Community Center for Education Results

Marian serves as the Special Advisor, Community and Impact at Community Center for Education Results. A former early childhood educator and travel industry professional, Marian has spent over a decade helping adults improve their literacy skills. Since 2019, she has helped teach the Citizenship class at Literacy Source, and previously volunteered as a GED tutor for inmates at the King County Correctional Facility. Born in the Philippines, Marian grew up in the South Puget Sound Region and lived in the United Kingdom, where she earned a Master’s degree in English Literature. Outside of her volunteer work, Marian is passionate about lifelong learning, and travel. She has traveled to more than 50 countries and six continents and is eager to explore and learn more of the world.

Microsoft

Paolo is a member of Microsoft’s Office of the General Counsel. He serves as an attorney manager for Microsoft’s Pro Bono team and runs several core programs for Microsoft’s Legal Department. He has lived in Seattle all his adult life - where he went to the University of Washington for his undergraduate degree, and Seattle University for law school. Paolo’s involvement in non-profit and volunteering began with Literacy Source and he is proud to come full circle to serve as a Board Member for the organization. He enjoys cooking, DJ-ing, and having impromptu dance parties with his wife and children.

Washington Research Foundation

Morgan serves as CFO of the Washington Research Foundation (WRF) in Seattle. She joined WRF in 2004 to work on the Foundation’s patent portfolio, which included technologies that have improved the health of more than a billion people worldwide and enabled WRF to support groundbreaking research throughout Washington. Morgan gre holds a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Washington.

Williams Kastner

Jeff is a Member at Williams Kastner, a Seattle based law firm, where his practice focuses on employment law. Jeff was born and raised across the water in Bremerton, Washington. After high school, he moved across the country to attend Loyola University Chicago, where he earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice. But Jeff missed the trees and mountains of the Pacific Northwest and returned to Seattle to attend law school at the Seattle University School of Law. While attending law school, Jeff worked as a research assistant for the Korematsu Center for Justice and Equality and interned at the Society of Counsel representing accused persons. After joining Williams Kastner, Jeff provided pro bono services to individuals seeking asylum and legal services to low-income individuals.

Infosys Limited

Aiswarya is a technology professional who has served in engineering and management positions for over 14 years. Having spent her career both in India and USA, Aiswarya had worked with major US Retailers and Investment Banks during her career. She is a lifelong volunteer who has served in various non-profit organizations in the field of Health and Education. During her time in India, Aiswarya had engaged with low-income schools and shelter homes to provide tutoring to kids, through her employer. Aiswarya started volunteering with Literacy Source in the beginning of 2020 assisting in Tech classes. She is an improv artist and enjoys hiking and gardening. She also grows her own veggies in her little patch in the community garden.

Community Supporter

Educator and Non-Profit Professional; Instructional Designer | Focused on Driving Learner Success via Strategic Organization and Strategy

Dispute Resolution Center of King County

Daniel is on staff at the Dispute Resolution Center of King County, overseeing its learning program's trainings and educational offerings. He began there as a volunteer mediator for Small Claims Court. With a Master's degree background in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies, Daniel's work has ranged from supporting a documentary film campaign for girls’ education (Girl Rising) to project management and quality assurance on high school curricular materials. He also serves as Co-President of the Dartmouth Club of Western Washington and as its representative on Dartmouth College's Alumni Council. Daniel is an avid road-tripper and enjoys chatting about linguistics, cooking, figure skating, and solar eclipses.

Adobe

Jennifer currently works for Adobe as an instructional designer, where she creates learning experiences for a global audience, with a particular focus on best practices for developing universally accessible content. She is interested in the neuroscience of learning and how to apply that knowledge to adult learners. Before joining Adobe, she worked in public libraries for 15 years, both at Pima County Public Library (PCPL), where she was the 2014 Horner Fellow, and at King County Public Library (KCLS). During her work in public libraries, she supported job help, English language learning, community literacy programs, electronic resources, and staff development. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound and holds an MLIS degree from the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Arizona. She volunteers with Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Washington Trails Association (WTA). For fun, she enjoys playing role-playing and tabletop games, gardening, and pickling what she grows in her garden.

Intuitive

Julieta Sanchez is an Information Architect and Taxonomist with experience in the e-commerce, healthcare, and medical devices industries. Originally from Mexico, she came to the United States as a teenager with no English knowledge. However, she thrived with the help of amazing teachers and went to study at the University of California, San Diego, where she graduated with a degree in Economics and Accounting. Julieta moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where she earned a Master's in Information Management. Also, she produced events for World Information Architecture Day, a volunteer organization focused on celebrating professional fields that enhance understanding and effective communication of information systems. Julieta has worked designing information models and vocabularies at Amazon, Kaiser Permanente, and most recently at Intuitive, a leader in the robotic-assisted surgery space. Julieta enjoys traveling, all things pop culture, and learning how to play the piano.

Microsoft

I’m happy to be serving for Literacy Source! I’ve lived in Washington State my entire life. I enjoy reading, traveling, deep-woods backpacking, fishing, and spending time with family and friends. I’ve worked at Microsoft for most of my career and enjoy applying the skills I’ve learned in other areas of my life. I feel that literacy an important and attainable tool to engage people to make the changes they want to see in their life, engage citizens in productive ways, and eventually bring out the best in humans.

Product leader

Neelam brings 25 years of experience in the tech sector, including leadership roles at PayPal, Amazon, and Expedia, to her role on the Literacy Source board. She leverages her understanding of technology and management & coaching skills to help the organization innovate and grow.As an immigrant who built a new life in the United States, Neelam understands the transformative power of education. Witnessing firsthand the challenges faced by adults without strong literacy skills, she is deeply committed to Literacy Source's mission. Neelam believes that access to education and literacy skills are fundamental to individual and community development. She is passionate about supporting adults in gaining the skills they need to create new opportunities for themselves and their families.

Arizona State University

Val Melikhova is a Senior Research Analyst at ASU's Next Education Workforce initiative and has previously held data roles at KIPP Foundation and Relay Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about bridging the gap between complex data and practical, actionable insights for education stakeholders. Alongside data, Val is passionate about language teaching and learning, having personally experienced the impact of English support when her family moved to the United States. She has facilitated English instruction at the high school level in France and for adult language learners in the U.S. Val received her M.S.Ed. in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University. She is currently based in Seattle and outside of data work and volunteering, she enjoys all things arts & crafts!