Board of Trustees

List of 18 members.

• 

  Kathryn Thai 

  Bio

  Kathryn “Katie” Thai has been a teacher at EB since 2022. She has taught French as a Foreign Language (FLE), English as a Second Language (ESL), and preschool English. Most recently, she has served as a French teacher in the Toute Petite and Petite Sections, and she loves sharing her passion for the French language and culture with EB’s youngest learners.
  Outside of teaching at EB, Katie holds a Master’s degree in Russian Literature and is a PhD candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures at UC Berkeley. Beyond the classroom, she enjoys spending quality time with her son (a future EB student!) and husband, knitting cozy sweaters, and ice skating. She is very much looking forward to another wonderful year at EB!
• 

  Valla Vakili 

  Bio

  Valla Vakili joined the EB Board of Trustees in 2022. He is a digital executive and entrepreneur, with a career spanning technology, digital media, and financial services.
  
  Valla is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and conducted doctoral research at St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford. He and his wife, Sheida Vakili, have two children at EB.
• 

  Xavier Quan 

  Bio

  Xavier joins the EB Board as a parent of two children in the Maternelle. He has a strong connection to EB as an alumnus, having undergone his primary and secondary education within its bilingual curriculum. His academic journey maintained an international focus, culminating in a bachelor's degree in international studies from the University of California, Irvine.
  
  Before his return to the Bay Area, Xavier gained experience in accounting and finance in southern California, which now complements his role as the proprietor of a small business in Oakland.
• 

  Roxanna Ahlbach 

• 

  Fatou Ba 

  Bio

  Fatou is a results-driven finance leader with extensive experience in accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, and financial planning. She is recognized for building high-performing teams, strengthening organizational processes, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Highly experienced with partnering with executive leadership, board committees, auditors, and financial institutions, Fatou brings a strategic and thoughtful approach to financial stewardship and decision-making. She is passionate about operational excellence, sound governance, and aligning financial resources with organizational priorities to support long-term growth and sustainability.
• 

  Ghessycka Bennett 

  Bio

  Ghessycka Lucien Bennett serves as the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. arm of Generation Investment Management and joined the EB Board in 2025.
  
  Ghessycka received a BA in International Affairs and French Literature and Language, and an MA in Higher Education Administration from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. A graduate of Deerfield Academy, Ghessycka also studied at the Université de Haute Bretagne and speaks French and Haitian Creole.
  
  Ghessycka is passionate about inclusivity, equity, nature and climate, and is proud to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for both EB and the Generation Foundation, as well as serving as a National Board Member for NatureBridge. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three children (two are current EB students and one is an EB graduate).
• 

  Robin Brewer 

  Bio

  Robin Brewer joined the Board in 2023 as the Co-president of the Parents’ Association. Robin is a partner at Perkins Coie LLP in San Francisco specializing in patent litigation. She received her law degree from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. Following a childhood dreaming of all things French, Robin received a Fulbright scholarship to spend a year in Lyon, France studying mechanical engineering at Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, from which she received a D.E.A. She also earned a Bachelor of Engineering in biomedical engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in engineering science (high honors) from Dartmouth College. Robin and her husband have two children at EB.
• 

  Thierry Durandard 

  Bio

  Thierry joins the Board of Trustees in 2022.  He retired as Lower School Head from EB in 2018 after working for 30 years at the school as Teacher and Director of Admissions and in his last position as Lower School Director from 2001 to 2018. Thierry is passionate about education, and firmly believes in educating the whole child in his/her academic, physical, social and emotional dimensions in becoming a well-rounded and balanced individual who can adapt to any environment.  Education is a journey with its joys and at times its struggles, which are actually learning opportunities with proper support and encouragement.   Thierry lives with his partner Rick, two dogs and three horses and spends most of his time caring for the animals and experimenting with permaculture on his property in the Oakland Hills.  He is the Godfather of two EB students.   
• 

  Anne-Sophie Giordani-Annibali 

  Bio

  Anne-Sophie has been the science teacher at EB's Lower School since 2021. Originally from Marseille, she completed her studies in biology and geology there, while earning the French national teaching qualification known as the agrégation in Life and Earth Sciences.

  
  Before teaching the primary level, she taught at both the high school and university levels. She now brings her expertise to younger students, with the goal of sparking their interest in science. She particularly enjoys their natural curiosity and enthusiasm, which continue to inspire her teaching every day.
• 

  Jason Harm 

  Bio

  Originally from the Philadelphia area, Jason attended Tulane University in New Orleans where he received a Bachelor and Master of Architecture. After joining sports & entertainment architecture practice, HKS, in 2005, he began his design career in Dallas then moved to San Francisco, London, Perth, and finally Melbourne before returning to the Bay Area in 2018. He then joined real estate management firm JLL in 2021, where he manages ground-up development and existing building due diligence projects primarily in Northern California. Jason looks forward to helping the Board push forward initiatives as a part of the Buildings & Grounds committee and as a member of this amazing community. Jason and his wife Katie are proud parents of two EB children.
• 

  Paola Meta 

  Bio

  Paola Meta is a Finance Manager with Chevron Corporation and joined the EB Board in 2025, having previously served on the Finance Committee.  She is appointed Chair of the Finance, Endowment Oversight, and Retirement Plan Oversight Committee. 

