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Stanford Historical Society elects five board members

Drew Bent, Larry Horton, and Steve Staiger will begin their first term on July 1st. Nate Boswell and Jeannie Crumly Cole will continue their board service in a second term.

The Stanford Historical Society (SHS) membership recently elected four individuals to the Board of Directors at the annual members' meeting on May 3. In a special session in the Board of Directors meeting on June 13, a fifth board member was elected.

The following individuals will serve their first three-year term commencing July 1, 2023:

Photo of Drew Bent

Drew Bent is an education entrepreneur as well as amateur journalist and oral historian. He is co-founder and COO of Schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring platform for students around the world. He previously wrote code at Khan Academy, taught high school math, and has been tutoring for a decade. He studied physics and computer science at MIT, and received a master’s degree in education from Stanford.

 

Larry Horton

Larry Horton retired as Stanford's senior associate vice president and director of government and community relations in 2013. He began his Stanford career working on student housing during a time of great change — single sex housing converted to virtually all-coed housing, and the student body rapidly became more diverse. He took a year off to go to Washington to work for a cabinet secretary. On his return, he joined the Office of Public Affairs to help expand Stanford’s effectiveness in its dealings with the federal, state, and local governments. Over the next three decades he worked closely with four Stanford presidents on national policies and legislation, relationships with Stanford alumni in Congress and the administration, and congressional inquiries. The Sand Hill Road Project and the approval of the 2000 General Use Permit were two of the important accomplishments. Horton was honored with the Kenneth M. Cuthbertson Award for Exceptional Contributions in 2013 and the Karen Bartholomew Award for Exceptional Service to the Stanford Historical Society in 2022.

Horton is a Stanford alumnus, receiving a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1962 and a master’s degree in history in 1966.

Photo of Steve Staiger

Steve Staiger was an SHS board member in 2012-2018 and currently serves on the Tours & Special Events and Publications committees. Until his retirement, he was a reference librarian for the City of Palo Alto for 24 years. He has been the part-time historian for the Palo Alto Historical Association since 1984. He writes a column for Tall Tree, the association's publication, and works on its Publications Committee. He offers talks on Palo Alto history to community groups such as Kiwanis and makes annual visits to 3rd grade classrooms in local schools. Staiger received a bachelor’s degree in history from UC Davis in 1972 and a master’s degree in library science from UC Berkeley in 1973.

Staiger grew up in Marin County and for the last 38 years, he and his wife, Luana, have lived in unincorporated Santa Clara County near Rossotti's on Alpine Road. They have a daughter who lives with her husband and 3 children in Palo Alto. He enjoys gardening, playing golf and softball, collecting bells and golf putters, and playing with the young grandchildren.

The following individuals will serve their second three-year term commencing on July 1, 2023:

Photo of Nathaniel Andrew Boswell

Nathaniel Andrew Boswell is the Associate Dean of Residential Education at Stanford. After graduating from Stanford in 1999 he helped found College 411.com, an online business focused on supporting and connecting college students. In 2001, Nate returned to Stanford to work in financial management in Residential Education and Student Affairs. Since then he has held numerous positions in ResEd and now serves on the leadership team for the department while overseeing the Row Student Management program and Student managed Dining along with aspects of departmental operations, administration and accounting. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in higher education from Stanford. Recent areas of service include work on the Student Affairs Cabinet, the Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing (APIRL), the Board on Judicial Affairs (BJA), and Stanford’s Task Force on Sexual Assault Policies and Practices. In 2015, Boswell received the Margaret Ann Fidler award for distinguished service in Student Affairs.

Photo of Jeannie Crumly Cole

Jeannie Crumly Cole is Marketing Communications Manager at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She works to promote the research and teaching mission and strategic initiatives of the school. Her career in education has spanned publishing, curriculum development (primarily social studies and history), educational technology, and workforce development. Most recently, her focus has been on digital communications strategy for startups and higher education. Cole received a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brown University. Before working at Stanford Cole served as a chaplain at the Santa Clara County jail and continues to volunteer at a residential program for women recovering from incarceration, trauma, and addiction. A fourth-generation Californian, she was born and raised in Palo Alto. She lives in Menlo Park with her Stanford-alum husband and is a Stanford parent.

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