Board of DirectorsComposed of leaders from finance, education, research, legal, nonprofit, and business communities, Committee for Children’s board of directors serves as the governing body charged with providing oversight and counsel on matters related to the organization’s mission, vision, strategic plan and financial sustainability. The composition of the board reflects a broad range of expertise, with all members demonstrating a strong commitment to fostering the safety and well-being of children through social and emotional learning and development. Paige Hamack President × Paige Hamack President Paige Hamack, CPA, is an accounting and financial reporting expert who has worked with global companies of all sizes. She is a consultant with Camber Consulting LLC, where she focuses on helping growth-stage companies establish accounting and financial reporting policies and processes. Before she joined Camber Consulting, Ms. Hamack was director of external reporting and then director of finance for Microsoft Corporation. Previously, Ms. Hamack performed accounting roles at Getty Images Inc., Tektronix Inc., and Deloitte & Touche LLP. Ms. Hamack holds a CPA license from the state of Oregon and a bachelor of arts degree in accounting from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. She joined the board in 2009. Susan H. Willis, MD Vice President × Susan H. Willis, MD Vice President Dr. Susan Willis is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with over twenty years of clinical experience in a solo practice. She served as a psychiatric consultant for Youthcare’s Bridge Program for sexually exploited youth and 45th Street Clinic’s Homeless Youth Program. Dr. Willis is active in the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine and the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MD from University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She completed her residency in psychiatry and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and is double board-certified in adult general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. Sabrina Powers, JD Secretary × Sabrina Powers, JD Secretary Sabrina Powers is a corporate attorney for VMware, an IT company specializing in virtualization software and cloud services. Sabrina has also worked for Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where she led the team that manages commercial transactions in support of grant making for the Global Health Programs. Since 2005, she has volunteered with OutdoorsForAll, providing ski instruction to individuals with disabilities. Sabrina earned her juris doctorate at Seattle University School of Law and her bachelor of arts degree at Vanderbilt University. She joined the board in 2010. Jonas K. Simonis Treasurer × Jonas K. Simonis Treasurer Jonas K. Simonis is principal of Jonas K. Simonis Consulting, which specializes in railroad operations and management. He works with clients in such areas as operations, marketing, strategic planning, supervision, project management, problem solving, staffing, budgeting, cost control, and information systems. As a consultant, he has conducted management communication studies, designed and assisted in the implementation of an operation accountability system, and testified as an expert witness on railroad operations. Before starting his firm, Mr. Simonis worked for Burlington Northern Railroad in a variety of roles including service director–automotive and machinery–and superintendent–corridor management. Mr. Simonis joined the board in 2000. Board Members John Andrews × John Andrews John Andrews, a long-time leader in sales management, currently serves as vice president of International and Channel Sales at Daptiv, a global provider of project portfolio management (PPM) solutions for business execution. Andrews works closely with international partners to oversee sales of Daptiv’s on-demand software-as-service, closing sales with key accounts including Bombardier, Carrier Transcode Europe, Grant Thornton UK, and Maersk Oil Qatar. Previously, he served as vice president of Sales at Stratera Northwest after many successful years in sales leadership in the high-tech market. He’s active in many community organizations and has served as president of the Madison Park Community Council, president and treasurer of the Bellevue Pony Baseball League, a member of the finance committee of the Seattle Tennis Club, and treasurer of the Bellevue High School Baseball Booster Club. He currently volunteers with Year Up Puget Sound and is a member of several investment groups. Richard N. Brandon, PhD × Richard N. Brandon, PhD Richard N. Brandon retired as founding director of the Human Services Policy Center at the University of Washington, where he led efforts in collaborative human services and financing of public education and childcare, and founded the Washington Kids Count project. He is currently engaged in several national and international projects in early care and education. Dr. Brandon is co-principal investigator for a four-year national study of childcare supply, demand, and workforce. Before joining the University of Washington in 1989, Dr. Brandon served as staff director of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, where he played a major role in developing the congressional budget process and negotiating the federal budget. Prior to that, he directed systems analysis and budgeting for the New York City Department of Mental Health and analyzed Social Security financing as a fellow of the Employee Benefit Research Institute. He has been a consultant to state and local governments; UNICEF; the American Association of Retired Persons; and the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government on a variety of human service and financing issues. He received a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the board in 2007. Joanna Gubas × Joanna Gubas Joanna Gubas is a marketing professional with broad experience in the education and family services fields. She is currently at the University of Washington, providing marketing strategy for a range of graduate programs for professionals, the BA in Early Childhood and Family Services, UW in the High School, and UW Summer Youth programs. Until recently, Ms. Gubas held the position of marketing and events director at ParentMap Media. Ms. Gubas led ParentMap’s Lecture Series featuring top psychologists, education events, and community partnerships. Previously she managed enrollments at Study Dynamics LLC, an educational consultancy that provided research-based study and organizational skills for teens. Earlier in her career, Ms. Gubas was part of the management