Shereese Rhodes
Coordinator
Discipline Coalition
I am committed to making use of every opportunity I have to support and change the community by elevating my voice. I have been offered a places at the tables in many arenas and organizations, PSESD Early Learning and PSESD Race and Equity, One America, South king county Discipline Coalition, UPLAN, SPEB to mention a few. I am honored and humbled and believe I have the responsibility to accept on the behalf of my children, the community, and those who do not have a voice.
lenter spaces with authenticity and grace, knowing this is a way to change community and the world for children that look like me, for brown and black boys, for native American children we must all be at and stay at the table. ! practice speaking my truth to the power of systems that oppress, divide, and perpetuate racism, including the school to prison pipeline. I am humbly committed yet very passionate about to this work on behalf of my son, my nephews, my daughter, and all children that those coming behind them.
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Coordinator
Discipline Coalition
Stanley Harewood
Parent Coordinator
The Washington Parent Ambassadors
Stanley Harewood is not just a dedicated advocate for fatherhood and social justice; he’s also a family man who cherishes quality time with his loved ones. Alongside his wife and six children, Stanley finds solace and joy in boating and fishing adventures near their home in Spokane, Washington. These moments of connection amidst the serene waters reflect Stanley’s commitment to nurturing familial bonds and creating lasting memories. In balancing his advocacy work with family pursuits, Stanley exemplifies the importance of holistic well-being and the fulfillment found in shared experiences.
Professionally, Stanley Harewood is a beacon of resilience and advocacy, driven by a commitment to fatherhood and social justice. Despite challenges, including a period of incarceration during his daughters’ formative years, Stanley’s return marked a renewal of familial bonds, inspiring hope and perseverance. As a Panamanian Black father and grandfather to six children, he embodies the transformative power of second chances and familial love.
Leading the Eastern Washington Chapter of All of Us or None, Stanley tirelessly advocates for the rights of formerly incarcerated fathers, facilitating their reintegration into society. He played a pivotal role in campaigns like “Justice not Jails,” redirecting resources towards alternatives to incarceration. Moreover, Stanley is a proud graduate of Spokane Community College, holding a degree in HVAC. He fervently supports training and education for trade programs, recognizing their importance in providing opportunities for individuals seeking stable and fulfilling careers.
Stanley Harewood’s journey epitomizes resilience and compassion, inspiring positive change within his community and beyond. His dedication to fatherhood, social justice, and education exemplifies the transformative impact of perseverance and advocacy.
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Parent Coordinator
The Washington Parent Ambassadors
Daree Blake
Parent Coordinator
The Washington Parent Ambassadors
Daree Blake and her husband Adam, have the privilege of raising 5 children, two of which had long NICU stays and needed Early Interventions. Motivated by her own journey she serves as a Hand to Hold Mentor and a StillBirthday Birth and Bereavement Doula, extending her support to individuals grappling with similar experiences. She is a Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP(Early Childhood Education Assistance Program) Parent Ambassador Alumni. She is the Community Leader for the Spokane Community Action Team for Save the Children Action Network and volunteers as a Nanny at the local NICU, snuggling babies. Daree spends most of her time chauffeuring her kids around, but the rest is spent reading, volunteering, and doing community outreach. Her unwavering belief in the power of support stems from her own experiences, driving her to want to create systems that truly work for families.
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Parent Coordinator
The Washington Parent Ambassadors
Michael Bowman
Rural Civic Engagement Specialist
Office of the Secretary of State
Michael Bowman came to the Office of the Secretary of State in April 2024 after spending the previous 15 years in higher education, with faculty appointments at The Evergreen State College in Olympia and Iowa State University in Ames, IA. Over that period, Michael taught undergraduate, teacher education, and doctoral courses in social foundations, social studies, histories of education, community and place-based education, participatory and historical research methods. Previously, Michael worked at the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle and in the Seattle Public Schools, where he first learned about the power of collaborative, place-based, and culturally-sustaining civic education alongside a diverse group of community mentors, families, teachers, and students.
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Rural Civic Engagement Specialist
Office of the Secretary of State
Meg Rosenberg (she/they)
Co-Director
Window Seat
Meg is a community member, public servant, and theatre artist deeply invested in local community building and creating dialogue that sparks equitable social change. Meg is a queer non-binary white half-Jewish person, youngest of two, PNW outdoor enthusiast, and pet-lover. Meg’s passion is for people and finding the connections between us through our stories. Meg currently serves as the Co-Director and “Community Weaver” at Window Seat, where they get to lead Brave Practice Playback Theatre Collective as a community engagement program. Meg’s professional work has focused on public and nonprofit organizational development, strategic planning, education policy, diversity, equity, inclusion, and theatre arts with a focus on improvisation, devising, and ethnodrama. Meg studied theatre and interdisciplinary arts throughout middle and high school (Vancouver School of Arts and Academics), Theatre Arts, Anthropology/Sociology, and French during undergraduate (BA, Kalamazoo College ‘13), and a Master of Public and Nonprofit Administration (MPA, The Evergreen State College ‘18).
