Honoring Employees

HONORING EMPLOYEES

Celebrating Longtime Faculty and Staff

Every year, Crossroads honors the faculty and staff members who reach milestone anniversaries. On March 3, our 20- and 30-year honorees and their guests—as well as all employees who have worked at Crossroads for more than two decades—were invited to a dinner held at Tiato restaurant in Santa Monica. After a cocktail hour filled with mixing and mingling, attendees were served a four-course dinner, and a colleague of each of the nine honorees toasted them in a speech. (Earlier in the year, the Parent Association hosted the annual Employee Appreciation Luncheon to celebrate employees who had reached their 10-year anniversary.)

Read on to learn more about our 2019-20 honorees.

The honorees, from left: Jarod Sheahan, Jennifer Anderson ’94, Guillermo Lopez, Ximena Muñoz, Ana Maria Floyd, Chelsea Bent, Chrissy Gianni ’96, Leslie Rosdol, Jamie Meyer

The cocktail hour on Tiato’s patio From left: David Listenberger, Tony Hundtoft, honoree Jarod Sheahan, Evan Avery and Brad Babinski Bob Riddle gives a framed print of Crossroads’ iconic sine wave to honoree Jennifer Anderson ’94

Honoree Guillermo Lopez and Hya Young Honoree Jamie Meyer and Barbara Kahn

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20 YEARS

JENNIFER ANDERSON ’94

When she arrived at Crossroads as a ninth grader, Jennifer “Jen” Anderson ’94 was overwhelmed at first. But the individual attention she received from teachers who wanted each student to succeed amazed and delighted her. When soccer and softball seasons began, Jen found her people and her place in the community.

After college, Jen signed on as an assistant coach for Crossroads’ varsity softball team with Shawn Gilbert. When Jen later heard that a position for a Middle School math teacher had opened up, she jumped at the opportunity. She wanted to be the kind of teacher she experienced as a student, one who enables each child to feel safe and supported even in their most difficult subjects. Her demonstration lesson was so effective that Morgan Schwartz offered her the job immediately.

“Jen has this uncanny sense of balance between detailed instructions, good fun and clear boundaries,” says Head of Middle School Michelle Merson. “She’s able to challenge the most sophisticated independent math student and be there for those who feel a risk asking their questions.”

In addition to teaching algebra, Jen has coached numerous Crossroads athletes in softball and volleyball in the Middle and Upper Schools. Jen is truly passionate about sports. As she says, “Baseball is my second language.” A soccer, volleyball and softball star during her high school years, Jen was inducted into the inaugural Crossroads Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Go, Jen!

CHELSEA BENT

After college, Chelsea Bent held a number of jobs, but she really wanted to work with children. Having heard wonderful things about Crossroads, she applied to be a substitute teacher here. Although qualified in her own right, Chelsea still thinks babysitting for Joanie Martin’s granddaughter may have helped get her foot in the door.

Eventually, Chelsea was hired as a fourth grade assistant teacher, moved to fifth grade and then became a lead teacher in 2006. While she loves chaperoning Environmental and Outdoor Education (EOE) trips and performing in Cabaret every three years, it’s the children, who add joy and humor to every day, that make working at Crossroads special to her.

Chelsea prides herself on getting to know each

student—520 children over 20 years—through a direct, honest and kind relationship, so that each one feels seen, heard, supported and loved. A treasured time for Chelsea has been the annual fifth grade EOE trip to Catalina, which she finds deepens her relationships with students as she helps them through struggles and triumphs. Chelsea offers nurturing love and wise counsel that enable all of her students to feel safe.

Colleague Lisa Doyle notes that “Chelsea has the most school spirit ever.” Whether dancing, singing, playing or cheering, Chelsea brings the utmost enthusiasm. Adding further joy to her experience at the School is being a Crossroads parent to second grader Charlie and kindergartner Birdie. Crossroads is lucky to have Chelsea and her amazing family on board.

HONORING EMPLOYEES

20 YEARS

ANA MARIA FLOYD

Ana Maria Floyd is a long way from her native Spain, where she practiced family and civil law. When she learned that her husband had been transferred to Los Angeles, she recalls, “I was young and in love and didn’t think twice about moving. I just moved here.”

Newly arrived, she decided to try something different. While working for a language education and leadership training organization, she saw an ad for a position at Crossroads. At her interview and teaching demonstration, she was told, “You are a natural.” The rest is history.

