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Jordan Karp | Chair
Redwood Day Parent
B.A., Economics and Philosophy, Columbia University; Masters, City Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professional Experience: Urban Planner
Other Redwood Day involvement: Former PGA President; Fun-Run co-chair; PGA Nominations Committee; Room Parent
Jordan has over 20 years experience in urban design and transportation planning, working for government agencies and in private consulting. He has successfully managed complex planning and design projects for clients throughout North America. Jordan currently manages a group of planners and engineers at AECOM in Northern California, providing planning services to transportation agencies in the Bay Area and throughout California.
Jordan and his family live in Oakland, and both his sons attend Redwood Day. He loves the outdoors, and tries to sneak in as much time in the forest and mountains as he can. He has volunteered with a variety of youth outdoor-education and leadership-skills programs, and is active in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations.
Personal Statement: “Our family joined Redwood Day in 2013, and from the start we’ve valued the school’s approach to providing a comprehensive education that nurtures all aspects of a child’s growth. I'm excited to support Redwood Day and the fantastic community of faculty, staff and families that make this such a special place.”
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Elyse Whitehead | Vice Chair
Redwood Day Parent
B.A. in Psychology and American Studies, with highest honors from UNC-Chapel Hill and JD, magma cum laude from UC Hastings
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Elyse is the proud parent of Eleanor (4th) and Henry (2nd). She and her husband Todd joined Redwood Day because of the strong sense of community -- a community that celebrates individual children and works to make them not only engaged learners but good people and citizens. Elyse is thrilled to be in her third year of service on the RDS Board of Trustees. She serves on the Finance, DEIB, and Compensation Committees and as Secretary for the Board.
Elyse was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, and earned her B.A. with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Tar Heels!) and her J.D. with highest honors from UC Hastings. Elyse spent over a decade in private practice at the boutique law firm of Keesal, Young & Logan, where she made partner and advised clients on a range of business matters and represented them in litigation. In 2020, Elyse joined Plaid, a fintech company whose mission is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. There, she leads the Enterprise Solutions team -- a team of dedicated and solutions-oriented attorneys and legal professionals whose focus is providing proactive, holistic, and practical advice on antitrust/competition, global employment, intellectual property and innovation, litigation, privacy, and regulatory matters. Elyse also serves as the Executive Sponsor for the Legal Team's DEIB Committee, a group dedicated to championing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within recruiting, hiring, and the workplace.
Outside of work, Elyse enjoys listening to true crime podcasts (strongly recommend "Bear Brook"!), taking long walks to enjoy the beautiful Bay Area weather, and playing 20-questions with Eleanor and Henry.
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Mar Brandt | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.S. with Honors, International Business from the California State University, San Francisco
Mar is the Head of sales/sales leader at Experian. She has nearly 20 years of leadership experience in sales, driving deep client relationships and revenues through her knowledge of digital marketing technology and business development. She is a lean-in, high velocity sales leader with an award-winning career in the SaaS space, building and transforming teams to drive growth and scale. In her current role, Mar is Vice President of Americas Enterprise and Healthcare vertical sales for Sitecore, a global leader in web content management and customer experience platforms. Prior to Sitecore, Mar was SVP, Head of Sales for Experian Marketing Suite, Experian’s SaaS-based cross channel marketing platform, where she spent a 14 year career in progressive leadership roles. Mar’s experience also includes tours at various technology companies such as AT&T and DoubleClick.Her passions include family (especially sons Donovan and Kieran), food, interior design, women in technology, and volunteering at Redwood Day.
Personal statement: "As a new parent of Redwood Day, I felt compelled to learn about the broader community while contributing to the classroom, and becoming a room parent was a fantastic opportunity to do that. Being a board member of the PGA allows me to contribute to and stay involved with this amazing community and to help represent the lower school parents on topics that are important for us as parents of young students."
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Ayanna Brown | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
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Redwood Day Involvement: Co-Vice President, Communications Secretary, Room Parent, Classroom Volunteer, Generations Day, Book Fair, Library Volunteer, Families of Color/African-American Families Reception Volunteer
Professional Experience: Healthcare Revenue Cycle, Professional/Electronic Medical Record Trainer
Personal Statement: "It has been exciting watching the different iterations of Redwood Day over the last 20 years. One thing that has not changed is the sense of community, and being part of the PGA is one of the many ways I can give back. It is important to me to volunteer time and effort to a school that has brought so much joy to our family."