About Meg Rosenberg (she/they)
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Co-Director
Window Seat
Elaine Vradenburgh (she/her)
Co-Director
Window Seat
Elaine is an oral historian, multimedia storyteller, and educator, Co-Director, and “Memory Activist” at Window Seat. Before founding Window Seat in 2016, she carried out her vocation through a variety of roles - as a development director at nonprofit organizations in the South Sound; as a community based learning coordinator at high schools in Albuquerque, NM, and Portland, OR; and as a freelance videographer and editor. Elaine has also served as an adjunct faculty member in The Evergreen State College's MPA and Evening and Weekend Studies programs since 2017. She holds a BA in Cultural and Community Studies from Evergreen (1998) and an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies: Folklore, Anthropology, and Journalism from the University of Oregon (2008). Elaine’s roots and extended family are in New England, and she has called Olympia home since 2008.
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Co-Director
Window Seat
Amy Lomanto
Early Childhood Education Specialist
Region X Training and Technical Assistance Team
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Early Childhood Education Specialist
Region X Training and Technical Assistance Team
Joshua Fields
Executive Coach
Joshua Fields Executive Coaching
Joshua Fields is an executive coach and the co-host of the Take it Off! See. Love. Grow. podcast, committed to showing people that true success comes from being unapologetically themselves. After a successful 15-year career in the telecommunications industry, he transitioned to coaching, working with government officials, corporate leaders, and nonprofit decision-makers to unlock their potential and elevate their impact. Joshua’s current clients include Oregon Metro and Nature, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and King County's Office of Equity and Community Partnerships.
Known for creating spaces for deep, off-script conversations, he disrupts silos, breaks barriers, and fosters environments where people can speak truth to power and feel safe being authentic. Through his unique approach, individuals gain access to new levels of self-acceptance, resolve workplace trauma, rise beyond limits, and experience the joy of realizing their full potential.
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Executive Coach
Joshua Fields Executive Coaching
Jenn Morejohn
Early Childhood Specialist
Region X Training and Technical Assistance
Jennifer Morejohn joined the Region X TTA team in 2019 and is identified as a content area expert on supporting children with disabilities. Jenn brings 20 years of experience in Head Start and community childcare settings. Her experience as an inclusive HS teacher, education coordinator, and instructional coach enables her to effectively partner with recipient leaders on program planning related to staff development, education services, trauma-attuned care, and parent, family, and community engagement (PFCE). In May 2024, Jenn completed her Master’s in Learning Design and Technology, focused on adult learning theory, universal design for learning, and instructional design. Jenn holds a current certification as a CLASS Pre-K trainer and provides regional Pre-K CLASS overview and observer training. When she’s not working, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.
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Early Childhood Specialist
Region X Training and Technical Assistance
Hilary Martinez
Director of Early Childhood Education
Wenatchee Valley College
Hilary Martinez (she/her/ella) is a dedicated early childhood educator with a deep passion for supporting children's social-emotional health and family relationships. She began her career in early learning thirty years ago in Migrant Head Start programs in Central Washington, where she gained valuable experience in early learning.
Martinez's commitment to early childhood education was further solidified during her studies at the University of Washington, where she focused on brain development and completed an internship at the ILABS specializing in toddler social-emotional development. She has continued to contribute to the field as an early learning classroom teacher, trainer, coach, and college instructor.
In her current role as Director of Early Childhood Education (ECE) at Wenatchee Valley College, Martinez is committed to building college programs that meet the needs of her community. She teaches ECE courses in Nespelem for the Colville Tribal Head Start and Childcare programs and offers ECE courses and certificates in Spanish. As a mother of four, Martinez brings a personal perspective to her work and is passionate about fostering strong connections between children and families.
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Director of Early Childhood Education
Wenatchee Valley College
Porsche Phelps
Teamchild-Community Engagement Manager
Discipline Coalition
Porsche Phelps is a proud Seattle woman, who grew up in Seattle and surrounding areas. She is also proud mother of four and grandmother of 1. She is currently the Community Engagement Manger at TeamChild. She has had the pleasure of advocating for youth for over 2 decades. Advocating for others has always been apart of who she is, from being a mediator in high school, advocating for my children's education rights to sharing her knowledge with friends and family, and eventually encouraging youth to advocate on their own behalf. Porsche's advocacy strategy has been to focus on informing her community of their rights and how to access them. Porsche believes it is important to share what we learn with our community and providing youth, families and others in her community about their educational rights is important to ending the mass incarceration of youth. She has had the pleasure of sharing her experience with community and those in the legal aid community to sharpen their own advocacy but also those around them through anti-racism principles and organizing.
