Inside SFS

The Board of Trustees is very pleased to present the candidates below. Please complete and return your ballot forms to school before Friday, April 15, 2016 at 6:00 PM.

Class A Nominees for Parent Election

Rich Brown, Parent of 4th Grader

Rich Brown is the Executive Director of the San Francisco chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, an industry networking association promoting services, capital, programming and connections for Bay Area Middle Market Companies. In his previous career, he traveled the world and served in a multitude of sales and marketing management roles for Carlson Marketing Group, a global firm specializing in relationship marketing, live events and consulting. 

He served for a number of years on the STOP AIDS Project board of trustees and was part of the business committee that promoted San Francisco as a potential site for the 2012 Olympics. He is currently an active member of The San Francisco School’s Diversity Committee and lead of the LGBT Affinity Group.

Of his many past pursuits, Rich derives great joy from good food and wine, straight-ahead jazz and extended stays at the Sea Ranch with his husband of nearly 18 years, Chris and son Myles. You can find him on campus on a daily basis, picking up Myles from after care.

Anne Hipskind Roberts, Parent of North Class Kindergartener & Preschooler

Anne has been living and working in the Bay Area since 1995, working in the field of community development and education. Anne spent her early professional years in domestic violence prevention and currently works as a Restorative Practices Coach for SFUSD. Anne has primarily worked with young people, providing them the support and opportunities they need to be agents of change in their own communities. Anne is able to maintain a systems vision while driving program strategy. Some of Anne’s most significant achievements have been:

• Supporting the San Mateo County Youth Commission to conduct the first youth-led research to inform the annual San Mateo County Adolescent Report;
• Receiving the San Mateo County Kent Award for leading the Community School Initiative in Cabrillo Unified School District.

Anne and her husband Tim Roberts are parents of Kindergartener Felix and Preschooler Simon.

Jabari Magnus, Parent of 2nd Grader & South Class Pre-K

Jabari Magnus, CFA, Managing Director, is the Head of West Coast Portfolio Analytics at BlackRock, a member of the San Francisco Leadership Team, and founding chair of BlackRock’s MultiCultural Network. Jabari and his teams design and deliver analytic solutions used to create new investment products, enhance client understanding of existing products, and support informed decisions of product, risk and portfolio managers using Aladdin, the firm’s proprietary multi-asset platform. He began his career with Salomon Brothers in Quantitative Fixed Income Research, providing portfolio strategy and benchmark evaluation to international institutional investors. Jabari holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and master’s degree in Operations Research from Cornell University.

Jabari currently serves as a member of The San Francisco School’s Investment Committee. He enjoys spending time with his very active sons – Luca and Jaeger – and his incredible wife – Divali.

Class A Nominees for Parent Re-Election

Thor Denmark, Chair, Site Committee; Parent of 5th Grader & 3rd Graders

Residents of the Mission District, Thor and his entire family may be recognizable because of their regular commute to school on the family bikes. After Thor and Hannah depart SFS, Thor heads to work at Chairish.com where he is working to build an on-line furniture/decor marketplace. Prior to Chairish, Thor was a founding member of TripIt.com and Chief Architect for seven years. Before that he completely re-built Hotwire.com and served as Principle Architect for five years.

Thor and Hannah are parents to Oscar and twins Caroline and Nadine. Thor has shared his talents with SFS in a variety of ways over the years, leading projects at Work Days, such as leading the recent barn building on the adventure playground. Thor has served as a Trustee since 2013, having served on the Finance and Public Purpose Committees. He currently chairs the Site Committee.

Anton Honikman, Finance and Advancement Committees; Parent of 1st Grader & South Class Pre-K

Anton Honikman is the parent of Isaac and Sammy. He and his wife, Jessica Lindl, are committed to promoting educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, having supported non-profits in this field (Room to Read and Ecology Project International) and through their ongoing financial support and coordinated mentorship of Siyanda Matsha, a girl from the Cape Town slums who is now in her junior year of high school. 

Anton is CEO of MyVest, a technology company that enables financial advisors to provide personalized portfolios to their clients at scale. Before MyVest, Anton served as President (US) of Ada Investment Management, a boutique alternative investment manager. Prior to Ada, Anton was at Barclays Global Investors (BGI), and Barra, Inc.. He earned a Bachelor of Business Science with honors in financial economics and applied statistics from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. 

Anton has served as Trustee since February of 2015, having filled a mid-term vacancy. He currently serves on the Finance Committee and the Advancement Committee.

Class C Trustees (elected by the Board on March 21, 2016)

Julia Russell Eells

Julia Russell Eells is the head of school at San Francisco University High School. Prior to her appointment at University in 2013, Julia was head of school at Lincoln School in Providence, RI for eight years. Her initial focus at Lincoln was the launch of a new strategic plan, which in 2007 led to a highly successful $11 million capital campaign that included a $5 million campus-wide capital improvements program. During her tenure, she also established the Center for Peace, Equity, and Justice Through Service to deepen the context of the school’s commitment to community service.

With a BA from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an MA from Wesleyan University, Julia brings more than 35 years of experience in independent education. She has held positions as the assistant director of admissions at Hobart and William Smith, director of college counseling at the Ethel Walker School (CT), and dean of admission and college counseling at Miss Porter’s School (CT). In 2000, Julia became the assistant head of school at Westminster School (CT). 

Julia was a member of the executive committee of the Board of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, and has served as a trustee on the Boards of St. Michael’s School (RI) and Community Preparatory School (RI). She currently serves on the Board of the California Teacher Development Collaborative. 

Luke Spray

Luke Spray is the Corridor Manager for the Portola Neighborhood Association. He is an eight-year resident of San Francisco and has a degree in Urban Planning from San Francisco State.

Before joining the PNA, Luke was a Public Safety Coordinator for SAFE, the SFPD’s non-profit crime prevention partner. He has also spent time working in City Hall at the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services and has helped open several small businesses. He has a passion for improving communities though empowerment, innovation and strategic partnerships. In his spare time he can be found co-hosting a radio show about the best of San Francisco, taking long walks through the City and watching the Warriors.

Posted March 29, 2016