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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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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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Robert Rheem moved to Happy Valley in 1949 with his life partner Liam O’Gallagher, who taught art at the Happy Valley School. During this time, they became lifelong friends of Rosalind Rajagopal and Beatrice Wood. Living in San Francisco during the 1950s and 60s, they were intimately involved with the Beat and Counterculture movements. Liam and Bob returned to Ojai in the 1970s, where they became involved with the Happy Valley Foundation and assisted with the creation of the Ojai Foundation and, more recently, The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts.
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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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Tinka received her B.A. in Sanskrit at UC Berkeley in 1976, her M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University in Santa Barbara in 2004, became certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (healing trauma held in the body), and is an active Aikidoist (Nidan Rank - 2nd degree black belt). Currently, Tinka is working as an MFT at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital; has a part-time private practice as a psychotherapist and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner; and teaches Aikido to individuals who may have learning differences. Other life experiences; living in South India for a year (1980) and Japan for 2 years (1992-94) teaching at an American University.
Tinka joined the HVF board (July 2009). She is excited to be a member of this organization which was a significant part of her grandparent’s life. Her grandparents, Rosalind and Rajagopal, being an integral part of the beginning of HVF, were also an integral part of Tinka’s values - values such as non-violence, appreciation for other cultures, the fun of games and sportsmanship, a love of animals, and the importance of building healthy community spirit. “Joining the HVF board is like coming full circle – values that I learned from my grandparents are values that I bring to help protect and promote the future well-being of the Happy Valley mission and goals.”
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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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Kevin Wallace is Director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts,
where he curates exhibitions of work in a wide-range of media, as well
as producing concerts and theatrical productions. He has guest-curated
exhibitions for a number of museums and art centers, including the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the St.
George Art Museum and the Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles. He
has authored numerous books on contemporary art and craft, including
River of Destiny: The Life and Work of Binh Pho, Moulthrop: A Legacy
in Wood, Transforming Vision: The Wood Sculpture of William Hunter, Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/Contemporary Expressions and
Every Exit is an Entry: The Life and Work of Liam O’Gallagher. He has
co-authored numerous other books and is a regular contributor to
periodicals including Craft Arts International, American Woodturner
and Woodturning Magazine.
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Nina de Creeft Ward graduated from Happy Valley School (now Besant Hill School). Nina received a BA degree from Scripps College with a major in Art, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Claremont Graduate University. Nina has sculpture in the collections of Iowa State University, Charles H. MacNider Museum in Mason City, Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa. She has taught Art to children and adults. An adjunct Art Instructor at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa for nine years, Nina and her husband lived in Cedar Falls for twenty-six years and raised four sons and a daughter. They have lived in Santa Barbara, where Nina grew up, since 2001. Nina continues to be active making and exhibiting clay sculpture, drawings, and prints. She was Alumni Representative to the Happy Valley/Besant Hill School Governance Committee for five years, until she became a member of the Happy Valley Foundation Board in the spring of 2009.
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Paul joined the Besant Hill School on July 1, 2006. He has more than twenty-five years experience in directorship and consulting independent schools in the areas of advancement, recruitment and communications. Paul also has extensive experience as a professional stage actor and director.
In addition to Paul’s skills, and of utmost importance to the Happy Valley Board of Trustees, he has demonstrated his commitment to the basic principles of this school and to furthering and expanding the educational mission of the Foundation.
James Sloss, Chair (Santa Barbara, CA) 
Raymond Richard Neutra (Albany, CA)
Robert Rheem (Santa Barbara, CA) 
Nicholas Schneider (Santa Barbara, CA)
Radha Sloss (Santa Barbara, CA)
Robert Sloss (La Crescenta, CA)
Tinka Sloss (Santa Barbara, CA) 
Josie Sutton (Santa Barbara, CA)
Anne Friend-Thacher (Ojai, CA)
Kevin Wallace (Ojai, CA)
Nina de Creeft Ward (Santa Barbara, CA) 
Paul Amadio, Head of School