are in comparison to all that is, how dependent we are upon this fragile world, and what an improbable miracle it is that we exist at all. This last point is one that I think may be the greatest gift which our experiences in nature can provide: a sense of humility despite the nearly limitless capabilities of humankind. I have always understood Thacher to be a place that helps to create well-rounded humans who seek to make the world a better place, and I think the fostering of humility is a fundamental piece of that puzzle. The Thacher School 15
I also think that we at Thacher have historically viewed the camping program, and by extension the natural world, as a democratic space to which all of us are given equal access and opportunity. The reality is that, in this country, many of our first local, state, and national parks were created as exclusive spaces for white elites. This discriminatory history has resulted in disparity of access, and a sense, from both within and without, that people of color are unwelcome in wild spaces. With greater diversity than ever in the history of the school in both our student body and faculty, we have the responsibility now to help subvert that paradigm, but we must do so with thoughtful acknowledgement of the fact that the tradition of visiting wild nature is new for many in our community and that those spaces, instead of offering a sense of refuge, can be viewed as spaces of exclusion or even persecution. Beyond that narrative, however, deeper into the past and further from the social constructs that divide us, every human being is entitled
to a fundamental connection to the natural world and a familial relationship with it. Our work is to reestablish that connection in a meaningful way, whether the schism we seek to bridge is narrow or broad. Our greatest tool in that effort is the cultivation of curiosity. We go out into nature not to hustle through it or brace against its unfamiliarity, but to peer into its mysteries and absorb the lessons that reside there. In order to do that effectively, we must pace ourselves, break our focus from mileages and human-centered achievements, from screens and games, and go about the sometimes uncomfortable task of sitting still, or moving slowly with our eyes up, to thoughtfully consider the astounding beauty and complexity of the wild world. When we engage our curiosity we decouple from homocentrism, helping cast off our socio-cultural baggage, and we join—more deeply each time we do it—with the broader community of the natural world.”
emphasizing the importance of clarifying, articulating, and recommitting to the role of the outdoors in a Thacher education. “Whatever the tools, if we embrace the opportunities the outdoors afford us, if we live our community values and actively, intentionally practice inclusion, despite all the headwinds of modern life and modern adolescence, we can and will create an environment in which we and the young people we serve live happier, healthier lives.”
Hooper echoed these sentiments in his opening remarks to faculty and staff,
Fun from a fall EDT in Owens Valley
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LEADING US FORWARD
Jeff Hooper Becomes Thacher's Tenth Head of School
I
n July of 2023, after a thorough and thoughtful search led by Thacher’s Head of School Search Committee, the Thacher Board of Trustees announced the appointment of Jeff Hooper as the next Head of School.
The process began in the fall of 2022 and included extensive and valuable input from the broader Thacher community. Interest in the position was incredibly strong and included some of the most accomplished and thoughtful educators in the country. At the conclusion of this exploration, it was clear to the Search Committee and Board that Jeff Hooper is the right person to lead the School at this important moment in its history.
Those who have worked with or know Jeff understand that he possesses the qualities our community values and more, including humility, kindness, empathy, compassion, and vigilance. As a teacher, administrator, and coach, Jeff has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to the School and its students, including when he stepped up in support of community safety and well-being by joining the Special Committee that shepherded the MTO reports through to release. His ability to bring people together in dialogue and healing has been particularly important as our community strives to honor the courage of our survivors by embracing the moral imperatives that emerged from the reports. Whether in the classroom, on the field, or at the podium, Jeff’s love of living and learning alongside adolescents is palpable, and his accessibility, presence, and interest in the lives of students and colleagues is evident. As the leader of Thacher’s covid response efforts, Jeff also did an exceptional job bringing our students and teachers back to campus both safely and with fewer disruptions than almost any other school.
In 2022, Jeff assumed the role of Acting and then Interim Head of School at a time when our community needed him most. Among his many contributions, he has strengthened the School’s policies, procedures, understanding of, and capacity for dealing with all kinds of interpersonal harm, including racial, sexual, emotional, and physical. He expanded the School’s diversity, equity, and inclusion team and efforts in support of the students, alumni, and community members whose stories and lessons gifted Thacher with reckoning and understanding that our school has not always risen to this challenge. Jeff has also embraced the School’s responsibility to proactively address student emotional and mental health.
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Whether you’ve known him for years or are just meeting him now, we invite you to learn more about Jeff Hooper and the path that led him to Thacher and his headship.
1988 Attends Memorial High School in Houston
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1996 Jeff graduates from Trinity with a degree in Economics and International Studies with a minor in Spanish and starts working at TMI Episcopal (the alma mater of General Douglas MacArthur), a day school with a boarding program for students in grades 6-12 that includes a nationally ranked optional Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program. Jeff teaches Spanish and economics there and is an Assistant Football Coach.
1980S
1974 Jeffrey Mark Hooper is born March 10 in Houston, Texas at Saint Joseph Hospital
Throughout the Years
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Enrolls at University of Texas at Austin for grad school, pursuing a master's degree
1990 S 1992 Moves to San Antonio for college at Trinity University
1995 Studies abroad in Chile, developing his love of the Spanish language
JEFF HOOPER
1998
1997 While at TMI Episcopal, Jeff meets Kara Marchant, a sixth grade English teacher and head girls varsity soccer coach.
2000 Graduates from UT Austin with a masters in Latin American studies with a concentration in History. That same year, he and Kara get married on the campus of The Hotchkiss School, Kara’s alma mater. The newlyweds soon begin a nationwide job search, breaking the hearts of five other schools to accept positions at Thacher and move to Ojai, California in the summer of 2002.
July 2023 2018
2004 Jeff and Kara welcome Hayden Hooper to the world via the Middle School dorm. Hayden’s brother Hiram follows in 2006.
2006 Jeff takes on the role of Director of the Senior Exhibition Program, and the following year becomes Language Department Chair, a role which he held until 2011.
2017
The Hoopers leave Ojai for Jeff’s sabbatical year, first traveling to Bhutan and then spending most of the time in Austin. When he returns from sabbatical, Jeff assumes the role of Assistant Head of School.
Steps in as Interim Assistant Head of School (Spoiler: this won’t be his first Interim title!) for a year
After a nine-month, national search, Jeff Hooper is selected as Thacher’s tenth Head of School. Faculty, staff, and students celebrate at the New Year's Banquet and with an on-campus installation in October 2023.
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2000S 2013
Elected Dean of Faculty, a fouryear position voted on by the teachers
2002 Jeff jumps at the chance to lead Thacher’s new football program and begins teaching Spanish and history part-time. Kara is both the head girls soccer coach and a sabbatical replacement in the English Department. By his second year on campus, Jeff is teaching full-time in the Language and History Departments, which he continues to do for the next several years.
