Menlo News August 26, 2018

Welcome New Upper School Faculty and Staff

The Upper School is excited to welcome these dynamic educators to the Menlo community.
2018-2019 New Faculty (l to r): Matt Granoff, Natalie Ford, Otis Bryant, Chris Young, Jake Fauver

Bridgett Allard. Photo by Pete Zivkov. Bridget Allard, Menlo’s new College Counseling Administrative Assistant, grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in political science, government, and public health. She began a political career as an intern in the House of Representatives and went on to serve as Chief of Staff for a representative in the Hawaii State Legislature. Bridget moved to the Bay Area in 2003, and in addition to raising a family here, she co-founded a kids yoga company. She also does freelance graphic design work and enjoys cooking, gardening, coffee, s’mores, audio books, new restaurants, hiking, and travel. She and her husband, Marc (a science teacher at Menlo), have two boys, two dogs, and four chickens.

Otis Bryant Menlo Upper School History Teacher. Photo by Pete Zivkov. Upper School History teacher Otis Bryant was born and raised in Central Islip, Long Island, NY. Before coming to Menlo, he worked at the Key School in Annapolis, MD, and Western Reserve Academy in Ohio. He graduated from Trinity College with a Bachelor’s degree in History and holds a master’s from Howard University in American political history. Outside of the classroom, Otis enjoys African-American book clubs, watching Chinese martial arts, Indian movies and independent films, going to old-school R&B concerts, attending NBA games, politics, Mandarin R&B, Korean R&B and Hip-hop, and traveling to China.

Jake Fauver, Menlo Upper School Counselor. Photo by Pete Zivkov. Jake Fauver joins Menlo as our new Upper School Counselor. Since graduating with a BA in psychology from Middlebury College, Jake has worked in public and independent schools in Washington, D.C., Boston, and San Francisco. He later went on to pursue coursework and practicum experience at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, where he earned his license as a school counselor/social worker with a focus on adolescence. As a career educator, Jake most recently worked as a school counselor at the Nueva School and has also taught courses in Spanish, psychology, and wellness/adolescence, and coached soccer and track. In his free time, Jake enjoys hiking on the Peninsula, spending time with his family in the East Bay, and following US national soccer teams.

Natalie Ford, Menlo Upper School College Counselor. Photo by Pete Zivkov. Prior to joining Menlo’s College Counseling team at Menlo, Natalie Ford worked in college admissions at Arcadia University, Lehigh University, and most recently, Princeton University. Natalie earned a BA at the University of Colorado and a master’s in educational leadership at Lehigh University. She says she “love getting to know students and families as they explore their college options.” Though she is an East Coast native, she relished the mountain life of Colorado during college and is thrilled to be back out west! When not at Menlo, you can usually find her and her husband chasing after their toddler and miniature poodle as they explore everything that California has to offer. 

Matt Granoff, Menlo Upper School English Teacher. Photo by Pete Zivkov. Raised in Moraga over in the East Bay, new English Teacher Matt Granoff comes to Menlo from Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, where for four years he taught rhetoric and ancient literature and coached public forum debate. Matt earned a BA from Harvard University studying folklore and mythology and is wrapping up his MA in teaching from Hamline University. Matt is passionate about the power of storytelling, loves Norse mythology, and is a fan of David Foster Wallace and musical theater. Matt and his wife Alexa have a 19-month old daughter, Verity.

Upper School Athletics Director Earl Koberlein comes to Menlo after working at Stanford University for 25 years, most recently as the Sr. Associate Athletic Director. During his time at Stanford, he oversaw many of Stanford’s 36 sports at one time or another as well as sports medicine, sports performance, sports psychology, nutrition, and sports science. Earl grew up in San Jose, CA, attended Bellarmine Prep, earned his BA at Stanford University, and his MA at the University of San Francisco. He spent a year playing professional basketball in Australia. Redwood City has been his home since 1994, and he enjoys golf, cycling, and playing and watching all kinds of sports. He has three sons: Will, Jensen, and Jackson. 

Dori Hosobuchi, Menlo Upper School Science Lab Technician. Photo by Pete Zivkov. Midori “Dori” Hosobuchi, Menlo’s new Science Lab Tech, grew up in Marin County and went on to study biochemistry at UC Berkeley. After college, she went on to graduate school, also at UC Berkeley, and trained as a research geneticist and cell biologist. Midori has since worked in a number of laboratories both in the Bay Area and Boston, conducting research and managing graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and technicians. She earned teaching credentials over five years ago and has served as a math specialist and worked as both an elementary and middle school science teacher. When she’s not in the lab, she spends time crafting jewelry and fiber arts. She also enjoys hiking, biking, and camping with her husband and two daughters, ages 18 and 21.

Chris Young, Community and Civic Engagement at Menlo School. Photo by Pete Zivkov. Chris Young is the Upper School’s new Director of Community and Civic Engagement. A Bay Area native, Chris has spent nearly 10 years working at Berkeley High School (BHS) and six years living and working in South America, East Africa, East, Asia and Europe. His career in education began as a social science teacher at BHS in 2004. He was a lead designer of the school’s International High School (IHS) program in 2005 and went on to become its inaugural year lead teacher the following year. From 2009 to 2012, as Director of Student Activities for BHS, Chris received a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching and funding to study youth learning and leadership in community settings in Rosario, Argentina. Three years ago, Chris returned to BHS from China, where he had been directing a lab school in Shenzhen. In his free time, Chris enjoys trail running, gardening, writing essays and poetry for print, cooking, trying new restaurants, and rooting for the Giants, Niners, Warriors, Sharks, and Stanford football.