Reading Partners Seattle is a nonprofit organization that engages community volunteers to provide students with the proven, individualized reading support they need to read at grade level by fourth grade. We seek to create a more equitable future, one where every child in Seattle has the support they deserve to become strong readers and lifelong learners.
Reading Partners Seattle is powered by AmeriCorps, a federal agency for national service. We mobilize AmeriCorps members to recruit and coach volunteers, support students during and outside of tutoring sessions, work on capacity-building projects, and so much more.
Meet our team
Joyce’s more than two decades in education have been centered around the belief that all young people deserve to be successful in their education and that a high-quality education is key to an equitable society. Joyce is honored to join Reading Partners as the executive director of our Seattle region and to lead an incredibly devoted and talented team. Most recently, Joyce served as the senior director of partnerships at an educational non-profit organization, Unbounded. As a founding team member, she led business development and school district partnerships for more than six years, significantly growing the organization’s impact on the field every year. Before this, Joyce worked at the Regents Research Fund in New York State, guided by the vision of Former U.S. Secretary of Education, John King. Joyce began her career in education as a Teach For America corps member in St. John Parish, Louisiana teaching reading to high school students.
Joyce lives in Seattle with her family and has loved watching her daughter develop a love for and an understanding of how to read. In their free time, they love to travel, explore the Pacific Northwest, and settle in for Friday family movie nights.
Sara Albertson is very excited to be joining the Reading Partners family. She was raised in Seattle WA and graduated St Olaf College with a degree in theater and psychology. After college she worked in theater education with over ten theaters in the Seattle area. Some include Seattle Repertory theater, Seattle Children’s and Penguin Productions. She most recently comes from Town Hall Seattle, where she worked in Marketing. She has a passion for helping her students build autonomy through reading. In her spare time, she loves to get outdoors with her pup and enjoy the PNW!
Ginny is thrilled to join Reading Partners as the Development Manager for the Seattle region. Prior to joining the team, she spent three years supporting fundraising efforts for Read to Lead, a New York City based literacy organization dedicated to literacy and leadership development at the middle school level. Ginny has a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Ethics from Fordham University. She is excited to be able to continue the important work of promoting youth literacy as part of the Reading Partners team. In her spare time, Ginny enjoys spending as much time outside as possible, exploring her new city of Seattle, and reading her way through a never ending pile of books.
Zhane is excited to be joining reading partners as a Development Associate. She was born and raised in Seattle, and graduated from the University of Washington with a double major in Economics and Food Systems. After graduating, she worked as a door to door fundraiser for Amnesty International to support human rights efforts across the United States. She believes the ability to read is a basic human right and nobody should be barred from the opportunity to learn how. She is super pumped to work for an organization that does such amazing work supporting literacy efforts. In her free time she enjoys playing rugby, baking and decorating cakes.
Ryan is excited to return to Reading Partners as staff after serving two AmeriCorps terms as a program coordinator. After graduating from Seattle University with an English degree, Ryan knew he wanted to work in education and initially worked as an editor in the e-learning publishing field. He soon realized that he wanted to work closer with learners and undertook his AmeriCorps terms to get first-hand classroom experience. Now, Ryan is excited to return to his old sites as a Program Associate, continuing his work of empowering learners and assisting AmeriCorps members as they navigate their own professional development journey. In his free time, Ryan enjoys painting miniatures, cooking, and cycling.
Chris Young recently joined Reading Partners as a program manager. Prior to this she worked for several Seattle area education nonprofits with a focus on reducing education disparities and increasing opportunity equity. Previous to her nonprofit work, Chris taught high school and middle school biology and math at a Seattle independent school for 13+ years. She holds a MEd degree in secondary science education and a BS degree in biology. Some of her professional interests include brain science, neurodiversity, and social emotional learning. Personally, she spends her time chauffeuring her two middle-school aged children around town while dreaming about riding her bike, reading books, playing soccer or baking pies.
Our AmeriCorps team
Maddie Amberg, senior program coordinator
Erzsie DeRichmond, program coordinator
Roz Grounds, program coordinator
Troy Hagwood, senior regional program coordinator
Lauren Harris, regional program coordinator
Jared Jones, program coordinator
Cecil Lycoris, volunteer coordinator
Chris Madkins, program coordinator
Laura Marx, volunteer coordinator
Maia Pody, program coordinator
Xinyu Qin, regional program coordinator
Bridgette Scheppat, program coordinator
Quinn Shaer, senior program coordinator
Board
Megan Thomas, Board Chair, Amazon
Cliff Freed, Washington Arbitration and Mediation Services
Fauzia Haq, Amazon
Taylor Johnson, Amazon
Derieontay Sparks, Evergreen Goodwill