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Brandi Catanese | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A., UC Berkeley; Ph.D., Stanford University
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Brandi is currently an Associate Professor of African American Studies and Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, UC Berkeley, where she has taught since 2003. Her courses focus on African American cultural history, performance theory, and dramatic criticism. Her research focuses on the power of representation to both reflect and actively shape widely held understandings of racial identity. In addition to her teaching and research, Brandi has extensive higher ed administrative experience spanning from curricular redesign, public programming, and admissions policy to equity and campus climate work and doctoral program administration. Her hobbies include cooking, being in nature, and traveling.
Other Redwood Day Involvement: Classroom volunteering, PGA Faculty Appreciation Committee (since 2018)
Personal statement: "Redwood Day has been a fantastic fit for our family! I am honored to serve on the Board and to help ensure that the learning environment at Redwood Day continues to prepare students for their next challenges in these rapidly changing times."
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Monica Espinosa | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A., Economics and Legal Studies, University of California, Berkeley; and J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law
Monica has been a proud Redwood Day parent since 2018. Her involvement at Redwood Day has included serving as co-chair for the PGA’s Prism Committee, a room parent, and a tour guide for prospective families.
Monica received her Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Economics and Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where she served as editor of the Hastings Law Journal.
Monica’s professional work focuses on providing reentry legal support as an attorney at Root & Rebound, an Oakland-based nonprofit whose mission is to restore power and resources to families and communities most harmed by mass incarceration through legal advocacy, public education, policy reform, and litigation. Monica’s prior experience includes post-conviction capital defense in habeas level appeals, civil legal aid, and family law litigation and mediation.
Monica serves on the East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association Board of Directors and is secretary and member of the EBLRLA Scholarship Fund Board of Directors. She has served as secretary on the Alameda County Bar Association’s Family Law Executive Committee. She spends her time outside of work cheering her family on at sports and music events, learning to play piano, and planning and enjoying road trips and outdoor adventures.
Personal Statement: Redwood Day means so much to our family. The Redwood Day faculty, staff, curriculum, and community go above and beyond to nurture and support every child’s growth from day one.
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Nitin Gupta | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.S. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Yale University
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Nitin has 20 years of experience leading product and business teams. Currently, Nitin is the Vice President of Product at Quizlet, an ed-tech company that makes study tools to help students practice and master whatever they are learning. Prior to Quizlet, Nitin worked at GoFundMe, where he led the core product for the crowdfunding and non-profit donation platform. His prior experience includes leadership roles at GoDaddy and Glyde, as well as management consulting at Bain & Company.
Nitin grew up in the East Bay and currently resides in Oakland with his wife, Wendy, and their son, Alden, who attends Redwood Day.
Personal statement: "We are honored to be part of the Redwood Day community. It's amazing to see how the faculty and staff care so much about each child and how the families care about one another."
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Cathy Hunter | Trustee
BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design; MEd from Loyola College with an emphasis on women in leadership
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Cathy Hunter has spent over forty years in independent school education, serving as teacher, dean, division head, head of school, trustee, and consultant. Born in London and raised in upstate New York, her career began on the east coast; after several years of teaching (Phillips Academy Andover and Maumee Valley Country Day School) she served as department chair and dean at St. Timothy’s School in Baltimore, Maryland for eleven years and Upper School Head at Head-Royce School in Oakland, California for twelve years.
Cathy was founding Head of School (2002-2016) at the San Francisco Friends School where she and her team built an exceptional program based on Quaker values, raised over twenty million dollars to transform the hundred year-old Levi-Strauss factory into an award-winning school facility, and pioneered numerous partnerships with organizations in San Francisco’s Mission district. Cathy spent the 2016-17 school year in London as a consultant at King Solomon Academy, and the following year as Interim Head of School at Marin Horizon School.
