Chair (Officer) – Kelsey Johnson

Kelsey is the parent of three kids, a daughter who graduated from TC last year and twin boys who are rising 5th graders. She has loved working with TC families to organize and support school events. After serving as Volunteer Chair since 2022, she stepped into her new role as TCPG Chair this past school year, and is excited to continue to build connections, support school traditions, and create ways for families to get involved.

Professionally, Kelsey co-owns Fairhaven Project Services, specializing in permit coordination and project management. Outside of work, she can be found chauffeuring her kids to activities, enjoying time with family and friends, reading, and playing golf.

Vice Chair (Officer) – Blair Grimes

Blair is the parent of an incoming 1st grader and is entering her second year as a TC family. After joining the WOW Art Night planning committee this year, she wanted to be more involved with the incredible community of parents at Thornton Creek. Blair has a background in clinical social work and nearly a decade of experience at Windermere Real Estate in operations leadership, team building, and managing complex relationships - work that centers on supporting people and keeping things running. She is excited to help TCPG in its mission to ensure every student and family can fully participate in everything TC has to offer.

Outside of work, Blair enjoys dancing and yoga with friends, cooking, reading, and exploring the outdoors with her family.

Treasurer (Officer) – Chris Allyn

I am running for the treasurer role to bring strong financial stewardship, transparency, and a collaborative mindset to our school board. Backed by an MBA and a background teaching financial accounting at the University of Washington, my professional career includes over a decade of corporate finance and strategy experience managing large-scale budgets and operations. Additionally, I am well-versed in community-led organizational governance, having previously navigated non-profit structures and financial planning while serving as an HOA president. As a parent of two children in kindergarten and fourth grade, I am deeply invested in our school's success and look forward to partnering with the board to effectively manage our resources in support of our students.

Secretary (Officer) – Jessica Knaster Wasse

Jessica is a parent of a 5th grader and a 9th grade TC alum. She is excited to continue in the role of Secretary for TCPG. She served previously as TCPG Vice Chair and has been both a room parent and lead room parent. Jessica has honed her community leadership and public resource stewardship skills during her career at Public Health – Seattle & King County where she currently manages the Child Care Health Program. Weekends you will find her baking, attempting to stand up paddle board, taking long walks on the Burke with her adorable dog, or bribing her children to hike.

Volunteer Chair (Board Member) – Sterling Maximo

Sterling is very excited to continue serving the TC community this upcoming year! With a TC grad, 5th grader, 2nd grader, and kindergartener at TC, she's very invested in the long-term success of the school. Her goal is to make volunteering at school easy and accessible for all parents to grow our community. When she is not working as an ND, acupuncturist, postpartum doula or childbirth educator, she loves to play outside in the garden, build things and goof around with her kids. 

Hospitality Chair (Board Member) – Brie Fainberg

As a former teacher, education researcher, and non-profit director, Brie Fainberg knows that a welcoming and inclusive community can allow students and staff to feel safe to take academic risks together.  As the parent of a rising first-grader and preschooler, she also values the importance of sharing information with and appreciation for the families and staff that choose to make Thornton Creek their school.  She hopes to continue to grow the sense of belonging that makes Thornton Creek such a unique educational program as Hospitality Chair. 

Hospitality Co-Chair (Board Member) – Samin Yahyazadehjasour

Samin is the mom of Noah, a first grader at Thornton Creek, and Aiden, a future TC student. She was immediately impressed by the strong parent involvement and sense of community at Thornton Creek and wanted to be part of the community that makes the school such a special place. This year, in addition to continuing to help with the school garden, she is excited to join Brie’s Hospitality Community Team. She looks forward to helping bring families together, welcoming new families, and contributing to the warm and supportive community that makes Thornton Creek so special. 

Fundraising Chair (Board Member) – Cat Albright

I have two kids at Thornton Creek (rising 4th and 1st graders). I am interested in becoming the fundraising chair because I think we can continue to do more to support our school. We need to continue working to engage all families in the school and building that sense of community we had before COVID.  I was part of the planning committee for this year's WOW Art Night, which was a great demonstration of how we can celebrate our school's goals and vision while also raising money. I hope to bring excitement and clarity to our school's fundraising.

Communications Chair (Board Member) – Wenting Zhao

Wenting is a parent of three children: a Thornton Creek kindergartener, a three-year-old, and a 3-month-old baby. After serving as a room parent for PK2 last year, she was so impressed by the spirit of the Thornton Creek community that she was inspired to join the TCPG board. 

Professionally, Wenting has over a decade of experience as a program manager in the tech industry. As an immigrant, she is fascinated by cultural history and building community connections. Wenting has also been an avid Toastmaster for 11 years and is deeply passionate about effective communication.

Yearbook Committee Coordinator – Corinne Taetz Banguero

Corinne is the mom of two Dragonflies, one in 3rd and one in kindergarten. She has served as room parent for her boys for the last two years, and is always excited to get back into the classroom to get to know all the smiling faces around her. 

She’s photog at heart and with a phone in her hand, you can find her capturing memories at school events as well as around the neighborhood. Working with the students at TC to create last year’s yearbook was such a rewarding experience, she’s ready to dive in and discover alongside the students all the new that this year will bring! 

(If you have any photos from the classroom or school events, please reach out!) 

Facilities Chair – Sarah Stempski

This will be my 5th year as facilities co-chair. I am a parent of a 4th grader. I appreciate having such amazing green space at our school. I love how this work brings parents and families together to make connections and take care of our beautiful school! I have been so fortunate to learn and work with amazing partners in this role. I hope all TC families come to the rain garden to enjoy the space that is so lovely cared for by our community.