Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of The Northwest School.  Their overall mission is to preserve the school for future generations.  To attain that mission, the board has five primary responsibilities:

  • To develop a mission, strategic plan and policy goals
  • To evaluate adherence to them; and to establish policies consistent with them
  • To hire, support and annually evaluate an excellent Head of School
  • To maintain the financial stability and the financial future of the school
  • To show commitment and leadership in fundraising

Meet the Board of Trustees

Julie Lyss, President

Julie Lyss has been a fund development and recruitment professional and volunteer for more than three decades. As her daughter...

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Julie Lyss, President

Julie Lyss has been a fund development and recruitment professional and volunteer for more than three decades. As her daughter joined NWS for middle school, Julie accepted leadership roles with the Parent/Guardian Assoc., was an annual fund co-chair, joined the Pizazz event planning committee, and served on the Development Committee. As a new Trustee of The Northwest School, Julie chaired the Development Committee. With experience in strategic planning, communications, board development, major gifts, and capital campaigns, Julie welcomes the opportunity to help advance Northwest’s mission. She has served on the board and in leadership positions at Seattle Jewish Community School and numerous Jewish organizations throughout Puget Sound. Among her current volunteer passions, Julie can be found at the U. District Food Bank, running a monthly feeding program with Temple Beth Am and YWCA/Angeline’s Place, volunteering as an English Language Learner tutor at Literacy Source, and is a founding member of a local white anti-racist parent group. She is a graduate of Scripps College. A Midwesterner at heart, Julie loved living in Chicago, San Francisco and her hometown of St. Louis, MO before reluctantly moving to the PNW nearly 20 years ago. Julie is the mom of Isaac and Shira who are each in college, and Aviva who is part of the Northwest School Class of ’25.

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Alan Caplan, Vice President

Alan Caplan is a business executive with more than 30 years’ experience at companies such as Amazon.com, Blue Origin, Vulcan...

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Alan Caplan, Vice President

Alan Caplan is a business executive with more than 30 years’ experience at companies such as Amazon.com, Blue Origin, Vulcan, and ATT Wireless. Alan’s roles have included business, strategy, and product development, with an overarching focus on organizational resilience and operational excellence. Caplan holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Michigan and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School. His son is a member of the class of ’23.

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Dan Raymond, Treasurer

Dan Raymond is both CFO and treasurer of Gary Merlino Construction Company in Seattle. He has been with the company...

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Dan Raymond, Treasurer

Dan Raymond is both CFO and treasurer of Gary Merlino Construction Company in Seattle. He has been with the company for nearly 21 years. He attended Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, earning degrees in Accounting and Finance, and in 2000, obtained his CPA. He has served on the board for the Puget Sound Chapter CFMA for four years, including one year as president; the board of PEPS for three years, including two years as treasurer; and, most recently, on the board for The Meridian School, including two years as treasurer. Dan has two daughters at Northwest in the Classes of ‘21 and ‘22.

Dwayne King, Secretary

A parent of two (2) Northwest School alumni (Class of 2019 and Class of 2022). Dwayne has been a member...

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Dwayne King, Secretary

A parent of two (2) Northwest School alumni (Class of 2019 and Class of 2022). Dwayne has been a member of the Northwest School Finance Committee for 6 years prior to joining the Board in 2021. Dwayne is an attorney and has worked in various roles at Microsoft and other technology companies in the Seattle area. Dwayne is an avid global traveler, fisherman and sailor.

Katharine Delo Gregg

Katharine Delo Gregg has 25 years of experience in national non-profit and federal grantmaking and policy and regulatory development. Katharine...

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Katharine Delo Gregg

Katharine Delo Gregg has 25 years of experience in national non-profit and federal grantmaking and policy and regulatory development. Katharine is the Contracts & Grants Specialist for the Center for Children & Youth Justice, a non-profit working to reform the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Prior to moving to Seattle in 2020, she was a Senior Program Officer of Senior Corps at AmeriCorps, formerly the Corporation for National and Community Service, and ran her own organizational development and operations consulting business in Washington, DC. Katharine earned a B.A. in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College and a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School. Her driving motivation is working with organizations directly supporting the most vulnerable in our communities. Katharine is a writer, lover of the ocean, and voracious reader. Her daughter is a member of the class of ’26.