2022 Jeff once again steps in to support the School, first as Acting Head of School, then as Interim Head in August of 2022.
2015 After spending several summers there to be close to friends and camp for the kids, Jeff and Kara make it official and buy a place in Austin, Texas. The family enjoy most summers and vacations there since then, honing in on their favorite BBQ spot, la Barbecue.
2020 As the School and world face the uncertainties of a global pandemic, Jeff’s steady leadership propels him into the unofficial role of “covid czar” as he helps the Thacher community through one of the most challenging periods in its history. The Thacher School 19
Aims of This Place The
Emotional Health and Wellness at Thacher Today
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any of the initiatives and programs that promote healthy living at Thacher have long been integral elements of our community. Weeklong backcountry camping trips offer the chance to completely unplug from technology and other daily stressors, learn skills that build confidence, strengthen relationships, and practice mindfulness during long days on the trail or lying under the stars at night. The School's signature Horse Program plays a critical role in a student's emotional growth and healthy development. Arts and afternoon activities—both required as part of a Thacher education—offer outlets for busy minds and can promote mental and physical well-being. And our advising and prefect programs create a strong community of support around each and every student.
The work of fostering emotional well-being at Thacher, for students and adults alike, is a huge group project, a shared endeavor in which we all have duties, and which promises rewards for all.”
As much as these aspects are mainstays of the School’s program, the process of nurturing balance and promoting a happy, healthy community of students and educators is and should be ever-evolving to adapt to the also ever-evolving needs of teens. Impacted by the effects of social media, the isolation of the covid pandemic, academic challenges, global stressors including climate change and conflict, the grinding impacts of identitybased discrimination and exclusion, and more—the need for student support has grown exponentially in recent years, and Thacher’s initiatives and resources have grown in parallel.
- HEAD OF SCHOOL, JEFF HOOPER The Thacher School 21
I see my role as making sure that the ingredients are mixed with the right balance, special ingredients are added when necessary, and adjustments are made when we detect something is interfering with the recipe for nurturing the well-being of our students.” - DR. KENDREA HART, Thacher’s Director of Counseling and Wellness
A “Huge Group Project” In his opening remarks to faculty and staff before the start of the 2023-24 school year, Head of School Jeff Hooper addressed this issue as an important focus for the School and offered clarifying definitions for how we think about emotional health and wellness. “As we think about how to grapple with these challenges at Thacher, it’s important to first be clear about what we really mean and how we frame the problem,” said Hooper. "Let's start with what we don’t mean: emotional wellness is not a question of mantras on a coffee cup, it’s not about getting a massage or lighting a candle. It’s also not about lowering expectations or avoiding hardship. Most importantly, it’s not an individual pursuit. Too often we think of this work as something for the individual to grapple with, which ignores the crucial fact 22 fall/winter 2023
that the roots of this challenge and its solutions are found in community, in culture, in our environment, and in our interpersonal relationships. The work of fostering emotional well-being at Thacher, for students and adults alike, is a huge group project, a shared endeavor in which we all have duties, and which promises rewards for all.” Leading this “group project” is Dr. Kendrea Hart, Thacher’s new Director of Counseling and Wellness. Kendrea joined the School in the summer of 2023 and has quickly become a valuable resource for students and colleagues alike. “Thacher is a special place, and I knew that from the beginning,” said Dr. Hart. “It’s a place with all of the ingredients to promote
Centering Wellness In partnership with Director of Student Life Megan Carney, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Sepideah Mohsenian-Rahman, and Wellness Coordinator Erin Garris, Kendrea has expanded the offerings of the Thacher Wellness Center. The mission of the Wellness Center is to create a safe, welcoming, and comfortable space, to provide resources and a system of support to all, to partner with individuals and groups on campus to build community around wellness, and to provide therapeutic tools and experiences for the students and the community as a whole. Comfortable furniture, friendly decor, and a calendar of festive all-community events make it more of a fun place to hang out, alleviating the clinical feel and removing some of the stigma that students used to feel when accessing mental health resources on campus. For students who need more one-to-one services, personal counseling and referrals are available both on and off campus. A student may request an appointment with one of the school counselors (which in addition to Kendrea and Sepideah, include four professionals offering both in-person and telemedicine appointments) by either completing a wellness referral form, reaching out via email to our counselors, or by scheduling an appointment directly by using the form. Students are encouraged to seek counseling services if they have personal concerns, are having difficulty in some area of their lives, or if they are worried about a friend or family member. In November, Kendrea and Sepideah headed to Boston to present at The Association of Boarding Schools Conference on the topic of intersectionality, connectedness, and youth well-being. Kendrea also works closely with the Emotional Health Task Force, composed of seniors committed to encouraging students to embrace practices that enhance emotional health. This group identifies and coordinates Wellness Ambassadors for each dorm who serve as liaisons for communicating about programs and student needs.
Therapy dogs and cats from Love on a Leash visit the Wellness Center for some end-of-term cuddles.
wellness…a focus on community and connection, time in nature, nutritious meals, a prioritization of physical activity, mental health resources... I see my role as making sure that the ingredients are mixed with the right balance, special ingredients are added when necessary, and adjustments are made when we detect something is interfering with the recipe for nurturing the well-being of our students.”
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INTRODUCING
Dr. Kendrea C. Hart Dr. Kendrea C. Hart is the Director of Counseling and Wellness for The Thacher School. She has over two decades of success in promoting supportive learning environments and strong family connections for optimal youth development. As a seasoned school psychologist and mental health consultant, Dr. Hart has provided leadership to schools in developing student support teams, Individualized Education Programs, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, and MultiTiered Systems of Support. Dr. Hart earned a B.A. in Psychology from Spelman College, an M.A. in School Psychology from N.C. State University, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from N.C. State University. Trained in the scientist-practitioner model, Dr. Hart’s experience includes a research fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, serving as an adjunct lecturer for N.C. State University’s Psychology Department, and interning with Emory University’s Barton Child Advocacy Clinic. She has extensive experience in developing culturally-responsive approaches to intervention and consultation for youth and brings professional expertise in the areas of trauma-informed practice and resilience, school mental health and wellness, multi-tiered systems of support, positive identity development, and strengths-based ecological approaches.