Personal Statement: "As a long-time resident of Oakland and an even-longer-time independent school educator, it is a delight to join the leadership team of Redwood Day School. The school is at once filled with a vision for the future and a grounded celebration of the "now-ness" of childhood. Redwood Day occupies an important place in the Bay Area educational landscape; I'm honored to help the school ask questions that drive its continued healthy growth and development."
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Benjamin Jones | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A. Stanford University, J.D. Northwestern University School of Law
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Ben and his wife Betsy live in Oakland, and their sons -- Jack and Parker -- attend Redwood Day. He joined the Board of Trustees in 2021.
Ben is a Senior Counsel at Google, where he leads the team of lawyers supporting product development and regulatory compliance for the Google Maps business. Before joining Google, he was in private practice in San Francisco. Ben volunteers as a flag football and little league baseball coach and enjoys playing golf and tennis, following NBA basketball, and travel.
Personal statement: "Redwood Day means a lot to our family. The boys have found a great group of classmates and friends, the teachers and staff work hard to create an environment where learning is an adventure, and we've made great friends among the parents."
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Jared Leiderman | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A., Swarthmore College; M.B.A., Harvard Business School; M.P.A., Harvard Kennedy School of Government
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Jared is a parent of a first-grader, Tovah, and a fourth-grader, Hazel, and has loved seizing opportunities to volunteer with their classes.
Professionally, Jared finds his passion supporting social and environmental change around the world. As the Chief Financial Officer of the DRK Foundation, a global venture philanthropy organization, Jared drove investments and core support for over 100 early-stage organizations focused on racial justice, educational access, climate change, and global health, among others. He was a Finalist for the S.F. Business Times Nonprofit CFO of the Year in 2021. Jared previously supported access to great education through Juma Ventures and the New Teacher Center and has been a mediator for over 20 years.
Jared is currently the board chair of Hopebound, which provides free mental health counseling to adolescents, and is a volunteer adviser to a range of other nonprofit organizations. He has also served as Treasurer on the boards of Bay Area-based Essie Justice Group and Open Door Legal. Jared loves cooking elaborate Mediterranean feasts and exploring national parks with his family.
Personal Statement: "Our family loves Redwood Day School, which has been a wonderful place for our children to thrive! I'm excited to support the school's continued efforts to build a welcoming, diverse, engaged community."
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Allan Ng | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A. Economics and Philosophy, Columbia University; MBA, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
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Professional Experience: Marketing Executive
Other Redwood Day involvement: Former PGA Communications Secretary; Room Parent
Allan has more than 20 years of experience leading marketing teams at Fortune 500 and startup companies. He is the Founder and Principal of Scale Factors, a marketing consulting firm, and has held marketing leadership positions at Google, Livongo, and Yahoo. He also serves as an Advisor to early-stage companies and is a member of the Go-to-Market Council for Canvas Ventures, a leading venture capital firm.
Allan is passionate about his community and has previously served as a Board Member for Friends of the Elderly, a non-profit social services organization, and the San Francisco International Program, which brought individuals from developing countries for training to serve as civic leaders back in their home countries.
He and his family live in Oakland, and his three children attend Redwood Day. He loves to play guitar and enjoys cooking for family and friends.
Personal Statement: “Our family has benefitted deeply from Redwood Day's commitment to fostering a nurturing community that allows our children to learn, grow, and thrive. I'm honored to help the school in its own growth and development.”
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Geoff Rhizor | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.S., Business Administration with a Minor in History, Boston University
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Professional Experience: Technology Investment Banker
Other Redwood Day involvement: Annual Fund Ambassador, Classroom Volunteer
Geoff has over 15 years of experience in technology investment banking, advising software and tech-enabled services businesses on M&A, Debt and Equity Capital Raising, and IPOs. He currently helps lead the west coast software efforts for middle market firm Canaccord Genuity. Additionally, he has partially focused for the past 3 years on advising social good, fundraising, and nonprofit businesses.
Geoff and his family live in Rockridge. His older daughter attends Redwood Day, and his younger daughter is entering her last year of preschool at Hearts Leap in Elmwood. He loves running, cycling, and the outdoors and tries to sneak in as much time in nature as he can.
Personal Statement: "The Redwood Day community has been incredibly welcoming to our family since joining last fall, and we are so excited about how our daughter is developing her academic, social and emotional well-being at RDS. It is truly a unique place, and I am enthusiastic about providing any support I can to the school and community at large as the school continues to evolve and grow."