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Teamchild-Community Engagement Manager
Discipline Coalition
Joel Ryan
Executive Director
WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP
I've been the Executive Director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP for the past 15 years. I've worked on everything from state funded preschool, special education policy, child care, housing, food insecurity, and most recently supporting families during COVID. I'm probably most proud of my work last legislative session where I successfully advocated with lawmakers, the Governor, and coalition partners to secure more than $400 million in new investments in early learning through the passage of the Fair Start for Kids Act.
Before coming to Washington State I was the Government Affairs Director at the National Head Start Association where I served as the Head Start community's voice in DC. I worked closely with members of Congress and the White House. I travelled all across the country and had the opportunity to teach grassroots organizing to low income communities which I really enjoyed.
I have a law degree from American University in DC where I focused on constitutional law and a BA degree from Brandeis University in History and Politics. I'm an Americorps alumni—serving as a City Year Corps member in Boston where I was a literacy coach and helped to set up a community wide volunteer program and educational spring break camps.
My most important job is that of a husband and dad to a 15 year old. I coached her basketball team for 7 years and have coached track as well.
www.wsaheadstarteceap.com
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Executive Director
WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP
Sonja Lennox
Parent Ambassador Program Director
WA Parent Ambassadors
Sonja was a Parent Ambassador in Year 3 (2011) and a mentor in Year 4 (2012). In Year 5 (2013) she became a Parent Coordinator. Sonja says “I have been with the program for 9 amazing years and would not be where I am today without the Parent Ambassador program. My favorite part of staffing the program is helping parents find their voice and realizing they are worthy and they do matter. When parents realize they can make a difference they start being seen as a role model and the “go to” person. I also feel an important aspect of the yearlong Parent Ambassador program is the sense of being a part of a family and being part of something bigger then themselves.”
Sonja lives on a small farm in Tacoma and has 2 children, Randi, 23 and Danner, 13 who have both gone through the Head Start program. Sonja has been involved with the PTA in the Franklin Pierce School District for the last 13 years, been the assistant coach for baseball and basketball for over 10 years and has been volunteering at her local food bank for the last 5 years. She enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and traveling, especially to sunny locations. She graduated from Puyallup High School and has a double Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology and Zoology from the University of Washington.
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Parent Ambassador Program Director
WA Parent Ambassadors
Melissa Johnson
Lobbyist
Bogard and Johnson
Melissa Johnson is a lobbyist focusing on health care, education and human services issues. Prior to joining Bogard & Johnson, Melissa was staff with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Washington State House of Representatives. She also practiced law in the Seattle area. Melissa graduated with distinction from the University of Washington with a BA in Political Science. She received her law degree from American University in Washington, DC.
Melissa has been recognized for her advocacy efforts throughout her career, including receiving the Physical Therapy Association of Washington's "Friend of Physical Therapy" award and a special recognition award from the Washington Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
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Lobbyist
Bogard and Johnson
Melissa Bandy Ogden
Region X Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator
Region X Training and Technical Assistance Network
Melissa Bandy Ogden is a seasoned expert in early childhood education with over 30 years of experience. She currently serves as the Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Region X Head Start TTA Network, where she leads a team of 14 specialists and collaborates closely with the Office of Head Start (OHS) regional staff, national centers, and state system partners to advance OHS and Region X priorities.
Melissa’s extensive career includes roles such as Grantee Specialist Manager at ICF, where she supervised remote specialists and implemented a systems-based TTA model to enhance Head Start management systems. At OptumServe/The Lewin Group, she managed the development and implementation of the OHS Aligned Monitoring System 2.0, overseeing data analysis and reporting for key stakeholders, including the Biennial Report to Congress.
As the Director of Idaho AEYC, Melissa chaired the Idaho Early Learning Council and supervised statewide early learning initiatives, including the launch of Idaho’s state QRIS and child care licensing administration. She has also served as an Infant Toddler Specialist at Zero To Three and an Adjunct Faculty member at Boise State University, where she taught courses in infant and toddler mental health, child development, and early language development.
Melissa holds a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Boise State University. She is recognized for her expertise in program design, management systems, and data-driven decision-making, and has co-published the Idaho Core Competencies. Throughout her career, Melissa has been dedicated to fostering innovation and collaboration to support children and families effectively.