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Connection Through Disconnection Another way Thacher is supporting students’ well-being is through the School's cell phone policy, which is rooted in our belief in the importance of authentic community engagement as well as the mental and physical health benefits of time spent away from screens and social media. “The fact that so much of our students’ and our lives are mediated through screens, where algorithms relentlessly direct us to the loudest and most aggrieved voices, build homogenous groups defined by their opposition to others, and provide misleading windows into curated, inauthentic and idealized portrayals of the lives of others, creates
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The aims of the place are thus in three directions: toward health and happiness, toward unselfish character, and toward accurate, thorough, and self-reliant habits of thought and study.” - SHERMAN DAY THACHER
real headwinds for our pursuit of emotional health and resilience,” said Hooper. “The simple fact is that the advent of cell phones with their extraordinary capabilities is a stillnew and unresolved chaos agent in the universal human task of figuring out how to exist on this planet and in community with others. We have an enormous task in helping our students and ourselves try to mitigate the risks and maximize the advantages of these tools.” From Monday-Friday, students leave phones in their rooms throughout the school day until the end of afternoon activities (approximately 5 p.m.). Between 5 p.m. and check-in and throughout the weekend, students are not on their phones outside around campus, in the dining hall, or at social and athletic events. While walking around campus, students don't use their phones to play music or podcasts, except when they are exercising.
Health and Happiness Among the three “aims of this place” that Sherman Day Thacher highlighted more than 100 years ago, health and happiness remain at the forefront today. As this “group project” continues, Thacher will also continue to iterate and evolve, heeding the words of its founder while always striving to meet the unique needs of its students, today and tomorrow.
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Asteroids, Albuquerque, and a Media Blitz In the fall of 2022, Science Instructor and Director of the Thacher Observatory Dr. Jon Swift and Math Instructor Gary Roth took 12 students to Santa Barbara’s New Vic Theatre to learn more about NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration, which successfully impacted its asteroid target and altered its trajectory. 26 fall/winter 2022 2023
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T
his outing led to a well-attended on-campus live viewing of the final collision. Inspired by what she’d seen and learned, Elle O Hill CdeP 2023 took on the task of contributing to the mission with Thacher observations as her primary research in the Advanced Astronomy Research class.
“Our strategy was just to observe the Didymos-Dimorphos system as much as we could in the window it was observable for us,” said Swift. “It was at a close approach point when the collision happened, which also means that the asteroid was very bright in the sky, which made it easy to observe.” After much effort over the course of about seven months, Elle obtained a result that became a significant contribution to the understanding of NASA’s mission. The following summer, a student group attended the 242nd American Astronomical Society Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they got to hear from astronomers from all over the world and to rub elbows with some preeminent figures in the field, including Konstantin Batygin (who will be visiting campus later this winter). Conversations like those helped the group realize that their results were valid and valuable to the community, prompting Elle, four other Astro students in the Class of 2024—Taylor Gudebski, Ellie Heldridge, Brady McGawn, and Henry Zhou—and Dr. Swift to dedicate a chunk of their summer to pushing a publication through to fruition. “It is unprecedented for us to publish a meaningful work with no outside co-authors,” said Swift. “It is a milestone for the program and a big accomplishment for these budding young scientists.” Taylor Gudebski ’24 initially started out working under the tutelage of Elle O Hill through Thacher’s Astro Intern program. This year she works closely with Annie Wang and Brady McGawn in the Research Class to continue this work. “Thacher has provided me with so many resources and valuable experiences, for which I am very grateful,” said Taylor. “The teachers really are invested in each student and their individual interests. It was incredible to attend the AAS conference as a high school student and work closely with very well-known astronomers, especially as a leading researcher on the DART collision.” While the publishing of the paper would be a significant accomplishment on its own, their paper also gained worldwide notoriety when, earlier this fall, the media picked up on their exciting observations. New Scientist, the world's most popular weekly science and technology publication, was the first to publish an article in early September about the Toads’ independent measurement of the period change experienced by the system, which was slightly larger than that of NASA's, suggesting that the orbit of Dimorphos continued to evolve more than a month after the collision. According to the article, NASA has intimated that they are now seeing this effect discovered by the student team.
To read their paper on the topic, which was published by the American Astronomical Society, scan here:
Additional publications followed, including Smithsonian Magazine, the BBC, and Yahoo News, among several others. “I’m excited that these students were able to explore and really understand the complexity of these problems and build the tools so that they can adequately address these questions,” said Swift. “At its core, this is about mentoring students into being competent scientists.”
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Thacher offers current and future students the promise of a powerful, transformative educational experience at a crucial stage of life.
YOUR GENEROSITY DIRECTLY SUPPORTS:
• Horse and backcountry programs
• Student health, wellness, and DEI initiatives
• Financial aid
• Sustainability efforts
• Visual and performing arts
• Maintaining Casa de Piedra
• Faculty and staff
• Athletics and afternoon programs
thacher.org/donate
Your gift to the Thacher Annual Fund makes it all possible. Please show your support today. 28 fall/winter 2023
From The Archives
Around 115...100...80...35...15 Years Ago at Thacher
A Backwards Glance Through the Pages of CdeP Publications
115 Years Ago…
9th Day. The trouble that we had with the packs was due to the heavy loads of the first day. We had to nurse sores and lumps for the rest of the trip. We found that we had taken about twice as much grain as we needed, for in almost all of our camping places there was plenty of green field. I think that all of the members of the trip would especially recommend the Loma Pelona and Big Pine country for future Easter trips. —Anson (Anson S. Thacher CdeP 1923)
From The Ojai, Saturday, March 14, 1908 The Thacher School Dramatic Association Announces the presentation in Nordhoff at Assembly Hall Saturday evening, March 21, 1908 at 8 o’clock… Quartette Curtain Raiser “Pyramus and Thysbe.” (From Midsummer Night’s Dream)...Lower School Song, Quartette Richard Harding Davis’ Comedy “Miss Civilization” (By Permission of Colier’s Weekly) – Admission 25 and 35 cents — Also from 115 Years Ago…
From The Thacher Notes in The Ojai Newspaper, February 22, 1908 — Albert E. Kent CdeP CdeP 1909, and Austen Pierpont CdeP 1909, Editors Last Sunday evening Mr. Baumgardt gave us a very interesting lecture about the stars. The lecture was very well illustrated by a stereopticon… He showed us some very interesting views of the moon and pointed out to us the old ocean beds and the high mountains…He showed us one picture of the flames of the sun. These flames shoot out to a very great distance. He ended with a picture of a body way off in space that looked almost exactly like North America. 100 Years Ago…
From a hand-written journal chronicling Extra-Day Trips in the early 1900s Easter Trip - 5th to 13th April 1922 Brewster, Wheeler, Gilman, Mr. Buckingham, Mr. McCormack (William L. Brewster CdeP 1922, M. Haynes Wheeler CdeP 1924, Henry Gilman CdeP 1925, Mr. Buckingham, Mr. Alfred McCormack) 1st Day. Camped at Ortega’s. We found that both pack horses were suffering from the too heavy loads that we had taken (a little over two hundred pounds each)...We did not avail ourselves of the plentiful green field at Ortega’s as two of Mr. Caneto’s men were pasturing their horses there at the time. We had started out in the rain, but it had cleared up about three o’clock and the night was warm and clear.
