Oak Grove School Board
The Oak Grove School Board is currently comprised of 14 members, including former Heads of Schools, alumni, parents, and professionals.
A message from the Board Chair, Cathleen Lynch
I am grateful and honored to have been passed the OGSB Chair reins from long-time Chair Leone Webster. I have been a member of the Oak Grove School community for 17 years. My son Dylan graduated from OGS as a “lifer” in 2017. After volunteering as a parent for many years and serving as the Toddler Program Teacher, I joined the Oak Grove School Board in 2011.
This school and community have been and continue to be a place I hold dear to my heart. I am grateful for so many opportunities that the school has provided to me and my family, for a community of thoughtful, kind, and compassionate people – a place that honors, cares for, and respects the growth, development, and wisdom of children; a place to gather to learn, to share, and to support each other in all the joys and hardships that life presents.
During the past 17 years, I have watched our school develop and mature by strengthening academic programs and reaching financial stability, by creating more opportunities for students to grow as well as learn, by creating more opportunities to support and educate families, by repairing and improving buildings and grounds, by steadily increasing salary and benefits for faculty and administration staff, and by receiving the highest level of accreditation standard twice.
As our school prepares to enter its fifth decade, I am committed to collaboratively guiding the school to a strong future. The Oak Grove School Board recently held its annual retreat where we had the opportunity to inquire, reflect, and dialogue as a group. Some of the questions we asked were: “How effective is the OGSB in supporting the mission of the School?” and “How do we support the growth and development of our Board?” In addition, the OGSB is actively engaged in short- and long-term strategic planning of finances; development; buildings and grounds; diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion of our students, staff, and administration; outreach and admissions; health and safety; and addressing and responding to climate change.
I look forward to continuing to explore and inquire with the school and our community as we walk this timeless path together.
In learning,
Cathleen Lynch
The Oak Grove School Board consists of the following members:
Cathleen Lynch • Ajay Sahgal • Bill Prather • Deepa Pulipati • Dennis Rice
Erin Gerken • Jonathan Solorzano • Karan Yadav • Karen Hesli • Misty Hagege
Myrym Slosberg • Nandini Lee Rao • Nikolette Huberman • Tom Davis
Cathleen Lynch
Board Chair • Campus Planning Committee Chair
Cathleen’s son graduated from Oak Grove School in 2017 as a “lifer” – he attended Oak Grove from kindergarten through high school. During her son’s early years at Oak Grove, Cathleen began to volunteer at school in many ways – she used her skills as a landscape designer to design the kindergarten playground area, then the area near the high school student center, and school pathways, trees, and meadows. She expresses her gratitude to have been able to enhance the natural beauty of our campus over many years.
To Cathleen, Oak Grove is a community of caring people who foster the growth of individuals through an attitude of love, support, and acceptance; where nature is honored and space is created to explore, inquire, and expand; where the whole person is valued and supported. The community remains as dear to her today as when she first stepped onto campus so many years ago.
Cathleen lives in Ojai with her husband Kevin and son Dylan. For the past 20 years, she has run a landscape design business. She is passionate about creating sustainable landscapes that provide habitat for our local flora and fauna, as well as providing beauty and a place of retreat and refuge for her clients.
In her free time, Cathleen loves to cook with Dylan, hike, run, read, and work in her garden.
After serving on the Oak Grove School Board for the last 10 years, she is continuing her service to Oak Grove as the new Chair of the OGSB and continuing as Chair of the Campus Planning Committee.
Ajay Sahgal
Board Member
Ajay Sahgal is a writer. Raised in Los Angeles, he has lived in Ojai since 2012.
Bill Prather
Board Member • Finance Committee Chair
Bill retired from careers in College and University Food Service and Independent School Business Management. He brings experience in school business management, physical plant management, personnel and employee benefits, and risk management.
Bill learned while working in education that the best schools are the ones that teach students to convert information into knowledge that creates independent thinking, purpose in life, integrity, and reliability.
Deepa Pulipati
Board Member
Deepa has a life long relationship with conversations around Krishnamurti’s teaching thanks to her maternal side of the family, both in India & the United States. She spent many of her growing years with her family at the Adyar Theosophical society during the December conventions, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of her childhood. One of the themes of the convention that she heard as a teenager continues to guide her, “where YOU are love is not.”
She identifies as South Asian, speaks four regional languages from India, and her pronouns are she/her. She and her family moved to Ojai from the Bay Area to send their son, Surya, to OGS for middle school. He is currently a Junior in high school.
Deepa is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in working with families in the custody & visitation arena. She is also a Certified Facilitator for Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly™, Rising Strong™, and BOLD teen workshops and certified from the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute as a Leadership and Executive coach.
