board of trustee members

The school is governed by a Board of Trustees who steward the school's long term health, hire and support the Head of School, and attend key strategic initiatives in finance and fundraising.

Camilo Barrera Acosta is a technology investor and entrepreneur who was born in Colombia and raised in Washington, DC. He is the founder and general partner of Perceptive Ventures, an early stage venture firm that invests in AI-first companies across the U.S. and Latin America. Prior to Perceptive, he built a machine learning payments company, which was acquired in 2020. He then developed and built AI products and strategy at Meta for millions of users.

Camilo has been actively involved in education advocacy and philanthropy for more than 15 years, including serving on boards at KIPP DC and JumpStart DC. Camilo is a graduate of the Sidwell Friends School, which spurred his commitment to advancing Quaker education, and where he serves on the Board of Trustees. Camilo holds a BA from Princeton University. He has lived in San Francisco since 2011.

Marc Babsin (Secretary) has lived in and around the Mission District for the past 25 years. Marc is President of Emerald Fund, one of the most respected and prolific housing developers in San Francisco. Under Marc's leadership, Emerald developed 1,000 apartments, across three projects near Civic Center, which are widely credited with sparking the ongoing transformation of the former back office, government district into a 24/7 urban neighborhood.

Marc is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (B.S. Accountancy, University of Illinois), a licensed attorney (J.D., Harvard Law School) and a city planner by training (Master of City Planning, UC Berkeley). Marc has also served on the board of Horizons at San Francisco Friends School for the past several years, including clerking the Development and Finance Committees and acting as Treasurer.  Marc and his wife, Marianne David, live in the Mission District along with their daughters Sasha (SFFS Class of 2030) and Juno (SFFS Class of 2030). 

Seth Brenzel is the Executive Director of The Walden School, a New Hampshire summer music camp and festival that provides residential programs for youth and adults that emphasize creativity through music composition and improvisation. Additionally, Seth is a professional tenor with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, with which he has sung since 1995. He currently serves on the boards of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, SF Parent Coalition, Ensemble Dal Niente, and is the board chair of the PRISM Quartet. He recently served as the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) Co-President of Glen Park Elementary School from 2019-2021. From 2013-2019, Seth served on the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Friends School, serving three years as board co-clerk. He has also served on the boards of Swarthmore College (as President of the Swarthmore College Alumni Association), Earplay, and The Walden School.

Seth received his B.A., with degrees in Music and Political Science, from Swarthmore College. He received an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, with a focus in nonprofit management; he has also served on the Haas School’s Development Council. He is a 2012 graduate of Leadership San Francisco (LSF), where he continues to serve as an alumni advisor. He has served as the SF Symphony Chorus union (AGMA/AFL-CIO) shop delegate and twice as a member of the shop’s negotiating committee. Seth lives in Bernal Heights with his husband, Malcolm Gaines, and their daughter, Cora, now a 5th grade student at San Francisco Friends School.

Rory Eakin is a co-Founder and Director of CircleUp, a data analytics company founded to help entrepreneurs thrive. Prior to CircleUp, Rory served as Director of Investments at Humanity United, a private foundation. He started his career as a math teacher at the University of Cape Town. Rory received his MBA from Stanford, and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Cape Town. He grew up in Washington DC, attending Sidwell Friends School, and now lives in San Francisco with his wife, Emily Rummo, and two children, Rowan (SFFS Class of 2026) and James (SFFS Class of 2029). Rory currently serves on the SFFS Finance Committee and the Quaker Life Committee.

Chrysty Esperanza is Chief Legal Officer at Block, Inc., where she leads legal, compliance, public policy, communications, and security operations. Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) is a financial technology company that creates tools to help expand access to the economy. At Block, Chrysty provides strategic counsel and partnership on a broad spectrum of legal, compliance, and policy issues. She previously held positions at Electronic Arts Inc., served as a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, and was an associate at Farella, Braun + Martel, LLP. Chrysty received her BA in Mass Communications from UCLA, and her JD from UC Law San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of Law). Chrysty is a Bay Area native, and has been living in San Francisco for over 20 years. She lives in Noe Valley with her husband, Scott, and their three boys, Tayo (class of 2024), Makana (class of 2027), and Koa (class of 2031).  