80 Years Ago…
From the Pack and Saddle Club 1944-1945 Camp Recipes Apple Betty — Stew dried apples, adding enough brown sugar to make them sweet. Mash apples slightly and place in baking pan. Spread over the top of the apples a mixture of brown sugar into one-eighth pound of butter, and adding enough flour to make mixture crumbly. Bake until mixture on top melts and runs down through apples.
35 Years Ago…
From The Thacher Notes, Vol. 3, No. 2, November 21, 1988, by Adam Geyer CdeP 1989 THE CENTENNIAL IS HERE!! The preparations for the Centennial Celebration are well under way. The calendar of events has been scheduled and solidified, committees are being set up, and alumni across the nation are confirming their attendance…The Centennial Weekend begins Thursday, May 18 [1989] and concludes with the Commencement Exercises on that Sunday…If your parents and guests have not yet made reservations in one of the local hotels, they must act quickly…The School is going to turn Carpenter Orchard into a trailer park and parents may sleep in their RVs or campers if they so choose. There is also an option for parents and friends to bring up tents and sleeping bags and sleep outdoors.
15 Years Ago…
From Thacher Magazine, Fall 2008, Armchair Wandering by Claire Shaw CdeP 2007 and Jennie Tucker CdeP 2004 “How Two Recent Grads Translated Language Skills into Tickets to the Beijing Summer Olympics” Claire Shaw: Last spring, a student in my Chinese class told me about an online application to be a volunteer with the United States Olympic Committee in Beijing…I began taking classes six years ago as a freshman at Thacher…to my absolute delight, I was informed of my acceptance as an “official volunteer” of the USOC…My friend, knowing my interest in swimming, called to ask if I would be interested in working exclusively with both the men’s and women’s teams. He correctly interpreted a series of ecstatic shrieks as an enthusiastic “Yes.” Jennie Tucker: Though it may not have measured up to a Pink Moment in the Ojai, the sight of Beijing’s Bird’s Nest and Water Cube juxtaposed against an unexpectedly blue sky inspired in me a familiar sense of wonder. The Olympic Green was the epicenter of much of the world’s attention from August 8 to 24. And fortunately I was amid it all. I was working for NBC’s Today Show. Little did I know when I walked into Ms. Li’s introduction to Chinese class in the fall of 2001 that seven years later I would use skills cultivated there to navigate Beijing’s streets with the U.S. men’s gymnastic team, pick out furniture at IKEA for the green room, and help buy scorpions at the Night Market near Tiananmen Square.
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ALUMNI GATHERINGS We loved seeing Toads near and far this fall, including in Seattle, New York, Claremont, Santa Barbara, and Chicago! We look forward to meeting up with more of you in the spring.
SEATTLE ALL-COMMUNITY EVENT Alumni, parents of alumni, and current parents gathered at the home of Heather Kelly CdeP 2001 and Brian Kelly CdeP 2001 in Seattle, WA where alumni connected with current parents to offer career advice to Thacher students, CdeP classmates reunited, and family members joined in on the fun. We love when our Thacher communities come together and get to know one another.
Tammy Wang P ’23, Tammy Heldridge P ’24, Chris Heldridge P ’24, and Sean Carr P ’26.
Alan Davis P ’23 and Mark Mahan CdeP 1970
FALL/WINTER 2023 30 fall/winter
Rob Shiras CdeP 1974, Bob Schmidt CdeP 1974, and Carmaig de Forest CdeP 1975
Matt Stenovec CdeP 2004, Brian Kelly CdeP 2001, and Vivienne Long P ’25
Heather Kelly CdeP 2001, Catherine Clifford P ’23, and Gus Bush ’23
ALUMS OF COLOR EVENT IN NYC We kicked off our fall events with an Alumni of Color gathering in NYC! Hosted by Dermond Thomas CdeP 1994, P '24 and Rhea Wong CdeP 1997, we had a wonderful group of BIPOC alumni from all generations join us for food, beverages, networking, and to connect with the Director of Multicultural Outreach and Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Christian Garris.
Adriana Gomez of the Alumni Office, Annie Langan CdeP 2018, Lawrence Langan CdeP 2022, Kay Evans CdeP 2023, Michelle Pan CdeP 2023, Charlie Evans CdeP 2012, Dermond Thomas CdeP 1994, P ’24, Sarah Shaikh CdeP 2003, Christian Garris of the Admission and DEI Offices, Sandy Yao CdeP 2021, Dechen Lama CdeP 2021, and Vinnie Park CdeP 2023. The Thacher School 31
GOLD ALUMNI DINNER IN CLAREMONT Colin Kirkpatrick CdeP 2019 gathered together an impressive group of GOLD alumni this past October. We love to see our Graduates of the Last Decade staying connected and enjoying each others' company.
Toby Arculli CdeP 2020, Alyssa Ruiz CdeP 2022, Lily King CdeP 2023, Jordan Yates CdeP 2023, Mya Bolden CdeP 2020, Reyna Kleemeier CdeP 2021, Maxine Tamas CdeP 2021, Colin Kirkpatrick CdeP 2019, Ali Bennett CdeP 2023, and Ethan Zhang CdeP 2022.
SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY ALUMNI GATHERING Santa Clara University Toads left to right: Jose Sanchez CdeP 2021, Jackson Hollins CdeP 2020, Ajani Huchard CdeP 2023, Pierce Bressie CdeP 2023, Will Callahan CdeP 2022
Not pictured are the gatherings we held in Santa Barbara and Chicago. Both were all-community events where alumni, parents of alumni, and current parents gathered in community to get to know one another and connect with the School. The Santa Barbara event was hosted by Ella and Scott Brittingham, parents of alums Poppy CdeP 2017 and Tommy CdeP 2020, and the Chicago event was hosted by Kate and Phil Kelliher (Charlotte CdeP 2020, Ben CdeP 2022, Rafa ’26). Thank you to everyone who hosted and volunteered for an event. If you’re reading this and would like to get involved by hosting an event or volunteering for an event, please reach out to events@thacher.org.
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* INDICATES 2024 REUNION YEAR
CLASS NOTES 1968 JIM RILEY II published his book, “Plant
Guide: Geology, Archeology, Tide Pools, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals. Channel Islands, California”. This is a plant guide first and foremost, but it has sketches of the geology, archaeology, tide pools, reptiles, birds, and mammals of the islands. It has been written to showcase and promote the impressive and staggering beauty, diversity, and uniqueness of these islands for all who visit them. Check it out at the Thacher Boswell Library the next time you visit!
