Profile | Marcella and Stuart Bernstein

For parents Marcella and Stuart Bernstein, Palo Alto was the obvious choice when moving back to California from the East Coast. “We chose to buy a house in Palo Alto because the city is focused on community, education, the arts, the environmental and progressive issues that are consistent with our lifestyle and philosophy. This is a neighborhood with sidewalks and bike lanes where people focus on family. Children can (and do) walk and bike to school. We have vibrant discussions with our neighbors. We love it here and are delighted to be back,” says Stuart.

For Marcella, the transition was a return home. Marcella was born and raised in Palo Alto, and graduated from Gunn, so she knew first-hand about the excellence of Palo Alto schools. She says, “One of the things we like best about Palo Alto is that all our neighbors send their kids to public schools. Our community is very diverse, and our schools are outstanding.”

The Bernstein’s chose to make their first donation to PiE at the High Honors level within weeks of coming to Palo Alto. “We heard about PiE at our first day orientation at the elementary school, and the message just resonated,” says Marcella. “PiE augments an already great district. We know that some important things would be absent if PiE did not exist, especially given all the budget cutbacks, but with PiE our schools offer everything you would expect and more.”

The Bernstein’s found that the quality of Palo Alto schools even made their move easier for their three kids. They worried about the transition but Stuart observed, “While we moved our children at sensitive ages, they didn’t miss a beat going from school in Connecticut to school here. In fact, they each came home from their first day thrilled to be in Palo Alto!”

Marcella concluded, “Our schools offer creative writing, Spectra Art and so many other things because the community gives so generously to PiE. This is a great district, and it’s made even better by PiE.”

Stuart Bernstein has an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and two graduate degrees from Harvard. He is the global head of the Clean Technology and Renewables business for Goldman Sachs. Marcella has degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked as an astrophysicist, a veterinarian, and is currently a jewelry designer with collections at Mansoor and Gore and Sundance. The couple have three children in Palo Alto elementary, middle and high schools.