Community Giving Report 2020–2021

Sol Gutiérrez-Lara '21

“Over these past four years at Commonwealth I have emerged from my timid shell and now have the confidence to say I don’t think I’ll ever retreat back inside.” In her graduation speech, Sol Gutiérrez-Lara '21 addressed the importance of speaking up, even—and especially—when it feels hardest. 

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Anirudh Nistala '21

“I entered Commonwealth with a vague promise of a 'tight-knit community.' But it was at this moment that I would start to realize what that phrase would actually mean to me." Moments of "contact" and connection, from playing word games on walks to practicing lines backstage to stealing away during Hancock, come alive in Aniridh Nistala's senior speech.

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Al Letarte, Axiomatic Set Theory

For math teacher Al Letarte, poring over “the beautifully concise formal language” that animates Axiomatic Set Theory made for enormous summer fun. (Who needs the beach?) Through Commonwealth’s new Axiomatic Set Theory course, he gives students a chance to explore concepts usually reserved for college math majors, from the syntax and semantics of first-order languages to the very nature of mathematical truth.

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Emma Sundberg, the Neuroscience of Learning

Commonwealth students come from a striking variety of backgrounds: other independent schools, homeschooling, and public schools across the Greater Boston area. And because the school strives to meet every student where they are, providing malleable introductory material helps usher in each new class of learners. Such was the impetus for Emma Sundberg’s recent updates to her Biology 1 class.

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David Altshuler '82 and Jill Altshuler *
José Alvarez and Suzanne McGilvray *
Alexander Avstreykh '03 
Elizabeth Bailey '68 and Paul Kennedy
David Barclay '74 and Araceli Barclay 
Margaret Beal '69
Scott Benezra ’92 and Karen Benezra ’93 *
Eleanor Berkenblit ’20 
Howard Berkenblit and Christina Schaper 
Jennifer Bluestein ’90 and Tom Rushford 
Mary Kate and Richard Bluestein 
Jon and Mary Blunt 
Donald Board and Mari Badger 
Jennifer Borman ’81 and James Bowker 
Yonah Borns-Weil '14 
Jessica Brown *
Paul Brunick ’02 
Sophia Bucci ’13 
Acheson Callaghan *
Kenneth Carson and Sally Foster 
David Carter and Andrea Longo Carter 
Mary P. Chatfield *
Irene Chernova ’03 *
Tatyana Chernova 
Richard and Gabrielle Coffman 
Maxwell Cohen ’04 and Antonio Savorelli *
Andrew and Holly Cole 
Don Conolly 
Peter Corbett and Tobie Atlas *
Sarah Creighton '66
Mary Beth Cunnane and Matthew Gardiner *
Amanda Dai '15
George Dai and Michelle Wang 
Haila Darcy 
Eric Davis and Judith Siporin *
Robert and Cheryl Dewees *
Timothy Dickinson '64 and Meher Shaik *
Catherine Doucette 
Edward and Monica Driggers 
Charlie Du and Li Xu 
Joshua and Annie Eagle 
Alisha Elliott '01 and Matt Elliott *
Robert Eskin and Joan Shea *
Samuel Falkoff '91 *
Ludovica Ferme '06 *

Kemit Finch ’01 
Christopher Gabrieli and Hilary Bacon Gabrieli 
Peter Gelzinis ’01 and Elizabeth Gelzinis *
Melissa Glenn Haber ’87 and Ezra Haber Glenn ’87 *
Reilly Grant ’05 
Peggi Gregory *
Chala Hadimi 
D. Andrew Hall, III and Natalie Olsen 
Jaquelin Harris 
Fangli He and Meijun Xu 
Hellen Ingram Plummer Charitable Foundation *
Jonathan Hiatt '66 and Barbara Shepp 
David Hodgkins and Shiela Kibbe Hodgkins *
Ross Hoffman and Dorothy Crawford 
Gowrishankar Holalkere and Gowri Zoolagud 
Alison Hoppin Murchison '79 and Robert Murchison
William Hsiao 
Hong Gang Hu and Rui Chen 
Michael Jacobson '71 and Trine Sorensen 
Ishah Janssen-Faith ’95 *
Louis Kaplow and Jody Forchheimer 
Judith Keenan 
Jean Kendall 
Matthew and Rachel Kodama 
Morgan Koenig 
Mathieu Lane '89
Robert and Sarah LeVine 
Janina Longtine *
Rhea Loomis '06
Marie Lossky and Paul Elias 
Charles Maier 
Kyriacos Markianos and Uta Poiger *
David and Caroline Marotta *
Michael Marotta '02
Matthew Martin and Laura Johnston 
Michael and Helen McAuley 
Sophia Meas 
Amy Merrill '64 *
Oliver and Mia Merrill 
Cecily Morrison '98
Robb Moss 
Vik Narasimhan and Molly Doyle 
Virginia Newes †
Edward Oberholtzer and Karen Wolf 
Robin and Jon Orwant