1974* BRYAN BECKHAM shares, “Just back
from Ojai and met up with CHIP BARTHOLOMAY and the Thacher alumni office to start planning for our June 2024 Reunion. Chip has a feed on messenger and would be pleased to add CdeP 1974. Many new venues on campus to see when you come back. Looking forward to the next time we can gather. Cheers!”
1975 CDEP 2012 classmates along with
JESSE GATES 2012 and Diane Wallach, gather together in front of the GATES Building to honor the late and great JOHN GATES for his on-campus celebration of life this past October. Back row: SCOTT LEFEVRE, Diane Wallach, JESSE GATES, PHIL MACNEIL, ERIC THOMAS. Front row: MITCH COHEN, ANTHONY KUHNS, MAX VON WENING, TODD HANNAHS
BRIAN SHAW, and GAVIN BACK in New York City over the summer.
2004* With almost a decade and a half
working on expedition vessels, after what was only supposed to be a six-month contract, IAN STRACHAN has been fortunate enough to travel to some of the furthest corners of the world. Typically focusing on polar latitudes, with some tropics in between to thaw out, as an expedition leader for either photography, wildlife or sciencefocused voyages. You can find him scuba diving with penguins in Antarctica, hiking in Patagonia, supporting manned submersible dives to Challenger Deep, leading kayaking trips in the South Pacific, photographing polar bears in the Northwest Passage all in the course of the last year.
1994* RIKA HOWE TOLL and NATE TOLL, 1971 ADAM ENGLUND was on a five-day
excursion in the Cottonwood Lakes and on three occasions when he ran into current Thacher faculty, Jason Carney, and his exemplary band of EDT enthusiasts from '24 and '26. Adam shared, “it brought back so many wonderful memories. I'm at the back with my Thacher 50th hat!”
were thrilled to host fellow TOAD MAX RENIERS CDEP 1992 at our home while he was driving across the country. He even asked to visit each of our classrooms which we happily shared. DERMOND THOMAS enjoyed a mini Thacher Reunion with CdeP 1997 classmates RYAN KURLINSKI,
2007 Congratulations to DAVID KEPNER and his wife, Margaux, who welcomed their beautiful daughter, Frances, this past October.
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* INDICATES 2024 REUNION YEAR
2010 STEPHEN YIH married his fiancée, Ellen, this past October in the Ojai Valley. Surrounded by the iconic Ojai mountains, the ceremony was officiated by JANE FISHER and filled with Thacher alumni in celebration of their love.
2008 SARAH BROWN-CAMPELLO got
married this past summer in Portugal! The 2008 classmates recreated a photo from their time together at Thacher. From left to right: AMANDA ACH, SARAH BROWN-CAMPELLO, AUDRA HORTON, ALINA EVERETT, ABBY VOLKMANN, and MADDI SOWASH. The larger group included the other Thacher CdeP alumni in attendance, CHERYL LYNN HORTON CDEP 2000, LOGAN KROLOFF CdeP 2008, and LESLIE SLIGH CdeP 2007.
2009* NICK WILDER and 2010 Cate alum,
Megan Falvey Wilder, got married this past June and brought the two rival houses together for a night of celebration and truce between Toads and Rams. The Toad guests are ELOISE CALLANDER, IAN FULLER, CONNOR CHURCH, KAITLIN BOND, ALEX MONTAGUE, WILS DAWSON, ELIZA CHILDS, and WILL WILDER CdeP 2005.
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REMY FISHER WILKINSON and Shane welcomed their first child “Fitz” (Fitzgerald) on October 27th.
2014* HANNAH EVERETT recently finished
a personal project short film about hiking from Mexico to Canada on the PCT. Hannah shares, “My backpacking journey and love originated at Thacher and I have so much gratitude for all the experiences and times during EDTs (as well as the tools and skills I learned).” You can find the short film, “The Time of Day is Broken: a Pacific Crest Trail story”, on Youtube.
CLASS NOTES
cutting edge climate issues will help inform her team’s development of an online climate course, with modular learning resources for teachers and students to use inside and out of the classroom.
KEELY SIMPSON signed up for some bull riding at Snowmass Rodeo this past summer! Go Keely and stay safe!
2017 SHINNOSUKE “SHINN” TANIYA shared this life update, “I am now with a startup in Palo Alto and handling our Japanese clients. It’s a role with a lot of back and forth between here and Japan. Until recently, I was a software engineer, but these days, I’m venturing into the marketing and sales space. In the midst of all this, I’m packing up for a move to SF.”
2022 In October 2022, the Turtle
Who knew law school could lead to love and an engagement! Congratulations to OLIVIA SIMONSON and Nicholas Sullivan on the engagement and celebration!
2016 ELSABET JONES ran into fellow toad
ANDREA VIERA 2019 at the NYT’s Climate Forward.
Conservancy piloted their first international internship experience, accompanying a graduate from The Thacher School, LOLA HENDERSONTHOMAS, to the Western Cape for active participation in their conservation initiatives. The experience provided engagement in field surveys collecting data on Geometric Tortoises, undertaking independent projects in botanical preservation and environmental data management, while also shadowing conservation experts. This internship sets a noteworthy precedent for prospective student involvement, fostering personal growth and making a positive impact on local conservation efforts.
Andrea is currently at Highgate, a hotel investment and management company, as an ESG Program analyst. As the first person on the sustainability team, going to climate week and the NYT climate forward event provided her with some great industry wide information regarding innovations and progress. Elsabet is a staff editor in the Education Department at the Council on Foreign Relations. Hearing first hand about The Thacher School 35
IN MEMORIAM ALUMNI Nathan Sutton Smith CdeP 1941 We have come to learn of the passing of Nathan Sutton Smith CdeP 1941. Nathan passed away in January 2021. As a student Nathan was known for his aptitude for writing which led to him becoming the Editor-in-Chief of the Notes. He was actively involved in both athletics and academics and was a member of the soccer team, Ojai Tennis Committee, Library Committee, Debate, 2nd Gymkhana Team, and was an A camper. Nathan went on to become a graduate of Williams College in Massachusetts. Nathan was predeceased by his brother Felix T. Smith Jr. CdeP 1938 and posthumously deceased by his brother Lawrence Smith CdeP 1945. He leaves behind his loving wife, Mary Smith.
Lawrence Hall Smith CdeP 1945 Lawrence Hall Smith CdeP 1945 passed away in August 2023. While at Thacher, Lawrence was a good horseman and excellent cook. He had no equals when it came to Physics and Math. He was an A camper, was on the Outdoor Committee, Secretary of the Pack and Saddle Club, and a member of the Library Committee. Larry’s Thacher classmate, Doug Smith, remembers him fondly, “Larry was an excellent horseman and took advantage of everything Thacher had to offer. He wore a broad brimmed hat that looked like it had been passed down through the generations." Larry is survived by his wife, Grace Rogers Smith.
