Larissa began working with kids in Perkins’ summer program.  She went on to direct the  Extended Day Program, where her easy connection with children clearly indicated a burgeoning teaching talent. After receiving her teaching endorsement, she accepted the role of first grade teacher, where she has been teaching children to read ever since.  A multi-talented person, when Larissa isn’t making beautiful children’s art displays or creating dynamic social studies curricula, she is cooking meals from her own vegetable garden or taking her family out on their fishing boat.

B.A., K-8 Teaching Certificate & Special Education Endorsement, Woodring College of Education, Western Washington University

Charlotte is originally from the Chicagoland area but is relocating from Denver to Seattle and can’t wait to join The Perkins community as a 2/3 teacher. She has experience working with kids in 2nd-4th grade back in Denver public and charter schools. She has also worked as a dance instructor for kids ages 2-18 across the country since she was 16. Prior to teaching, Charlotte worked as a graphic designer in the marketing and technology industry. She’s looking forward to incorporating her background in technology and the arts into the classroom. Outside of teaching, Charlotte enjoys baking dairy- and nut-free treats, hiking, musical theater, reading a book or watching true crime documentaries with a cup of tea, and spending time with her husband and Goldendoodle, Winnie.

BA, Journalism, Indiana University

MA, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Denver

Rachel Woodgate starting teaching in 2010 in rural Victoria, Australia. Moving to Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2012, she spent six years working at Jay Pritzker Academy with Cambodian national students. Rachel has experience with students ranging from 1st to 8th grade. She is really excited to be part of the Perkins School community. When she is not teaching, Rachel is running, reading, climbing or sleeping.

Graduate Diploma in Education LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Masters of Science in Curriculum and Instruction, Western Governors University, USA

Ali has been teaching for over twelve years and has experience working with students from preschool through high school, both inside and outside the classroom. Most of Ali’s professional career has been spent as an environmental educator where she was able to teach to one of her passions; helping students find the interconnections between the human and natural world. Ali is very excited to build meaningful curriculum and help foster a creative classroom community. Out of the classroom you can find Ali backpacking through the Pacific Northwest, working in her garden, designing her next sewing project and overall finding ways get outside.

B.S. in Elementary Education, University of Hartford

M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction – Science Education from University of Washington

Graduate Certificate in Environment, Education and Community from Islandwood

Andy is an active working musician and multi-instrumentalist. His love and passion for music has motivated him to pass this gift on to younger audiences. With a broad musical background, Andy brings a wide variety of educational approaches to engage all students. Andy views his role in the classroom as an opportunity to empower his students with the gift of music, and help them to grow not only as musicians but as individuals. He teaches private and group lessons at the Meter Music School as well as various camps and programs in the Seattle area. Beyond his teaching, Andy plays in a handful of bands that perform around Seattle and all over the country. When not teaching or playing, Andy enjoys art, hiking, bicycling, and a wide variety of other outdoor activities.

BFA Professional Music with emphasis on Composition, Production, and Engineering, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA

Level I Kodaly and Orff Certified

Jazz Performance, Seattle Central CC.

Hannah’s love of French has taken her to many corners of the world and she is thrilled to share that passion with young language learners. Her areas of expertise include French/English translation and Sub-Saharan African literature and her work has been published in Peace Review. As part of her degree, Hannah wrote an ethnography of Cameroonian hair salons, conducted research on women’s literature in Rwanda, translated Haitian legislation on child welfare, and designed a curricular initiative to address the lack of foreign language education in U.S. public schools. When she’s not dreaming up new ideas for her students, her interests include candy making, road tripping, and searching for the perfect picnic spot with her husband.

B.A., Educational Studies and French and Francophone Studies, Macalester College

Originally from Cascias, Mó grew up in a multicultural home where they began to develop their deep appreciation for multiple ways of knowing and being. Mó loves to teach inside and outside. Their first two years as an educator were spent serving 4th and 5th graders as a classroom teacher in Edinburgh’s public schools. Mó’s passion for social and environmental justice led them to travel across the world to Seattle, where they have spent the last four years of their career deep in the world of environmental education nurturing relational ways of being in young children and adults. When Mó isn’t learning with and from young people, you can find them lying in sunny patches, staring at the moon and stars while on backpacking trips, and wondering about the world around them.