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Isavane Samanna | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A., Social Science (Hons), University of Kwa-Zulu Natal
Isavane is the parent of Zarah (8th Grade) and Tenzin (Redwood Day alum) and has served on the Board of Trustees for a number of years, most recently as the Chair. In addition to her time on the board, Isavane has been active as an admissions tour guide, room parent and with the PGA.
After completing a Bachelor of Social Sciences Honours with a specialization in Industrial Psychology and Sociology at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Isavane’s professional career ranges from consulting with a large professional services firm to ecosystem management with technology companies. She loves helping multinational companies be better.
Isavane has served on the Boards of Blueskies for Children and DiversityWorks, both Oakland-based organizations. During her tenure on these Boards, she focused on organizational development and process improvement. Currently, she volunteers as a Mentor with SHE-CAN and at the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic.
Isavane lives in beautiful Oakland with her family and loves spending time with her friends and family, being outside in nature, cooking, reading, and enjoying new adventures. She firmly believes that nothing fortifies the soul like being at the seaside.
Personal Statement: Since joining the RD community in 2010, the Samanna Scovill’s have enjoyed the deep sense of community, a nurturing environment and thoughtful growth in the academic approach and curriculum at the school. The high professional standard of the teachers and staff, coupled with their down to earth attitude continues to instill confidence that Redwood Day provides one of the best school experiences there is.
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Ashminder "Ash" Singh | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.S. Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley
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Ashminder is a Partner and co-head of real estate investments at Fremont Group, a private investment firm in San Francisco. He has been with Fremont for nearly twenty years. During that time, he has exclusively focused on acquiring and growing real estate operating companies, both domestically and abroad.
Ashminder was born in Oakland and currently lives in Piedmont with his wife and two daughters, Harjun and Kirpa, who attend Redwood Day. He volunteers at his local Gurdwara, where both of his girls attend Sunday school. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and listening to Indian classical music.
Personal Statement: "I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve on the Redwood Day Board. I have seen our eldest daughter grow immensely, both academically and emotionally, while benefitting from a supportive environment at Redwood Day. I look forward to having our younger daughter attend as well, and the opportunity to give back to the Redwood Day community through service on the Board."
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Dalbir Singh | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A. from UCLA: Mathematics with a specialization in Computation
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Professional Experience: Currently, Dalbir spends his time advising food companies as a board member and working on various technology-related projects. Additionally, he volunteers as a mentor and technology advisor to Berkeley Scholars, a Berkeley-based organization that provides need-based scholarships to college students. In his spare time, Dalbir enjoys cooking, spending time outdoors, and cherishing moments with his family.
Other Redwood Day Involvement: Previous PTA Co-President, Auction Committee, Fall Festival Committee
Dalbir is a proud parent of two boys, Jeevan and Sevak. He embarked on his career in the tech industry at Macromedia and later Adobe. In 2005 Dalbir transitioned to the food industry and became a full-time member of Sukhi's Gourmet Indian Foods, his family business. In his role as the Senior Vice President of Sales, Dalbir played a crucial role in driving Sukhi's growth and expanding its distribution nationwide over a span of 15 years.
Personal Statement: Our time at Redwood Day has been filled with joy and delight. We've seen our boys grow academically and emotionally into wonderful little people. In the process, we have made life-long friends of our own in the parent community.
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Mark Sopp | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.S. in Design, Arizona State University School of Design
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Mark is Principal, Design Director, and member of the Board of Directors at SB Architects in San Francisco, CA and Miami, FL. specializing in Hospitality, Residential and Mixed-use projects. He is a licensed Architect in 9 states and have contributed design and planning of projects in 38 countries. His family loves the outdoors; hiking, biking, and sports. They are avid skiers.
Personal statement: I am honored to be part of the Board of Trustees and the opportunity to spend more time immersed in the Redwood Day community to understand how we can collectively continue the great work of providing a robust educational environment for our children.