Tosh Drake

Internationally recognized for award-winning architecture and campus design, Tosh’s approach stems from the belief that an in-depth research based process...

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Tosh Drake

Internationally recognized for award-winning architecture and campus design, Tosh’s approach stems from the belief that an in-depth research based process is core to every project. He instinctually crafts experiences that are founded in his client’s social, cultural, and programmatic values.

His formative education was in experiential art and environmental science; focusing on the convergence of people and place: BA Environmental Design (The Evergreen State College); Master of Architecture (University of Oregon). In practice he works at the nexus of Urban Design, Landscape Design, Art, Architecture, and Sustainability.

Mardi Douglass

Mardi Douglass brings to the NWS Board 20+ years of experience in a variety of HR/People leadership roles. Most recently...

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Mardi Douglass

Mardi Douglass brings to the NWS Board 20+ years of experience in a variety of HR/People leadership roles. Most recently was the VP, Employee Experience at Mozilla, the not-for-profit organization behind the Firefox browser. Her interests, expertise, and passions include organizational culture and design, user/employee experience, and communications (strategy and writing). Mardi earned a B.A. in Pacific and Asian Studies from The University of Victoria and an MBA from The University of Calgary. She’s a 2x World Ultimate Frisbee champion, dedicated runner and Peloton-er, and loves NYC crossword puzzles. Her two sons are members of the classes of ‘22 (Whitman College, class of ‘26) and ‘26.

Oceania Eagan

Oceania Eagan is Founder and Creative Director of Blindtiger Design, a creative agency specializing in the unique needs of the...

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Oceania Eagan

Oceania Eagan is Founder and Creative Director of Blindtiger Design, a creative agency specializing in the unique needs of the craft industry. She has worked in brand strategy and marketing for more than 20 years and has a unique depth of experience supporting small businesses in their growth strategy, with a primary focus on developing and launching CPG products. Her experience includes teaching Marketing and Business courses at the collegiate level and speaking engagements at numerous industry conferences. She holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts and a Certification in Leadership through Design Thinking from Yale University. Oce has been a part of the NWS community in different capacities since graduating in 1996, including teaching art and coaching for just short of a decade, and parent (with husband Chaz Welsh ’97) to sons in the class of 2024.

Glenn Hare

Glenn Hare is a veteran communications professional with experience in higher education, government, and the arts. Currently he is an...

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Glenn Hare

Glenn Hare is a veteran communications professional with experience in higher education, government, and the arts. Currently he is an Associate Director of Communications at Seattle Opera. Glenn has served as a volunteer and board member for several organizations, including Girl Scouts USA, Camp Read-A-Rama, Ballard First Lutheran Church, and Foss Home and Village. His daughter is a member of the Class of ’21. He is married to Michelle H. Martin, the Beverly Cleary Professor for Children and Youth Services at University of Washington.

Carlton Harris

Carlton has over 40 years of wide-ranging business experience, from launching business start-ups to executive management at multi-billion-dollar multinationals. His...

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Carlton Harris

Carlton has over 40 years of wide-ranging business experience, from launching business start-ups to executive management at multi-billion-dollar multinationals. His career began in Philadelphia at Scott Paper (later Kimberly-Clark), where he served in a variety of financial roles. Over the next 15 years, Carlton had stints in a private equity firm and two companies that he founded in the financial consulting and product sourcing fields. In 2013, Carlton co-founded Peace Field Limited, a Hong Kong-based boutique investment bank focused on the middle market. He remains a Managing Director of that company. Carlton received a BA in Biology from McDaniel College, and MS and MBA degrees from Duke University. His interests include social science, health & fitness, everything about China and writing. He has four children, the youngest of which, his son Zhen, is a member of the Class of ’27.

