ALUMNI

Dear Alumni Families,

Although much has changed since its founding in 1982, one thing has remained the same: Orinda Academy helps students to confidently tackle learning challenges and master the skills they need to go into the world. OA students and alumni are successful because they’re prepared, self-aware and not afraid to let their true selves shine.

Two women and one man smiling with their arms around each other

Two men smiling and looking at the camera

Photo of the five Orinda Academy graduates standing with their diplomas

Got a request for your transcripts?

Click here!

Annual Fund

Ways to Give

Learn more about the Annual Fund - the backbone of our fundraising efforts. The Annual Fund critically supports highly trained faculty, increased programming for students and equitable access to Educational Adventures. There are many ways to make a gift.

Send us an update.

Send an update

We would love to catch up with you.

Get to Know Our Grads

We couldn't be prouder of our alumni. Our rigorous curriculum and focus on developing executive function and self-advocacy gives them an extra boost as they begin their future.

Learn about the challenging, world-changing, and fascinating lives OA alumni are living.

Class of 2019

Riley Lockett

Riley graduated from New York University. Riley now teaches animation in the greater Bay Area and works as a freelance film editor. His aspiration is to create an action blockbuster film someday!

See a sample of Riley's latest work

See some of our alumni stories here

Classes 2011 - Present

Philip and his wife originally met in 2012 after OA participated in an international conference for students on nuclear non-proliferation. She was one of the members of the Russian delegation to visit the school as a follow-up and they met when he served as a student ambassador. An unexpected but happy diplomatic outcome!

Class of 2012

Philip Wolf

When I first arrived at OA, I was afraid that I wouldn’t adjust there. From the outset, Jeff and Catherine introduced themselves and showed a great interest in me. During my four years, Jeff inspired me to love history and government, and both Jeff and Catherine inspired me to improve my writing. Later, when Chris joined, he taught me how to value my physical, social, and mental health. Other teachers were similar. The OA staff didn’t just teach me subjects but they also taught me critical life and learning skills which I used when I studied at Berkeley and later Law School (Hastings and NYU) as well as in my current work as a tax, M&A, and white collar criminal lawyer. I am extremely grateful for everything the OA community has done for me and how big of a positive impact they had on my life.

In 2011, Orinda Academy participated in an international conference called the “Critical Issues Forum” regarding nuclear non-proliferation. The conference also invited participating high schools from Russia and China. My wife was one of the participants. A year after this conference, she, several of her classmates, and teachers were invited to visit Orinda Academy. One of the teachers asked me and several other students to be ambassadors for OA. My wife and I stayed in contact after that exchange and eventually started dating. Now we are happily married.

Class of 2011

Ben Yarrington

Ben completed his degree in Sports Management at the University of Missouri in 2015, and has worked in communications for Mizzou, the Oakland Raiders, and currently with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Classes 2000 - 2010

Class of 2010

Aubrey Love

Aubrey earned a BA in Sociology from UCLA and has a new position as a Clinical Research Associate at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Class of 2009

Van-Anh Su

Van-Anh is currently studying in the MBA program at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Class of 2009

Natnicha Thanlongkorn

Natnicha came to OA from Thailand where she currently resides and is a fashion designer.

Class of 2008

Eden Castro

Eden, the valedictorian of the OA Class of 2008, graduated from Brown University with a BA in International Relations. She currently attends New York University School of Professional Studies where she is studying peace building and international policy at the NYU Center for Global Affairs.

Class of 2005

Alex Band

Alex is a University of Colorado Boulder graduate and a manufacturing engineer/quality engineer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Class of 2003

Ben Meyer

Ben graduated from Earlham College and then earned an MA from New York University in Social Work. Ben then attended the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and earned a certificate in Interpersonal Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Ben is an LCSW and bilingual psychotherapist.

Ben's story...

Deciding on a high school can be an overwhelming and daunting process. I knew I needed a school that provided individual attention and dedicated teachers, but I didn’t know what kind of college preparatory program could accommodate my learning differences. I was lucky to hear about a small private school that was then called North Bay Orinda, now Orinda Academy. I can still remember being interviewed by Ron Graydon and how in awe I was of the tiny campus on Altarinda Road. Something told me that this would be a place where I could thrive, and I was right!

Although my first year was a difficult transition, I can still remember teachers diligently walking me through math and science problems during study halls. In my high school years, I wrote essays and debated U.S. history and civics, and we took many educational trips as a class. By the time I graduated, I was an accomplished student with more self-confidence than I ever thought possible!

There is no question that my writing and math skills were sharpened at Orinda Academy. However, the most important lesson I learned, which I later took with me to Earlham College and into my career as a therapist and coach, is that it is ok to “learn differently” and that one can still be successful. It is quite possible that without a school like Orinda Academy, I would have fallen through the cracks and never had the opportunity to be where I am today. That is why it is so important that OA exists and can help other students like me!

