Our School

Board of Trustees

The Role of the Board of Trustees: A View from 30,000 Feet

Our board serves as the guardian of our mission and the strategic steward of the school. Trustees work in partnership with the head of school to ensure Evergreen’s long-term development and financial sustainability. These dedicated volunteers care deeply about our school and spend countless hours championing the fulfillment of our mission on behalf of students today as well as the students of tomorrow.

Officers

Elise Hebb, Chair

Elise is the mother of two children, one an Evergreen student and the other currently at University Prep. She has spent her career working in the venture capital and investment sectors in a variety of roles, most recently as the COO of Maveron, a venture capital firm with offices in Seattle and San Francisco. Elise is currently the president of the Burke Museum Association, where she has served as a board member for the last seven years. She holds a bachelor's degree in English and political science from the University of Washington. Elise has lived in Seattle for over 20 years, but was raised in Spokane.

Kristine Takamiya, Vice Chair

Kristine Takamiya is a University of Washington School of Nursing clinical associate professor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Kris earned her doctoral and master’s degrees at Columbia University School of Nursing and has held graduate faculty positions since 2006, including at Columbia and the University of Washington. Currently, Kris also maintains her clinical focus practicing internal medicine at The Everett Clinic. In addition, she has held numerous volunteer roles at Evergreen, including leading admission tours and co-chairing our auction. Kris and her husband Eddie Kung have two daughters, one who currently attends Evergreen and one Evergreen alum.

Jason Weinstein, Treasurer

Jason is the director of tax planning and policy at Amazon. Prior to joining Amazon, Jason worked at the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson in New York, where he specialized in tax planning for M&A as well as private equity fund formation and strategic joint ventures. Jason was an adjunct professor at the University of Washington Law School teaching taxation of mergers and acquisitions and also speaks regularly at conferences on aspects of US mergers and acquisitions and cross-border taxation. He graduated from Cornell University and received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Jason and his wife Elizabeth have two children currently at Evergreen.

Harlyn Susarla, Secretary

Harlyn is a pediatric dentist at Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic and Ballard Pediatric Dentistry. After graduating from Wellesley College, she completed a Master of Public Health at Boston University, doctorate at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and residency at University of Maryland. As an advocate for children’s oral health, Harlyn has held leadership roles locally, regionally, and nationally. She is currently a trustee for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Foundation, and President-elect for Seattle-King County Dental Society. At Evergreen, Harlyn has served as PGA DEI co-chair and as an admissions ambassador. Harlyn and her husband, Seenu, have two children at Evergreen.

Trustees

Carey Armstrong

Carey is co-founder and chief operating officer of Tomo, a start-up that aims to change everything about mortgage. Before co-founding Tomo, Carey was vice president of Premier Agent, Zillow Group’s flagship business. Prior to Zillow, Carey was a strategy consultant and industry analyst with Boston Consulting Group and Forrester Research, respectively. Carey has a B.A. from Harvard and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. She is originally from Boston and has lived on Capitol Hill in Seattle for the past 10 years.

Catherine Booms

Catherine is a hospitalist physician at EvergreenHealth. Before her medical career, Catherine worked in health policy focused on health care quality, chronic disease management and health system redesign.  She completed residency at the University of Washington, earned her doctorate from the University of Minnesota, and has a Master's of Public Health in Health System Management from Tulane University. Catherine has held numerous volunteer positions at Evergreen, including serving as co-president of the Parent/Guardian Association and leading tours for potential families. Catherine and her husband Douglas have two children, one currently at Evergreen.

Amy Bautista

Amy is chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Kosmos Management, an institutional private credit asset manager. Prior to Kosmos, she was a buy-side research analyst covering small cap stocks at Hale and Dorr Wealth Advisors. She graduated from Hamilton College prior to earning her M.B.A. from University of Washington. Amy and her husband Bob have two children at Evergreen.

Kareem Brantley

Kareem has spent 15 years in senior operations and supply roles, leading teams at Siemens, Amazon, Starbucks, and Microsoft. He is currently director, strategic operations at Weld Seattle, a social enterprise dedicated to growing public safety by reducing relapse, recidivism, and economic emergency of the formerly incarcerated. Kareem holds a master's degree in operations research from the University of Pennsylvania, Schools of Engineering and The Wharton School, and a bachelor's degree from Drew University. A Pennsylvania native, Kareem also enjoys coaching lacrosse. He and his wife, Alyssa, are the parents of two Evergreen students.

