Esther Wojcicki lives less than 10 minutes from her many daughters and grandchildren in Palo Alto, California. On Mother’s Day, this closeness turns into “chaos,” as she puts it. “Kids are running around with presents. Nobody is organized. They’re all so excited. They want to know where the cake is,” she told the Observer before the holiday. “I celebrate my daughters as mothers, 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 this year called “The Godmother of Silicon Valley.” A former public high school teacher for more than 40 years, she has many famous students, including former basketball player Jeremy Lin, actor James Franco and writer Lisa Brennan-Jobs. At home, she also raised three equally accomplished women: former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki, and anthropologist and epidemiologist Janet Wojcicki.
In 2019, Esther published a best-selling book titled How to raise successful peoplein which she explains her educational philosophy known as “TRICK,” which stands for trust, respect, independence, cooperation, and kindness.
The book was not an immediate success within her family. “When he first came out [in 2019], [Anne] “She was laughing like, ‘Mom, I can’t believe you wrote that!’” she said. But now, Anne practices this model with her three children.
“We tease her about TRICK all the time. But yeah, I’m following her style now,” Anne told the Observer in a separate interview recently. “My mom is so funny. She’s wild. She’s like my teenage daughter.”
Esther has 10 grandchildren, ages 6 to 26. She stays in touch with all of them via WhatsApp. Most nights, you’re at one of their dinner tables. “I take turns,” she said.
Her former students take up much of the rest of her social calendar. “I had coffee, tea, lunch and dinner,” Esther said. “I said, ‘Oh my God, I’m getting fat!’” “But I’m really happy to see them all. My main goal is to support them in everything they do.”
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 different areas of media.
While some of her students became highly successful journalists, such as Economist editors Jade Epstein and Noah Snyder, Esther—the daughter of a struggling artist—made a deliberate effort to push her creatively-minded students, including her eldest 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 worried, because I wanted to make sure she had alternative skills besides just art, and she did.”
“I had hundreds of kids who were amazing artists, and I mentored every one of them toward graphic art, computer design, and anything related to computers and technology,” she added. “I wasn’t against this field. I just didn’t want any of my students to starve to death.”
Esther retired from Palo Alto High School in 2020. She continues to write, speak, and travel discussing her trick-taking technique. “The TRICK model can help you get along with your child for life, and it can also help you get along with your spouse. It works in all human interactions,” she said.