I have dedicated my career as a bilingual psychotherapist and coach to helping other neurodiverse adults adapt to employment and social demands. I graduated with my MSW from NYU in 2011, and I have completed training programs in couples/family therapy, individual counseling, and neurodiverse couples counseling. I provide a combination of practical and psychological l strategies that focus on strengths as well as challenges. After having officially received a diagnosis of Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) as an adult, I have dedicated a large part of my career to increasing awareness regarding this lesser-known neurological profile and its mental health implications. I would not be where I am without Orinda Academy and its message continues to inspire me to help others who learn differently every day!

Class of 2002

Summer Chrisman

Summer graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007 with a BA in Integrative Biology. Summer earned her teaching credential from St. Mary’s in 2013 and is currently working on an MA in Secondary Education. Summer teaches Conceptual Physics in the Dublin School District.

Class of 2001

Jessica Jarett

After two unhappy years feeling lost in the shuffle at a large and impersonal public junior high school, I came to OA for the small classes and the opportunity to have teachers who actually knew who I was. That sense of connection and the focus on teaching students how to learn has rippled outward throughout my life. My teachers at OA always believed that I was capable, and they held me accountable to that in a way that helped me feel confident approaching big problems and new subjects. After an undergraduate degree in marine biology, I studied corals on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef as a Fulbright Scholar. I came back to the US to complete a Ph.D. in microbiology, then spent several years as a postdoctoral scholar at the Joint Genome Institute at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Now I am the Director of Research at AnimalBiome, a startup in Oakland that tests samples from cats and dogs to see what bacteria are living in their gut microbiomes and to help them live healthier lives.

Class of 2001

Collin Pugh

Collin graduated from OA in 2001, from St. Mary’s in 2005, and now works at St. Mary's as a Student Engagement and Academic Success Coach & Coordinator of the Tutorial and Academic Skills Center (TASC). Collin also sits on the Orinda Academy Board of Trustees and serves on the finance committee.

Class of 2001

Nathan Roozee

Nathan is a financial consultant for E*Trade Corporation in San Francisco.

Classes 1982 - 1999

Class of 1998

Brian Christian

Brian graduated from UC Berkeley and is now an adjunct faculty member at the College of the Ozarks in Missouri where he teaches piano and organizes recitals.

Class of 1998

Lucy Kasdin

In the fall of 1996, I arrived at Orinda Academy. Growing up I always loved learning, and the social aspects of school, but in my early high school years, I lost my way. By the time I walked in the door at OA, I felt defeated, depressed, and had withdrawn academically. It was my junior year of high school, and after barely passing my sophomore year in a public school, I was skeptical that my experience at OA would be any different.

My teenage skepticism was quickly proven wrong. The small supportive learning environment at OA fostered memorable academic discourse that re-ignited my love of learning. My two years at OA changed the trajectory of my life, both as a student and community member. I went on to receive a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Mills College and a master's degree in Social Work from Columbia University. I have spent my career focused on mental health, homelessness, and social justice, all of which were impacted by the lessons I learned at OA. As I reflect back on my journey, I am profoundly grateful for the teachers and staff at OA during my time as a student, and the thriving community here today.

Class of 1993

Ambrish Ghumman, M.D.

Ambrish practices medicine in Modesto, California where he is a specialist in gastroenterology.

Class of 1992

Samantha Sepehr

Samantha is a UC Santa Cruz and John F. Kennedy University College of Law graduate. She is a partner and attorney at Steele, George, Schofield & Ramos in Walnut Creek. She was the former director of the Elder Law Center at JFK University.

Class of 1990

Ben Forest

Ben is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, 344th Recruiting Squadron.

Class of 1987

Jeff Johnson

Jeff is an outdoor photographer who has published two books of his work and whose photographs have appeared in many prestigious publications. Jeff currently lives in Santa Barbara and is a freelance creative director, photographer, and writer. See more of his work on his website.

Jeff's Story...

I had been kicked out of Monte Vista High School my sophomore year. I was a punk rocker/skateboarder, up to no good, and was sent to a local continuation school called Del Amigo.

After a year at Del Amigo, I realized I didn’t want to be coupled with near dropouts and delinquents. In our search for alternative schools, my parents found North Bay Secondary, now Orinda Academy. To attend, my parents had me pay half of my tuition. If I graduated, I would get it all back. This was a great deal, for when I graduated in 1987, I had a hefty bank account.

Orinda Academy saved my life. I didn’t fit in with the standard school system and didn’t do well, therefore stifling my self-confidence. The very structure of the Orinda Academy spoke to me: a 10/1 student-teacher ratio, no homework, and you didn’t move on till you had an 85% proficiency in your test scores. We called our teachers by their first names which made me feel respected, not looked down upon. I was a slow reader and didn’t read much. My English teacher, Lisa Burke, encouraged me to remain slow and I will enjoy the process and retain more. I would have never gotten advice like this from a mainstream school. It changed everything for me. I became an avid reader, devouring all the classics. I started writing in a journal (given to me by Lisa Burke). In my late 20’s some of my stories had been published, and this led to a career in storytelling, combining photography, writing, and directing. Without the Orinda Academy, I don’t know where I’d be today.