Marc Bridge 

Marc is the founder and CEO of At Present, a digital marketplace for distinctive designer jewelry. Prior to founding At Present, Marc was vice president of marketing and corporate secretary for Ben Bridge Jeweler (a Berkshire Hathaway Company). Born and raised in Seattle, he graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, the London School of Economics, and the University of Washington School of Law. He serves on the board of directors of Kline Galland, a senior care organization. He and his wife have two children at Evergreen.

Zana Bugaighis 

Zana is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. She concentrates her practice on complex civil litigation, with particular emphasis on noncompete enforcement and defending companies against contractual and intellectual property claims. Zana graduated from Dartmouth College prior to earning her J.D. from the University of Washington. After graduation, she worked at Jones Day in San Francisco and then clerked for the Honorable David Alan Ezra, United States District Court Judge for the District of Hawaii, prior to returning to Seattle. Zana is the mom of two Evergreen students.

Tere Carral

Tere Carral has over 20 years of international marketing experience and is the founder and CEO of Bridge Latino, a Seattle-based multicultural marketing agency. Tere began her career with Procter & Gamble Mexico, going on to manage global strategy at their headquarters, and later worked and consulted for companies including Cranium, E. & J. Gallo Winery and Discovery Bay Games. She holds a bachelor's degree in actuarial science from the Anahuac University and a master's in business administration from IPADE University, both in Mexico City. Tere and her husband Jaja have two children, one currently attending Evergreen.

Nick Echelbarger

Nick Echelbarger is a real estate developer and investor and founder of Echelbarger Fund Management. An Evergreen alum himself, Nick attended Lakeside and then earned his bachelor's degree from Amherst College. He is also the president of the Edmonds Community College Foundation. Nick and his wife Caitlin reside in Woodway with their two young children who attend Evergreen.

Courtney Fuller

Courtney is corporate counsel at Guidant Financial Group, a financial services company assisting entrepreneurs in starting and financing their small business. Courtney leads the legal team and focuses on regulatory compliance, contracts, and serving as a business partner for the organization. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Colorado State University and her law degree from Seattle University School of Law. She enjoys volunteering in the community and she has previously served on the board of The Horizon School, a preschool here in Shoreline. Courtney and her husband Harry have three girls who attend Evergreen.

Max Kleinman

Max most recently served as the chair and then vice chair of The Evergreen School Board of Trustees. Previously Max was a partner at Accenture, a global technology and consulting firm, where he spent over 20 years leading multi-year transformations and new business launches for clients in the communications, retail and software industries. Prior to leaving, he was the firm’s software industry lead and ran corporate strategy for their communications and high tech industry in North America. Max is a native of Texas and graduated from Duke University with degrees in physics and political science. Max and his wife are the proud parents of two Evergreen students. 

Meg Lagoni

Meg has 18 years of product management experience leading teams of product managers, engineers, and designers. She spent the last 11 years at Amazon. Meg serves as chair to multiple committees within The Highlands. She was a co-founder of a nonprofit organization, Minds Matter, that helps low-income students achieve academic excellence. She holds a bachelor's degree in finance, marketing, and economics from Baldwin Wallace. Meg and her husband Michael have lived in Seattle for over 12 years but were both raised in a farm town in Ohio. They are the parents of three Evergreen children.

Haven Ley

Haven is the senior director of program strategy at Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company founded by Melinda Gates in 2015. She previously served as senior advisor to the co-chair at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and also as a senior program officer in the Global Development Program. Haven is a trustee at the International Center of Research on Women and on the advisory council of the Boyer's Children's Clinic. She earned her bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a master's in gender and economic development from the London School of Economics. She and her husband Will Wilson have two children at Evergreen.

Keith Matthews

Keith is director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation legal department, overseeing Global Development and Global Growth & Opportunity divisions. He was previously an attorney at O'Melveny & Myers and at the African Development Bank. Keith holds a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. Keith and his wife Natalie's son attends Evergreen.

