Board of Trustees

PRESIDENT & CHAIRPERSON

Leanne and her husband Mark joined the Pacific Crest community in 2020 when their family relocated from Washington, DC and have been thrilled to find their new Montessori home at Pacific Crest. They have two sons, one in middle school and the other in upper elementary, who have attended Montessori schools since they were toddlers.

Leanne has spent her career leading teams, helping organizations set and achieve strategic priorities, and coaching individuals to identify and reach their goals. She currently works at a Portland-based research organization where she leads research, policy, and practice projects centering on equitable access to and success in postsecondary education. Leanne is a PhD student at the University of Washington, a 2023 graduate of Leadership Tomorrow Greater Seattle, and the past-president of the Board at Aidan Montessori School, where she led the strategic planning efforts and navigated the school through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When not talking or thinking about education and policy, Leanne and her family can be found enjoying nearly any outdoor activity in the PNW.

VICE PRESIDENT

Jay and his wife Rebecca moved to Seattle in 2014, and have been thrilled to be a part of the Pacific Crest community since 2016. They currently have two children enrolled at the school, and expect to send their third there as well.

Jay has nearly 20 years of experience in technology and currently works as a Product Manager in Reality Labs at Meta. He grew up in the Washington, DC area and holds a BS and MBA from the University of Virginia.

Outside of work, Jay enjoys spending time outdoors skiing, hiking, camping, and biking with his family.

TREASURER

Ben and his wife Minh-Hai joined the Pacific Crest community in 2021 and have two sons Levi and Jacob enrolled in Lower Elementary. They’re both deeply appreciative of Montessori philosophy and education and have seen the difference it’s made for their children.

Ben is a Deputy Director with the Financial Planning & Analysis team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Since joining the foundation in 2007, he has worked with strategies and partners across global health and development on a wide range of programs and initiatives. Prior to joining the foundation, Ben served in the U.S. Army and later was a management consultant.

Ben is a Seattle transplant who bounced around quite a bit before finding stability and building a life with Minh-Hai. He loves geeking out on the topic of the moment (Virginia Woolf novels, Scotch, traditional safety razors), making the occasional Sunday dinner, and generally feeling grateful for his family, their chosen family in Seattle, and being part of the PCS community.

SECRETARY

Amy Klosterman (she/her) and her family joined the Pacific Crest community in 2017, when her son entered a wonderful primary class led by teacher Annie. She and her spouse have enjoyed seeing their child learn and grow in the unique environment of a Montessori school. The PCS community has been a special part of their lives. Amy and her spouse are full-time working parents who have appreciated the school's aftercare programming as well.

Amy is an attorney and licensed private investigator, providing independent investigations to schools and workplaces as well as training and consulting on discrimination and misconduct issues. She received her B.A. from Swarthmore College, and her J.D. from the Case Western Reserve School of Law. She spent her childhood living in various places in the upper Midwest and has called Seattle home since 2003. Her hobbies include running, reading, and baking, and she takes trumpet lessons with her son.

I am a passionate sustainability professional with nearly 20 years of experience working globally in the business and nonprofit sectors.

My sustainability journey began when I joined Ford Motor Company as manager, Sustainable Business Strategies. In this role, I was responsible for producing Ford’s award-winning Sustainability Report and developing the company’s socially responsible investing and climate change strategies. I've also worked with nonprofits, including the National Environmental Education Foundation developing the Business & Environment program. In this role, I wrote a series of reports on employee engagement best practices and developed a webinar series that facilitated company networking on the topic. I led the reporting practice at Flag Communications, working with some of the world's most respected brands including Amazon, Nike, Gap,  and McKinsey advancing sustainability and building stakeholder engagement and trust through transparency and best practice strategy and communication. Currently I am Lead, Sustainability Reporting at Google.

I hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in business and sustainability as well as a BA and BS in Anthropology and Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan. I completed my Masters in Environmental Management at Duke University and graduated with highest honors.I studied in London, England and Dakar, Senegal as well as Pretoria, South Africa and am proficient in French.

Peri is a parent and alumni of Pacific Crest School, having attended Primary and Middle School at Pacific Crest in the 80s and 90s. Peri and her husband Jesse, were delighted when their older daughter Magnolia started at Pacific Crest in the fall of 2018. Now both of their children, Magnolia and Louisa, are thriving in the school, in Lower Elementary and Primary, respectively. Peri and Jesse have a great appreciation for the Montessori philosophy and are grateful for the incredible friendships and community they have found at Pacific Crest.

Peri was born and raised in Seattle and received a BA in History from the University of Washington. Peri is a Real Estate Agent with Windermere Greenwood and an aspiring community leader. With nearly 20 years professional experience including 15 years at Microsoft spanning Customer Experience, Product Marketing and Human Resources, Peri also has experience in the non-profit sector, working in development at the University of Washington, and serving for six years on the board of Community Lunch on Capitol Hill, a program providing services and hot meals to the homeless population in Seattle.