Tiffany Kelly-Gray, Community Trustee

Tiffany Kelly-Gray joined Northwest Access Fund in 2021 to lead the Financial Capability Program. Tiffany has over 14 years of...

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Tiffany Kelly-Gray, Community Trustee

Tiffany Kelly-Gray joined Northwest Access Fund in 2021 to lead the Financial Capability Program. Tiffany has over 14 years of Lending and Banking experience with a focus on marginalized communities and small business sustainability. She is a visionary and dedicated professional, leveraging her extensive leadership experience spanning diverse industries. Tiffany prides herself on her ability to advocate for positive change, influencing stakeholders to pioneer the development and implementation of enhanced structure, workflows, and processes. She is the Board Chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the Bertschi School, where she introduced an annual Juneteenth celebration and increased the hiring and retention of BIPOC staff significantly. Tiffany brings to Northwest Access Fund strong executive leadership skills with the ability to build strategic partnerships with a range of stakeholders and community partners, as well as execute initiatives, events, programs, and workshops in service of Northwest Access Fund’s mission.

Emily Parker

Emily Parker has over 25 years of experience in strategy and philanthropy. She spent nearly 14 years at the Bill...

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Emily Parker

Emily Parker has over 25 years of experience in strategy and philanthropy. She spent nearly 14 years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in a variety of roles, most recently as the Chief of Staff to the CEO and Director of her office. She has also worked at the Washington Women’s Foundation and the Boston Consulting Group and served on the Advisory Board of UW's Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Emily earned a B.A. in Human Biology and an MBA, both from Stanford University. She has a passion for strategy, building strong organizations and teams, and addressing issues of inequity. Her son and daughter are members of the Classes of ‘23 and ‘25.

Gladys Ly-Au Young

Gladys has over 25 years of experience in architecture and is a founding partner of Sundberg Kennedy Ly-Au Young Architects...

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Gladys Ly-Au Young

Gladys has over 25 years of experience in architecture and is a founding partner of Sundberg Kennedy Ly-Au Young Architects. Rooted in providing good design for all and an equitable future for people and planet, Gladys instills in her practice the vision to work together with communities to create socially responsible architecture. She holds both an MS in Sustainable Design from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Washington State University. She has served on the boards of AIA Seattle, Design in Public, and NWS Facilities committee. She speaks nationally on issues of health equity, sustainable design, and equitable development. Gladys’ youngest child is a member of the Class of ’24.

John B. Lynch

John Lynch is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington...

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John B. Lynch

John Lynch is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington and is an Associate Medical Director at Harborview Medical Center where he leads the hospital’s Infection Prevention & Control, Employee Health, Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Sepsis Programs and provides care for people with infectious diseases. John is an active researcher and teacher, with CDC-funded implementation projects in Kenya and a tele-mentoring program for community, rural, and critical-access hospitals across the western U.S. Starting in January 2020, John has been the clinical lead for UW Medicine’s COVID response and has been active at the state and national level as part of the pandemic. He received his M.D. (’02) and MPH (’10) from the UW. John and his wife Chris have 2 daughters in the Classes of ’25 and ’27.

Mahtab Mahmoodzadeh

Mahtab Mahmoodzadeh holds a Master’s in Education and has been teaching and leading equity work in independent schools since 1996...

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Mahtab Mahmoodzadeh

Mahtab Mahmoodzadeh holds a Master’s in Education and has been teaching and leading equity work in independent schools since 1996. She has taught in K-12 at all levels, and teaching and leading in anti-racist work as a classroom practitioner. She currently serves as a Director of Diversity at the Overlake School. She has a background in African American history and international relations and adaptive leadership for equity. She has worked in a variety of settings in her work, from strategic planning for equity and inclusion, hiring for diversity and cultural competency, to training and consulting with independent, charter schools, school districts, and international schools on equity and inclusion practices. She is thrilled to be serving as member of Board of Trustees at The Northwest School. Mahtab is Iranian American, first generation immigrant, and a proud mom of two children who are the light of her life. She enjoys yoga, dancing and all things hip hop.