Class of 1962
James Barron *
Eleanor and Peter Johnson *
Joseph Ravich 
Ann Strem 
Sue Trupin 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1963
Anne Fortune 
Athena and Arthur Papas 
Joel Shapiro and Elizabeth Lane Shapiro *

Class of 1964
Michael Ansara and Barbara Arnold 
Timothy Dickinson and Meher Shaik *
David Freidel and Carolyn Sargent *
Richard Hall and Kathleen Edwards *
Ingrid Hillinger 
William LeVert and Cynthia Ballenger 
Amy Merrill *

Class of 1965
Edward and Amy Abelson 
Andrea and Peter Benson 
Myla Kabat-Zinn 
Douglas Kant and Joy Sulka Kant *
Helen Loeser and David Teitel 
Cynthia Read *
Geoffrey and Cornelia Taylor 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1966
Alison Baxter and William Stolzfus 
Emily Bryant 
Jonathan and Barbara Chosiad 
Sarah Creighton 
Roy DeBerry *
Charles and Ellen Finch 
Jonathan Hiatt and Barbara Shepp 
Kari and Ralph Shaner *
John Zalewski 
George and Mary Ann Zoulalian 

Class of 1967
Daniel Alexander and Sandra Nowoslawski 
Laverne Berry 
Claire DeBakey 
Michael Finch 
Lisa and Joel Rubinstein 
Mark and Barbara Sullivan 
Sandra Whipple 
2 anonymous donors

Class of 1968
Elizabeth Bailey and Paul Kennedy 
Robert and Ruth Goldston 
Leslie Tuttle and Larry Susskind *
2 anonymous donors

Class of 1969
Margaret Beal 
Susan Bennett and John Eidleman *
Nicole Gadon and David Allen Kelly 
Peter Galbraith and Tone Bringa *
Katharine Homans and Patterson Sims 
Phyllis and James Rector 
Pauline Spiegel and Peter Grossman *
Juanita Wade 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1970
Ellen Elias-Bursac 
Steven Kepnes and Arlene Kanter 
Jennifer Ladd 
Mark Raiffa and Ruth Bandler *
Heidi Ravven and Eric Evans 
Judith Sanford-Harris and Joseph Harris *
Alexandra Schweitzer and Glenn Lucas *

Class of 1971
Mark and Rhodora Finch 
Michael Jacobson and Trine Sorensen 
Marsha and Bruce Lieberman 
Eric Meza 
Barbara Post 
Judith Radner 
Jeffrey Siegel and Dianne McCutcheon 
Eric Stange and Barbara Costa 
Robin Zeitz and Everett Morton 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1972
David and Bridgette Allen 
Jan Hofmann *
Linda Ishem 
Jabez McClelland and Catherine Chow *
David Perry 
Richard Pettengill and Franny Billingsley 
Rosalyn Reiser 
Klare Shaw and Leo Moss 
Clara and Nachman Simon 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1973
Susan Boruchoff *
G. A. Finch 
Lise Fried and Rose Dobosz 
Deborah Friedman 
Max Kohlenberg and Rebecca Minard *
Nicholas Nyhart and Kathleen McTigue 
W. Allen Reiser 
2 anonymous donors

Class of 1974
David and Araceli Barclay 
Christopher Boutourline and Beth Fischberg 
David Karnovsky and Sue Kaplan 
Tom Loeser and Bird Ross 
Nicholas and Marianne Tawa 
Liane Zeitz *
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1975
Wendy Gordon and Lawrence Rowe 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1976
Jonathan Fox *
Jessica Lacy *
Tasmin Pesso and Laurence Chu *
Holliday and Rick Rayfield *
Mary Tangen 

Class of 1977
Robert Cooperband 
Niloofar Haeri and Lanfranco Blanchetti-Rivelli 
Gregg and Lisa Handorff 
Benjamin and Karen Rosenberg *
Jonathan Rubin and Sherilyn Scully 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1978
Cyril Burke 
Jennifer Kane 
Janina Safran 
 

Class of 1979
Alison Hoppin Murchison and Robert Murchison 
Michael Pucker and Gigi Pritzker *
Anne St. George and John Mcgannon 
David and Jennifer Wiseman 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1980
James Glazier 
Beth Levi 
Henry and Cliona Robb 

