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All trustees may be reached through the
Happy Valley Foundation Office:
Happy Valley Foundation
P.O. Box 804
Ojai CA 93024-0404
Phone/Fax: 805 646 9951
E-mail: hvfmail@west.net
Photos of Trustees by William Gray Harris. |
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Jimmy is a graduate of the HVS, attended Duke University, received his B.A. in Physics from Pomona College & received his PhD in Math from UC Berkeley. He taught Mathematics for 35 years at UCSB and has published over 160 articles in mathematics. Jimmy never suspected when he arrived at the Happy Valley School (now the Besant Hill School) as a boy of 15 that he would be captivated for life. He has served on the HVF Board from 1960 to 1966 and from 1989 to the present.
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Professor Larson is a noted scholar of comparative philosophy of religion, Sanskrit and South Asian Studies. He has recently retired from an eight year position as: Rabindranath Tagore Professor of Indian Cultures and Civilizations and Director, India Studies at Indiana University. He was formerly Chairman of the Religious Studies Department at UC Santa Barbara.
Gerry is the author of numerous articles and books on Indian philosophy and religion, Indian art and comparative philosophy. His most recent books are: India's Agony Over Religion, Suny Press 1995 and Changing Myths and Images, Twentieth Century Popular Art In India, (with Pratap Pal) Indiana University Art Museum, 1997. Gerry has served on the HVF Board since 2002.
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Raymond is a (1957) graduate of HVS, received his BA from Pomona College, his medical degree from McGill and a Masters and Doctorate in Epidemiology from Harvard. (He has taught epidemiology at the Unversidad del Valle in Colombia, Harvard Medical School and UCLA Medical School and School of Public Health. He is the author of more than 100 articles and book chapters in his field. He is chief of the Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control in the California Department of Public Health). Raymond has served on the HVF Board since 1986.
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Nick received his B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, highest honors, and his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall. He is a C.P.A., and a partner in the law firm of Seed Mackall LLP. He is also currently an adjunct professor at UCSB teaching business law, tax and accounting courses, and was formerly an adjunct professor at Santa Barbara Community College teaching business courses. He serves on the board of a local private foundation, the board of the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute and is legal counsel to several local private foundations. Nick has served on the HVF board since 2003.
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Radha is a graduate of the Happy Valley School (now called the Besant Hill School), attended Swarthmore College for two years, BA from Scripps College and received an M.A. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley. She has written two published books, India Beyond the Mirror, and Lives in the Shadow with J. Krishnamurti, as well as an "in house" volume, The Story of Happy Valley.
Radha's earliest memories include picnics on Happy Valley with many of the original Board members. She and her husband, Jimmy Sloss met in the first year of the school with which they are still associated fifty-eight years later. Radha has served on the HVF Board since 1986.
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Robert graduated from Laguna Blanca School, received his B.A. in math (cum laude) from Wesleyan University, CT and taught for a year at Happy Valley School (now called the Besant Hill School) before getting his Law degree from University of Colorado Law School, Boulder, CO. He is a licensed attorney with the State Bar of California and is also a CPA. He is currently Senior Vice President, Pioneer North America. Rob has served on the HVF Board since 2000.
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Josie is a graduate of Happy Valley School (now called the Besant Hill School). She has a B.S. in sociology from UCLA and an M.A. in special education from Cal State Northridge. She is in private practice as an educational therapist. Josie served on the Happy Valley School's Board of Trustees for a number of years before becoming employed by the school in 1987 to open its Alumni and Development Office.
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Anne is a graduate of Happy Valley School (now called the Besant Hill School), Mills College and has a MS in Chemistry from U.C. Berkeley. She taught Chemistry at various institutions until her recent retirement. She and her husband Tony are third generation Ojai residents and an integral part of the community. Anne has served on the HVF Board since 1996.
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Paul joined the Happy Valley School (now called the Besant Hill School) on July 1, 2006, after serving as Director of Institutional Advancement and External Affairs at Stoneleigh-Burnham School, an independent college preparatory school for girls in Massachusetts, for four years. Prior to his position at Stoneleigh-Burnham, Paul was a founding partner of the consulting firm Independent Thinking, which provided strategic governance, management, coaching and mentoring consultation services to more than twenty-five independent schools and non-profit organizations.
Paul is the former Director of Institutional Advancement at Brewster Academy, Director of Development at Chapel-Hill Chauncy Hall School, and Chair of the performing arts and Director of Admissions at Bancroft School. He has also been a national presenter on marketing, strategic planning and board governance, as well as advancement and recruitment planning and has a long time association with the independent school world. In addition, Paul has extensive experience as a professional stage actor and director, and participated in the development of a performing arts curriculum for the Massachusetts State Department of Education Migrant program. In all, Paul has more than twenty-five years of experience as an educator and consultant in independent school leadership in the areas of advancement, recruitment, marketing and communications.
Paul's wife, Donita Coburn-Amadio, also has extensive independent school experience as an acting teacher/director and in alumnae relations. They have three children, Galen, who will attend elementary school and Colton, and Natalie who will be attending the Besant Hill School.
James Sloss, Chair (Santa Barbara, CA) 
Gerald Larson (Goleta, CA)
Raymond Richard Neutra (Albany, CA)
Nicholas Schneider (Santa Barbara, CA)
Radha Sloss (Santa Barbara, CA)
Robert Sloss (La Crescenta, CA)
Josie Sutton (Santa Barbara, CA)
Anne Friend-Thacher (Ojai, CA)
Paul Amadio, Head of School