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Region X Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator
Region X Training and Technical Assistance Network
Carolyn Ferguson
Grantee Specialist Manager
Region X Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Carolyn Ferguson is a seasoned professional with over 24 years of experience in Head Start, including 21 years as a director of a rural Early Head Start grant. Since 2021, Carolyn has worked for the ACF Region X Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network as a Grantee Specialist (GS), acting as a process consultant and resource support for Head Start and Early Head Start recipients throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, and, most recently, as the proud manager of the GS team.
Carolyn has a proven track record of developing comprehensive training and technical assistance plans, leading high-performing teams, and implementing integrated data systems. She enjoys engaging diverse groups including parents, staff members, supervisors, managers, leaders, and governing bodies in assessing their practices and programs and exploring approaches to strengthen them.
As a long-term director and Grantee Specialist, Carolyn has expertise in governance and leadership, organizational design and management, program planning, grants management, management systems, human resources, data management, fiscal management, with particular interests in engaging, growing and supervising for quality services.
Carolyn’s top character strengths include creativity, perspective, leadership, curiosity, and social intelligence, making her a valuable asset in any professional setting.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-ferguson-49121366/
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Grantee Specialist Manager
Region X Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network
Erin Okuno
Director of the Office of Education Ombuds
Education Ombuds
Erin Okuno is the Director of the Office of Education Ombuds. Her background includes early learning policy (birth-age five) and primary and secondary education (K-12) policy work, working with communities of color, facilitating conversations, and an interest in understanding race and how it impacts communities and public education.
On the side, Erin enjoys borrowing too many books from the library and fretting about finishing them on time and finding the perfect take-out meal for under $25.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-okuno/
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Director of the Office of Education Ombuds
Education Ombuds
Sandra Diaz
Advocacy and Family Engagement Specialist
The WA State Assc. of Head Start and ECEAP
I grew up in California and completed my undergraduate studies at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Child Development and minors in psychology and oddly enough, religious studies! During my time in college I worked as a Preschool Teacher and as an Bilingual Adminstrative Specialist at a nonprofit community counseling center.
Soon after I graduated I moved to Seattle to complete my Master’s in Education Policy. I always knew I wanted to be involved in early learning spaces, but still felt a little lost so I participated in the Pathwaves WA Fellowship program for leaders of color entering the early learning field in WA.
Through my fellowship I got matched with WSA and got hired on after my fellowship.
I am a strong believer in the power of parents and teachers and my passion comes directly from the communities I get the privledge to share space with.
During my free time I like to watch Love is Blind and Vanderpump Rules #TeamAriana
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Advocacy and Family Engagement Specialist
The WA State Assc. of Head Start and ECEAP
Genevieve Stokes
Director of Government Relations
Child Care Aware
Legislative coordination, social justice, group and community facilitation, strategic planning, public speaking, social networking, project management, research and analysis.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevievestokes/
About Genevieve Stokes
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Director of Government Relations
Child Care Aware
Maya Washington
Child Care Capacity Initiative Project coordinator
First 5 Fundamentals
Maya is a Tacoma native, mother of two boys, and community advocate. Maya enjoys exploring, trying new restaurants, and long park days with her sons. Her passion for children and families has led her to her work as a Pathways 2022 fellow, partnered with Washington Communities for Children as a Policy and Advocacy fellow, Being the Village support group for black mothers CO-FACILITATOR + PROGRAM SUPPORT SPECIALIST,2021 WA State Parent Ambassadors Alumni, Doula with both Open Arms and Nurture by Nature family birth support services, and Positive Parenting Program Provider and Director of Her village girls mentorship program.
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Child Care Capacity Initiative Project coordinator
First 5 Fundamentals
Katy Warren
Deputy Director
WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP
Katy Warren has been working at WSA Head Start and ECEAP for 15 years after wandering the world in her 20’s. After college at William and Mary she served as legislative assistant and Press Secretary for Rep. Sid Morrison, (R, Zillah) and then went travelling off to central and South America. She has worked as a cafeteria dishwasher, a public engagement consultant, an insurance adjuster assistant, a database developer and quasi-interpreter for a weatherization program, a waitress in a pancake house, a census taker, a focus group facilitator, an English as a Second Language teacher in Vietnam, a bookkeeper back when they wrote things on ledgers, a title company clerk, and a Spanish drill instructor. She loves to travel and have been to 34 countries and has lived in Mexico, Spain and Vietnam. Now she tries to make the world a better place for children and families by hassling elected officials and bureaucrats. She writes children’s books for her niece Eliza, who is also the person upon whom she experiments with all the CLASS instructional support strategies she learns while walking through the trainings she arranges for early learning staff.
www.wsaheadstarteceap.com
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Deputy Director
WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP
