Rachel Sottile | President & CEO
Rachel serves our communities, our state, and the nation in empowering children and youth, stabilizing families, and strengthening communities through meaningful and lasting justice reform. With over twenty years of executive leadership experience in the non-profit sector and state government, she catalyzes stakeholders, partners, and the voices of those impacted by injustice and inequity to discover what’s possible, develop innovative solutions, and create real and lasting change. She is relentlessly committed to the heart of CCYJ – the staff – centering learning, listening, and reflection in discovering ways to support and empower a diverse team representative of the communities in which we serve. CCYJ’s strong foundation, mission-driven intentionality, and fiercely committed staff provided the distinctive elements for CCYJ’s work to thrive, over tripling the organization’s budget under Rachel’s leadership. Rachel grew up in Seattle, is an avid sports fan, and a mom to three adult children & an English Springer Spaniel named Harley.

Gina Cumbo │ Chief Program Officer & General Counsel 
The center of Gina’s work is her commitment to breaking generational cycles of poverty to make a positive impact in the lives of children and youth. As Vice President of Innovation & Impact, she oversees CCYJ’s programmatic and policy work. With CCYJ since 2008, Gina previously represented adults and children as an attorney for the Snohomish County Public Defender Association and in private Social Security disability practice. She also clerked for the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington and lectured at the University of Washington School of Social Work. Gina holds an interdisciplinary BA from Fairhaven College of Western Washington University and a JD and MSW from the University of Michigan.

Scott Kramer | Chief Finance & Administration Officer 

Giannina Ferrara │ Public Policy, TTA, and Capacity Building Manager
Giannina has experience in research, administration, and community outreach. She aims to deliver just change within local and state systems through policy work. Giannina has a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health, and a Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in Social Policy from the University of Washington.

Karyssa Gonzalez | Development Associate, Events
Karyssa developed a passion for working with nonprofits in high school and maintained that passion throughout her time at the University of Miami, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in Sociology and Criminology. She first joined CCYJ as the Philanthropy Intern, and was later offered the opportunity to convert her role from internship to a permanent position within the Development team, where she has been able to thrive utilizing her experience in research, development, communications and event planning. In her free time Karyssa loves to spend time with her family, bake, get lost in a good book, and work on her goal of having visited every U.S. state by the time she’s 30!

Becca Guest | Program Coordinator, Innovation
Becca’s background is in education, and she has taught in a classroom, managed environmental education programs, and worked alongside many Seattle school communities. She comes to CCYJ from working educational advocacy and support for youth and young adults who are currently experiencing or have experienced foster care. She has a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington. Becca is deeply motivated to work towards equitable outcomes for all young people, and does so by centering LGBTQ+ youth, immigrant and refugee youth, and youth of color.

Afsaneh Haddadian | Associate Director, Public Policy, TTA, and Capacity Building
Afsaneh believes that the equality of opportunity is central to achieving sustainable positive social outcomes. She is committed to breaking the barriers for underserved communities by using the power of data to center their experiences. During the past 10 years, she has worked in the non-profit sector in program and consulting capacities for community development and monitoring and evaluation. She has also lectured at the University of Washington’s Professional and Continuing Education program in interdisciplinary social sciences. Afsaneh holds a master’s degree in Political Science from Wright State University and a PhD in International Studies from the University of Washington.

William “Billy” Hairston | Director of Programs, Impact
William Hairston studied at Adams State University in Colorado, where he began what has been almost two decades worth of experience working to support and partner with young people and their families, in several different roles, in both Washington State and in Colorado. He spent the last six years with Seattle Public Schools, first as a Truancy Intervention Specialist in one of the most high-need schools in the Seattle School District and then three years as a District Attendance Representative where he oversaw and partnered with 33 Seattle schools to help with attendance interventions and family engagement. William is also accomplished at developing young people and teams of adults that support young people.