team that launched Getty Images, where she held the position of creative research and planning director. Ms. Gubas has a BA (Hons) in Business Management and professional market research qualifications from the Market Research Society (UK). She joined the board in 2011. Reed Koch × Reed Koch Reed Koch is the former general manager of Assistance Platform at Microsoft, where he was responsible for the strategy and execution of Microsoft’s More Assistance Platform, starting with version 1.0. He has also been general manager of FrontPage Windows, SharePoint Services, and PhotoDraw. Mr. Koch has also served as group program manager, group product planner, and product manager of Microsoft Word. In these roles, he organized design and shipping of Word 2000 and Word XP, started the product planning group and organized product planning for Word 95 and Word 97, and developed the first usability testing at Microsoft to design Word and test it against WordPerfect. Mr. Koch holds a bachelor of science in liberal arts with a major in mathematics from Reed College. He joined the board in 2006. Erin J. Maher, PhD × Erin J. Maher, PhD Erin J. Maher, PhD, is an experienced social science researcher and evaluator with an extensive publication record. Her work has helped to shape policy and practice around early childhood, prevention, and child welfare. Dr. Maher is the director of program evaluation at Casey Family Programs, a national foundation whose mission is to provide, improve—and ultimately prevent the need for—foster care. In this capacity, she leads a team of skilled researchers and analysts to conduct high-impact research and evaluations to inform stakeholders who influence child welfare reform. By joining Committee for Children’s board, she is strengthening community partnerships that share overlapping goals to improve outcomes for children and brings an analytical and evaluative lens to the organization. Before Casey Family Programs, she was a research scientist and principal investigator on early care and education projects and grants at the Human Services Policy Center in the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She received her doctorate, which examined the racial achievement gap in secondary education, from the Department of Sociology at Indiana University-Bloomington in 2000. She’s served on United Way of King County’s School Readiness Impact Council and Washington Kids Count Advisory Board, and is a member of the American Evaluation Association. Kumar Mehta, PhD × Kumar Mehta, PhD Dr Kumar Mehta was the CEO of Blueocean Market Intelligence and the Cross-Tab Group until 2016. He developed this highly regarded data analytics and strategic outsourcing company that employs over a thousand professionals around the world. Kumar is well versed in executive management, leadership, and data-driven development and implementation. He received his PhD in pharmaceutical socioeconomics from the University of Iowa in 1990. Under Kumar’s leadership, Blueocean Market Intelligence and the Cross-Tab Group won multiple awards for innovation focused on big-data, digital analytics, and mobile analytics. He brought cutting-edge solutions to social media mining, dashboards, and text mining. Before joining the Cross-Tab Group, Kumar spent over 13 years at Microsoft in a variety of leadership roles within market research, business strategy, competitive intelligence, corporate alliances, business management, and finance. Kumar joined the board in 2016. Renee M. Metty, MEd × Renee M. Metty, MEd As founder and CEO of With Pause, Renee Metty facilitates mindfulness-based workshops and trainings and leads professional development for schools and businesses. She also coaches executive leaders and groups, develops adult mindfulness curricula, and presents at conferences, all with the goal of helping others develop richer connections, manage stress, and collaborate effectively. Previously, she founded and led the Cove School, a successful preschool specializing in social-emotional learning. She’s president and founder of the West Seattle Preschool Association and has been a volunteer with Street Links, the psychiatric unit at Children’s Hospital, Inner City Outings, and the Child Assessment Unit at Cambridge Hospital. She also ran an event company and has been a special education teacher and consultant, as well as a K–1 teacher. She’s secured grants from both the Seattle Education Foundation and the National Education Association for her work. She has master’s degrees in both early childhood and special education and has received specialized training and certification in mindfulness and somatic experiencing for resolving trauma. She also coached both girls’ and boys’ soccer. Shannon Orton × Shannon Orton Shannon Orton is an education professional who currently serves as communications director for Spruce Street School, where she oversees marketing, PR, and alumni relations. She started her career at the Colorado Outward Bound School as an instructor and then course director, working with students from varied backgrounds, ages 14 to 65. She has since taught in the Seattle Public Schools in every grade from kindergarten through eleventh, focusing on multi-age classrooms, project-based learning, and integrated, theme-based curricula. Orton holds a bachelor of arts from the Evergreen State College and a master of arts in education from Seattle’s Antioch University. Orton joined the board in 2015. Jon Reingold × Jon Reingold Jon Reingold is retired from Microsoft, where he served as vice president of corporate marketing, vice president of marketing for the applications division, general manager of the Excel product group, and director of international marketing. He was a founding board member and treasurer of Eastside Preparatory School. Mr. Reingold currently serves on the board at Seattle Academy, for which he chairs the Facilities Committee and serves on the Executive Committee, Committee on Trustees, and Finance Committee. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in political philosophy from Princeton. Emeritus Advisors Marcia Boyd × Marcia Boyd Marcia Boyd is the (retired) principal of John Rogers Elementary School in the Seattle School District. She is past-president of the Elementary Principal’s Association and was Seattle Regional Outstanding Principal in 2011. Other professional affiliations include membership in the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the Association of Washington School Principals, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Ms. Boyd received both her bachelor’s degree in education and her master’s degree in school administration from Western Washington University. She served on the board from 2002 to 2012. Debra Boyer, PhD × Debra Boyer, PhD Debra Boyer is a cultural anthropologist with 25 years of experience as the principal investigator of studies on urban street cultures, runaway and homeless youth, child sexual abuse and trauma, sexually exploited adolescents, adolescent pregnancy, and women’s reproductive health. She holds faculty appointments as auxiliary faculty in the School of Social Work and Department of Women’s Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. In her work as an applied anthropologist, she has provided leadership to local and national programs and interventions for homeless and sexually exploited youth and has developed programs for a continuum of care for homeless youth. Dr. Boyer is a co-founder of Committee for Children, its first board of directors president, and an active volunteer on the Youth Impact Council for United Way of Seattle/King County. She participates in numerous local and advisory groups of behalf of homeless and exploited children. Dr. Boyer is the proprietor of Boyer Research, through which she conducts ethnographic and policy research. She rejoined the board in 2003. Yoko Miyashita, JD × Yoko Miyashita, JD Yoko Miyashita is an intellectual property attorney currently serving as in-house counsel for Getty Images, an international digital media company. Before she joined Getty Images, Ms. Miyashita was an associate with Perkins Coie LLP, where she worked with the Business and Technology Group and served as pro-bono counsel for Committee for Children. Ms. Miyashita received her juris doctorate from the University of Washington School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Ms. Miyashita is the mother of two young children. She joined the board in 2008. Gail M. Houck, PhD, RN × Gail M. Houck, PhD, RN Gail M. Houck is a professor and chair of family and child nursing at the University of Washington. Previously she served as a professor and program director of the PhD, MPH, and post-master DNP programs at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, following a long and esteemed career of teaching, research, and practice as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Much of her research has focused on family and child health and related outcomes. She’s written numerous articles and a book, Depression in Children and Adolescents: Guidelines for School Practice, published in 2013. She’s also contributed chapters to many other books; presented at dozens of local, national, and international conferences; and received several honors and awards, including the Distinguished Faculty Award for Service in 2013 from Oregon Health & Science University. She’s led and served on a long list of professional committees and been a respected advisor and program evaluator. She received her master’s degree from the University of Oregon and her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Washington. She joined Committee for Children’s board in 2014. Lois Maag × Lois Maag Lois Maag is the strategic advisor in community relations for Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, where she heads up brand marketing and communications. She served as Starbucks Coffee Company’s first community affairs manager, responsible for the corporation’s local and national community affairs strategy. There, she managed the team responsible for contributions, volunteerism, and workplace giving. Prior to joining Starbucks, she was responsible for communications, public affairs, and brand marketing at Seattle Center. Ms. Maag holds bachelor of science degrees from Indiana University and University of Edinburgh and a certificate in corporate community involvement from the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College. She is a past volunteer with United Way, Leadership Tomorrow, and Phinney Center. She joined the board in 2009. Michael Herschensohn, PhD × Michael Herschensohn, PhD Michael Herschensohn has directed the Children’s Museum, the Museum of History and Industry, and Northwest Folklife, for which he received the 2006 Mayor’s Act Award. As a member of Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, he led the centennial celebration of The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, the 1909 World’s Fair that put Seattle on national and international maps. In addition to his work with Committee for Children, Dr. Herschensohn has served with such community organizations as Successful Schools in Action, the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum, the Maritime Heritage Foundation, the James W. Washington Foundation, and Historic Seattle. Dr. Herschensohn received a master of arts in historic preservation planning from Cornell University and a PhD in romance languages and literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Herschensohn joined the board in 2005. Ed Rogan × Ed Rogan Ed Rogan is vice President, executive recruitment, at Waldron, a Seattle-based human talent consulting firm founded in 1983 with offices throughout the west, and has been with the firm since 1995. Mr. Rogan received bachelor’s degrees in sociology (cum laude) and psychology from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver. Ed is a husband to Laura (m. 1994) and father to Zoe (b. 1999) and Liam (b. 2003) and spends some of his spare time performing with his band Blackjack Kerouac at events hosted by organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the YMCA, among others. Sarah Ellen Stanley × Sarah Ellen Stanley Sarah Ellen Stanley has applied her skills and experience in management, curriculum implementation, branding and strategic planning, cross-cultural awareness, editing, writing, and broadcasting to various roles as an educator, journalist, and international consultant. She worked with foreign correspondents in the Pacific Rim as managing editor of Pacific Rim News Service and has consulted for the Japanese consulate. She has taught and helped implement curricula at LABO, a Japanese international exchange company, and Vashon Island High School. A recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists Investigative Journalism Award, a Stanford University fellowship, and a Japanese government research fellowship, Ms. Stanley has a bachelor of arts degree in political science and communications from the University of Washington and master’s degrees in teaching from City University and social science from the University of Chicago. In addition to her community service on the Queen Anne Helpline board of directors, Ms. Stanley has also served on the boards of Copper Canyon Press and City University. She joined the board in 2005.