Instructors

Kathy Harper is a sapphire life master with over 4,600 masterpoints. She  plays competitive bridge and has won many Regional events.

Her teaching credentials include the following:  American Bridge Teachers’ Association Master Teacher as well as an American Contract Bridge League Certified Teacher. She has  taught bridge for over twenty years and her classes include all levels from beginning to advanced. She teaches several  classes at the Bridge Center and in private homes  and clubs all over the Peninsula and San Francisco.

Debbie Rosenberg is American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and World Bridge Federation (WBF) Grandmaster, with victories in four world championship events and numerous national events. Debbie and her partner won the International Bridge Press Association (IBPA) award for best bid hand of the year twice, in both 2006 and 2010, and Debbie won the IBPA Sportsmanship Award in 2012.

In addition to playing competitively, Debbie loves teaching the game, especially the play of the cards. The challenges a simple deck of cards can present offer a lifetime of fascination.

While Debbie has always enjoyed seeing new players learn bridge, recently Youth Bridge has become her passion. In 2013 Debbie started volunteering as a mentor in the United States Bridge Federation’s Junior training program, working to train young players for international youth competitions. Also that year Debbie co-founded Silicon Valley Youth Bridge (SiVY Bridge), with its mission to inspire the next generation of bridge enthusiasts. In 2015 the Amercian Contract Bridge League (ACBL) recognized Debbie as the ACBL Volunteer of the Year.

Frank Smoot emphasizes a common sense approach to bidding and play. He has had fun teaching bridge in groups and privately for 30 years.

His classroom instruction is very interactive – students discuss a subject, do some exercises and finish playing topical (and challenging) deals. Students are encouraged to make mistakes and learn from them.

Frank was raised in New England and has degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and Santa Clara University. Frank has worked in Silicon Valley for many decades, starting when it produced silicon chips next to fruit orchards. When he is not enjoying bridge, he likes to be outdoors.

“My wife and I took a 2-over-1 class series from Frank in 2016 … and then took 6 more series, for a total of 50+ classes.  He transformed us into “intermediate” players.  8 years later, when talking about a bridge topic, we still say “well, Frank would suggest…”