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Susan Webster | Trustee
Redwood Day Grandparent
B.A., Economics, Wesleyan University
M.S. in Accounting, NYU Stern School of Business
J.D., Fordham University School of Law
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Susan is the Executive Vice President of Fremont Group, a private investment firm in San Francisco. She is a member of the Fremont Group Investment Advisory Committee and Board of Directors. Prior to joining Fremont, Susan was a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City. For more than thirty years, she represented public and private companies on a wide variety of corporate transactions and counseled boards of directors and senior management on general corporate issues, including corporate and board governance.
Susan and her husband Carl live in Russian Hill in San Francisco. Their son Matt, his wife Lauren, and their daughters Sally and Maddie live in Montclair, and the girls are in 2nd and 4th Grade at Redwood Day. Susan and Carl also have an adult son Robbie who lives in New York City. In addition to spending time with family, Susan is an ardent reader and enjoys swimming and travel.
Susan is a Trustee Emerita of Wesleyan University and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Wesleyan Athletic Advisory Council. She is an emerita member of the Fordham Law School Advisory Board and served for fourteen years as a Trustee and Secretary of St. Bernard’s School, a K-8 school in New York City.
Susan is honored to have the opportunity to serve on the Redwood Day Board.
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Sarah Wilson | Trustee
Redwood Day Parent
B.A., Biology, Pomona College; M.D. University of California, San Francisco, M.Ed. University of California, Berkeley
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Sarah practices as an inpatient Obstetric Hospitalist at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland with an emphasis on high-risk deliveries and mitigation of inequities in pregnancy care. She has over 20 years of experience in education as well, first in elementary science education prior to medical school and then in graduate medical education. She has served in leadership positions in residency programs both at her current position and at UCSF. She has expertise in educational assessment, curricular design, pipeline development and recruitment and retention. Most recently, Sarah was appointed as a Medical Director of Technology for The Permanente Medical Group. She also served on the Board of Trustees for Pomona College after graduation as a young Alumni trustee.
Sarah Lives in Oakland with her husband, Robby, and two sons. She loves cooking and baking and reads cookbooks from cover to cover to explore new recipes. She spends most of her weekends at the baseball diamond, in her backyard gardening, or on the East Bay trails.
Other Redwood Day Involvement: Room Parent and classroom volunteering
Personal Statement: Sarah is deeply grateful for this opportunity to give back to the school and contribute her expertise in education, medicine, and community health to the RDS community.
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John Loeser | Head of School, Ex-Officio
Redwood Day Parent
B.A., Education and Psychology from Swarthmore College and a M.Ed. in School Leadership from Harvard University.
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John Loeser has been Head of Redwood Day School since 2011. Prior to Redwood Day, John was the Assistant Head of School at The Carey School in San Mateo, CA for seven years. He began his teaching career as a 5th grade teacher at Chenery Middle School in Belmont, Massachusetts and spent eight consecutive summers as an advanced mathematics instructor and Academic Dean at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, teaching students in grades 5-8 and leading a diverse faculty in the development of a rigorous academic program. John has written extensively for teachers in training and enjoys every opportunity to help new and veteran teachers hone their craft. He has led many initiatives in schools including those focused on differentiated instruction, curriculum development, faculty professional growth, diversity, social-emotional development, service learning and long-term sustainability. John holds a B.A. in Education and Psychology from Swarthmore College and a M.Ed. in School Leadership from Harvard University.
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Deann Hays | CFOO, Ex-Officio
B.S. in Accounting from Colorado State University
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Deann is a career finance professional with more than 20 years of financial management experience developed in both public accounting and private sector environments. She joined Redwood Day as the school’s CFOO in July of 2018. Prior to working at Redwood Day, Deann spent approximately five years as the Finance Director of the American Community School of Abu Dhabi. She holds a BS in accounting from Colorado State University and is a licensed CPA.
Deann thoroughly enjoys working at Redwood Day and loves the energy and enthusiasm of the students. In her free time, she enjoys reading, travel, exercise and spending time with family and friends.
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Shawnetta Jones | Faculty Trustee
2nd Grade Teacher
Redwood Day Parent
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Professional Experience: to come
Personal statement: to come
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Shefali Nanavati | Faculty Trustee
6/7 Math Teacher, Advisor
Redwood Day Parent
Professional Experience: to come
Personal statement: to come