Kelly Greenwood has spent most of her career in the social sector and is the Founder, former CEO, and a Board member of Mind Share Partners, a national nonprofit that is changing the culture of workplace mental health so that both employees and organizations can thrive. Through movement building, custom training, and strategic advising, it helps to normalize mental health challenges and create mentally healthy workplaces. Kelly is a nationally recognized advocate, speaking widely and writing regularly for Harvard Business Review and Forbes. Prior to Mind Share Partners, she served as the Chief Growth & Strategy Officer of Techbridge Girls and was a Principal on the Portfolio Team at the Skoll Foundation. Previously, Kelly worked as a management consultant at Accenture, A.T. Kearney, and the Bridgespan Group, the nonprofit spin-off of Bain & Company. She holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Psychology and Spanish from Duke University. Kelly grew up in Washington, DC and has lived in San Francisco since 2002, where she now resides with her husband, Jules, son, Drew (SFFS Class of 2028), and daughter, Ryan (SFFS Class of 2030).

Nikita Gujral serves as Managing Director of Investments for the UCSF Foundation Investment Company's endowment. Previously she has held investment roles at UC Berkeley's endowment, Gore Creek and The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. She started her career at Morgan Stanley in Technology Mergers & Acquisitions and spent some time in the non-profit sector at The 9/11 United Services Group, an organization formed to help coordinate the social service sector in New York City after the September 11th attacks. She received her BBA from The University of Michigan and her MBA from Harvard Business School. Nikita sits on the Investment Committee of The Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Although originally from Michigan, Nikita has lived in New York, Boston, Chicago and this is her second stint in San Francisco. She lives in the Inner Richmond with her husband, Ranvir, and three children: Zade (SFFS class of 2027), Tahlia (SFFS class of 2029) and Kaia (SFFS class of 2035 Prospect). Nikita currently serves on the SFFS Investment, Finance and Horizons Committees, and has volunteered for the Annual Fund.

Jennifer Hsieh (Treasurer) has spent the last 12 years leading finance teams at various tech start-ups, serving most recently as Head of Finance at CareZone, a digital health company.  At CareZone, she led the company through multiple financings and played an integral role in all strategic and operational decisions, culminating in the sale of the company’s technology assets to Walmart.  Just prior to making the leap into the start-up world, Jen was with Goldman Sachs in their Technology, Media, Telecom and Leveraged Finance investment banking groups.  She started her career at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown in technology investment banking, later transitioning to equity research where she covered the internet sector. While Jen was born in New York, she grew up mostly overseas spending 8 years living in Australia and the UK.  She received her BA from Wellesley College and her MBA from the Wharton School.  She currently lives in Noe Valley with her husband, P.J. Haley, and her two sons, Quinn (SFFS Class of 2028) and Connor (SFFS Class of 2032). 

Ernie Hsin is a partner at the international law firm Gibson Dunn, where he co-chairs the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. He specializes in technology-related litigation, with an emphasis on patent cases covering a broad range of technologies, including telecommunications, software, and medical devices. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Law Alliance, an organization that provides free legal services to under-resourced Asian communities in the Bay Area, as well as of Epic Church in San Francisco. Ernie grew up on the East Coast (Boston, MA and Potomac, MD) and received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a JD from Columbia Law School. He lives in SOMA with his wife Carla and their kids James (SFFS Class of 2022) and Eden (SFFS Class of 2024), as well as their cats Cali and Lily. 

Caitlin Kavanagh is the Executive Director of Bay Scholars, a non-profit dedicated to education equity and access.   Caitlin’s career is influenced by her own education and is marked with great devotion to the education of high school students.  Earning her Masters in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego in 2004, Caitlin returned to her native San Francisco and served as the Admissions Director at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco for a decade.  It was there that she came to appreciate the importance of knowing students for who they are and who they can become.  Caitlin and her husband Niall have loved watching their three children grow at SFFS (Camilla (Class of 2027), Clementine (Class of 2028), & Augustine (Class of 2031).

