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Annual Report

June 1, 2022

Dear Friends,

When I think back on all that we experienced together in 2021, the ups and the downs, my heart fills with gratitude. I feel so grateful to the community that repeatedly showed up and supported Hidden Villa as we continued to weather the pandemic. I’m grateful to the staff who thoughtfully and creatively delivered our mission-focused programming, responding to the needs of children, teachers, and the community. And I am grateful that the 1,600 acres property is a thriving ecosystem that continues to be a refuge for our neighbors, flora, and fauna.

The internal ecosystem of Hidden Villa experienced significant transitions in 2021. We dug into the new Strategic Plan, making enormous strides towards investing more in our equity and inclusion infrastructure at Hidden Villa through accomplishments like the formation of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee and the adoption of our Equity Statement. We also have been realigning our agricultural methods to support better climate mitigation and sustainable practices throughout the property. Another seismic shift was the departure of long-time Executive Director, Chris Overington. We are grateful to Chris for over 25 years of dedicated leadership. He shaped Hidden Villa into a vibrant, strong, and aspirational organization. We are also excited to take on the challenge of reimagining leadership at Hidden Villa and using this transition to begin the next phase of the organization; building on the legacy of the Duvenecks while stretching to realize the full potential of our vision and mission.

Hidden Villa’s external ecosystem in 2021 was defined by the spring-like resurgence of on-campus education programming. Preschool through 12th grade classrooms slowly began returning for field trips to our learning laboratory. While it was heartwarming to observe children exploring their curiosity and experiencing the wonder of nature, the biggest surprise was from the teachers. Field trip after field trip, they expressed literal tears of joy for the opportunity to connect with their students in such a safe, nurturing, and off-screen environment. One of our proudest accomplishments in 2021 was our return to hosting residential Summer Camp in person! Our team of youth advocates facilitated a season that supported not only the physical health of our campers but also provided a nurturing and supportive environment for their mental and emotional healing.

Please enjoy our annual report and read about all the powerful memories and accomplishments that your support made possible. And please, let me express again my gratitude to YOU.

With best wishes,

Peter Hartzell, Hidden Villa Board Chair

 

This land we call Hidden Villa is likely part of the ancestral homeland of the Tamien Nation, with the Ramaytush Ohlone as near neighbors. Neither group ever agreed to surrender any of their lands. We recognize that we benefit from living, working, and recreating in their aboriginal homelands.

The Tamien Nation continues to have a relationship with the land ~ one of deep respect, agreement and reciprocity, collaborating to help maintain balance. Aboriginal people are still working every day to nurture their cultural traditions and ancestral relationships to the land. Hidden Villa commits itself to supporting these efforts, and we invite you to do the same.

Hidden Villa is committed to the vision that everyone deserves a sustainable, healthy, and just future – not just the few and privileged. Through education, reflection, and community building, we will humbly continue to remove barriers and create opportunities that promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive world for all, regardless of background or ability. Our work is far from done. We acknowledge the need to reflect, hold space, and learn from the ways we could have done more. Now, more than ever is the time for action.

We, the Employees, Board of Trustees, Interns, and the Volunteers of Hidden Villa will:

  • Govern ourselves in a way that authentically listens and invites community participation, questions power dynamics, and allocates resources from a Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (JDEIA) frame.
  • At the Staff level, engage in difficult conversations as needed, bring JDEIA issues to the fore for the leadership team, support and train staff, and devote resources towards recruitment/retention so that our team better reflects the Bay Area community.
  • Adapt and operate our education programs and agriculture practice thoughtfully to ensure all feel welcome and comfortable to be their complete selves.
  • Cultivate Community Partnerships that are relevant and empowering to the people we serve and the impact we want to make in our world.

Join us as we work toward this vision, as we stand in solidarity with many of the regional, national, and global efforts to establish environmental and racial justice  — working to create true and authentic equity.


We want to extend our deep gratitude to all of our donors! Their generous support allows us to continue sharing the magic of Hidden Villa with many, inspiring awe of the natural world and hope for future generations.  

Individual Donors

The donors listed below gave $500 or more from January 1 through December 31, 2021. 

Anonymous
Diane and Harry Greenberg
Sharon and John Patterson
Sally Abel
Catherine and Christopher Green
Silja and Nate Paymer
Irene and Alan Adler
Kathryn Groth
Rich Peers and Allison Butler
Ana and Amer Akhtar
Diana Quon and Davis Hershey
Carrie and Greg Penner
Margie Alving
The Hadden Family
Lee and Kitty Price
Greg Ames
Ben Hammett
Dan and Helen Quinn
John Austin and Kathara Green
Peter Hartzell and Beth Harrison
Jackie and Dave Radcliffe
Debbie and Paul Baker
Bibiana and Oliver Heckmann
Stephen Rafferty
Mark and Kay Barchas
Sheryl Heckmann
Polly Ragusa
Ned and Jimi Barnholt
Christopher Heiser and Kate Heiland
Bill Reller
Wendy and Joel Bartlett
Nancy and Jerre Hitz
JC Renteria
Toni Bassett
Karen Holl and Michael Loik
Dedrick Rhone
Buz and Anne Battle
Christy and Chuck Holloway
Salma and Rick Richmond
Steve Beck and Jane Baxter
Carol Hoskins
Diana Rigg
Ann Benninger
Ruth and Joshua Hutchins
The Riordan Family
Miriam and Alan Billinger
Sue and Kurt Jaggers
Richard Robbins and Susan Casebeer Robbins
Meri-Beth Bird
Lei Jin
Monique Rossman
Norma Jean Bodey Galiher
Pat Kalish
Natalie and Brian Rumao
Craig Britton and Carleen Bruins
Jaya Kamath and Suresh Babu
Francine and Stephen Ruvolo
inda Brownrigg
The Kaplan Family
James Sandmand Jr.
Thomas and Wally Brunner
Maragaret and Francis Keeler
Caitlin Sandowski
Kristen and David Bryan
Breene Kerr
Thomas Sartor
Rose Cabral
George Kirkpatrick
Mike Sasnett and Roberta Saxon
Katharine Carroll and Alison Rosenthal
Rachel and Richard Klausner
Amy and Dan Scrivner
Nancy and John Cassidy
Larry Klein and Milbrey McLaughlin
John and Carolyn Seyfarth
Amie Chang and Henry Massey
Brian Kleis and Jim Lock
Marc and Lisa Sidel
Lisa Chen and Jordan Klein
Liz and Rick Kniss
Dr. Seth Simas
Steven Chen
Charles and Stephanie Knowles
Greg and Dilshad Simmons Family
Alison Chubb and Stephen Ruoss
Bill and Donna Krepick
Rhonda and Howard Smith
Steve and Diane Ciesinski
Peter and Sue LaTourrette
Sharon and Corey Smith
Craig Cilkeri
Mark and Debra Leslie
Dave and Erin Sobota
Anne and Terry Clark
Tom and Ann Livermore
Camille and Jim Spar
Leslie Claytor-True and Ramon True
Peggy and Pedro Lizaur
Laurie and F.B. Steele
George and Patricia Clifford
Terri Lobdell and William Johnson
Beth Steinberg
Ginger and Pat Connolly
Norman Lomas
Judith and Hans Steiner
Bill Coughran
Vicente Lovelace
Nat and Marcia Sterling
Sibby Coxhead
Marcie Maffei
Maureen Stone and Doug Wyatt
Dynse Crunkleton and Scott Wilson
Robert Mansfield
Anne Storer
Michaela Crunkleton Wilson
George and Judy Marcus
Robert Lee Stuart
Michele Culberson
Linda and Jerry Mar
Heather and Sean Suchter
Anne Dahle
Kim Marinucci Acker and Jeff Acker
Sha Sundaram
Colleen DeLizza
Catherine and Philip Mast
Robert Lee Stuart
Anne Dahle
Kim Marinucci Acker and Jeff Acker
Sha Sundaram
Colleen DeLizza
Catherine and Philip Mast
Leah Sutton and Jeff Schmidt
Amanda and Brian Demers
Kelly and Luke Matiasevich
Kay T. Takahashi and Richard Dean Brewer
Roberta and Steve Denning
Kathleen McCahill
Francine Tanner
Lisette Derouaux and Jeff Weiner
William and Marla McCormack
Colleen and Geoff Tate
Stephen Dorow
Ellen McGinty King
Rebecca and John Ternus
Diane Duerr-Levine and Matt Levine
Vicky and Jim Merchant
Jack and Barbara Tooley
Ken and Jenniffer Ebbitt
Carol Michaels and David Jones
Diny van der Velden and Joel Sommers
Chis and Carol Espinosa
Micki Miller
Mara and Rick Wallace
Sandra Fairon and Bruce Leak
Pamela and Richard Montgomery
Anna Walsemann-Alletti and Giuseppe Alletti
Sally and Craig Falkenhagen
Lisa Monzón
Chris Waters
Jon Fan
Sherilyn Moody
Barbara Weinstein
Janet Fire
Marie and Geoffrey Moore
Bill and Jan Whitmer
Nancy and Skip Fletcher
Joanna Mountain and Heyward Robinson
Judith and Peter Wolken
Marci Fox Greene and Wayne Greene
Theron Paul Niederer
Amy Wu
Monique and Daniel Gagnon
Gary and Liz Nielsen
Luis and Gina Yanez
Marion Gallagher
Amanda Oakson and Randy Salim
Jack and Suzanne Yang
Nan Geschke
Cindy and Ron Olander
Connie Yi
Mary and Clinton Gilliland
Christine and Rene Ong
Kelly Younger
Norman Godinho
Lynn and Susan Orr
Donna Young
Tom and Susan Goodenough
Michael Pao
Charisse Yung
Nicola Gordon
Tarang Patel
Anna Zara and Robert English

