Our Staff
Debbie Carlsen, Director
Mary Hsu, Executive Assistant
Mary Hsu, Executive Assistant
Bio Coming Soon.
Mary Hsu, Executive Assistant
Mary Hsu, Executive Assistant
Mary Hsu, Executive Assistant
Bio Coming Soon.
Our Steering Committee
Musu Bakoto Sawo, Director of Fundraising and Grants, Community Foundation of Snohomish County
Bio Coming Soon.
Elaine Larson, Regional Manager Opportunity Council /Child Care Aware of NW WA
Elaine has been in the field of early childhood and school age care for over 40 years. She has worked as a classroom teacher, director, child care center licensor and training coordinator. Currently, she is the Regional Manager for Opportunity Council/Child Care Aware NW (serving Snohomish, Skagit, Island, San Juan and Whatcom counties). Elaine is the mother of two amazing children and has two adorable grandchildren.
Naina Nanayan, Owner/Director, Anayan Academy
Bio Coming Soon.
Lisa Neumann, Dean of Student Engagement and Support, Edmonds College
Dean of Students and Engagement at Edmonds College and former Director of Edmonds College’s Center for Families has been involved with and dedicated to early learning for over 35 years including infant/toddler programs, cooperative preschools, ECEAP/Head Start and licensed childcare. As a director of childcare, I was a driving force for creating nurturing and quality early learning environments as recognized through national accreditation with the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Washington State quality improvement system (QRIS), Early Achievers. My dedication to early childhood education and family support was further recognized during my tenure as President of the Washington Association for Education of Young Children (WAEYC) from 2016-2024, where I championed innovative approaches and continues to lead advocacy efforts for diversity, inclusion and equity for families to have affordable access to quality early learning programs, fair wage pay for early learning professionals and access to higher education for current and future early learning providers.
Terry Clark, Retired Early Learning Professional
I have worked in the not-for-profit sector in Snohomish County since moving here from Japan in 1987. My time was split between Compass Health (and all its predecessors) and ChildStrive. In these organizations I have primarily focused on work with children birth to five and pregnant women. I have been a counselor working with preschoolers and their families, a program developer, a program manager, a grant writer, a Development Director and an Executive Director. While providing counseling to preschoolers, I became convinced that we must prevent the things that result in very young children needing counseling - including child abuse and neglect, behavioral challenges, and family conflict. My passion is work that helps children get off to a great start within a supportive family structure, as I believe this is the way to change the world for the better.
Correne Bonkoski, Pacific NW WAEYC
Bio Coming Soon.