About_Us

 

BOARD     

EB’s Board of Trustees is composed of over 20 members. The Consul General of France, the Chief of Chancellery, the Cultural Attaché, the Deputy Cultural Attaché, The Head of school, the Co-Presidents of the Parent's Association and the two Faculty trustees are ex-officio members. The remaining trustees are chosen from among the community at large, the parent community, the alumni parents or the alumni to represent a broad range of perspectives and professional backgrounds. The board usually meets monthly to discuss and determine long-term strategy for the school.

Standing Committees

Advancement: Plans programs for meeting financial needs for the school’s long-term growth.

Buildings and Grounds: Supervises the construction and big projects of buildings and facilities.

Finance: Supervises the financial affairs of the school and makes recommendations to the Board with regards to operating and capital budgets, salaries, tuition and other financial affairs.

Trustees' biography

Pierre François Mourier, Consul General of France, Honorary Chair
Jean-Charles Ledot, Consul Adjoint and Chief of Chancellery
Christophe Musitelli, Cultural Attaché
Jean-François Questin, Deputy Cultural Attaché

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 Hélène Cahen, Chair of the Organization and Governance Committee, is serving her second year on the EB Board. Helene has held executive and management positions in advertising, marketing research as well as HR, finance and sales for large packaged goods companies like Clorox, as well as smaller consulting firms. For the past eight years, Helene has been a consultant with her own consulting firm, Strategic Insights where she has been doing Marketing Research and Innovation Consulting. Helene was born and raised in Paris, France and graduated with a business degree from one of the French Elite School, the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris. She recently obtained her Graduate Certificate in Creativity and Change Leadership from Buffalo State and is currently pursuing her Master’s in the same field. Helene and her husband Dean are parents of Adrien (third grade at EB), Morgane (MK at EB) and Axel.

Frédéric Canadas, Head of School, starts his sixth year at Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in science, as well as a Master’s degree in Education, and a DESS in Bilingualism and Multimedia Resources for Language. He has over twenty years of experience in both bilingual and French education, including seventeen years of practice in a multicultural and multilingual environment, in six different countries. His previous position was as Head of the French-Finnish School in Tampere, Finland. Frédéric and his wife Odile have two children at EB: Nathan (fifth grade) and Ociane (seventh grade).

Christine Chapon is currently the francophone Parents’ Association Co-President and is serving her first year on the Board of EB. She was a researcher for twenty years in Molecular Genetics and earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Pasteur Institute / Université Paris VII. She has worked at the Pasteur Institute, Harvard Medical School and the University of Colorado in Boulder. She was born and raised in France. Christine has experience in the non-profit world, and she is the Volunteer Coordinator of Students Run Oakland, a small non-profit that serves underprivileged high school students from Oakland. Christine and her husband Alan Korman are parents of Jules (6th grade).

Thomas Clydesdale is serving his second year on the EB Board. Thomas manages a Private Equity firm specializing in consumer products, and has had several years of financial experience working with General Electric in Europe. He was born and raised in Hong Kong and received his Bachelor of Science from Lehigh University. Thomas, and his wife Laura, are parents of Jack enrolled in Grade 1, and Raquel enrolled in PK/MK at EB.

Tamara Daney is currently the anglophone Parents’ Association Co-President and is serving her second year on the Board of EB. She is also serving her first year on the board of the Piedmont Choir. Tamara is an attorney in private practice serving corporate clients as well as providing legal counsel to agencies and families pursuing surrogate birth arrangements. She has also served as general counsel to French high tech companies in the Bay Area. She has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings Law School. Prior to practicing law, she lived in Italy for 3 years where she served as a research assistant to the Head of the law department at the European University in Florence, Italy. She and her husband, Ariel Cao, also lived and worked in Tokyo, Japan for a year before their daughter, Alessandra, started MK at Ecole Bilingue. Alessandra is attending her sixth year at EB and is currently in the Fourth Grade.
Ayman Fawaz, Chair of the Board of Trustees, joined the Board in 2003 after serving as Co-President of the Parents’ Association in 2002–2003. Ayman has been working in the High Tech sector for more than fifteen years. Ayman was born in Beirut, Lebanon, where he went through a bi-curricular education (French and Arabic). He received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley. He and his wife, Rania Rayes, have two children at EB: Nour (G8) and Namir (G6).
Panda Hershey, Secretary, is serving her fourth year on the EB Board. Panda is a Director in the Alternative Investments unit of TIAA-CREF. With more than $380 billion in assets, TIAA-CREF is America’s leading retirement system for people who work in the academic, research, medical, and cultural fields. She has also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at UCSF, UC Berkeley, University of Tokyo, and Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique in Paris. Panda earned her M.B.A. and Ph.D. from University of California, Davis and her B.A. from Mills College. She and her husband John have been EB parents since 1999 and have two children in the Middle School: Kalin (seventh grade) and Emma (sixth grade).

Sharon Le Duy is a an attorney who has been practicing law for fifteen years, having served as senior counsel and general counsel at two public companies in San Francisco during that time. Sharon received her BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and her JD from Boalt Hall School of Law, UC Berkeley.