Kendall McBride, Alumni Liaison

Kendall’s career in the past two decades has interfaced with every aspect of houses; the design, construction, renovation, esthetic and...

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Kendall McBride, Alumni Liaison

Kendall’s career in the past two decades has interfaced with every aspect of houses; the design, construction, renovation, esthetic and finally its creation from a building to a home, within the realm of real estate. Kendall began his career as a builder of exceptional custom-designed homes in the greater Seattle area and Boston. He started his own business, Seattle Housewrights in 2004 and gained the reputation of excellence, creating the unbelievable on diverse and challenging terrains. Having gained a deep understanding in construction and a personality devoted in business and life to connecting and meeting the wants and needs of his clients, in 2019, he transformed that knowledge into a career as a Broker for Windermere, Capitol Hill and a consultant on home renovation and building. Given his life experiences in construction and learning the various Seattle neighborhoods (and all their hidden short cuts) as one of the rare natives of Seattle, has enabled him to bring extensive knowledge and support to his clients who are looking to buy or sell in the greater Seattle and Western Washington real estate markets.

When not occupied with the structure, function and artistic beauty of the house, Kendall is walking around with a song in his head. Having majored in music recording and composition from Johnston Center at the University of Redlands, his love for making music has never quelled. He sports a grand piano in his living room and a keyboard on the go for making music with his band around town.

Serving community, connection and family are the centering pieces of Kendall’s life; his days are full with clients, friends within his recovery community, soccer team, music world or volunteering and most importantly with his family. Kendall and his wife Meryl live in the Central district with their kids. Kendall’s fullness in life resonates in this statement: “I enjoy trying get my kids to think big and be generous of spirit. I continue to learn about my values and purpose from all I do. I’m proud to be from the Northwest, especially the old funky era. I’m a grateful “part-of" instead of being “apart-from” in the world around me.”

Morva McDonald

Morva McDonald is vice president of leadership and governance at NAIS. She was most recently head of school at Giddens...

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Morva McDonald

Morva McDonald is vice president of leadership and governance at NAIS. She was most recently head of school at Giddens School in Seattle, a preschool through 5th grade independent school in Seattle. Previously, Morva was a tenured faculty member in the College of Education at the University of Washington. She holds a doctorate in Administration and Policy from the Stanford School of Education. Her son is a member of the class of '22.

Val Nelson

Val Nelson began his professional career as a high school math and science teacher and, after a brief stint in...

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Val Nelson

Val Nelson began his professional career as a high school math and science teacher and, after a brief stint in the classroom, he joined a software development company that specialized in school administrative computing services. In early 2000, he founded the consulting firm VNA Solutions to help schools utilize administrative software. The company grew from a single consultant to a firm with over a dozen experienced consultants. Val and his colleagues specialize in helping schools use computer systems to track student demographic, achievement, and behavior information. Val daughter attending Northwest in Class of ’22, and another daughter is an alumnus from the Class of ’18.

Gwendolyn Payton

Gwendolyn Payton is a partner in the Kilpatrick Townsend law firm in Seattle. She focuses her practice on complex commercial...

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Gwendolyn Payton

Gwendolyn Payton is a partner in the Kilpatrick Townsend law firm in Seattle. She focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, class actions, health care, and antitrust and trade litigation. She has an active trial practice in state and federal courts, and regularly argues appeals in state and federal courts. Forty percent of Gwendolyn’s practice is pro bono representing indigents facing execution of death row. From 2012 to 2018, she has been recognized as one of top 250 women in litigation by Benchmark Litigation and as a Super Lawyer by Washington Super Lawyers. Gwendolyn has two children at The Northwest School in the Class of ’22 and Class of ’24.

Darya Saber

Darya Saber has been active in the commercial real estate industry for nearly 15 years, leading complex construction and development...