Class of 1981
Michael Albert and Dorothee Rozenberg 
Jennifer Borman and James Bowker 
Antonia Fried and Corey Brennan 
Alice Gleason and Steve Lane *
3 anonymous donors

Class of 1982
David and Jill Altshuler *
Roderick Hsiao 
David Kravitz and Majie Zeller 
Robert Neer 
Todd Senturia *
Kristina and Keith Vetter 

Class of 1983
Tristan Davies and Janet Encarnacion 
Kim and Harold Dickerson 
Douglas Hsiao and Mary Park *
Gabriella Newes-Adeyi and Soji Adeyi *
Christopher Wellins and Andrea Siewers 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1984
Ethan and Larisa Forman 
Lauren Moo *
David Stone *
Rebecca Wright 

Class of 1985
Jessica Case 
Laura Grohe 
Joshua Hauser and Juliet Bromer *
Mark Towfiq and Shahani Purushotma Towfiq 

Class of 1986
Daniel Filene 
Jonah Green 
Ivan Kreilkamp and Sarah Pearce *
Jesse Peretz and Sarah Flicker 
Carrington Ward 
2 anonymous donors

Class of 1987
Melissa Glenn Haber and Ezra Haber Glenn *
Karen Guillemin *
Helen Kafatou Moschapidakis 
Margaret Urban *
3 anonymous donors

Class of 1988
Atissa Banuazizi *
David Lorsch and Donna Dreyer Lorsch *
Rory MacFarquhar 
Anthony Star 
Maria Steinmann *

Class of 1989
Mathieu Lane 
Leo Sommaripa and Christina Erickson 
Jared Wunsch *

Class of 1990
Kirill and Hope Abramov 
Jennifer Bluestein and Tom Rushford 
Jesse Clark and David Tarazona *
Matthias Ferber *
Diantha Parker and Dean Cappello 
Catherine Parrinello 
Deborah Rudnick and Robert Ast *
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1991
Samuel Falkoff *
Mark Feldman 
Daniel Mayer 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1992
Jason Beers 
Scott and Karen Benezra *
Sasha Eskelund *
Jessica Maier 
Anne Swan *

Class of 1993
Karen and Scott Benezra *
Rebecca Rogers and Marc Tanner 
Eric Sommerfeld *

Class of 1994
Benjamin Kennedy and Sonya Del Tredici *
Caroline Marotta *
Abigail and Brian McNally 
Matthew Rich 
Johanna Witherby 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1995
Sara Bursac 
Ishah Janssen-Faith *
Jessica Katz *
James Thomson 

Class of 1996
Koby Feingold 
John and Mariana Howard 
Jeffrey and Stephanie Schwartz 

Class of 1997
Megan Buhr 
Wayne and Rachel Pozzar 
Alice Ricks and Marcos Mendoza 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1998
Aaron Dinkin 
Cecily Morrison 
Shervin Riahi 
Geoffrey Stanbury *
Eric Whitner 
Ilya Zarembsky 
1 anonymous donor

Class of 1999
Brett and Emily Hemenway Falk 
Jesse Karlsberg and Lauren Bock 
Jonathan Sheffi and Jude Frodyma *
Elizabeth Sullivan 

Class of 2000
Rebecca Ennen and Ari Weisbard 
Justine Strayhorn 

Taymullah Abdur-Rahman and Ummil-Khair Yusuf 
Praveen and Usha Akkipeddi 
Sarah Axel 
Joseph Bates and Kristin Loeffler *
William Brockman and Lucy Hadden 
David Carter and Andrea Longo Carter 
Sandro Catanzaro and Gisella Landi 
Tony and Melissa Choi 
Mary Beth Cunnane and Matthew Gardiner *
Matthew Der Manuelian and Anahit Atayan 
Daniel and Hitomi Donovan 
Charlie Du and Li Xu 
Rad Duintjer Tebbens and Yurika Nishioka 
Frederick and Robin Ewald *
Peter Frumkin and Sharon Grimberg 
Jon Fullerton and Louisa Lund 
Ashish and Ambika Garg 
Horacio Gutiérrez and Susanna Lara Roth *
Chala Hadimi 
Charles Haggerty and Kattie Chen *
Fangli He and Meijun Xu 
Raymond and Veronica Himmel 
Eric Hines and Rachel Pearson 
Gowrishankar Holalkere and Gowri Zoolagud 
Hong Gang Hu and Rui Chen 
Farouc Jaffer and Katherine Economy *
Gregory Jenkins and Elizabeth Aureden 
Yana Karezin 
Matthew and Rachel Kodama 