Deepa hopes to bring a continued sense of support and connection to the Oak Grove school community through her collaborative work with the board.
Dennis Rice
Board Member • Development Committee Chair
Dennis is a lifelong learner and educator. He earned his undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Literature from Cal State Dominguez Hills, his MEd and teaching credential from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education, and a second MEd in Educational Leadership from Antioch University. He studied under Lawrence Kohlberg at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and subsequently taught Ethics and Comparative Religions for nearly 30 years, 27 of which he served as Director of the Happy Valley School (now Besant Hill School of Happy Valley), several more as Director of Education at Laurel Springs School and Assistant Head for Academics at Villanova Preparatory School. He served as the President of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund for five years, retiring to join the Board of the Oak Grove School, where his wife, Meredy, has taught for over 27 years, serving as Head of School from 2008 to 2015, and is currently the Director of Teaching and Learning.
Dennis was profoundly influenced at first hearing Krishnamurti speak in 1970, when he was challenged to explore his own conditioning. Arriving in Ojai in 1977, he attended every annual K Springtime discussion until K’s death in 1986. Oak Grove has had a tremendous influence on Dennis’ family through the education of three of his children and the professional dedication of his wife, Meredy. Through them, he was able to witness firsthand the remarkable community of Oak Grove, the warmth, the integrity, and the dedication to a whole-child education which holds the uniqueness of each student at its center. He firmly believes in the mission of Oak Grove School and greatly enjoys sharing the stewardship of this unique small school with his intelligent, caring, and selfless fellow Board Members.
Erin Gerkin
Board Member
Erin Gerken moved to Ojai in 2019 to send her four-year-old son to Oak Grove. Prior to that, for over two decades Erin worked professionally as a contemporary dance artist, restaurateur, and hospitality and design consultant in NYC. From 2001-2010, Erin belonged to Tere O’Connor Dance, creating works and performing in NYC, and touring both nationally and internationally. She and her partner own and operate a few of Williamsburg’s many cherished neighborhood spots.
Erin is drawn to being in community and seeks to find ways to be of service within it. In 2019, she sat on Parent Council as a Class Rep. The following year, alongside a fellow kindergarten parent, she spearheaded a new program for pandemic-era Parent Engagement. After taking some time to welcome her second child into the world in 2021, Erin is excited to re-engage in the OGS community by serving as Parent Council Chair. She is honored to sit on the Board with so many wonderful, thoughtful, and experienced members.
Jonathan Solorzano
Board Member
Jonathan’s connection to Oak Grove runs deep—he has been part of the Oak Grove community since the 1980s, when he attended Oak Grove from 2nd through 8th grade. Jonathan and his wife Kelly moved back to Ojai in 2021 so that they could enroll their son, Rye, in preschool at Oak Grove.
In the years between being an Oak Grove student and now an Oak Grove parent, Jonathan attended Columbia Law School in New York and then worked at major corporate law firms in NYC and San Francisco, primarily practicing in the mergers & acquisitions, securities, and corporate-governance fields. Jon then worked in-house at a Fortune 500 consumer goods company for many years, helping to lead their sustainability efforts.
Currently, he’s living in Ojai and working at a multinational law firm where he is co-head of its Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) taskforce. In this role, he helps public and private companies and their boards of directors implement policies, practices and disclosures around climate change, diversity & inclusion, and other critical topics to meet the needs of their shareholders and various stakeholders.
Jonathan brings to the Oak Grove School board a deep expertise in board governance, but also a lifelong understanding of the teachings of Krishnamurti, a profound respect for the natural beauty of the campus, and a personal appreciation of the enriching and unique experiences offered by Oak Grove.
Karan Yadav
Board Member
Karan has been a parent at Oak Grove for the past six years, having moved to Ojai specifically to provide their children with an education centered on discovery of self—an essential foundation in today’s world. A seasoned executive in the tech industry, Karan has held leadership roles at some of the world’s most influential technology companies. His extensive experience at the forefront of innovation, combined with his insights from board-level involvement, will bring a unique and valuable perspective to the board.
Karan believes that curiosity and empathy are the core principles driving meaningful change in our world, a philosophy that resonates deeply with Oak Grove’s founding mission. He lives in Ojai with his wife, Tiesta, and their two children, both Oak Grove students. When he’s not traveling for work, Karan can often be found exploring the beautiful hiking trails of Ojai.
Karen Hesli
Board Member • WASC Committee Chair
After teaching for a decade in Minneapolis, Karen joined a handful of faculty at Oak Grove when the school was beginning its sixth year with about 30 students. Forty years later she recalls the many hats worn over the years: houseparent, teacher of grades 4-8, elementary and junior high director, JH advisory/rite of passage specialist, teacher education facilitator, and for the past decade, KFA and OGS board member.
