Esther Wojcicki Biography

Esther Denise Hochman "Woj" Wojcicki is an American journalist, educator, and vice chair of the Creative Commons board of directors. Wojcicki has been a pioneer in exploring the interface between education and technology. She is a Board Certified Teacher certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards She was first certified in 2000 and renewed her credential in 2010 which will expire in 2020.

Education and career

Wojcicki was valedictorian of her high school class, and graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in English and Political Science. She received a secondary teaching credential from UC Berkeley, as well as a graduate degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at Berkeley. She has an advanced degree in French and French History from the Sorbonne, and both a Secondary School Administrative Credential and a M.A. in Educational Technology from San Jose State University.

Wojcicki has taught at Palo Alto High School since 1984, where she currently teaches journalism and English. There she began the journalism program which has grown to become one of the largest in the nation. She has worked as a professional journalist for multiple publications and blogs regularly for The Huffington Post.

Wojcicki was the 1990 Northern California Journalism teacher of the year, and was selected as the California Teacher of the Year in 2002 by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She served on the University of California Office of the President Curriculum Committee where she helped revise the beginning and advanced journalism curriculum for the state of California. In 2009, she was awarded the Gold Key by Columbia Scholastic Press Association in recognition of outstanding devotion to the cause of the school press. Wojcicki is also on the Board of Trustees of the Developmental Studies Center and on the Board of Governors of the Alliance for Excellent Education. She serves as Chairman of the Board of Learning Matters.

Family

Wojcicki is the oldest of three children, and was the first in her family to attend college. Both of Wojcicki's parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants who came to New York City in the 1930s. Her family moved to Southern California after she was born.

Her husband is Stanford University professor of physics Stanley Wojcicki. They have three daughters: Susan (CEO of YouTube), Janet, a Fulbright-winning pediatrician and researcher, and Anne (co-founder of 23andMe), and eight grandchildren.