Upper School

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Nitya Jain

August 19, 2025

Nitya Jain earned a B.S. in biomolecular engineering & bioinformatics, a B.A. in philosophy, and a minor in computer science from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her teaching journey…

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Rinat Manhoff

Rinat Manhoff

July 29, 2025

Rinat Manhoff has undergraduate degrees in political science and Middle Eastern studies from UC Berkeley, where she wrote her honors thesis about Ethiopian Israeli teenagers and African American stereotypes. After…

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Jase Turner

Jase Turner

June 27, 2025

Jase Turner joins Black Pine Circle School as head of school with over 15 years of experience in independent school education and leadership, spanning preschool through high school. Most recently,…

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Andrew Solter

Andrew Solter

August 16, 2024

Originally a Southern California transplant to Berkeley, Andrew fell in love with Bay Area living. He studied biology at Cal and has worked in math and science education since 2007…

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Michael Stokes

Michael Stokes

July 30, 2024

Michael Stokes has been an educator for over 15 years and is excited to be in his second year at Black Pine Circle. Originally from Massachusetts, Michael completed his undergraduate…

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Maggie Hardy

Maggie Hardy

June 23, 2023

Maggie is a San Francisco native and proud middle school educator. She and holds a B.A. in political science and Latin American studies from UC Berkeley and a master’s in…

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Melissa Jiménez

Melissa Jiménez

June 23, 2023

Melissa Jiménez Arechiga earned a B.A. in design and a minor in art history from the University of California, Davis. Her main focus was graphic design but she also studied…

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Sage Ellenwood

June 23, 2023

Sage Ellenwood earned his undergraduate degree in psychology and child development from Michigan State University. He spent five years working in youth mental health before completing his master’s in education….

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Sasha Levine

September 1, 2022

Sasha Levine deeply values connection and is honored to get to know those that she works with on a deeper level. Sasha has worked as a psychotherapist in a variety…

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Sarah Roggero

August 31, 2022

With nearly two decades in education, Sarah spent 13 years teaching middle school Spanish in San Francisco. She loves telling silly stories, playing games, and learning new jokes in class…

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