She also cherished many extended visits within the K family of sister schools to consult, teach, and participate in educational conferences in India and England.
“For children’s hearts and minds to remain open to inquiry, adults are required to dig into personal and cultural parenting and teaching practices. Coercive systems – reward and punishment, ranking, ‘power over’ authority, labeling, etc. – inhibit blossoming into the wholeness of life.
“This spirit of inquiry at Oak Grove is a rare, precious, and very necessary gift to the world. To those thousands who have sustained OGS for 45 years, a deep bow, thank you.”
Misty Hagege
Board Member • Parent Council Chair
Misty and her family moved to Ojai in 2019, and both her young children have been attending Oak Grove since Preschool. After serving as a class representative and secretary, she is excited to step into the role of Parent Council Chair this year. Misty feels honored to join the Board of the school she loves and is so deeply committed to.
Misty spent 20 years in the fashion industry and co-founded a women-led clothing line in Los Angeles. Since moving to Ojai, she has launched Community Juice, a local organic juice company that embodies her passions: health and wellness, family and community, curiosity, learning, and fun.
These values also inspire her dedication to Oak Grove School, where she is eager to help foster a vibrant school community and nurture a strong sense of connection, joy, and meaningful engagement among parents, faculty, and staff.
Myrym Slosberg
Board Member
Myr Slosberg comes to the board with over a quarter of a century of teaching experience. She has taught in both private and public school settings and has spent most of her time as an educator working with middle school students. She has a passion for outdoor education and is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys facilitating backpacking and river rafting trips with students. A native Californian, she grew up in Ventura County and moved to the Ojai Valley twenty-five years ago. She was drawn to the unique community, the valley’s beauty, and the quality of life. She is honored to be a new member of the OGSB and looks forward to serving the school community.
Nandini Lee Rao
Board Member
Nandini Lee Rao is an Oak Grove School Alum and current parent of a 4th grader. She recently moved her family back to Ojai to put her daughter in the school. She is a practicing Psychiatrist and looking forward to serving the school community as a school board member.
Nikolette Huberman
Board Member
Nikolette began her Oak Grove journey in preschool in 1993 and graduated from high school in 2006; she is therefore a proud “lifer.” After graduation, she went on to Northeastern University in Boston where she studied International Business with a dual concentration in Finance and Marketing and a minor in Spanish. During her time at Northeastern, she lived in Madrid, Spain, for a year where she studied at ICADE for the first half and worked in Corporate Banking at Deutsche Bank for the second.
Upon graduation, she moved to San Francisco where she spent five years in Wells Fargo’s Commercial Banking Group, ultimately as a Relationship Manager. In that role, she worked with mostly nonprofit and real estate clients. In 2016, Nikolette decided to dive deeper into those two industries by joining her family’s real estate investor/developer firm, BLT Enterprises, working on the real estate side, while also spearheading their initiative to found a nonprofit foundation. She has since grown the company’s annual charitable giving by nearly 500%.
Nikolette’s most notable community involvement includes three years on the Board of Family Dog Rescue and as the Chair of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce’s SF Up young professionals group. She is so honored to be on the OGSB and to have the opportunity to give back to the school, as she notes, “my 13 years at Oak Grove made me who I am and I’m so grateful.”
Tom Davis
Board Member • Health and Safety Task Force Committee Chair
Tom Davis has been a part of the Oak Grove community for 12 years. When he and his wife Alexis decided to move to Ventura to live closer to their family, they searched for a school that fit into their family values and lifestyle, and after visiting Oak Grove they knew it was a perfect fit. They enrolled their first son in preschool and continued to do the same with their other son and daughter once they grew older. After their first year of being at Oak Grove, Tom became more involved in the school and was Parent Council Chair for three years, and it is at this time that he joined the Oak Grove School Board.
In addition to being a husband and father to three children, Tom is a leading expert in the field of business transformation for companies engaged in the growth or creative stage of their life cycle. He has worked with countless companies, from those on the Fortune 500 to relative unknowns and start-ups as well. Tom is an expert at providing enterprises with innovative and bold marketing, sales, brand, and business development solutions. Tom is constantly looking for ways to bring value to the individuals, teams, and companies with which he works. As a servant leader, Tom has the ability to make decisions, regardless of popular opinion, in accordance with his business vision, while inspiring those around him to follow through on the direction he has set in motion. He has the ability to motivate his team members wherever they are, teach those people how they can cross the finish line, and experience the same joy and excitement as if he had crossed the finish line himself.
