OUR THANK YOU TO 450+ VOLUNTEERS

Berkeley Schools Volunteers Rise to the Challenge of Omicron, Keeping Our Schools Safe and Open

WE HONOR ALL OF THESE VOLUNTEERS – READ EACH NAME BELOW

As omicron surged in Berkeley, Berkeley Unified School District realized quickly that they needed to pivot from a strategy of individual contact tracing to one of universal testing across all schools. To be successful BUSD would need a large testing staff, but additional technicians were near impossible to find during the omicron surge. Ever committed to keeping schools open, BUSD looked immediately to the community for help, and specifically to the Berkeley Public Schools Fund’s own Berkeley Schools Volunteers (BSV). Once again, BSV heeded the pandemic call and quickly mobilized its volunteers into action.

The community response was impressive – since mid-January nearly 450 volunteers have given their time and energy, filling almost 1000 testing shifts across all Berkeley Public School sites.  Volunteers were trained by and paired with professional technicians, helping to administer COVID tests to students and staff.  They learned to handle test cards, swabs and reagent liquid, processing hundreds of tests during each shift.  Volunteers also provided a familiar and reassuring presence for our students, which was so appreciated as our school communities adjusted to this new protocol.  

Berkeley Schools Volunteer Bethany Schoenfeld supported numerous testing shifts at Berkeley High.  Her sentiments reflect the dedication and commitment of our volunteer community:

“The message throughout the pandemic has been ‘We’re all in this together.’ I was pleased to do a small part to help put restrictions behind us in a hands-on way, by processing Covid tests for hundreds of students. Connecting with the teachers and students during testing felt like teamwork towards an important goal.”

Partnership and teamwork were the foundations of the program’s success, says Winn Burda, BUSD Project Manager, COVID Testing:  

“Words can not express my gratitude for your support. Huge thanks to everyone at Berkeley Schools Volunteers and the Berkeley Public Schools Fund for pulling this all together. Amazing partnership.”

The District owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to this inspiring team.  In expressing his thanks, BUSD Superintendent Brent Stephens called out the strength of the Berkeley community:

“We are grateful to every one of our volunteers and feel fortunate to educate students in a community where so many are willing to do much.

Thank you, Berkeley Schools Volunteers, for all that you do in support
of the Berkeley Public School community!

We honor the volunteers listed below who stepped up during the Omicron surge
to support our schools with COVID testing:

Rose Lynn Abesamis-Bell

Yona Abrams

Lauren Aczon

Rafael Adames

Silvia Ahn

Kenni Alden

Fredrik Alkdal

Spike Alper

Ty Alper

Elizabeth Anderson

Lauren Anduri

Jocelyn Antonio

Ariel Bacon

Heather Bradley Ball

Lyn Barraza

Parul Batra

Molly Battistelli

Emiliana Bean

Claudia Berger

Nancy Berglas

Jenny Berrien

Karrie Besuner

Lucinda Bingham

Marianne Bitler

Catherine Blankespoor

Nicole Blaquiere

Nishanga Bliss

Bruce A. Bolinger

Carolyn Bookhart

Erin Bradner

Erin Branagan

Jenna Brimmer

Emily Brod

Lucia Brosgart

Pearl Brown

Elizabeth Brusnahan

Silvia Bunge

Daniel Burley

Mickey Butts

Bonnie Calvert

Nina Carbone

Aelisa Carr

Jo Ann Carter

Mike Castellanos

Laney Castle

Rory Caygill-Walsh

Catherine Chacon

Joel Chala

Bruce Chamberlain

Rebecca Champion

Lora Chandler

Devaki Chandra

Suzy  Chaos

Linda Chen

Carolyn Choy

Amber Christiansen

Barri Clark

Holly Cole

Tae Coleman

Naya Colkett

Christina Coll

Brick Conway

Val Coombs

Jamie Cope

Sarah Crabtree

Daniela Cronembold

Steve Crook

Kate Cunnane

Denise Dafflon

Maricela Montes de Oca Vargas

Rachel Dent

Riti Dhesi

Rick Diamond

Eva Diez

Jennie Doberne

Rena Dorph

Julia Drees

Patricia Rose Duignan

Miriam Dym

Merlin Edwards II

Rachel Eisner

Sarah Elie

Julie Elis

Anne Eschtruth

Jeanne Everett

Melita Dvorak Ewell

Claudia Eyzaguirre

Arezoo Fakouri

Michelle Falise

Roman Fan

Amy Feldman

Keith Feldman

Joe Fendel

Jean Fichtenkort

Alexis Filippini

Ann Finkelstein

Amy Fire

Kat Firme

David Fisher

Pascale Fisher

Heather Flett

Anna Fogelman

Julian Foley

Andrew D Forsyth

Jane Franch

Lori Freedman

Lauren Freels

Scott Friese

Richard Fromm

Lyndsey Fry

Elsa Galvan

Marnie Ganotis

Sarah Garrett

Heidi Geis

Pamela Geisler

Dana Gerstein

Karen Gersten-Rothenberg

Elizabeth Gibb

Cecile Giraud

Anna Giske

Hayley Goodson

Sarah Goodwin

Matthew Grant

Brooke Groves-Anderson

Christine Gruler-Mayer

Bryan Grziwok

Kasey Guentert

Kasey Guentert

Isadora Gullov-Singh

Katie Gunther

David Gurley

Luke Hackett

Helen Hallberg

Margo Hanson

Stacey Hara

Hilary Hardcastle

Justin Hardy

Christine Harkin

Amanda Hart

Anne Hartman

Martha Hartzell

Lynn Haug

Ben Hays

Scotia Hicks

Koralie Hill

Wendy Hoben

Cheissy Hoffman

Sara Homan

Lara Hornbeck

Naomi Horowitz

Ali Houweidi

Shirley Hudacko

Sandra Hudson

Julie Huffaker

Melissa Hung

Sabrina Hurley

Nina F. Ichikawa

Julie A Illi

Lika Jacobsohn

Alexander James

Elisabeth Jay

Kathryn Jay

Kris Jecen

Celina Johnson

Julie Johnson

Helene Jordan

Lisa Juachon

Barbara Judd

Kevin Jude

Rose Kagawa

Scott Kagawa

Ashleigh Kanat

Michelle Kane

Robb Kapla

Alice Kaswan

Aran Kaufer

King Kaufman

Kitty Keenan

Marisa Kemnitz

Katie Kenny

David Kerr

Sara Kershnar

David Keyes

Mary Kim

Theresa Kim

Janet King

Becky Kittredge

Siddharth Kiyawat

Alicia Klein

Erica Klempner

William Caygill Knapp

Allison Knight

Alana Kopke

Sarah Koster

Laurie Koteen

Karen Kotomori

Valerie Kratzer

Madan Kumar

von Temme Lackum Dedlow

Lucy Laird

Allison Landa

Marc Landes

Iris Lapalme

Anna Lappé

Susan Larkin-Swinkels

Vicki Latimer Roan

Charlotte Lee

Isabel Lee

Jill Legg

Lisa Lehrer

Alice Lemieux

Rebecca Leshowitz

Jennifer Levin

Barbara Lewis

Stacey Lewis

Mira Liao

Luke Lin

Elena Lingas

Bret Lobree

Anna Sophie Loewenberg

Ann Lopata

Deirdre Loungway