During her 20 years at the School, Ana has helped transform the World Languages Department. She’s served as a department chair and has taught every level from Middle School and Spanish 1 through Crossroads Advanced Studies (CAS) classes. In her CAS courses, Ana challenges her students to practice real-world activities, including debating current events, resume writing and job interviewing. Ana holds her students to the highest standards and helps them reach their personal best. For 16 years, she has also taken the lead role in helping to plan a Spanish cultural exchange with a school in Zaragoza, Spain.

Most recently, Ana became one of the three grade advisers for the Class of 2021. Ana brings the same level of care and concern to advising as she does to teaching. Ana is known for her empathy, her passion and her professionalism. Congratulations, Ana, on 20 wonderful years.

CHRISSY GIANNI ’96

Although we’re celebrating her 20-year employment anniversary, Chrissy Gianni ’96 has actually been at Crossroads for 26 years—six of them as a student.

Chrissy started working here as a sixth grade assistant Core teacher, computer instructor and substitute. At the time, she also coached volleyball and softball and provided voiceovers for an English-asa-second-language website. In 2001, Chrissy was hired to teach math at Crossroads. The following year, when a Latin position opened up, Chrissy seized the opportunity.

Eighteen years later, Chrissy still adores teaching Latin. Her classes are legendary: She creates her own songs, mnemonic devices and games to help children learn. Chrissy is proud of the fact that students love to hang out in her classroom, even after they move up to the Upper School.

“Crossroads embraces the weird things I do,” says Chrissy. She started the Rock-PaperScissors Tournament and moderates both the GeoBee and the Ugly Sweater Contest, in which she is a formidable competitor. According to colleague Marisa Alimento, “Chrissy usually wears multiple layers of sweaters and a vest and declares herself the winner.”

Continually pursuing her love of sports, Chrissy has coached several championshipwinning girls and boys volleyball teams. Chrissy promptly joined the Adult Community Choir when she returned to Crossroads and has volunteered for a solo part in every Cabaret since 2000. She dances like a star, too! Chrissy is our own Crossroads Renaissance woman, with a boundless talent for sports, academics, technolforsports,a ogy, music and, most of all, fun.ogy, music

GUILLERMO LOPEZ

Before starting at Crossroads, Guillermo “Memo” Lopez worked across the street from the School in the warehouse of a bio analysis firm. At the time, his former high school classmate Isaac Magana was working in security, events and landscaping at Crossroads. For roughly 10 years, Isaac kept asking Memo when he was going to join the team at Crossroads. After the bioanalysis firm closed its 21st Street location, Memo was cashing his last check when he ran into Isaac, who made one last plea: “Now do you want to work with us?” Memo replied, “Yes!”

At first, Memo thought he would only work at Crossroads until he found another job, but he loved working in security and events for the School. When he started, security personnel patrolled the neighborhood surrounding the School. Memo is proud of bringing students back to campus and keeping them safe. Twenty years later, as the Norton Campus security supervisor, Memo says that he has stayed all these years because everyone is treated like family at Crossroads.

Memo has looked after the students like family, as well. When Middle or Upper School students are on campus late, he stays with them until a parent arrives. One time, he spotted a child choking on an apple outside of the Admission Office. Memo sprung into action and performed the Heimlich maneuver, saving the child’s life. In gestures large and small, Memo is always there to ensure the safety of the Crossroads community. Thank you and congratulations, Memo! 20 YEARS

Y E A R 20

E M P L O Y E E

JAROD SHEAHAN

Jarod Sheahan thanks the Young Americans (YA) for helping him find Crossroads. When Jarod was a performer and teacher with its music program, he inspired then-17-year-old Tony Hundtoft, now a Middle and Upper School music teacher, to join YA as a drummer. At a dinner theater in Michigan, they both met future colleagues David Listenberger and Evan Avery for the first time.

In 1996, Jarod moved to California. He continued to work with YA and began freelancing as an accompanist, playing at Crossroads and other places around Los Angeles. In 2011, Crossroads hired Jarod as vocal director, a position not originally on his radar. Jarod thought of himself as a musician, not a teacher, and didn’t even see himself as a singer.

Yet Jarod’s gifts were quickly evident, and he has loved working at Crossroads. He is gratified and rewarded by the trust, freedom and openness he experiences and the connections he develops with his students. He particularly likes to see how his support has helped students who once doubted themselves to become confident and proud.