 

Organizations

We are honored to recognize the organizations that contributed $2,500 or more from January 1 through December 31, 2021.

Anonymous
Acton Family Giving
Elkind Family Foundation
Epispace Foundation
Fremont Group
Hurlburt-Johnson Charitable Trusts
Kiwanis Club of Mountain View
Los Altos Mountain View Commuity Foundation
Los Altos Town Crier Holiday Fund
Maxwell / Hanrahan Foundation
Maynard P. and Katherine Z. Buehler Foundation Fund,
Morgan Family Foundation
at the East Bay Community Foundation
Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund
Noble and Lorraine Hancock Family Fund
The Yellow Chair Foundation
The Sergey Brin Family Foundation
Whitney Education Foundation
Town of Los Altos Hills

 

 

Gifts Made in Memory:

Arthur Gerdes
Frank Furnari
Pete Maffei
Arthur Yotsuya
Gail Cheeseman
Philip Lewis
Branden Cason
George and Ruth Chippendale
Prahladbhai A. Patel and Hansaben P. Patel
Brandon Sutter
Glenn and Gwen Meier
Rev Richard Wiborg
Bob Niederer
Happy G. Lynn
Ruth Buneman
Chet Brown
Howard B. Storer Jr.
Ruth Hammett
Cleopha Zauner
John Jakubiak
Shirley-Anne Owden
Cliff Lloyd
Josephine and Francis Duveneck
Suzanne Bowler
Curtis Schneider
Julie Craig
T. Louis Snitzer
Daniel
Kathie Underdal
Tom Forrest
Darla Tupper
Keith and Lucila McFarland
Twila Woods
Diane and Rex Butler
Lisabeth Kaplan
Virginia “Ginny” Harrington
Edward and Agnes Kurnick
Liz Dana
Virginia Roberts
Eitan Fenson
Marylin Wilson
William “Bill” McElhinney
Elizabeth Bowden Smith
Ms. Joan Bruce
Ethel Gwinn
Nora Chin


Gifts Made in Honor:

America Yanez
Garth Harwood
Noah and Eric Wolfson
Bill Younger
George Chippendale
Patti Foster
Bob Fisher
Harvey’s G
Peter Hartzell
Brenda Jones
HVEEP
Peter Thurston
Brooks Children
Ian O’Hearn
Rebecca Nelson
Camp Unalayee
Jena Rusmore
Reyaan Hebbar
Carol Sidel
Jiatao Wang’s Family
Rich Peers
Chris Overington and His Family
Joan Sherlock
Robert Leveson
Colin and Chloe Pao
Judie Wolken
Sally Falkenhagen
Colleen Healey
Karen Wilkes
Sawyer Haddock
Michaela Crunkleton Wilson
Laura Kenney and Bill Sundstrom
Shana Barchas
Donna Ross
Leon Beeler
Sunny
Eduardo Oseguera
Linda Hellerich
Taia Larse
Elisabeth Nielsen
Lucy Zhang
Tanya Knowles
Elizabeth Aitken
Marc Sidel
The Drobots
Elizabeth and Jacobs Aitken
Susan Love
The Kind, Hardworking Staff at Hidden Villa
Elizabeth Odarley Morton
Mason James Bazley
William and Charlie Torbenson
Ellen McKenzie
Michael Brooks and His Grandchildren
Zack Ciesinski
Frank and Josephine Duveneck
Miguel and Jess


Endowments

Gifts made to the Overington Legacy Fund in honor of Chris Overington

Amy and Dan Scrivner
Marc and Lisa Sidel
Carol Olson
Michaela Crunkleton Wilson
Christy and Chuck Holloway
Morgan Family Foundation
Claire Elliott and Douglas Kent
Nayna and Niranjan Patel
Claire SunSpiral
Nikki Bryant
Diane and Steve Ciesinski
Peter and Carol Thurston
Dr. Seth Simas
Rich Peers and Allison Butler
Elkind Family Foundation
The Kaplan Family
Judith and Peter Wolken
Tom and Susan Goodenough
Lee and Kitty Price