Tom has a sincere desire to understand and help people, putting their needs above his own. He realizes that when you find unique ways to help enough other people WIN, you will get what you need as a result.
COMMITTEES
| Governance Committee | Finance Committee |
|---|---|
| Chair: Deepa Pulipati Staff Support: Jodi Grass Members: Cathleen Lynch, Jonathan Solorzano | Chair: Bill Prather Staff Support: Sandra Torres Members: Jodi Grass, Tom Davis, Cathleen Lynch |
| Development Committee | Campus Planning Committee |
| Chair: Dennis Rice Staff Support: Jodi Grass Members: Jacqueline Valle, Ajay Sahgal, Lilly Walton, Rachael Barkely, Kristina Duncan, Kerstin Kuhn, Nathan Wallace | Chair: Cathleen Lynch Staff Support: Jacqueline Valle Members: Jaime Flores, Marga Kasper, Ty Mullaney, Laurie Cornell, Ron Schindel |
| WASC Committee | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee |
| Chair: Karen Hesli Members: Jodi Grass, Lucy Pacheco | Chair: Deepa Pulipati Staff Support: Adrienne Hoskins, Sydney Robertson (High School) Members: Julia Ornelas-Higdon, Paige Wilson Student/Parent members/ additional groups TBA |
| Outreach & Admissions Committee | Parent Council |
| Chair: Duke Stump 50th Anniversary Co-Chair: Deepa Pulipati Staff: Jodi Grass, Joel Keeler, Laurie Cornell, Warren Petersen, Kerstin Kuhn Members: Myr Slosberg, Kristy Duncan | Chair: Misty Hagege Secretary: TBA CLASS REPS 2024-2025 TBA CLASS REPS 2023-24: |
| Health & Safety Committee | Advancement Committee |
| Chair: Nikolette Huberman Staff: Jacqueline Valle Members: Laurie Cornell, Ron Schindel, Russ Bowen, Sydney Robertson, Warren Petersen | Co-chairs: Rachael Barkley & Dennis Rice Volunteers: Nate Wallace, Shawn Steward Staff: Joel Keeler, Kerstin Kuhn, Anders Hilton da Silva, Warren Petersen |
| Governance Committee |
|---|
| Chair: Deepa Pulipati Staff Support: Jodi Grass Members: Cathleen Lynch, Jonathan Solorzano |
| Development Committee |
| Chair: Dennis Rice Staff Support: Jodi Grass Members: Jacqueline Valle, Ajay Sahgal, Lilly Walton, Rachael Barkely, Kristina Duncan, Kerstin Kuhn, Nathan Wallace |
| WASC Committee |
| Chair: Karen Hesli Members: Jodi Grass, Lucy Pacheco |
| Outreach & Admissions Committee |
| Chair: Duke Stump 50th Anniversary Co-Chair: Deepa Pulipati Staff: Jodi Grass, Joel Keeler, Laurie Cornell, Warren Petersen, Kerstin Kuhn Members: Myr Slosberg, Kristy Duncan |
| Health & Safety Committee |
| Chair: Nikolette Huberman Staff: Jacqueline Valle Members: Laurie Cornell, Ron Schindel, Russ Bowen, Sydney Robertson, Warren Petersen |
| Advancement Committee |
| Co-chairs: Rachael Barkley & Dennis Rice Volunteers: Nate Wallace, Shawn Steward Staff: Joel Keeler, Kerstin Kuhn, Anders Hilton da Silva, Warren Petersen |
| Finance Committee |
| Chair: Bill Prather Staff Support: Sandra Torres Members: Jodi Grass, Tom Davis, Cathleen Lynch |
| Campus Planning Committee |
| Chair: Cathleen Lynch Staff Support: Jacqueline Valle Members: Jaime Flores, Marga Kasper, Ty Mullaney, Laurie Cornell, Ron Schindel |
| Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee |
| Chair: Deepa Pulipati Staff Support: Adrienne Hoskins, Sydney Robertson (High School) Members: Julia Ornelas-Higdon, Paige Wilson Student/Parent members/ additional groups TBA |
| Parent Council |
| Chair: Misty Hagege Secretary: TBA CLASS REPS 2024-2025 TBA CLASS REPS 2023-24: |
Shared Authority
To the extent legally permissible, the KFA delegates to the OGSB the authority to act on its behalf in all matters relating to the stewardship and operation of Oak Grove School.
Non-Discrimination Policy
Oak Grove School does not discriminate on the basis of any individual or group identity characteristics, such as but not limited to race, color, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national or ethnic origin, differing mental or physical abilities, or family structure in the administration of its educational or admissions policies, employment practices, scholarship, and other school-administered programs. View the unabridged policy.