Mike McGill

Mike McGill, the former head of The Northwest School, brings a wealth of independent school management experience to the board. He began his career teaching French, English and comparative literature before transitioning to independent school administration in 1988. Before joining The Northwest School, he spent 12 years as the upper school principal at The Park School of Baltimore, a kindergarten through 12th grade independent school with 900 students.

John O'Brien

John O'Brien has worked as an investment analyst at BMGI since moving to Seattle in 2002. John earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College. He serves as an advisor to the Investment Committee of the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center and is also an associate board member of the Financial Economics Institute at his alma mater. John and his wife Jenée's son and daughter attend Evergreen.

Yasemin Oktay

Yasemin is the partner and founding member of Paper Crane Factory, a venture capital firm and creative marketing agency in Seattle. She leads Paper Crane Factory's strategic efforts, including developing overall business strategy, customer development and validation, and marketing for early-stage companies. Prior to Paper Crane Factory, Yasemin led marketing efforts for several youth lifestyle brands. She received her undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A. from the University of Washington. Yasemin has also held numerous volunteer roles at Evergreen, most recently serving as co-president of the Parent/Guardian Association. She and her husband Jim Bob are the proud parents of two Evergreen alums.

Nick Parker

Nick is a corporate vice president at Microsoft responsible for Consumer and Device Sales, including commercial devices and the Internet of Things. He has held several senior leadership positions since he joined Microsoft in 2000. Prior to joining Microsoft, Nick worked in Europe at Research Machines and Visio. He resides in Seattle with his wife Brooke, a family doctor, and they are proud parents of two daughters who attend Evergreen.

Jeff Rakow

Jeff is the founding principal of Snowball Investment, which owns and operates a portfolio of long-term commercial real estate investments in the Puget Sound region in partnership with like-minded investment partners. Prior to that, he was a managing director at Talon Private Capital, a commercial real estate investment firm. Jeff earned his M.B.A. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and his bachelor's degree from Princeton University. He and his wife have two young children, both at Evergreen.

Dana Soong

Dana Soong is formerly a partner and is currently of counsel to a San Francisco-based law firm. Her practice emphasis is public entity defense, civil rights litigation, and appellate work, with a specific focus on the representation of counties, cities, school districts, community colleges, and police departments in state and federal courts. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington and her J.D. from the University of San Francisco. She holds licenses to practice law in California and Hawaii. Dana's two sons are both graduates of Evergreen. 

Vidya Vasu-Devan

Vidya leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) and chairs the Investment Committee. SIF manages $2.5 billion to make investments towards achieving the foundation's ambitious goals in global health and poverty alleviation and U.S. education and economic mobility. Outside of work, Vidya is a board member for the UNICEF USA Impact Fund for Children, a jury member for the Cartier Women's Initiative, and a finance committee member for Hilltop Children's Center. Vidya earned a bachelor's degree in astrophysics, mathematics and economics from Columbia University and an M.B.A. and certificate in Public Management & Social Innovation from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She and her husband, Krishna Rao, have two children, one at Evergreen.

Yonnie Watkins

Yonnie runs business development and operations at Shelf Engine, a tech start-up that focuses on reducing waste at food production companies. Previously she has worked at Bain & Company, Cryptography Research (acquired by Rambus: RMBS) and Western Athletic Clubs. In recent years, she has been extensively involved in supporting nonprofit organizations and school fundraising in Seattle, including co-chairing the 2017 Evergreen School auction. She received her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. She and her husband Brian have one child at Evergreen and an Evergreen alum.

Chris Watson

Chris has been the head of school at Soundview School in Lynnwood since 2013, after holding teaching and administrative positions in public schools in Washington State and at Punahou School in Honolulu. Chris is currently board secretary and governor for NWAIS and previously served on the Northwest International Baccalaureate Association board. Chris earned teaching credentials from Central Washington University and Pacific Lutheran University, as well as a master's degree in private school administration from University of Hawaii. Every day, Chris goes to school with his own two children and their dog Dotty, Soundview's therapy dog. Away from school, he enjoys all kinds of outdoors activities, especially fly fishing, hiking and surfing.