Peri and family enjoy being outdoors and staying active, skiing in the winter and camping in the summer. You can often find her with camera in hand, snapping photos of her friends and family.

Shawn and his wife Heidi are Seattle/PNW natives who joined Pacific Crest Montessori in 2019. AT that time their child, Julian, was old enough to enroll in the Primary program. Thrilled with the programming and the community they've continued to remain active and engaged members to this day.

Professionally, Shawn has 19 years of experience in Finance, Procurement, Contracts, and Treasury. He currently works at Slalom Consulting as the Senior Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis for Global Teams. Specializing in budgeting, strategic planning, and financial projections, he works with teams across the world to financially optimize their business while ensuring that they meet their operational goals. Enabling this career path, Shawn holds a BA from the University of Washington in Economics, as well as a MBA (Sustainable Business focus) and a Masters in Finance from Seattle University.

Beyond parenting and family activities, outside of work Shawn spends most of his free time riding motorcycles with his Dad and Father-in-law. If he's not doing that then he is likely doing some handiwork around the house or automotive maintenance and repairs.

Alex Saunders and his spouse Sophie joined the Pacific Crest community in 2009 when Sophie began working in the primary program. Sophie was also a primary student in the very first class at Pacific Crest. They now have two children at Pacific Crest, Stella in lower elementary and Hank in upper elementary.

Alex is the founder of the Seattle based construction company Bucktide GC. He leads a small group of fifteen employees in building and renovating custom, architectural homes in the Seattle area. Prior to starting Bucktide GC, Alex worked as a carpenter on

Colleen and her family joined the Pacific Crest Community in 2017 when their son was in the last year of primary, upon the recommendation of a preschool director who said PCS would be the school she would choose if she had a school-aged child. Now in middle school, they have loved every minute of watching their child thrive and being part of the school community.

Colleen is an attorney who represents children and youth in Washington's foster care system and loves spending time getting to know and learn from adolescents and young adults. Colleen and her husband Eric met in first grade in Blacksburg, VA. After going to college on separate coasts, they lived, worked, and studied in/around New York City for eight years before relocating to Seattle in 2008.

Alex and his wife Anne joined the Pacific Crest community in 2019 when their son Teddy started the primary program, and they anticipate that his little sister Maggie will follow him to PCS just as soon as she’s able.

Alex is a Principal in the Strategic Investment Fund at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he works across the foundation’s global health, global development, US education, and gender equity strategies to make investments that further the foundation’s charitable goals. His role spans equity investments, loans, volume guarantees, and fund investments and he serves on the advisory committees and social impact committees of several of the foundation’s fund investments.

Before joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Alex worked in private equity and management consulting. He holds an M.Sc. in financial economics from the University of Oxford and a B.S.F.S. in international economics from Georgetown University. Alex is a native of the Seattle area and is thrilled to be back in his hometown. Outside of work and his time with Teddy and Maggie, Alex is a track cyclist and spends inordinate amounts of time turning left at the velodrome in Marymoor Park. He is also an occasional skier, hiker, and camper and enjoys just about anything outdoors the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

Andrew, his partner Erin, and sons Colin and Rowan have been part of the Pacific Crest community since 2022 when Colin started in Lower Elementary. Andrew and Erin have seen their children thrive in Montessori classrooms and are thrilled as Rowan now begins his PCS journey.

Andrew has over 20 years of experience in Strategy and Marketing across a variety of industries, and is currently a Director of Hotels Strategy at Expedia Group. He believes strongly in the importance of travel, discovery, and adventure, and looks forward to the boys’ first steps exploring the world.

Andrew and Erin have been in Seattle for 10 years since making the move from the Washington DC metro area. When not spending time with Colin and Rowan, he enjoys reading sci-fi and fantasy novels, board gaming, hiking, and cooking. 

Craig’s daughter Celeste began in the primary program at Pacific Crest in 2019. He & his wife Carly have been thrilled to become a part of the school community.

Craig works as a family medicine physician at NeighborCare Health in Wallingford. He sees a full spectrum of patients from prenatal care and children to geriatrics at a clinic designed to help the most needy. He finds work with the uninsured, homeless, and resource-poor to be particularly gratifying. He also works part-time at Swedish First Hill Medical Center supervising doctors in training with the family medicine residency program.

Craig grew up in Augusta, Maine with a family that was very involved in their community, school, and outdoors. He studied German and Biochemistry at Middlebury College in Vermont. He moved to Boston where he did immunology research and then his medical degree at Harvard Medical School. He also worked as a health care research associate at Harvard Business School. He met his wife Carly in 2011 while she was doing her cardiothoracic anesthesia fellowship in Boston. After completing his family medicine residency at the Institute for Family Health in New York City, Craig & Carly moved to Seattle in 2015.

Outside of work Craig likes biking, skiing, running, and surfing. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his family. Celeste was born in 2016 and she became a big sister to Bodhi in December 2019.