Stuart and Susan Krusell *
Lawrence and Paula Labell 
Alan and Evangeline Letarte 
Paul Levenson and Rebecca Tepper 
Tao Li and Cynthia Chen 
Wei Li and Xu Lai 
Yulong Li and Minjia Zhang 
Xinghui Liang and Xiaona Luo 
Clinton and Lorraine Liebenberg 
Chuankui Luo and Hongxia Kou 
Seth Mangum and Allison Baker 
Matthew Martin and Laura Johnston 
Michael and Helen McAuley 
William McKee and Margaret Reynolds 
Mark and Carol Melcher 
David Milan and Laura Mauri *
Finnian Moore Gerety and Amy Stein 
Jishen Na and Song Liu 
Vik Narasimhan and Molly Doyle 
Harris Nusbaum and Piali Sengupta 
Michael O'Donnell and Katharyn Hok 
Robin and Jon Orwant 
Philip Parsons and Jennifer Neuwalder *
Zheng Peng and Zhaoxia Xu 
Sam and Niela Rahman 
Suresh Ramakoti and Xiaoling Xie 
Rebecca Rogers ’93 and Marc Tanner 
Ian Roke and Bernadette Thie 
Mallory Rome 

Praveen and Rekha Abichandani *
Gerald and Corinne Adler 
Akintunde Akinwande and Jacinta Foncha 
Praveen and Usha Akkipeddi 
Michael Albert '81 and Dorothee Rozenberg 
José Alvarez and Suzanne McGilvray *
Frederick Ausubel and Stephanie Bird *
Cristina Ayala 
Tim Barclay 
Brian Bassett and Sarah Wasserman *
Joseph Bates and Kristin Loeffler *
Janet Baum 
Fredric Bayles and Paula Gilman *
John and Shelley Benjamin 
Susan Benua 
Howard Berkenblit and Christina Schaper 
Andrew Berry and Naomi Pierce 
Bethany Block 
Mary Kate and Richard Bluestein 
Jon and Mary Blunt 
Donald Board and Mari Badger 
James and Roberta Boudreau 
Jessica Brown *
Peter and Nancy Brown *
Esther Bullitt 
Virginia Byron and Mitch Benoff *
Acheson Callaghan *
Leonard and Jane Carrel 
Kenneth Carson and Sally Foster 
Michael and Constance Castro 
Mary P. Chatfield *
Tatyana Chernova 
Richard and Gabrielle Coffman 
H Theodore and Cynthia Cohen 
Andrew and Holly Cole 
Peter Corbett and Tobie Atlas *
John and Kathleen Corcoran *
Norman and Rita Corey *
Pierce Cray and Catherine Sheils *
Mary Beth Cunnane and Matthew Gardiner *
Richard Curl and Susannah Clark *
Mark and Debbie Curtiss 
George Dai and Michelle Wang 
Haila Darcy 
Eric Davis and Judith Siporin *
Peter Del Tredici and Susan Klaw 
Robert and Cheryl Dewees *
Daniel and Hitomi Donovan 
Catherine Doucette 
John and Elizabeth Dowd *
Edward and Monica Driggers 
David and Anne Eddy 
Max and Natalie Eringros *
Robert Eskin and Joan Shea *
Phyllis Evan *
Frederick and Robin Ewald *
David Ferry 
Robert and Susan Filene 
Charles Finch '66 and Ellen Finch 
Marie Francoeur 

