Esther Wojcicki lives less than 10 minutes away from both her daughters and many grandchildren in Palo Alto, California. Mother’s Day, that closeness turns into, in her words, “chaos.” “The kids are running around with presents. Nobody’s organized. They’re all excited. They want to know where the cake is,” she told the Observer ahead of the party. “I celebrate my daughters as a mother, of course, and they celebrate me as a mother. All the children celebrate me as a grandmother, otherwise known as Nana.”
Esther, 85, is the subject of a new documentary called this year “Godmother of Silicon Valley”. A former public high school teacher for over 40 years, she has many famous studentsincluding former NBA player Jeremy Linactor James Franco and writer Lisa Brennan-Jobs. At home, she also raised three equally successful women: ex to YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki, Founder of 23andMe Anne Wojcickiand anthropologist and epidemiologist Janet Wojcicki.
In 2019, Esther published a best-selling book called How to raise successful peoplein which she describes her educational philosophy known as “TRIK”, which stands for trust, respect, independence, cooperation and kindness.
The book wasn’t exactly an instant hit within her family. “When it first came out (in 2019), (Anne) was laughing like, ‘Mom, I can’t believe you wrote that!'” she said. But now, Anne practices that model with her three children.
“We tease her about TRICK all the time. But yeah, I follow her method now,” Anne told the Observer in a separate interview recently. “My mom is so much fun. She’s wild. She’s like my teenager.”
Esther has 10 grandchildren, from six to 26 years old. She stays in touch with all of them through WhatsApp. Most nights, she’s at one of their dinner tables. “I take my turn,” she said.
Her former students take up most of her social calendar. “I had, you know, coffee, tea, lunch and dinner. And I was like, ‘God, I’m getting fat!'” Esther said. “But I’m really happy to see them all. My main goal is to support them in whatever they’re doing.”
Esther taught English and journalism at Palo Alto High School. She is best known for founding the school’s Media Arts Program and expanding it from a single journalism class to a massive program that allows students to specialize in various media fields.
While some of her students became very successful journalists, such as the editors of The Economist Epstein Reptiles AND Noah SneiderEsther, the daughter of a struggling artist, made a deliberate effort to push her creatively minded students, including her oldest daughter, Susan, into practical career paths.
“Susan was incredibly talented as an artist,” she said of the former YouTube CEO, who died in 2024. “And I was concerned because I wanted to make sure she had other skills besides just art, and she did.”
“I had hundreds of kids who were great artists, and I steered every single one of them toward graphic art and computer design and anything related to computers and technology,” she added. “I wasn’t against the field. I just don’t want any of my students to starve.”
Esther retired from Palo Alto High School in 2020. She continues to write, speak and travel to discuss her TRICK method. “The TRICK model can work to help you get along with your child throughout life, and also help you get along with your spouse. It works in all human interactions,” she said.
