Teachers and Alumni Reunited at GFS’ Multicultural Parents Association and Alumni of Color Picnic

The GFS Picnic for Families, Faculty/Staff, and Alumni of Color is an annual occasion for intergenerational connections to be made across our school community. This year’s picnic, held on Sunday, September 28, provided extra threads for connection, as two very special guests joined the guest list: retired faculty Teresa Maebori and Roy Farrar.

Roy Farrar taught Middle School English at GFS from 1975-1998, and coached basketball for all but two of those years. He served as Director of Multicultural Affairs, and was one of the first practitioners of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at GFS, serving as an essential resource, mentor, and advocate of students of color. Under the tutelage of Randolph Carter, then Director of NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) Multicultural Department, Farrar served as a key faculty member from 1981–1997, designing and facilitating the national annual People of Color Conference and Students of Color Conferences.

Teresa Maebori taught in the Lower School at GFS from 1976-2012. She led a 30-year collaboration between students and faculty from GFS and the HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy and expanded Lower School Cultural Studies to include Japan and African Studies. Maebori was born in a Japanese American labor camp in 1945, as her parents married in 1941, two weeks before Pearl Harbor. Although she relocated to Seattle in 2024 to be closer to family, Maebori remains an active member of Germantown Monthly Meeting and continues her work in activism. 

At the picnic, over 75 guests gathered in the Hargroves Student Center. After enjoying food and fellowship, attendees heard from Head of School Dana Weeks, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Charla Okewole, as well as Farrar and Maebori. 

Weeks and Okewole spoke about DEI work at GFS, both how far the school has come, and how much more there is to do. The retired faculty shared their different paths to GFS, their time as faculty here, and updates on their post-retirement lives. They both reflected on their experiences as being people of color during their GFS careers, and Farrar even wrote a poem specially for the picnic, which added a beautiful personal dimension to his remarks. 

A number of alumni were drawn to the event by Farrar and Maebori’s presence. Maebori was touched that her students came to the picnic to see her. 

“It was overwhelming and joyful to see so many people from my past,” she said. “My old assistant, who’s from the GFS Class of 1955 was there, as were a few former students whose children now go to GFS.”

Keisha Hutchins Hirlinger ’93 hadn’t seen Roy Farrar, her seventh grade English teacher, since graduation. 

“As a Black teacher and parent at a predominantly white institution, I understand how critical it is for my Black students and students of color to see me and to be seen by me,” said Hutchins Hirlinger. “While Roy's presence as a Black male teacher was important, Roy was also a caring, nurturing, encouraging, and creative teacher, who saw my peers and me not only as students, but as creatives, even if only at the beginning of our creative journeys.”

Of Hutchins Hirlinger’s many memories of Farrar’s class, one that stays with her is the "Informances," autobiographical performances that opened up space for students to share about themselves and their experiences. She recalled how a shy friend was anxious about the prospect of addressing her peers from the Yarnall stage, but faced her fears thanks to Farrar’s support and encouragement.

“Roy was the kind of teacher that made you feel seen and heard—he made you feel like you mattered,” she said. 

And while Hutchins Hirlinger wasn’t in Teresa Maebori’s class at GFS, the beloved Lower School teacher nevertheless made an impact on her, too. 

“I remember seeing the play that some of my GFS friends and HMS students created together, On the Other Side of the Fence, and being blown away,” she remembered. “Ms. Maebori was an inspiration to many of us, whether we were in her class or not.” 

Many such recollections were shared at the picnic, with the passage of years fading away as reconnections were reestablished and strengthened. For Maebori, it was affirming to come back to GFS and the Germantown Monthly Meeting, which were both deeply rooted communities for decades of her life. 

“When I lived in Philly and would go to Seattle, that felt like going home,’” she reflected. “Now it’s the other way around. They say ‘home is where the heart is,’ and I’m lucky to have multiple places I can call home.”