Alumni Council

Under delegation of Thacher’s Board of Trustees, the Alumni Council works in partnership with the School to provide the resources and support needed for Thacher alumni to have a mutually beneficial, lifelong connection to each other and to the School. The Alumni Council engages, involves, informs, and promotes alumni through programs and initiatives.

List of 5 members.

Anouk Ackerman

Medical Student

Bio
Anouk CdeP 2012 joined the Thacher Alumni Council in 2019. After graduating from Thacher, Anouk went on to study Political Science and French at Stanford University. She spent the next several years working as an EMT in Telluride, CO, and traveling abroad. She is now a second-year medical student at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. When Anouk isn’t studying, you can find her riding her bike, surfing, or cooking.
Lauren Butler

MBA Candidate, USC Marshall

Bio
Lauren CdeP 2012 joined the Alumni Council in 2019. After graduating from University of Southern California, Lauren moved to Salt Lake City for a position with Goldman Sachs. She recently returned to USC to begin her MBA. Lauren loves skiing, mountain biking, and spending time with her dog, Goose.
Rebecca Clyde

M.D.
Charles Hancock

Production Coordinator

Bio
Charles CdeP 2010 works in project management at Infinity Ward, a studio of Activision-Blizzard. Born and raised in Pasadena California, Charles graduated from Thacher in 2010 and made his way east to attend the University of Richmond in Virginia. He double majored in Classical Civilizations and Art History and was on the Richmond Crew Team. After college, he worked in finance in Denver, Colorado, and Commercial Real Estate in Pasadena before pursuing his dream of working in the video game industry. Charles currently lives in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
Brísha Howe

Bio
Born to Neal Howe (CdeP ‘69) and Patricia Lavalas-Howe, Brisha graduated from Thacher in 2013. She then studied at Creighton University’s school of Journalism, Media, and Computing and recently founded an editing and proofreading company, Deckle Edit + Proof, that helps authors tell stories with historically underserved protagonists. Brisha now lives in Sacramento, CA. Her passions include reading, tiny living, and her rescue dog, Riesling.

List of 5 members.

Jack Look
Iona Popa

Bio
Iona CdeP 2010 currently works for the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. After earning her BA and then MEd from Notre Dame, she spent seven years teaching at various schools, including four years back at Thacher with her husband Tyler and two summers at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg. Although she is now more engaged with education policy, her passion for holistic education is grounded in a deep commitment to young people and the ways in which they can use their learning in the service of others.
Javier Quiroz

Bio
Javier CdeP 2010 is an educator in the Ojai valley. After graduating from Occidental College he spent the following two years in an internship at the neuroplasticity and repair laboratory at UCLA. A former collegiate runner, he has shared his passion and knowledge of the sport, as a coach, for numerous years. A caring mentor to many, he is passionate about education, medicine, and the wilderness.
Kameelah Sims-Traylor
Korzu Jallah Taplin

Business Owner

Bio
Korzu CdeP 1996 is owner of Born Free, an essential lifestyle products company in development, which has recently been selected to be included in the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce Business Evolution Program Class of 2021. She is also a film producer with most of her experience in animation. Following Thacher, while studying physics and economics, Korzu was a recipient of The University of Pennsylvania’s Sol Feinstone Undergraduate Award for developing “Ase,” an African-centered academic enrichment program housed at the university for area students 7-12th grade. The program is ongoing and has celebrated its 20th year. Korzu studied film development/production and the business of film at UCLA’s Extension Program. Korzu speaks some French, some Ebonics and is proficient in American English. She is proud to be of Liberian heritage, hoping to one day make a significant contribution to Africa’s economic development. Korzu lives in Toluca Lake, California, near Hollywood and is expecting her first child in February 2021.

List of 4 members.

Dermond Thomas

Corporate Attorney & Village Trustee (Elected), Alumni Council Chair

Bio
Dermond Thomas CdeP 1994 is currently serving as Alumni Council Chair. He is a corporate lawyer at Citi and a Trustee in the Village of Valley Stream, NY. Mr. Thomas holds a BA in Economics from Amherst College, a JD from Columbia Law School and Executive Education Certificates from Harvard Law School and the Wharton School.
Daniel T.R. Vega

Director of Customer Support and Success and Wine Educator

Bio
Dan CdeP 2006 attended The George Washington University and earned his B.S. in Athletic Training. He then moved back to the Bay Area and earned an M.A. in Athletic Training from San José State University. Following a year and a half in Mexico City, Dan resettled in the Bay Area working for startups in the tech world. Keeping his passion for food and wine alive, Dan also works part time at a winery in St. Helena as a wine educator. In his free time, Dan can be found cheering on the Raiders, A's, Warriors, Quakes, and Sharks, or globe trotting.
Paul Yelder

Independent Consultant

Bio
Paul CdeP 1977 has spent the last four decades working in the field of Housing and Community Economic Development, serving in a variety of capacities in the public and private nonprofit sectors. Following his graduation from Thacher, he earned a BA at Dartmouth College and a Masters in City and Regional Planning at Harvard University. He is a native of Los Angeles, where he currently resides, but has lived and worked in Boston, MA, and Columbia, MD. He is the younger brother of George Yelder CdeP 1976.
Laura Van Winkle James

Bio
Laura Van Winkle James CdeP 1993 joined Thacher’s Alumni Council in 2005 and joined the Board as President of the Alumni Association in 2018. Laura served as CFO for SusieCakes from 2013 to 2015 as the company worked with a private equity owner to expand their bakery network. Prior to that, Laura spent 10 years leading teams at Bain & Company, where she focused on solving complex problems for corporate clients. Laura received her AB in economics and graduated cum laude from Harvard College. She received her MBA with High Distinction from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Laura lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband Andre and three kids. She loves to spend time in the ocean and to go on hikes with her dog Rikki. Laura grew up in Honolulu, HI. Her favorite hike is still the one she wrote about on her Thacher application (Manoa Cliffs to Pauoa Flats). She would love to take you or give you directions, so you can see the views for yourself.

A college preparatory boarding school for grades 9-12

5025 Thacher Road
Ojai, California, 93023
Tel: 805-646-4377 Fax: 805-646-9490 Email: info@thacher.org

Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.