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Darya Saber

Darya Saber has been active in the commercial real estate industry for nearly 15 years, leading complex construction and development projects. Prior to joining Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Darya spent nearly 10 years at Lease Crutcher Lewis in variety of roles including Project Manager & Preconstruction Manager working on many complex and unique projects such as Rainier Square Redevelopment. Currently at Alexandria, he is in charge managing the design development, entitlement, and overseeing construction of over 2 million square feet of Life Science development in Seattle and San Diego region. Outside of the office, Darya is passionate about coaching youth basketball, traveling to new and unique destinations, and being active. Darya is a Northwest School alum, graduated part of class of 2004.

Steve Schlemmer

Steve Schlemmer relocated to Seattle in Dec 2020, with his wife Tanya Rulon-Miller, and children Lucy (’28) and Jackson (’24)...

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Steve Schlemmer

Steve Schlemmer relocated to Seattle in Dec 2020, with his wife Tanya Rulon-Miller, and children Lucy (’28) and Jackson (’24). He has worked in financial services for over 30 years, most recently as CEO of Churchill Capital USA Inc., a small broker-dealer specializing in equity special situations. Steve previously worked for Credit Suisse in Tokyo for 3 years, before transferring to London for the following 17 years, where he and his family earned dual UK citizenships. He received a B.S. in Engineering from Dartmouth College. Steve is currently a member of the NWS Investment Committee.

Patricia Taraday, Parent Guardian Association Liaison

Patricia Taraday is a founding member of Lighthouse Law Group PLLC, a municipal law firm providing guidance to cities in...

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Patricia Taraday, Parent Guardian Association Liaison

Patricia Taraday is a founding member of Lighthouse Law Group PLLC, a municipal law firm providing guidance to cities in civil matters. While spending a portion of her childhood abroad, she considers Seattle her home. She earned a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington, and a J.D. from Seattle University Law School. As the Parent Guardian Association Liaison to the Board, she has been a dedicated Northwest School parent volunteer for over 7 years. Most recently, she has taken on the role of International PGA co-chair, facilitating connections with international families, and supporting community building between domestic and international students. Patricia has a 22’ alum (Carleton College, Class of 26’) and a son, class of 24’. She is an avid walker and hiker. Last year she walked the last 115 km of the Camino de Santiago in Spain over 5 days and plans to complete a Rim to River Grand Canyon hike this Spring.

Jonathan Warren

Jonathan Warren is from St. Johns, Michigan. He has an BA in German and Psychology from Michigan State University and...

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Jonathan Warren

Jonathan Warren is from St. Johns, Michigan. He has an BA in German and Psychology from Michigan State University and an MA/PhD in Sociology from UC Berkeley. Currently he is a Professor of International Studies and Director of the Center for Brazilian Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. He publishes and teaches in the areas of critical race, Indigenous, political ecology, development and cultural studies. His books and documentary films include Just Black? Multiracial Identities in the US, Racial Revolutions: Antiracism and Indigenous Resurgence in Brazil, Cultures of Development: Vietnam, Brazil and the Unsung Vanguard of Prosperity, and From the Bottom Up. Jonathan has two children at The Northwest School in the Class of ’21 and Class of ’23.

Lowell Weiss

Lowell Weiss has spent more than three decades working to spark social change across a broad array of local, national...

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Lowell Weiss

Lowell Weiss has spent more than three decades working to spark social change across a broad array of local, national, and global issues. In his role as president of Cascade Philanthropy Advisors, he provides personalized guidance to donors seeking to deepen their impact and achieve greater purpose, meaning, and joy. His previous roles in philanthropy included leadership positions at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Morino Institute, and Venture Philanthropy Partners. Before that, he served as a Special Assistant to the President in the Clinton White House, wrote speeches for Vice President Al Gore, wrote a New York Times bestselling book with political consultant James Carville, and was an editor at The Atlantic Monthly. He graduated in 1990 from Amherst College with high honors. His daughter, Michela, is a member of the class of ’24.

Additional Board Roles

Ray Wilson, Head of School

Trustees Emeritus:

Ellen Taussig, Co-Founder

Mark Terry, Co-Founder 

Board of Trustees 2023 Service Project