Katy  Love

Sangwei Lu

Desmid Lyon

Eleanor Lyon

Isabelle MacEwan

Jeannette MacMillan

Nicole Magnuson

Sarah Malin

Arabelle Malinis

Arlene Marcus

Andrew Mardesich

Ally Markovich

Gabriel Martinez

Mike Martinez

Vanessa Martini

Shawna Matilla

Miho Matsugu

Aleishall Girard Maxon

Anne Mayoral

Nikki Pin Mazza

Cherise McBride

Mark McDermott

Janet McFarland

Karen McKie

Maria McLaughlin

Megan McQuaid

Leila Mead

Mausmi Mehta

Rebecca Menashe

Randy Meng

Charlotte Meyer

Mariska Miller

Patrick Miller

Robin Milleron

Heather Mills

John Mills

Alyssa Minadeo

Heather Mitchell

Shannon Mitchell

Patricia Mok

MacKenzie Moore

Lucie Moses

Kate  Mountain

Frédérique Mourlon-Clay

Ingrid Murillo

Erin Murphy-Graham

Emily Mussi

Anne Nachtwey

Elana Naftalin-Kelman

Hannah Neff

Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales

Najlae Nejar

Devra Nelson

Eliza Noh

Mateo Nube

Tamsin Nutter

Julie Obbard

Janet Oh

Chutimar Okino

Larry Orman

Randall Orr

Robin Packel

Rafael Pacquing

Rachel Palac

Joe Panicali

Judit Pap

Anne Pardee

Carol Park

Annie Parks

Julie Pastore

Anne Peattie

Sarah Pedemonte

Nick Perez

Darragh Perrow

Aimee Phan

Maureen Phelan

Becky Pierson

Jen Pierson

Maren Pimentel

James Pine

Jocelyn Pittel

John Pomfret

Cymbre Potter

Susan Pownall

Patricia Merino Price

Tom Price

Jan Probst

Christopher Proud

Elise Proulx

Teresa Provenzano

Jennifer Phelps Quinn

Christy Quinto

Erin Rabourn

Mirabai Ramirez

Jacqueline Ramsdale

Sarah Ranney

Nooshin Razani

Leah Redwood

Pat Reilly

Danica Reynaud

Pauny Rezai

Claritza Rios

Kelly Rivera

Sylvia Rivera

Dina Robertson

Maggie Robinson

Michael Robinson

Rigel Robinson

Jean Roggenkamp

Joshua Room

Gisselle Rosales

Karin Rosman

Gretchen Ross

Andrea Roth

Carrie Rybczynski

Adam Safir

Alex  Safron

Jennifer Sakr

Nicole Sangster

Michele Santos

Ann Saphir

Sara Sarasohn

Holly Scheider

Hagar Scher

Jackie Schmidt-Posner

Bethany Schoenfeld

Chelsea Scholl

Jack Schonbrun

Liz Schultz

Julia Sen

Krista Shaffer

Vishal Shah

Jennifer Shanoski

Mike Shen

Dean Shin

Dana Mitroff Silvers

Leah Simon-Weisberg

Julie Sinai

Linda Skory

Michele Slack

Nathan Slavik

Dana Smith

Ariel Smith-Iyer

Jayoung Nam Snow

Ladan Sobhani

Joshua Sperry

Susannah Staats

Lisa Loeb Stanga

Jeffrey “Scott” Stauffer

Tami Stewart

Shelene Stine

Alice Stirling-Harris

Katie Stirling-Harris

Christina Stobing

Sandra Stokes

Hanna Gonzales Stone

Jacqueline Sullivan

Arron Sweeney

Mindy Szelap

Anne Takefuji

Jennifer Tam

Melanie Tang

Deborah Tatto

Debbie Taylor

Mati Teiblum

Ben Texara

Luba Teytelman

Anastasia Thanukos

Chris Tiedemann

Minerva Tirado

David Tjen

Corina Tom

Karen Tompkins

George Torgun

Jacqueline Torres

Liz Tracey

Di Tsoi

Lynna Tsou

Ashley Turner

Blake Ulveling

Carolina Vega

Carolin Viklund

Amanda von Moos

Liz Wagstaffe

Carol Wang

Marianne Wardell

Kristen Washburn

Heather Waterman

Mary Susan Webb

Karen Weidert

Anna Weinstein

Jen Weiss

Susan Wengrofsky

Monica Wesolowska

John Whaley

Isobel White

Vivian White

Rebecca Whitney

Sonia Wichmann

Pam Wilder

Bill Williams

Courtney Williams

Karenda Williams

Carrie Wilson

Nick Wissman

Marc Wolf

Sara Wolf

Otis Wong

Miranda Worthen

Daniela Wotke

Lara Wright

Daria Wrubel

Denise Yip

Chia Zau

Lauren Zeller

Meggie Zimmerman