Gifts made to the Katharine King Memorial Fund

Anonymous

 

Gifts made in memory of Bob Niederer to the Bob Niederer Farm and Wilderness Scholarship Fund

Christal Niederer
Steve and Diane Ciesinski
Roberta and Steve Denning
Zachary Ciesinski


Bequests

Darla M. Tupper Revocable Trust
The Trust of Elizabeth Wallace
Hope D. Williams Charitable Remainder Unitrust

 

Charitable Partners

Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund
Community Foundation Santa Cruz County
East Bay Community Foundation
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund
Latino Community Foundation
Raymond James Charitable
Schwab Charitable Fund
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
The U.S. Charitable Gift Fund


Matching Gifts

Adobe
Apple, Inc.
Cisco Foundation
eBay
Elasticsearch
Genentech
Google
Hearst FDB (First Databank)
HPI, LLC
Intuitive Foundation
Juniper Networks
Microsoft Matching Gifts Program
Netflix
Visa, Inc.



2021 brought about many changes to the structure of Hidden Villa’s educational programs. In the midst of the global pandemic, the education team recognized that safety was of the utmost importance, and deliberately re-structured programs to reach the greatest number of participants in the safest way. Coveys were a new program, where groups of children came once a week for 6 weeks. In the Fall, they welcomed school groups back to the farm for programs. It was rewarding to see groups of students at the farm, interacting with each other and the natural world again.

Summer camp operated at a limited capacity, with many safety measures in place. This came with its own challenges, as kids learned to navigate being away from their families, and being with larger groups of people again.

The Hidden Villa Community Supported Agriculture Program and Animal Husbandry have faced challenges amid the ongoing drought in California. Despite this, the CSA team was able to provide a full season of baskets, making strategic changes to make sure they were able to continue growing crops. In addition to the 150 weekly CSA subscription boxes, they donated over 11,000 pounds of produce to Community Services Agency of Mountain View, providing healthy, fresh produce to community members in need.

The Animal Husbandry team made changes in their operations. They did their first cycle of Fall Lambing with the hopes that this would provide a longer grazing season for the sheep. With great success, the sheep had an extended grazing season, starting in late January and running through April. The longer grazing season provided great benefit to the sheep’s health as well as the health of the surrounding pastures.



The 2021 – 2024 Strategic Plan is a road map to strengthen and focus Hidden Villa to more effectively leverage our assets and resources in support of our community and our mission. This plan is a call to embrace the Duveneck family legacy and to strive towards a thoughtful and intentional building upon our property, programs, and community towards our core issues of Social, Food, and Environmental Justice.

The Strategic Plan focuses on four strategic areas of change and growth:

Organization and Culture:​ Internal work to create a more Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive organization, striving to be an anti-racist community, and to develop an environment which encourages curiosity, staff development and accountability.
Programs​: Aligning our target audiences for maximum mission impact, expanding and diversifying our reach through authentic community partnerships, and incorporating more evaluation and iteration in program development.
Infrastructure​: Reimagining our property to better facilitate self-directed learning and data-informed resource and stewardship management.
Sustainable Financial Model​: Shifting our revenue generation model over time in a fiscally responsible manner.

 


Thank you to our 229 volunteers for generously giving their time to Hidden Villa. They are critical to Hidden Villa’s impact and we could not do it without their support! Listed below are volunteers who gave 20 hours or more of their time. We greatly appreciate it!

Individual Volunteers

Deborah Bennett
Darryl MacDuff
Tonia Spiridi
Diane Ciesinski
Ginny Pitts
Dave Roos
Helena Cohen
Denise Sacks
Dream Volunteers
Bernie Lily
John Seyfarth
Barbara Zots

 

Board Members

Steven Chen, Secretary
Vicente Lovelace, Vice Board Chair Governance
Michaela Crunkleton-Wilson
Katia Ostrovsky
Diane Duerr-Levine, Vice Chair Mission Fulfillment
Tamra Owens
David Duveneck
Lee Price, Treasurer
Jerry Elkind
Jackie Radcliffe
Sally Falkenhagen
Dedrick Rhone
Gianna Fazioli, Vice Chair Development and Communication
Caroline Rumptz
Peter Hartzell, Chair
Rita Comes Whitney

 

Committee Members

Eric Chang, Mission Fulfillment Committee
Rich Peers, Finance and Investment Committee
Amy Scrivner, Mission Fulfillment Committee
Bill Whitmer, Finance Committee

Support and revenue reflected here is that which was available to support operations in Fiscal Year September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021.