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 Kelley, 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.

Harlyn Susarla, Vice Chair

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.

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.

Zana Bugaighis, Secretary

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.

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.

David Bowermaster

Dave is a writer and communicator who has worked in journalism, technology, and philanthropy.  He is currently the founder and CEO of Fireside Strategy, a strategic communications consultancy, and a contributor to Forbes. He previously led communications for the Giving Pledge and the Philanthropic Partnerships team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College. Dave and his wife, Annie Livingston, are the proud parents of one energetic son who has been at Evergreen since prekindergarten.

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.

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.

Hyeok Kim

Hyeok is the founder of Insa Consulting and has extensive experience as a volunteer and civic leader. She formerly served as deputy mayor for the City of Seattle, led a nonprofit affordable housing development organization, and worked for the Washington State Legislature. She's served on numerous nonprofit boards and was a former commissioner on President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a former Marshall Memorial Fellow, and a former Casey Fellow with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Born in Seoul, Hyeok immigrated to the Pacific Northwest as a child. She earned a bachelor's degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She and her husband Michael Parham live in Seattle with their son, a student at 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 Ley is the Chief Strategy Officer and SVP of Programs and Investment at Pivotal Ventures, a social impact organization founded by Melinda French Gates. Prior to Pivotal Ventures, Haven served in the Executive Office of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and managed programs for the Millennium Challenge Fund and for several USAID-funded programs in East Africa and South Asia. Originally from Boston, she graduated from Cornell University and the London School of Economics. She and her husband Will have two children, one at Evergreen and the other a proud alum. 

Raed Malhas

Raed is the co-founder and CEO of RD Labs, an AI technology company. He previously co-founded two software ventures and spent eight years at Microsoft. He holds a computer engineering degree from Purdue University. Raed serves on Purdue's computer engineering board, focusing on AI entrepreneurship initiatives, and is also active with the business school at Case Western Reserve University, where he also was a student. Born to an ambassador and pilot, Raed grew up in Jordan, Sweden, Wales, Lebanon, and New York. He and his wife Emily met in New York City and now live in Seattle with their three sons, two at Evergreen and the youngest still at home. 

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.

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.

Ari Steinberg

Ari is an investor and advisor in the tech industry. He spent 17 years in operating roles in the industry, including as a director of engineering at Airbnb and Facebook, and as CEO of Vamo, a travel startup that was sold to Airbnb. He has lived in Seattle since 2010, where he started the first remote engineering centers for both Facebook and Airbnb. In his advisory capacity, in addition to working with numerous for-profit companies, he has also worked closely with nonprofits including USDR (U.S. Digital Response) and the Center for US Voters Abroad. Ari holds bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science from Stanford. He and his wife, Daniela, have three children at 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.

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.

Vonnie Wu 

With over 15 years in commercial finance, Vonnie has spent a career helping medium-sized businesses invest and grow their operations. Most recently, Vonnie was a senior credit officer with Northwest Farm Credit, specializing in agriculture lending for the Pacific Northwest. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Kentucky. She  has held various roles at the Evergreen School including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Co-Chair for the Parent Guardian Association (PGA) and Co-Facilitator for the Black Family Resource Affinity Group. Vonnie and her husband Mark Wu have lived in the Seattle area for 10 years since moving from the Midwest. They are proud parents to one Evergreen student.