Charlton M. Lewis CdeP 1948 Charlton M. Lewis, III (Tod) passed away on April 13, 2023, in Redding, CT, at the age of 92. An Emeritus Professor of Chinese History, he taught at Brooklyn College for thirty-five years and traveled extensively in China. He was the
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author of "Prologue to the Chinese Revolution: the transformation of ideas and institutions in Hunan Province, 18911907 published. East Asian Research Center, Harvard University", 1976. He coauthored "China: its History and Culture" 4th edition, McGraw Hill, 2004, with W. Scott Morton. At Thacher, Charlton was an avid athlete, playing soccer, baseball, track, and basketball, as well as being on the gymkhana team. He was also apt to go camping as much as he was able. Charlton was an avid skier, and shared his love of art, music, and far-flung travel with his companion, Roxane Witke, also a China scholar. He was active in his class at Yale and attended the Yale Class of '52 monthly lunch meetings until his death. He is survived by his daughters, Sarah Lewis and Samantha Lewis, his companion, Roxane Witke, his sister, Meredith Stout, nephew Cameron Stout, and nieces Jennifer and Kate Stout.
he was also board president, The Dover Foundation and the Harvard Club of Savannah. He was a member of the Dedham Country and Polo Club, the Landings Club of Savannah and the United States Seniors’ Golf Association. He and his wife Julia owned a summer home in Edgartown and he was a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club and the Edgartown Reading Room. He is survived by Julia, his wife of 65 years; his children Pendleton Jr. and his wife Ruth Anne, Henry and his wife Cary, and Anne Kelley and her husband Chip; and six grandchildren.
John M. Clise CdeP 1950 John McKenzie Clise, Port Townsend mayor, longtime proprietor of Aldrich's store, husband of Pam McCollum Clise, died May 27 at age 91.
Pendleton “Pen” White, formerly of Dover, died in Savannah, GA on Feb 27. He was 91.
Born in 1932 to a family of pioneering Seattle financiers, John jumped at the chance to attend The Thacher School. He enjoyed success there as a scholar, horseman, and athlete. "Those four years were critical," John recently recalled. "Thacher gave me the tools to break away from my family and it gave me a series of successes of being somebody who potentially had some value."
He graduated from Harvard College and served as an Air Force pilot during the Korean War. He subsequently flew in the Reserves before retiring from the Air Force after 20 years.
After studying at Yale and Washington State universities, he joined the U.S. Army Security Agency, focusing on cryptography and military intelligence. He was posted to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey to learn Mandarin Chinese and there married Suzy Gleason. They had four children and later divorced.
For several years, he served as administrator of the solar and stellar physics division at Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics. He had been managing partner of a national executive search firm and served on the board of directors/trustees of the Investment Trust of Boston, Loomis Sayles, Natixis Funds and AEW’s real estate income fund.
He was sent to Taiwan to interpret conversations of military pilots from the People's Republic of China. After the military, he graduated from Stanford University. In 1971, in saving the city's historic Public Market from commercial development, John became the Pike Place Market's first manager and then its executive director.
He also served on the board of trustees of The Faulkner Hospital in Boston, Adams House in Boston, the Charles River School in Dover where
In 1983, he moved to Port Townsend and bought the Aldrich store and reopened it as a grocery specializing in gourmet foods and wine. In 1986, he met Pam McCollum and they married three
Pendleton White CdeP 1949
years later. Partners in business and in life for 34 years, they ran the store together, until selling the business in 1996. John was elected to city council and then Mayor, serving from 1992 to 1995. John was a president of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and was a long time member of Port Townsend noon Rotary, was a volunteer mediator for the Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center, and a volunteer business consultant with the Senior Corps of Retired Executives. The most satisfying work of his life, he said, was becoming a joyful, tolerant individual who embraced others, loved the arts and incited creative mischief; someone who decided for himself what mattered and what constituted satisfaction and success. He discovered acting late and took to it enthusiastically, being cast in small films, commercials, MTV videos and roles in Key City Public Theater productions. John was lucky enough to have five children, Rick Clise CdeP 1973, Holly White, Arden Clise, Patrick Clise and stepson, Heron Prior, seven beloved grandchildren, and a next generation coming up behind. There was no memorial. Like Tom Sawyer, John wanted to attend his own funeral and so, upon his 90th birthday he rented The Rose Theater to share his favorite film, King of Hearts, with friends and family, fulfilling that wish.
Sarah Wilson shares she was especially close to her father because she was in grammar school when her mother Susan died. “Dad was an exceptional man. I understood him on many levels, including personal, family, and professional.” Sarah Wilson attended Thacher while her father lived in Sacramento when he was Gov. Pete Wilson’s CDF director. Wilson tapped into his patrician Southern California background and friendships that went all the way to the state Capitol in Sacramento and onto the White House. From his personal experiences on Buck Mountain, Richard Wilson became one of California’s leading conservationists, and eventual head of the state Department of Forestry (now CalFire) from 19911999 under then Gov. Pete Wilson. While at Thacher, Richard was a captain of the track team, Chairman of the “arch”, and earned more varsity letters than anyone else in his class. Richard is predeceased by his brother Lewis G. Wilson CdeP 1942, nephews John Wilson III CdeP 1964 and Stuart Wilson CdeP 1967, cousin Richard Grant Jr. CdeP 1957, and his son Richard A. Wilson Jr. CdeP 1979. Richard is survived by his children Sarah Wilson Klein CdeP 1997, Marjorie Wilson CdeP 1982, Christopher Wilson CdeP 1980, and significant other, Muriel Lavender.
Richard A. Wilson CdeP 1951 William M. McNabb Jr. CdeP 1954 Bill McNabb died peacefully at home on April 26, 2023. He was born in San Francisco on November 26, 1935.
Richard Wilson, who chose to live his life out on the remote Buck Mountain Ranch in northeastern Mendocino County, passed August 16, 2023. And after a celebration of his life at the Our Lady of Queen of Peace Catholic Chapel in Covelo, he was buried alongside his late wife Susan Valentine Wilson and a beloved son Richard Alexander Wilson Jr. at a family cemetery on Buck Mountain. Richard's daughter, Sarah Wilson CdeP 1997, said since last February she had been with her father at the Buck Mountain Ranch where he passed “quietly and with dignity.”
Horses played a significant role in Bill's life, beginning with learning to ride as a 5-year-old in San Mateo to his high school years at the Thacher School in Ojai. In his twenties he became involved with Quarter Horses, winning many awards for the show horses he bred and raised on his Sacramento ranch. He served on the board of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association and then became its Executive Secretary. Later he went to photography school and became a horse photographer. In 2018 he was inducted into the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.
In 1973 he married Joanne Betz. Bill left the horse world and moved into business consulting. He loved working with smaller businesses, helping them navigate transitions in size and leadership. In 1983 Bill and Joanne went to France to spend time on a canal barge owned by Bill's parents. They lived in France for five years in all, enjoying the beauty and food and people of the country and starting a marketing company with an English partner. Music was always a great passion of Bill's. He sang from an early age, inspired by his father and his musical friends. He loved singing in the summertime pick-up choir at Trinity Cathedral. Bill is survived by his wife, Joanne, his sister Susan and his brother Mark; his two children, Eric and Kevin; four grandchildren, Jordan Ballenger, Jesse McNabb, Kristy McNabb Daugherty and MacKenize Powers; and eight great-grandchildren.
Alan H. “Skip” Kenison CdeP 1955 Alan H. “Skip” Kenison CdeP 1955 died on August 15. Married to Mary for 38 years. Proud father of Kelli, Eric CdeP 1979 and Marc and step-father of Stephen Leone. Loving grandfather of Lisea Lark CdeP 2012. At Thacher he was an accomplished athlete; playing soccer, basketball, track, baseball, tennis, and also skiing and water skiing. He was active in gymkhana and even brought his own horse to school. He later graduated from Stanford and was a founder of Air Cal and Jet America airlines. Skip was a life-long Southern Californian, recently living in Palm Desert and Carpinteria.
Walton M. Logan CdeP 1955 Walton Moore Logan (Walt) passed away on April 18, 2021 at home in Tiburon, CA. Walt grew up in Piedmont, CA, the son of John Sublett and Elizabeth Moore Logan. He attended the Thacher School and U.C. Berkeley where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
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After graduating from Berkeley he moved to New York City where he began his lifelong career in the financial world at U.S. Trust. After several years, he returned to San Francisco and joined his father at Glore Forgan Staats, the start of many years as a highly respected stock broker. In the 80s he founded the brokerage firm, Portsmouth Financial Services where he continued to work until recently. He was passionate about skiing and spent much time on the slopes but his true passion was sailing. He joined the San Francisco Yacht Club in 1966 where he was a very active member. He was a highly successful racer on the SF Bay, as well as long distance ocean racing, on his 1/4 ton "Blue Chip" and on other racing sloops. He married Jill Buckley on his return to San Francisco who predeceased him. Walton is survived by his children Elizabeth Moore Logan-Baravalle (Giorgio) and son John Sublett Logan (Stephanie), 4 grandchildren, his sister Bailey Logan Meyer (Chris) and their 2 sons, Nicholas Bailey Meyer (Misty) and their 3 children, and Christian Logan Meyer. He is also survived by his cousins, Gail Moore and Bess Moore Summers. His close friend of many years, CC Cimino, was at his side when he passed. He will be greatly missed by his family and his many friends.
Dean V. Ambrose CdeP 1956 Dean V. Ambrose, age 84 of Los Angeles, died unexpectedly on November 8, 2022. Dean was a lawyer's lawyer, a generous philanthropist, an art lover, an expert golfer, and a beloved father and grandfather. Born in Denver to Jay and Ida Ambrose, Dean attended UCLA and the University of Denver Law School, where he served on the law review and developed a knack for spotting problems in complex contracts. He practiced law in Los Angeles for over 40 years, serving as managing partner of several large firms and specializing in business and real estate transactions. Dean believed that the rule of law made society more just and that anyone lucky enough to practice law owed an important duty to promote justice in their own community. As chairman of the Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Committee of the California State Bar Association, Dean drafted the California Limited Partnership Act, enacted in 1981 by the California State Legislature. He also dedicated his life to serving the community and helping those in need. He served as a president of the Western Region 38 fall/winter 2023
of the United Jewish Fund of Los Angeles, a board member and emeritus trustee of the National Public Radio Foundation, and a sponsor of medical research and conferences at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine and the UCLA Longevity Center, where he sat on the Board of Directors. He is survived by his three children Greg and Rachel Ambrose, James and Valerie Ambrose, and Andrea and John Lobato; partner, Niki Horwitch; former wives Cindy Gelber and Carole Goldberg; and his seven grandchildren, whom he loved to spoil: Madeline, Graham, Xander, Zac, Ansel, Maisie, and Ezra.
Peter Whitney CdeP 1962 Peter Whitney, beloved father and grandfather, died at home in his sleep on July 12 in Bantam, CT. He was 79. Peter attended Thacher where he was captain of the basketball team and set the career scoring record. He played soccer, baseball, basketball, and was active in several other extracurriculars including debate and was on the Honor Committee. After graduating, Peter worked as a river guide on whitewater trips with the Sierra Club. As a Yale legacy student at the dawn of the Vietnam war, Peter questioned his privilege and looked askance upon those he called "Big Shots," including his college master, John Hersey, author of Hiroshima, whose work later informed Peter's pacifism. Admiring social realist photographers like Dorothea Lange, Peter was drawn to study photography, taking a class with Walker Evans. During the 1970s, Peter published two books of photography in the social realist mode: The Buses Roll (1974, Norton), about the 1968 desegregation of Berkeley Schools and Beyond Our Control, (1976, River Run Press), documenting the corporate takeover of small-town America, with text by Tom Engelhardt. He later worked for United Water, from which he retired around 2010. With retirement he committed to knocking on doors fulltime as a Pioneer for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Peter enjoyed visiting his sister Kathleen in Berkeley, CA and his brother Nick in Inverness, where the three shared a family cabin in the area called Sea Haven. During the Covid pandemic, Peter's difficulty hearing prompted him to share
his conversion story with distant relatives and old friends by post rather than making phone calls. His children remember him as a kind, humble man, with a calming presence, who was curious about everyone he met. During those final, trying times, one nurse, frustrated that the hospital was shortstaffed, had written her resignation letter. After Pete hugged her and told her how important her work was, she tore up the letter. "He hugged me," she said. "This is what it's all about." Peter is predeceased by his father James Whitney CdeP 1934 and cousin Chauncey Goodrich Jr. CdeP 1936. Pete is survived by his brother Nicholas Whitney 1966, children Joel, Benjamin and Jacob Whitney, and cousins Stephen Whitney CdeP 1965, James Whitney CdeP 1960, William Chamberlain CdeP 1958, Gordon Chamberlain CdeP 1956, and Park Chamberlain Jr. CdeP 1968.
Alexander McNab CdeP 1970 Alexander McNab, a longtime resident of Fairfield, Connecticut and former editor of Tennis Magazine, passed on August 6 following complications from surgery. He was 71 years old. His wife Diane survives him, together with his brothers Jay (Margaret) and Stewart (Nancy), and a niece and three nephews. Alex was born on May 28, 1952 in San Francisco and grew up across the Golden Gate Bridge in Ross. In his youth he became enthusiastic about tennis, which became a life-long passion and professional career. During his career, he interviewed many of the greats in tennis, from Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver to Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras, to Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, and Martina Navratilova. He was also good friends with such esteemed tennis writers and commentators as Bud Collins, Allison Danzig, Peter Bodo, and Frank Deford. After attending Thacher, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Vanderbilt University. While there, he developed an interest in journalism and wrote about sports in the school daily, The Hustler. Continuing his education, Alex received a Masters of Science in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
IN MEMORIAM He then moved to Philadelphia to serve as managing editor of Tennis USA and Golf Journal, the official publications of the U.S. Tennis Association and U.S. Golf Association, respectively, both published at the time by Chilton. During his two decades with Tennis and Golf Digest, both then part of The New York Times magazine group, he was also a contributing writer to The New York Times newspaper. Alex published two books: in 1993, The Tennis Doctor, an illustrated guide to tennis; and in 1995, Arthur Ashe On Tennis, co-authored with Tennis Hall of Famer Arthur Ashe, with whom he had worked closely while editor of Tennis. After retiring from the magazine business, Alex energetically jumped into other forms of writing and the study of the craft. His Fairfield Writers Blog, which featured his interviews with well-known authors and posts from other writers, won an award from the Connecticut Press Club. He started and ran three writers programs pro bono for the Fairfield Public Library.
Stephen M. Fisher CdeP 1970 Stephen Michael Fisher died January 30, 2023. He was a beloved friend, teacher, and philosopher. Stephen attended Thacher for his Senior year and went on to attend University of Arizona and ultimately received a masters degree. Steve was a small business owner for computer consulting.
Geoffrey T. Dunkle CdeP 1989 Geoffrey Taft Dunkle, age 51, of Frisco, Texas passed away on Sunday, April 3, 2022. Geoffrey was born April 14, 1970 in Warwick, Rhode Island to his loving parents Katharine (Langdon) and Peter Dunkle. Some of his favorite things to do were to listen to live music, or just have it cranked up in the backyard, in the shower or the car. He enjoyed
playing and watching tennis, making dad jokes, he loved his USC Trojans "Fight On". He was a loyal New England Patriots fan, and loved the Boston Red Sox as well as the Boston Bruins, and Dallas Stars. If you weren't sure what Geoff was up to in his free time, he was playing Words with Friends or Solitaire. Among the top on his list was that he loved Hawaii and his dream was to have a house there. Geoff attended Boston University as an undergraduate, University of Southern California where he earned his BA in Visual Anthropology and went on to further his education at Southern Methodist University to earn his MBA in Business Administration and Management. Geoff was most recently employed at Trencent where he worked with an amazing team that appreciated and valued him.
María started her studies at Ventura City College where she received her Associate degree in 1973, while raising two children and commuting from Ojai. In 1977 she earned her BA in Spanish and in 1980 her Masters in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of California Santa Barbara. She taught at UCSB from 1986 to 1988, and then at the University of California Santa Cruz from 1988 to 1993. Upon receiving her PhD in 1993 she returned to Santa Barbara to teach at City College until her retirement 2013. Ana Maria is survived by her two children, Rodrigo Catalan CdeP 1983 and Lorena Whittaker, three grandchildren, her companion Steve Watson and siblings Jorge, María, and Margarita. She is predeceased by her younger brother Sergio.
Preceded in death by his father, Peter Dunkle. He is survived by his wife, Elaine Martel-Walker; children: Ava and Conner Dunkle and step-children: Benjamin, Jackson and Emerson Walker; mother, Katharine (Kit) Langdon, of Northampton, MA; siblings: Suzanne Sterling, of Oakland CA, Elizabeth (Lee) Dunkle, of Boston, MA, Peter Dunkle Jr., of Westerly, RI and Carey Dimmitt, of Northampton, MA and his fatherly figure - Brad Wiley.
PAST FACULTY Ana María Ygualt Ana María del Carmen Ygualt Molanphy, beloved mother, grandmother, sister and companion, and retired professor of Spanish and Portuguese literature at Santa Barbara City College, passed away peacefully June 15, in her home in Santa Barbara. She was 80. Born on October 12, 1942 in Vina del Mar, Chile, Ana María grew up on various naval bases in Chile and in Lima, Peru where her father served as Chilean Naval Attaché to Peru. In 1964, she married Edgardo Catalan, a fine art painter and professor at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Vina del Mar. Newly married, the couple immigrated to the United States in 1964, where Mr. Catalan had been hired by the Thacher School in Ojai, California as the head of the arts program. During this time Ana
The Thacher School 39
Matthew Thomas Balano 1968 - 2023
The
BEST WE CAN
DO
THACHER SAYS GOODBYE TO FRIEND, MENTOR, AND FORMER COLLEAGUE MATT BALANO
40 fall/winter 2023
W
hen Matt Balano joined the Thacher community in 2017, he stepped into an important role as the School’s inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
He brought with him 20 years of experience in education across three continents, including work as a teacher, offering courses in multicultural studies and English as a Foreign Language in South Korea and Spain; in English, ethnic studies, and test prep to first-generation college-bound middle school students in San Francisco; and in English to grades 10, 11, and 12 at both St. Ignatius and Thacher. As important, he brought with him a love of teaching and learning, a deep commitment to and understanding of how to build equitable and inclusive communities, and a kind heart and generous spirit that he extended to the many students and colleagues who came to quickly admire and trust him.
Matt's life, teaching, and vision impacted hundreds in the Thacher community. As we mourn his loss, we Committed to bringing people together to share their identities and cultures, Matt founded the annual West Coast Latinx Summit, a twoalso seek to honor his day leadership development event that draws 400-500 Latinx youth from across the Western US. He also worked extensively as a teacher life of service to young and senior administrator with Magis—a San Francisco-based academic enrichment program for first-generation college-bound students— people here at Thacher developing curriculum, serving on the admissions committee, providing community outreach, and teaching a variety of courses. and beyond.”
Matt spent five impactful years at Thacher teaching, mentoring, and guiding the members of this community towards the embodiment of our shared values of honor, fairness, kindness, and truth. From the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Symposium and expansion of our affinity groups to the creation of Thacher's Multicultural Center, Matt left an indelible mark on the people and programs he touched.
— JEFF HOOPER, HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Ninth Grade riders put on a spirited show during the Fall Family Weekend Riding Exhibition.