Matt Kenaston is a seasoned finance professional and Partner at Blue Oak Capital, a boutique wealth management firm serving high-net-worth individuals and families. At Blue Oak, Matt works with a select number of clients and is responsible for all aspects of their investment strategy, including the development and execution of comprehensive plans. Passionate about helping individuals and generations of their families navigate financial decisions, Matt enjoys solving patterns and puzzles responsibly to improve the lives of his clients. Outside of Blue Oak, he is an Advisor to Opto Investments, a privately held FinTech company. He received his BA in Mathematics from Indiana University and his MSc in Financial Analysis from the University of San Francisco. He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and an Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS®). He has previously served on the Board of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee and as Co-Clerk of the SFFS PGA Admissions and Welcome Committee. Matt lives in the Inner Sunset with his wife Margot, and two daughters: Charlie (Class of 2022) and Sydney (Class of 2026).

Daphne Li is the CEO of Common Sense Privacy, a company that helps consumers make more informed privacy choices and works with enterprises on smarter privacy policies. Prior to this she was Managing Director at Health2047, the innovation arm of the American Medical Association, where she helped scale portfolio companies. She was Chief Operating Officer for First Mile Care, a chronic disease management company focusing on preventing diabetes.  Prior to joining Health2047 and First Mile Care, Daphne was Senior Vice President of Enterprise at Upwork, an on-demand platform for freelancers. She led marketing and product management at ADP and led strategy for Apple’s Education business. Daphne currently serves on the Board of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. In prior years, Daphne has served on the KQED Board of Trustees, as well as co-clerked the SFFS Parents Association. She holds an MBA and a BA in Economics from Stanford. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Oliver, and twin girls, Josephine and Kalista (SFFS class of 2024).

Rob Lippincott  is an educational consultant and edtech executive devoted to pursuing innovation at the intersection of learning and technology. As a senior vice president at PBS, Discovery and Pearson, he has led the creation of media and technology products that are used in more than half of U.S. schools. He is active on several boards of directors and advisors for edtech firms and initiatives, as well as Board Chair for Enso Village, a Zen inspired senior living community under development in Healdsburg. He has previously served on the Board of Sidwell Friends School, Cambridge Friends School and the New England Aquarium. Rob taught at Newtown Friends School, Abington Friends School, Stowe School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He lives with his wife, Jenifer, in Mill Valley across the bridge from two San Francisco-based daughters and has enjoyed watching nephews and niece – Nick (SFFS Class of 2016), Theo (SFFS Class of 2024) & Kate Hoffner (SFFS Class of 2019) – thrive at San Francisco Friends School.

Elizabeth Longstreth is an administrative leader for The Permanente Medical Group at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center. She began her public health career helping form the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF, and has worked across the country for organizations ranging from small, rural community health centers to large, urban teaching hospitals. A Bay Area native, Elizabeth earned her BA from Pomona College and her MPH from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. She is also a board member of the San Francisco Public Health Foundation. She lives in San Francisco with her husband Adam and children Birdie (SFFS class of 2025) and Ty (SFFS class of 2028).

Gaby Mishev is Vice President of the ctDNA and Early Cancers Franchise at Genentech.  She leads the company’s efforts in cancer detection.  Gaby has been at Genentech since 2006.  She is passionate about bringing science from the bench out to people – creating a path for ideas to become a reality.  She has led a variety of programs, including medicines launches, organization design change initiatives and portfolio strategy.  Gaby holds an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, an MS in Neuroscience from Oxford University, and a BA in Computational Neuroscience from Harvard University. Outside of the world of science, Gaby is an avid photographer, and loves hiking and adventuring with her family.  She serves on the board of the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF).  Gaby lives in Cole Valley with her husband, Rob, and two daughters, Lila (Class of 2026) and Maggie (Class of 2028).

Yvonne Neira-Perez (Board Co-Clerk) is an active 12+ year parent veteran of SFFS on track for 19 years of service after her youngest of three graduates in 2027. She holds a BS in International Economics and Sustainability from UC Berkeley with coursework in French at the Sorbonne University; an MBA from Brandeis University, the Heller School, focusing on nonprofits and leadership skills to maximize social impact; and a Masters in psychology from the Wright Institute. At the Heller School of Social Policy, Yvonne was awarded a permanent personalized plaque for outstanding stewardship work and leadership. Currently, she works for Rams, Inc. as a school based bilingual mental health therapist at Mission High School. She served on the Horizon’s board as the SFFS Board liaison, has co-clerked the SFFS board’s Steering Committee, the Committee on Trustees, and currently serves on another board. Yvonne lives in San Francisco with her husband Mike and are the proud parents of: Juliana (Class of 2017), Julieta (Class of 2019), and Julisa (Class of 2027).

