Three Elected to Alf Museum Board of Trustees

We are proud to announce and celebrate the addition of three new members to the Alf Museum Board of Trustees: Jeff Cripe ’08, Elizabeth Smith ’92, and Jenny Kong P ’15, ’18, ’22.

Jeffrey Cripe ’08 is the co-founder and CEO of CARGO, a venture-backed startup that provides commerce and advertising services to the rideshare industry. While at The Webb Schools, Cripe was a dedicated Alf Museum student, two-time Alf Award winner, three-time Rogers Peccary Scholar, and discoverer of the Cripe Site in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument on the 2005 Summer Peccary Trip. The Cripe Site was excavated annually until 2019 and yielded an amazing array of fossil vertebrates that inspired a host of student research projects. Don Lofgren describes Cripe as the “best student field prospector at Webb during my tenure.”  After Webb, Cripe graduated from Yale University. Prior to founding CARGO, Cripe was an early team member at Birchbox, and a founding e-commerce team member at Christie’s, where he helped build the world’s leading online art-auction platform. He has also worked as an advisor to Loehmann’s and serves on the Executive Board of Project Art. In 2019, Cripe also launched Webb’s Innovators’ Edge event, an evening of storytelling and insight from leaders and visionaries in today’s tech scene, held at Techstars’ LA office. He says, “The museum is responsible for some of my happiest memories while at Webb and since I matriculated. It also created incredible opportunity for me to contribute to the scientific community through our research on GSENM. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to give back to the museum as a member of the Board of Trustees and ensure that the next generations of Webb students benefit from all it has to offer.”

Elizabeth Smith ’92 is the Clinical Data Manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She was an avid Alf Museum student while at Webb and attended Don Lofgren’s inaugural peccary trip to Barstow in 1992. Smith is a regular attendee of museum events and alumni peccary trips, serving in many leadership volunteer roles. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of California, San Diego, and has spent many years consulting in the pharmaceutical and therapeutic industries. She is the second Vivian Webb School alumna to join the Alf Museum Board. Smith says, “The Raymond Alf museum is a small and uniquely accessible museum that has a wonderful opportunity to inspire young minds to science. I know, I was one of those kids that was inspired by the Alf museum at age 8 and later attended the Webb Schools. I am ecstatic to see the museum continue to grow as it inspires and educates the next generation through all the hands on and online programs the museum offers in conjunction with the unique educational opportunity that The Webb Schools offer.” Smith lives in the Bay Area with her family.  

Jenny Kong has been a parent volunteer and ardent supporter at the highest levels of the Alf Museum and The Webb Schools, serving as a museum outreach volunteer, President of the Affiliates, and countless other positions. She is also a member of The Hastings Society for consecutive donors. Her three Webb students, Elisa ’15, Bella ’18, and Xander ‘22 have been fully involved in museum course work, Advanced Studies and Peccary trips. Kong has also served on the board of Foothill Country Day School. Kong says, “To further the mission of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology is an honor. The unparalleled student research opportunities both inside the classroom and out in the field represent part of Raymond Alf’s enduring legacy, and through community outreach, I hope to help share his vision with the next generation of scholars.” She lives in Claremont, CA with her family.   

Details
September 8, 2020

10:54 AM PDT