Michael Lukan, Advancement Committee Chair, is serving his first year on the EB Board. Michael has worked in the investment management field for the past twelve years, most recently as a Principal with Catalyst Investment Management, LLC, in San Francisco. He and his wife, Laura Pantaleo, were both born and raised in Canada. Michael received his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Dalhousie University and his M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. Michael and Laura have four sons, Nicolas (second grade), Marcus (first grade), James (MK) and Andreas.

Suzanne McNeill, English faculty representative, is serving her second year on the EB Board. She grew up in Geneva, Switzerland and earned a BA in French and Education as well as an MA in Psychology. This is her third year teaching English at EB. Previously she was also an assistant in K for 1 year and a substitute for 3 years. Suzanne also taught first grade in Arizona for 4 years before taking a long break to raise her children.

Typhaine Métayer, French faculty representative, is serving her first year on the EB Board. Typhaine joined EB in 2005 to teach history and geography at the middle school. She graduated with honors from the University of Rennes, receiving a Master’s Degree in Gender History. She also spent a year in Uppsala (Sweden) where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Medieval Scandinavian studies and International Relations. Before coming to EB, she taught History and Geography at a high school in Bordeaux and at a middle school near Paris.

Frank Morrison is a member of the Executive Committee and served on the EB development committee prior to joining the Board in 2004. Frank is a semi-retired Professor in Civil Engineering at UC Berkeley. He received his B.S.c in Physics and Geology from McGill University in Montreal and his Ph.D. in Geophysics from Berkeley. His research and teaching were complimented by appointments as Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Associate Dean in the College of Engineering. He was the co founder of Electromagnetic Instruments Inc., a local company that develops geophysical instrumentation. He currently is a Faculty Senior Scientist and leads a research group at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. He and his wife, Susan, have two children: Filomene (EB class of 2003) and Huntly (EB class of 2006).

Pierre Olivier joined the Board in 2007. Pierre is Director at HP, in charge of a business unit in the printing & imaging business. He holds an MBA of Ecole des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC). He and his wife Laure move from France to Berkeley, 7 years ago, after spending 3 years in Germany. They have three children: Philomène (EB 2007 class), Valentine (7th grade), and Balthazar (3rd grade).

Michael Pincus is serving his sixth year on the EB Board. Michael has worked in education in South Africa, Australia and the U.S.A. since 1972. In this capacity, he has taught and been a school administrator. He gained his B.A. and B.A. (Honours) degrees — the latter is equivalent to a M.A. — at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, majoring in English and history. His post-graduate work was done in history with a focus on the emergence of separate development in the urban areas of South Africa. There he also gained his teaching credential. Currently, he is Assistant Head and Head of the Upper School (fourth through eighth grades) at Saint Mark’s School in San Rafael.
Gloria Polanski joined the Board in 2003. Gloria is a realtor living in Berkeley. She grew up in postwar Europe and Southern California. She attended UC Berkeley, and has been selling real estate in the East Bay for over twenty years. Gloria has chaired or co-chaired many fundraising events at EB in the past; she has also served on the Alumni, Development, and Buildings and Grounds Committees. Gloria is the mother of Ivan Szpakowski (EB Class of 2000), an active member of the EB Alumni Association, and a charter member of the Berkeley Chocolate Club.

John Rosenthal, Treasurer, starts his fourth year on the Board. John is a partner at the law firm of Nixon Peabody where he co-chairs the business and finance practice. John holds a JD from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University, and a B.A. from Cornell. He and his wife, Sally Drach, have had two children at EB: Matthew (Class of 2004) and Hannah (G7).
Orville Schell is serving his third year on the EB Board. Orville has been the Dean of U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. He is author of 14 books and has written for such publications as Wired, The Atlantic, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, Harper's, and Newsweek. Dr. Schell has received Guggenheim, and Alicia Patterson Foundation fellowships in addition to numerous awards such as the Overseas Press Club Award for the best Foreign Story and the Harvard/Stanford Shorenstein Award for Reporting on Asia. He has served as a network television commentator and as a consultant for projects including several PBS "Frontline" documentaries. He serves on the boards of the Social Science Research Council and Human Rights Watch and is a member of the Pacific Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. His 2 sons Sebastian and Sasha graduated from EB.

Loy Sheflott joined the board in 2007. She is the founder and president of Consumer Financial Service Corporation, a full-service marketing consulting firm. Loy has also worked for Providian Financial, McKinsey & Company and Edgar, Dunn and Company. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA in economics and political science from San Diego State University. She is also active in a range of professional, political, and community activities. Loy and her husband, Stuart Russell, have four children: Gordon (third grade), Lucy (second grade), George (MK), and Isaac (1.5 years).
Tim Stokes, Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, joined the Board in 2001. Tim is a construction forensics expert and a principal of Avelar and Associates, a firm providing architectural and design-build services relating to construction defect litigation. He received a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Studies at UC Berkeley and is a licensed general contractor. Tim and his wife, Anya, have two daughters: Madeleine (EB Class of 2003) and Katrina (EB Class of 2007).

Lynn Van Housen, Vice Chair, joined the EB Board in 2004 and serves on the Advancement and Organization & Governance committees.  Lynn holds an MBA from Yale University and a BA from the University of Notre Dame.  Previously a high tech industry analyst based in Paris, Lynn now works on political campaigns in the Bay Area. Lynn and her husband Olivier have three children: Lucie, an EB graduate now at Berkeley High School, Nathalie (seventh grade), and Sebastien (fourth grade).