Gretchen Griswold

Board President

Elected to the board: July, 2017
Gretchen serves Maybeck as the Board President, as the Chair of the Board Nominating Committee, and as a co-chair of the School Director Search Committee.

Gretchen taught French, English, and a bit of math at Maybeck from 1973 to 1999. As a young teacher, she threw herself whole-heartedly into the school. She loved both the staff collaborations that were at the core of the many camping trips and the opportunity to connect deeply with her students. Not until her own daughters—Emily (’94) and Julia (’97)—attended the school, however, did she truly appreciate the value of a Maybeck education. It was a great place to work but an ideal environment for a student. Emily is now the director of horticulture at the UC Davis Arboretum, following up on a passion that was nurtured at Maybeck through camping trips and volunteering at Blake Gardens. Julia is a research engineer at UC Berkeley’s Safe Trek, advising CalTrans on ways to make bicycle riding safer, a passion she discovered at Maybeck. Both have strong ties to volunteer organizations in their local communities, serving on the boards of Davis Central Park Gardens and the feline rescue group ICRA. Following their model, Gretchen has returned as a volunteer tutor at Maybeck as well as a board member. Outside of Maybeck she enjoys quilting, playing bridge, and doting on her nieces’ children.