Enrique Ortegon was born and raised in the southern Mexican city of Merida. My mother is a serial entrepreneur and my dad a pediatrician and I have 2 younger sisters.  Although an economist by training I grew up professionally as a management consultant, making the change to an "industry" job in 2011 after a startup I had failed.  I am luckily married to Luly Martinez and together we raise our kids Sara (14, 8th grade) and Sebastian (10, 4th grade). We live in Noe Valley with our goldendoodle Sierra.  We joined the Friends community in 2019 and feel blessed to have done so.  We love the outdoors, traveling and overall just spending time with friends and family.

Alison Pincus is a people-oriented business leader and culture champion with entrepreneurial acumen, a thoughtful consumer needs orientation, and creative problem-solving superpowers. Alison’s career record includes 20+ years of brand building and sales/marketing successes to create immeasurable value for stakeholders, customers and employees. 

Alison combines her passion for culture spotting and entrepreneurship in her role at Short List Capital. Short List Capital is a collective of six female angel investors who have built a portfolio of noteworthy companies/brands in consumer-first verticals such as heath; wellness and fintech. Prior to Short List Capital, Alison co-founded One Kings Lane and helped scale it to become an enterprise with topline sales north of $250M and over a million customers. The team at One Kings Lane expertly curated multiple categories and creatively utilized marketing/entertainment to make One Kings Lane (OKL) an aspirational brand/platform.  One Kings Lane disrupted the home decor category by achieving a leadership position in both new wares and vintage. In 2016, One Kings Lane was sold to Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY). During Alison’s earliest years, she was a brand builder with 19 Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, NBC Digital Productions and Hachette Filipacchi. 

Alison’s board service has included Enterprise for Youth; If Only (sold to Mastercard in 2019); and One Kings Lane. Alison advises both for-profit and social impact entrepreneurs. Alison earned her Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California at Berkeley in 1996 and her Masters of Business Administration in Entrepreneurial Studies from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management in 2002. Ali resides in Noe Valley with her children, Georgia (SFFS Class of 2025), Carmen (SFFS Class of 2025), and Wyatt.

Andrew Salverda was the founding Middle School Head at San Francisco Friends School, a position he held for eleven years. He has worked in independent middle schools for more than 25 years (teaching, coaching, advising and administrating) and has experience in many realms of school design. During his time at Friends, Andrew was an advisor and coach, served as the interim head of school, and taught Humanities. He considers himself fortunate to have been engaged in helping build a dynamic and joyous middle school. He previously worked at the Nueva School (also for 11 years), serving in many roles as well: teaching Humanities, serving as interim middle school head, coordinating the Innovation Lab (in partnership with Stanford University’s Design School), designing the advisory program, and co-founding the Nueva Drama Conservatory. Having been a part of building two progressive middle schools, he had many opportunities to create and implement programs and policies, and in the process developed an unflagging appreciation of middle school students, teachers, and parents, and for the power of positive, student-centered school culture. Since leaving friends in 2019, he has volunteered in public middle schools, started to learn the bass guitar, spent significant time working with wood, coached basketball, and embraced the role of stay-home-dad. The child of a nurse and a Methodist minister, Andrew was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. He earned a BA from Allegheny College and an MA from Middlebury College. Andrew and his wife, Sarah, live in Alamo Square with their three children: Bram (class of 2023), Lucia (class of 2023) and Cora (class of 2025).

Ami Sanghvi is a partner at a boutique plaintiff-side employment law firm where she represents individuals who have experienced workplace issues such as discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Ami started her civil rights legal career at a nonprofit organization in New York City representing the homeless and precariously housed. She then moved to the NY chapter of the ACLU where she worked on reproductive freedom issues. Then, she spent over a decade as a trial attorney for the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission litigating federal discrimination cases against companies in federal courts in NY, MA, and CA. 

Ami and her husband Snehal live in the Inner Sunset with Sajan (class of 2026) and Arjun (class of 2029). Despite being unable to shake the east coast vibe and a love for the Yankees, SF and the beauty of the west coast have spoken to Ami’s love of nature and outdoor activities like yearlong running and hiking.