   

  Paola holds a BA in International Relations from LUISS University in Rome, Italy, and a MS In International Business and Environmental Management from The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and an MBA In Finance from Cornell University. 

   

  Paola has a lifelong interest in energy, environment and infrastructure, and squaring the circle between climate, energy, environment, and human development, especially in middle and low income countries is an issue that lives rent free in her head 24/7.  She has prior Non-Profit Board experience with the Community Arts Foundation in Walnut Creek, CA. Paola lives in the SF Bay Area with her husband and daughter, a lower school student at EB. 
• 

  Andre Parris 

• 

  Laura Spiekerman 

  Bio

  Laura is the Co-Founder and President of the identity risk management company, Alloy. Prior to Alloy, Laura led Business Development & Partnerships at a payments startup, where she first met Alloy co-founders Tommy Nicholas and Charles Hearn. Today, nearly 600 banks and fintechs turn to Alloy to take control of fraud, credit, and compliance risk, and grow with the clearest picture of their customers. Laura has been recognized by American Banker as one of 2023’s Most Influential Women in Fintech and by Crain’s New York as a 2021 Notable Woman on Wall Street. Laura is a proud EB and Barnard College alumna and lives in Berkeley, California. She has one son at EB.
• 

  Ashley Stepanek Lockhart 

  Bio

  A graduate of UC Berkeley, Ashley Stepanek (Lockhart) holds Master’s degrees in International Relations & Diplomacy from the American Graduate School in Paris, France, and in Education from University College London’s Institute of Education in the UK. Prior to moving into sustainable investing, she consulted internationally on social and environmental policy research and reporting projects in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), mainly for UNESCO and UNODC, the University of Cambridge, and the EdTech Hub, a government-funded think tank in London. She also taught at Université Pantheon-Assas, Paris II (La Sorbonne) and INSEEC (Grande École de Commerce) in Paris. For fun, she spends as much time as possible with her children, Bay and Serge Lockhart, and partner, Arthur Lockhart.
• 

  Kimberly Taylor 

  Bio

  Kimberly Taylor is a Managing Director and Deputy Chief Counsel at Charles Schwab where she leads the Legal Operations & Strategic Initiatives function. She joined the EB Board in the fall of 2026.
   
  Kimberly received her BA from Yale University and her JD from Cornell Law School where she received a certificate in International Law and studied at the University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne. She is a graduate of Hanahau’oli and Punahou Schools, independent schools in Honolulu, Hawaii where two of her sisters now teach.
   
  In addition to the EB Board, Kimberly serves as a class treasurer for Yale and a member of the Piedmont Civil Service Commission. She previously served as member of the Board of Directors of the Barristers Association and the Justice and Diversity Center for the Bar Association of San Francisco. She and her husband have one son at EB
• 

  Fabrice Urrizalqui 

  Bio

  Fabrice is joining the Board in 2025. He currently serves as Middle School Principal and Assistant Head for French Affairs at the International School of San Francisco. Originally moving to San Francisco in 2004 as a Lower School teacher “for just a couple of years,” he has now built a 20-year career in bilingual and multicultural education and deep roots in the Bay Area. A graduate of Sciences Po, Fabrice believes that the purpose of school is to emancipate young minds and foster engaged citizens. A proud parent of two bilingual students, he lives in Oakland and enjoys reading, cooking and catching live jazz.
• 

  Veronica Volny 

  Bio

  Veronica received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University in 2003. For a decade, Veronica organized and taught an undergraduate marine ecology class at a field station in the Gulf of California, and now serves on the Board of the Vermilion Sea Institute. Her deep interest in ecology led her into the world of local and sustainable food. In Boulder, Colorado, she started Meadow Lark Farm Dinners, hosting weekly dinners at a long table set in a field, among the rows of crops. Here in Berkeley, Veronica has linked her commitment to good food with issues of social justice. She is co-founder of Dandelion Kitchen, a non-profit that uses recovered food to prepare meals for people in our community who are in need of food assistance. Veronica and her husband, Aaron, have two children: one a current student, and one an EB graduate.
• 

  Kelsey Vrooman 

  Bio

  Kelsey is the Co-Founder and Partner of Mission & Data. Her data models and integrated dashboarding systems have been implemented in membership organizations, independent schools, and international schools. In her previous director role at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Kelsey managed the design of Market View, a market data visualization tool and partnered with the E.E. Ford Foundation and the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) on the Composite Financial Index. She is also the co-founder of the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS).
  
  Kelsey has been a trustee and board officer for independent schools and organizations that serve the community, a director of educational technology, an instructional coach, and a faculty member. She received the Emerging Leader Award by the International Society of Technology in Education, was recognized as an NAIS Teacher of the Future, and holds degrees from Trinity University and Columbia University.