Tiffany Martindale | Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
Tiffany’s passion is to ensure that the good work of the world creates lasting and positive change for those who seek it. Her diverse 20+ year career led her from structural engineering to international community development to consulting for nonprofits who want to improve their impact. She joined CCYJ in 2021 as a strategic leader and evaluation specialist to support a culture of learning and to help ensure that our efforts bolster the lives of children and youth. Tiffany earned a BS in structural engineering and an MS in international development, with extensive training in monitoring and evaluation. She values connecting with the people, places, and cultures of the world and staying curious through the eyes of her young son.

Benjamin Mbugua | Training & Technical Assistance Web Coordinator

Brenda Martinez | Human Resources Business Partner
Brenda has several years of experience in the HR field and administration.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Communications Science Disorders, and a minor in Psychology from Western Washington University. She is currently working towards her SHRM-CP certificate. Brenda has worked in positions from entry level to executive. Her experience includes working in large and small public organizations and startups. She has worked and supported organizations in several areas including compensation and benefits, talent acquisition development, employee relations, leadership teams and HR operations. Brenda is passionate in supporting organizations that have a meaningful mission for the community.

Doria Nelson | Development/Donor Relations Coordinator

Emily Nicewonger | Associate Director, Innovation
Emily’s background includes working directly with young people and families within a variety of systems, including nonprofit, schools, and juvenile court, and leading homelessness prevention initiatives. Emily is passionate about working alongside the community to develop programs and systems that truly center the humanity, experiences, and voices of children and families. Emily holds a BA in Human Development from Washington State University.

Nicholas Oakley │ Director of Public Policy, TTA, and Capacity Building
For Nicholas, doing youth justice work for a living is a privilege. He empowers CCYJ’s efforts for LGBTQ and CSEC youth by bringing together groups of stakeholders to implement groundbreaking protocols. Prior to joining CCYJ, Nicholas represented youth and families in dependency, juvenile offender, education, family and criminal law matters as an associate attorney at Carey & Lillevik, PLLC. He holds a BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a JD from the University of Washington School of Law. Nicholas is also a volunteer mentor with If Project, which provides support to incarcerated women as they prepare to re-enter the community.

Tre Owes | Program Manager, Impact

Fredricka Pie | Associate Director, Impact
Fredricka “Freddie” Pie is a born Seattlelite and mother to 2 beautiful children. She has a love for coffee, Japanese anime, audiobooks, and music. She has been working in world of nonprofit since 2009 in the areas of youth housing, gang/juvenile justice involved youth and varies administrative roles. With a degree in Social and Human Services, Freddie hopes to continue combining her education and personal life experiences to provide an authentic voice when advocating for the community she serves and comes from.

Morgan Silverman | Director of Programs, Innovation
Trained as a clinical social worker, Morgan has worked in the non-profit sector for over 15 years, with the majority of that time in direct service, providing both long-term counseling and short-term crisis intervention in a variety of settings, including foster care, an emergency department, and housing programs. Working with individuals and families in different situations, but often experiencing similar barriers, led to Morgan’s desire to work on a macro level, addressing systemic issues and assisting in development of programs that equitably serve children, young people, and families in crisis. Morgan holds a BA from the University of California, Riverside, and a Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University.

Tatianah Summers │ Program Manager, Impact
Tatianah Summers was born in Quebec, QC, Canada but grew up in Littleton, CO. She moved to Seattle in 2017 where she attended Seattle University and earned a B.S. in Biology with minors in Ethics and Philosophy. Since graduating, she has been primarily working in the field of health care but is eager to shift to a more social justice and nonprofit based sector. In her free time, Tatianah loves musical theater, spending time with her two cats and reading historical fiction.

Gina Terada | Executive Assistant to the President & CEO
Gina Terada has been an administrator for over seven years in for profit and nonprofit work and brings a data driven focus to supporting her team to further the impact of their work. A Chicago native and newly minted Seattleite, Gina is committed to bringing her experience to a new landscape with unique needs. Gina has a BA in International Politics and Japanese from North Central College and can be found most weekends reading a good book on the couch with her two cats.