Nelly Sapinski is the Executive Director of the Jamestown Community Center, a Mission District-based nonprofit serving low-income children, youth, and their families through programs that include tutoring, before and after school academic enrichment, summer programs, social/emotional support, sports, youth workforce, parent leadership development and organizing, and Afro-Latino arts education and performance. Before becoming Executive Director, Nelly served as both the Deputy Director of Programs and Interim Executive Director. Prior to joining Jamestown, Nelly served as the After School Program Director at Reading Partners, the national literacy nonprofit, and managed curriculum, instruction, and evaluation for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County. Nelly holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois University and a Masters of Education from Harvard University. Nelly lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter, Katherine Sapinski (SFFS class of 2017).

Michael Simmons is the President of Michael Simmons Property Development, a real estate development and consulting firm focusing on affordable housing and community facilities. Michael is currently co-developing 400 China Basin, a 148-unit condominium project in Mission Bay for middle-income, first-time homebuyers. He also developed the Kapor Center in Oakland, the LGBT Community Center in San Francisco, College Track in San Francisco and Los Angeles and was on the development team for the California Endowment Headquarters in Los Angeles and Oakland. Michael has overseen the renovation and development of over 20 affordable housing projects during his 25-year career including Bayview Hill Gardens, a 73-unit development for homeless families. Michael has served on the boards of The Little School, Episcopal Community Services, Tides Real Estate Advisory, and the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Michael graduated from Boston University and holds an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in Hayes Valley with his three children Lukas and twins Claire and Eli (SFFS 2026).

 Shalinee Thakur (Board Co-Clerk) is a Social Impact Consultant working to drive positive impact in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.  Her areas of expertise are program development, operational scale and risk diversification. Prior to consulting, Shalinee spent nearly a decade at Salesforce, supporting the growth of corporate social impact through finance, operational strategy and customer success both in the US and Europe. She truly believes that technology, when used for good, can make a positive impact in the world. 

Shalinee is on the board of Vera Solutions, a global social enterprise and B corporation driven to amplify the impact of the social sector through the use of technology. She also spends her time volunteering at the local level specifically focused on education and workforce development of first generation youth in her San Francisco community. She holds undergraduate degrees in Economics and Psychology from UCLA and MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business.  She lives in San Francisco with her husband Ravi and their children Liya (SFFS class of 2021) and Myles (SFFS class of 2027).

Ben Tranel is an architect focused on the transformational power of design—how the built environment communicates values and shapes our experience. His creative process is centered around listening and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Over his 16 years in Gensler’s San Francisco office, Ben has grown the firm’s practice, refined its working methods, and strengthened its relationships, both locally and abroad. His portfolio spans mixed-use, residential, office, hospitality, civic and cultural projects. Highlights include: the 632-meter Shanghai Tower, the Tower at PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh, multiple developments in the Bay Area, and the recently completed headquarters building for Alexandria Real Estate in Pasadena, CA. Ben is sought out for his ability to connect divergent viewpoints and align to competing agendas —be they aesthetic, commercial, societal, or financial. He’s an effective, empathetic leader and a master of his craft. The ninth of ten children in a Montana ranch family, Ben understands, deeply, the power of hard work and the mechanics of consensus. Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Washington University, in St. Louis, and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. Ben lives in the Inner Richmond with his wife, Karen YunJin Seong, and two children, Adelaide (SFFS Class of 2019) and Juny (SFFS Class of 2023).

Neil Wadhawan is the co-founder of Heartwood, a software company that specializes in creating 3D interactive VR & AR solutions to make critical complex information easy to learn, follow, and master. With over a decade of experience in solving training, safety, and job performance support for America’s most respected companies, including Raytheon, Union Pacific, Amtrak, Pacific Gas & Electric, and Pepsi, Neil is an expert in his field.

Neil is passionate about mentoring young professionals as they navigate the early stages of building their personal and professional foundations. He has dedicated over ten years of his time as a mentor at YearUp, and his commitment to serving the community is an integral part of his personal and professional ethos.

Neil received a business degree from Northeastern University in Boston and lives in Mission Bay with his wife, Yogini Brahmbhatt Wadhawan, and their two children, Ishara (SFFS Class of 2029) and Nischaya (SFFS Class of 2035 Prospect).