B.Ed. in Primary Education, Aberdeen, Scotland

Graduate Certificate in Education for Environment and Community, IslandWood

M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Washington

Cullen was born and raised in Bothell, attended Inglemoor High School where he played soccer and was King Co champion in 2013. He got his A.A. from Shoreline CC and transferred to the University of Hawai’i Manoa. After spending two years in Honolulu, he did a study abroad in Sevilla, Spain before earning his B.A. in Anthropology in 2017. Cullen has a history of working with children as a camp coach, manager and director for the Seattle Sounders Youth Camps from 2013-2020, coached at Seattle United in 2020 and has worked other various soccer odd jobs. He started his career in education through working in Special Ed as a paraeducator supporting students in their general education classes. He did his student teaching in a combo of kindergarten and SPED while completing his master’s degree. Cullen is ready and excited to start his teaching career here at Perkins!

B.A., University of Hawai’i Manoa

Master in Teaching, Northwest University

Suzanne has been an educator for over 20 years as a classroom teacher, tutor, learning specialist, and teacher collaborator. Working in independent, progressive schools throughout the majority of her education, training, and career, Suzanne feels that Perkins is a perfect fit. Meeting children where they are, in order to support their learning in social, emotional, and academic areas is ideal, and Suzanne feels fortunate to be able to continue her work with The Perkins School and larger community where these principles are practiced. When she is not learning with children, Suzanne enjoys reading, as well as watching her three sons run cross country, play Ultimate, and most recently, play football.

B.A., Latin American Studies, University of Colorado

M.A., Early Childhood and Elementary Education, New York University

Emily was drawn to Perkins by the small class sizes and tightly knit community. Passionate about fostering self-awareness and supporting developing social skills, she aspires to help children feel confident in their own abilities while simultaneously encouraging collaboration and compassion. A staunch believer in the power of narrative, Emily believes that when students learn to read and write, the world becomes available. Outside of Perkins, Emily is an avid reader and a casual runner.

B.A., French, Western Washington University.

Elementary Education Endorsement, Woodring College of Education.

Ed.M, Language and Literacy, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Originally from Southern California, Sandra came to Seattle over half a lifetime ago and has never looked back. After making a midlife career change from the tech world, she has been teaching in grades K-6 for 15 years, first as a teacher in public schools and as a private tutor, and then to independent school education. She is passionate about math, literacy and technology, and loves the deeply creative, flexible, hands-on culture at Perkins. As a learning specialist, Sandra loves having the opportunity to work with learners of all ages and profiles across the Perkins community. When she is not wearing any of her Perkins hats, Sandra loves spending time with her three recently launched children or tromping up and down steep Seattle hills with her two huskies Skye and Koda.

B.Sc. Information Technology, California State Polytechnic University

K-8 Teaching Certificate, University of Washington

Angie Gianelli (She/Her)

Admissions Director & Business Manager

Angie has been an auditor and operations manager at a bank for many years. In more recent years she’s enjoyed managing a small business, coordinating math competitions at the middle school level and raising two sons. She’s an enthusiast for historical fiction and history books, particularly in the King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth era, as well as the American frontier.

Susan began her career as an entrepreneur in a startup travel company and later co-founded two restaurants.  She then moved to a corporate career in business management and development.   More recently, Susan entered the nonprofit sector and joined Perkins because the school’s mission and goals align with her personal values. Susan also enjoys art, traveling to other countries and everything French.

Tunisia Braxton (She/Her)

program administrator / EDP director

Tunisia's passion for working with children started at a young age. Her career has spanned across many schools throughout Seattle. From tutoring, working as an after school program coordinator and teaching in Pre-K. She enjoys children's innocence, enthusiasm and their curiosity about the world.

Tunisia is also very proud of her Brady Bunch family! She and her husband are loving parents to two middle schoolers. When Tunisia has some free time, she enjoys reading a good book with a cup of tea, creating a cozy home that can never have enough houseplants, and cooking for her family. Tunisia is excited to be a part of the Perkins team and cannot wait to start building relationships with the students!