Upper School Music Department Chair Evan Avery says, “Jarod is one of the best choral directors, arrangers, conductors and teachers anywhere. He has raised the level of music on our campus in ways that cannot be overstated. From his work with the 21st Street Singers and Middle School Overtones, to the Conservatory musicals, drama tours, Cabaret shows, adult chorus and solo vocal concerts, Jarod inspires our students to raise their game and achieve levels that are anything but common in middle school or

high school programs.”

HONORING EMPLOYEES

XIMENA MUÑOZ

Originally from Osorno, Chile, Ximena Muñoz has long known that Crossroads was the perfect school for her. When she first visited in 1994, she loved the relationships she observed, the teachers she met and how the School valued creation and exploration. Soon after, she began her Crossroads career as an Upper School Spanish teacher.

Since then, Ximena has held many roles at the School. As a graduate of a bilingual school, she was equipped to teach a French section when the need arose. She pioneered the study abroad program which would evolve into the current cultural exchange program with Zaragoza, Spain. Ximena also served as chair of the Modern Language Department for several years.

In 2006, she took a break from teaching to begin a family. In fact, her son was born the 22 YEARS very first morning of her maternity leave! Four years later, Ximena resumed teaching when Head of School Bob Riddle asked her to start a sixth grade Spanish program. Now, she also teaches a seventh grade Options class.

So much has changed since Ximena joined Crossroads. The immersion program has been greatly enhanced by technology, and language learning has changed dramatically, from focusing on grammar to prioritizing reading, writing, speaking and listening in context.

Ximena can’t imagine teaching anywhere else. She is inspired daily by the philosophy of the School, the words of the administrators and the dedication of her colleagues. Most importantly, she inspires the children. As one sixth grade student says, “I love my Spanish teacher, Ximena. Her

class is so much fun.”

JAMIE MEYER

Y E A R 30

E M P L O Y E E

LESLIE ROSDOL

Jamie Meyer didn’t encounter classics as a subject until he went to college. But once he read works by Sophocles and Euripides, he was hooked.

After earning a master’s degree in teaching Latin, Jamie accepted his first position at a school in Minnesota. When students and parents began leaving hateful messages and homophobic slurs on his answering machine, his principal at the time urged Jamie to resign rather than be fired.

Then, while visiting his twin sister in Oceanside, Jamie learned about an opening for a Latin teacher in the Middle School at Crossroads. Not long after Jamie started, Crossroads held a forum on racism, sexism and homophobia. Jamie could not believe that he was working at a place where he was not only accepted but celebrated and embraced.

Since then, Jamie has devoted much of his time outside the classroom to providing a safe haven for LGBTQ youth through various groups in and outside the School. In 1995, he also helped plan the first Gay and Lesbian Student Education Network conference in Los Angeles.

Over the past 30 years, Jamie has taught Latin and English in the Middle School and Latin and Greek in the Upper School. He has also served as department chair, dean of the summer school and faculty adviser of the Latin and Greek Club.

A career highlight for Jamie was performing in “Crossroads Eye for the Latin Guy” in a Cabaret. When asked why he has stayed at the School for 30 years, Jamie says, “This school is about passion and connection. Why would I ever leave?” Thirty years ago, Crossroads only had one ceramics class. Hoping to expand the program, the teacher at the time invited Leslie Rosdol, whom she knew from Otis College of Art and Design, to help. Now, the program includes three Upper School classes, taught by Leslie, and two Middle School classes.

“The kids totally ground me,” says Leslie. This year, in particular, has included several adjustments for Leslie, from relocating the studio to changes to the Upper School grading system and a transition to teaching in trimesters. Leslie has rolled with the changes, providing instruction that is both challenging and inspiring.

Creating an environment where students feel safe enough to express themselves artistically is important to Leslie. She knows that her classes are about much more than making art. She emphasizes that her students learn life skills— focus, flexibility, patience and persistence—along with the ceramics techniques.

With a teaching style that has become far more student-centered over the years, Leslie notes that student investment increases proportionally with student choice and accountability. To engage the students, Leslie provides a few approaches to an assignment and then, in her words, “gets out of the students’ way.” She is particularly delighted when her students go on college visits and ask to see the ceramics studio.

For Leslie, Crossroads has a certain energy that she has really enjoyed for the past 30 years. She asserts, “Crossroads has made a commitment to the arts, and they’ve kept it.”