The Thacher School | Meet Our Staff

List of 5 members.

Emma Balina

Director of Annual Giving and Parent Relations

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Bio
Emma oversees the Thacher Annual Fund, Senior Parent Gift, and leads engagement strategy for current parents and grandparents. A Maine native, Emma joined Thacher in 2018. She has more than 10 years of development experience at independent schools and environmental nonprofits in both California and Maine. Emma holds a BA in Sociology with a minor in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Maine, and a MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Massachusetts. She lives in Ojai with her husband and two children.
Jeffrey Berndt

Director of Institutional Advancement

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Bio
Jeff joined Thacher in 2015 and serves as the School's director of advancement. He started his career at Middlesex School where he held roles in the annual fund and their record-setting capital campaign. In 2001, he joined the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, MA, as their director of development. Then, he became managing director of New Profit—one of the leading “venture-philanthropy” firms. Immediately preceding Thacher, Jeff was a managing director and the head of philanthropic services at Roundtable Investment Partners, which is a shared family office headquartered in NYC. Jeff and his wife Kristin live on campus with their three children, Tyler '20, Erik '21, and Kendall.
Sara Billings

Director of Development

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Bio
Sara Billings, a native to Los Angeles, joined Thacher in 2019 as director of development to oversee the Alumni Relations, Operations, and Annual Fund teams. Sara has worked in major gifts, development, and team management since 2001. Before coming to Thacher, Sara was most recently the director of advancement at The Archer School for Girls and brings 12 years of independent school experience to the role.

A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Campbell Hall High School, Sara is passionate about serving her team and the supporters of Thacher. She lives locally with her two children and husband.
Aimee Brown-Nelson

Assistant Director of Community Engagement and Events

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Bio
Aimee Brown-Nelson is a native to Ventura County and joined the Thacher Alumni and Development team in August 2021. She is looking forward to connecting with alumni and families to provide experiences that reinforce Thachers’ mission and values. Prior to joining Thacher, she worked in constituent engagement, event production, and fundraising within the entertainment and political spheres. She is enthusiastic about jumping into Thacher ways and all things outdoors. In her spare time, you can find her hiking, camping, enjoying live music, and fostering animals looking for their forever homes.
Colin Donovan Wyatt

Leadership Giving and Boot Hill Society

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Bio
Drawn to Thacher’s distinct program and timeless mission and values, Colin joined our community after more than a decade of living and working at independent schools in New Jersey, New York, and California. A dedicated "school person," he has served as a fundraiser, coach, advisor, dorm parent, outdoor trip leader, and mentor to students from all over the world. As a proud alumnus of an independent school, Colin understands the power and promise of a thriving, supportive alumni community and is deeply committed to helping diverse school communities foster a sense of belonging and purpose for all constituents. In his role as a member of the Leadership Giving team, he looks forward to partnering with Thacher’s loyal alumni, parents and friends in support of our mission and the extraordinary students and colleagues who call Casa de Piedra home.

Colin attended Delbarton School in New Jersey before earning a BBA in Marketing and International Business from the University of Notre Dame. He lives in Carpinteria with his wife Taylor, daughter Rowan, and wild animal Quito the dog. He finds joy exploring the beautiful and wild Central Coast with his family, sitting around a fire with good friends, and listening to live music any chance he gets.

List of 4 members.

Adriana Gomez

Director of Alumni Giving

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Bio
Adriana Gomez is the director of alumni giving at Thacher, specifically working with Reunion and GOLD alums. After her seventh year working in development in independent schools, she learned about Thacher, and knew she wanted to work alongside Thacher alums one day and joined the team three years later in November of 2020. When she isn’t in the alumni office or on the road meeting with alumni, she enjoys cooking overly complicated recipes, long car camping road trips along the coast, or going on long strolls in Ojai with her nine-year-old giant schnauzer named Fezzik who loves to stop and smell every flower in sight.
Stuart Johnson

Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Bio
Stuart is a native of New York City and joined Thacher in the summer of 2022. He previously worked at Trinity School in New York, where he served as alumni relations manager, admissions officer, and head coach of the varsity baseball team. After college, he worked as a broadcaster for the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league affiliate of the New York Mets. A graduate of Trinity and Johns Hopkins University, Stuart is excited to join the Thacher community and lead the school’s baseball program.
Jillian Seaton

Assistant Director of Development Operations

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Bio
Jillian grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts and attended the University of Miami as a first-generation, Pell-eligible college student. Prior to joining Thacher in 2021, Jillian was a western Montanan and boomerang Vermonter: she served as the advancement and admissions operations project manager for Vermont Academy beginning in 2017, spent ten years managing databases and donor prospects for nonprofits including the University of Montana Foundation, and started her career in 2004 as an Art History teacher at Burke Mountain Academy in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Jillian brings her independent school, data analysis, and nonprofit management background to her role as Thacher’s manager of prospect research and assistant director of development operations. Jillian lives in Mira Monte with her husband, Jeff, young daughter, Sistine, and very old Boston terrier, Scout.
Oscar Luna

Alumni and Development: Gifts Administrator

Bio
Oscar Luna CdeP 2018 is the Gift Administrator in the Alumni and Development office. After graduating from Thacher, Oscar attended UC Merced, studying Applied Math with an Emphasis in Economics.

List of 5 members.

Theresa Vyhnal

Annual Fund Manager

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Bio
Theresa supports the Annual Fund as the annual fund manager. The Vynhal family moved to Thacher in 2004 when Doc V. joined the Science Department. Theresa worked in the Thacher library from 2006-2009, then she joined the development team. From 2009-2014 she devoted part of her time as the assistant secretary to the board, and from 2015-2019 she worked on The Next Peak campaign as the campaign manager. Theresa has a BA from Boston College and lives on campus with Doc V, their four kids, Nolan CdeP 2017, Meg, Katie CdeP 2021, Jack ‘25, and their dog Eddie.
Jillian Wade

Director of Development Operations

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Bio
As director of development operations, Jillian is responsible for the reporting of constituent activity, database and gift management, and development office operations for the Alumni and Development office. Prior to coming to Thacher in 2016, Jillian worked at Casa Pacifica, the Ojai Music Festival and at FOOD Share, Ventura County's food bank as the donor relations director. Jillian lives in Santa Paula with her husband, Josh, and two daughters.
Chanelle Walker

Director of Alumni and Community Engagement

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Bio
Chanelle Walker is the director of alumni relations and community engagement. She also supports the Black Student Union and Black Families Network. She came to Thacher with deep ties to the independent school community as a graduate of Moorestown Friends School in Moorestown, NJ. Before coming to Ojai she served as the associate director of development and director of alumni relations at Gill St. Bernard’s School. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and loves exploring new adventures with her family. As a woman who is passionate about building stronger, more inclusive communities, Chanelle shared a simple quote from one of her favorite children’s books, “No one could do everything. But everyone could do something.” Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea by Meena Harris.
Malory Taylor

Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations

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Bio
Malory Taylor, born and raised in Santa Paula, CA, joined Thacher in 2022 as Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations. Malory comes to Thacher with experience as a small business owner (featured in Oprah Magazine), volunteer & event manager, and with over seven years of independent school experience. Prior to launching her business, Malory served as the Associate Director of Development and Alumni Relations for OVS. She has also provided event support for the Ojai Chamber of Commerce Gala and the Ojai Music Festival. A UCSB grad with a degree in sociology, Malory is passionate about education, design, and teamwork. She lives in Ojai with her husband Dan and their only daughter.
AJ Yates

Sr. Associate Director of Admission, Co-Director of Multicultural Outreach, Major Gifts

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