One of the newest members on the Blackhawk HOA Board, Greg, his wife, Anna, and their 15-year-old son Dante have called Blackhawk home since 2013. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Greg has lived all over the world including Columbus, Stockholm, Sichuan, Boston, Costa Rica, New York, London, Argentina, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Florence, Barcelona, Paris, and of course, Blackhawk.
“I earned a BA in International Relations from Ohio State University, where I also played NCAA Division 1 lacrosse. After college, I taught English in China’s Sichuan province before pursuing a JD from Harvard Law School,” says Greg. His professional journey began with Sullivan & Cromwell, a Wall Street law firm, where he worked in New York, Hong Kong, and Beijing. He then joined Shanda, a Nasdaq-listed internet company, as general counsel, working with founder Chen Tianqiao, who was the wealthiest man in China at that time. After leaving Shanda, he wrote a novel under the pen name Nathan Green, called The Great Firewall, drawing on his experiences. Subsequently, he founded Pillar Legal, a boutique international law firm with offices in Shanghai and San Francisco, providing services to technology companies.
Greg and Anna met in Shanghai in 2005 when they were both living in the city for work. Born and raised in Beijing, China, Anna moved to the US as a teenager. The couple’s only son, Dante, was born in Shanghai in 2009. “We knew we would eventually want to move back to the US, with the San Francisco Bay Area being our top choice. In 2011, we began making trips back and searching all over the Bay Area for our new home. When we saw Blackhawk for the first time, we fell in love with the place and knew it was meant for us. We bought a home on Deer Hollow Drive in 2012 and moved in a year later. Now we have been here for over a decade-how time flies!” says Greg.
Greg says he recently felt called to run for a position on the Blackhawk HOA board. “I became involved with the Blackhawk HOA after receiving a violation letter for our driveway basketball hoop. I saw basketball hoops all over Blackhawk, so I couldn’t understand why I received the notice one day after we put up our hoop. There weren’t any rules against it then in the summer of 2021. A year later, the HOA passed a new rule that said portable basketball hoops must not be visible from the street when not actively in use. This was not possible for us as our hoop is heavy and can’t roll over the stones in our yard. Thus, the only way to comply with the new rule would have been to get rid of our hoop. As a result, Dante and I decided to submit a petition to the HOA to withdraw the new rule. I also decided to run for the board of the HOA and was elected in the summer of 2023. The board has decided to let the community vote on the issue. Being a member of the Blackhawk HOA board takes up much of my free time. We meet monthly, and the board packets for those meetings can be up to 500 pages. Most directors also serve on a subcommittee, such as the architectural committee or the judiciary committee. We, of course, urge the residents of Blackhawk to vote yes on hoops freedom this summer. Since we moved in a decade ago, one of the best changes has been more and more kids moving into our neighborhood. When we first arrived, Dante was the only kid, but now he has so many friends right next door. That is wonderful. That is also why now, when we have more and more kids, we can’t align with passing a rule banning driveway basketball. We should be welcoming families with children, and we should help parents encourage their kids to put the screens down and play outside, like we all used to when we were growing up.”
Greg and Anna’s son, Dante, recently graduated from The Seven Hills School in Walnut Creek. Dante plays piano, speaks Chinese and French, loves drawing by hand and on the computer. He also skis and surfs. He was recently accepted to his first-choice high school, The Bishops School in La Jolla, San Diego. Because of this the Pilarowski family has made the difficult decision to leave Blackhawk in the fall and relocate to San Diego for Dante’s education.
Seeing Blackhawk and specifically, their neighborhood of Deer Hollow Drive become so diverse over the years has been a highlight of the family’s time in Blackhawk. “Our neighbors are from India, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, China, Chicago and San Leandro! We really enjoy meeting our neighbors and getting together for backyard barbecues. We hope Blackhawk will continue to welcome more families with children and more diversity to the community and not ban driveway basketball.”
By Megan Scott, Resident since 2010