Gordon Freeman and Arlene Sharpe 
John Friar and Eva Guinan 
Thomas and Elizabeth Fries 
Jon Fullerton and Louisa Lund 
Christopher Gabrieli and Hilary Bacon Gabrieli 
Peter Galbraith '69 and Tone Bringa *
Christopher George and Ellen Huberman 
Melissa Glenn Haber '87 and Ezra Haber Glenn '87 *
Hongbing Gong and Hua Yao 
Neil and Monice Grabowski 
David Gray *
Peggi Gregory *
Kenneth Gruenberg and Joyce Gruenberg 
Horacio Gutiérrez and Susanna Lara Roth *
Susan Haas 
Charles Haggerty and Kattie Chen *
D. Andrew Hall, III and Natalie Olsen 
Robert Hansel and Lisa Robinson *
Thomas and Gail Hedges 
Rebecca Henderson and James Morone 
Therese Hendricks and M. Lawrence Oliverio *
David Hodgkins and Shiela Kibbe Hodgkins *
Ross Hoffman and Dorothy Crawford 
Gowrishankar Holalkere and Gowri Zoolagud 
Alison Hoppin Murchison '79 and Robert Murchison 
Frederic Hoppin, Jr. 
William Hsiao 
Farouc Jaffer and Katherine Economy *
Louis Kaplow and Jody Forchheimer 
Boris and Natalya Katz *
Barney and Barbara Keezell 
John Kelly 
Jean Kendall 
Susan and Roland Kluver 
Max Kohlenberg '73 and Rebecca Minard *
Richard and Katharine Kosinski 
L. Alan Kraning and Catherine Huddleson *
Stuart and Susan Krusell *
Lawrence and Paula Labell 
Robert and Elizabeth Lane 
Robert and Sarah LeVine 
Leslie Levy *
David Locke and Cathleen Read 
Janina Longtine *
Marie Lossky and Paul Elias 
Charles Maier 
Angelo Manioudakis and Melani Cammett *
Kyriacos Markianos and Uta Poiger *
David and Caroline Marotta *
Arthur and Grace Mateos *
Joseph McCabe and Susan Anderson *
Drew McCoy and Betsy Friedberg 
James and Carolyn McGarry *
Veronica McManus 
Charles Merrill †
Rosalind Michahelles 
David Milan and Laura Mauri *
Jonathan and Ellen Miller *
Sarah Minden *
Robb Moss 
 

Christopher and Rebecca Barsi *
Morgan Chalue 
Don Conolly 
Joshua and Annie Eagle 
Alisha Elliott '01 and Matt Elliott *
Sasha Eskelund '92 *
Melissa Glenn Haber '87 and Ezra Haber Glenn '87 *

Caroline Healy *
David Hodgkins and Shiela Kibbe Hodgkins *
Rebecca Jackman and Theodore Paul *
Eben Lasker 
Alan and Evangeline Letarte 
Natasha and George Matthews 
Sophia Meas 

Acworth Foundation *
Amazon Smile *
Margery Ansara 
Arcus Foundation 
Corinne Bancroft 
Tim Barclay 
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 
Robert and Elizabeth Birchenough 
Emma Bishop 
Luther Black and Christina Wright 
Blackbaud 
Mary Kate and Richard Bluestein 
Krishna Boppana 
Ranu and Ravi Boppana 
Nicolle Bugajski 
Bradley Campbell 
Colleen Capwell 
Cele H and William B Rubin Family Fund 
Mary P. Chatfield *
Chevron 
Maggie Church 
Martin and Elizabeth Cohen 
Cold Brook Fund 
Christina Cowan 
Janet Daisley 
John Davenport 
Eric Davis and Judith Siporin *
Dell Giving 
Delta Sigma Theta, 1981 Line 
Frederick and Sara Ewald 
Lindsay Ewing 

Fidelity Foundation 
Virginia Foote 
Jon and Margaret Fullerton 
Sandra Gardinier 
Google Gifts Program *
Guardian Life Insurance Company of America 
Guidewire 
Jaquelin Harris 
Tom Harsanyi 
Murray Helfant *
Hellen Ingram Plummer Charitable Foundation *
Sharon Hester 
Frederic Hoppin, Jr. 
Rebecca Houston-Read 
Irina Jitomirskaia 
Camille Johnson 
Chris Joo 
Charles Kalina *
Judith Keenan 
Morgan Koenig 
Melody and Joshua Komyerov 
Erin Lechter 
Lisette S. Venier Charitable Foundation 
Longtine Charitable Foundation Trust 
Elizabeth Martin 
Mastercard 
Lisa McGrath 
Rick and Barbara Melvoin *
Merck Foundation 
Charles Merrill †
David Merrill 
 

Charles Seymour Alden †
Christopher Barsi
Mary Kate Bluestein
Meena Boppana
Jennifer Borman '81
Catherine Brewster
Audrey Budding
Mary P. Chatfield
Ellen Cole
Caleb Colpitts
Commonwealth Faculty and Staff
Don Conolly
Lesley Cowan '76 †
Jacquelynne Curry
Mara Dale
Eric Davis
Alisha Elliott '01
Sasha Eskelund '92
Arthur Finch †
Louise Finch †

Rebecca Folkman †
Elaine Gibson '72 †
Leland Giovannelli
Melissa Glenn Haber '87
Barbara Grant
David Hodgkins
John Hughes †
Rebecca Jackman
Hilmar Jensen
Judith Keenan
Ryan Kilpadi '21
Jeremie Korta
Madeleine Laupheimer '06
Alan Letarte
Jon Levison '63 †
Janet McGhee
Madame Mélat
Charles Merrill †
Alexander Miller '01
Charlie Natoli '09