Meet Our Team
Jennifer Kelty, Executive Director
Jennifer grew up in Arizona but has called Seattle home for the past 33 years. She came to TCC as the Executive Director in 2007 and has been managing nonprofit early learning programs in the area for 30 years. She began her career working as a Licensed Massage Practitioner specializing in pregnancy/infant massage before joining the early learning sector as a teacher and then ECEAP administrator. In addition to leading TCC, she is a part time Social Worker with WA State’s Department of Children, Youth and Families and prior to this, served as a family advocate and CASA (court appointed special advocate) with King County’s Dependency Court.
Jennifer holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood and Family Studies, an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Special Education, and certificates in Human Resources, Nonprofit Management and Fundraising Management from the University of Washington. She volunteers with several community nonprofits and spends her spare time with her son Dakota, who is an RN at the UW Medical Center, and her two feisty felines, Sir Alfie Beans and Fergus AF. When she is not working or volunteering, you can usually find her somewhere out in the woods, scaring the wildlife away with her singing.
Martin Salinas, Program Supervisor
Martin is originally from Mexico and moved to California in 1984. He graduated from St. John’s Seminary College in 1998 and later moved to Seattle with his family. He joined The Children’s Center staff as a Pre-K Teacher when the center opened in 1998 and has been a part of TCC ever since. Martín also taught Spanish at Arbor Heights in West Seattle and was an adult ESL instructor with a nonprofit in White Center, Burien and Sea-Tac.
Martín and his wife have four children ranging from twelve to twenty-one years old, and several of his children have also worked at TCC in recent years! Martín lives in Sea-Tac and spends his weekend working at Chemo’s, his family restaurant in White Center. Martin loves playing soccer, dancing, and spending time with his family. He also volunteers at his children’s school and in the community. He feels that he has always had a calling to teach and loves working with learners of all ages.
Tanay Brookens, Program Coordinator
Tanay has been part of TCC for 23 years. She started working as a summer volunteer with TCC when she was fourteen and taught for several years in our PreK class and then served as our Program Coordinator before becoming our Program Manager. In June 2018, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from North Seattle College and recently completed the Nonprofit Management Certificate program at the University of Washington. Tanay believes in the importance of being a part of a child’s growth and values helping children go down the right path to be successful adults and community members. She was born and raised in Seattle and is a graduate of several neighborhood schools including Northgate, Wedgwood, and Bryant Elementary. She also attended Eckstein, Seahawks Academy, and Northgate Middle College where she served as student body president.
Tanay loves to travel and participate in Guinean cultural events, and is big on spending time with her husband, family, and friends! Tanay also loves meeting new families and building community partnerships to welcome everyone to the wonderful TCC family.
Melissa Graham, Program Coordinator / Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Melissa is originally from Brooklyn, New York. She moved to Seattle, WA in the summer of 1998. She has a teenage son and a two year old daughter that attends TCC, along with a pet Chihuahua. Melissa is passionate about serving in her community. She is actively involved in outreach and advocacy for homeless populations, and she is a member at Roots Community Church where she also volunteers in Hospitality and Children’s Ministry. Melissa has worked with children in both early learning programs and with at-risk youth in community organizations prior to starting at TCC in 2022.
In her free time, Melissa enjoys spending quality time with her family and close friends, going on walks, reading, and watching movies.
Akiko Barron, Pre-Kindergarten Lead Teacher
Akiko is originally from Sasebo, Japan, where she taught Kindergarten and worked as a licensed chef in a restaurant. Akiko came to Seattle in 1978 and has three wonderful sons and six brilliant grandchildren. Akiko began her teaching career in Seattle as an Assistant Teacher at Laurelhurst Elementary and taught preschool at Keiro Northwest before coming to TCC in 2005. Akiko began her career with us in the Preschool classroom and has taught in our Pre-Kindergarten room since 2005.
Akiko is TCC’s master gardener, and she manages our plot in the Burke Gilman P-Patch garden along with our playground garden. She enjoys teaching the children about plants and nature and extending their learning through harvesting and cooking with our organically grown fruits and vegetables. She is a talented artist and spends a great deal of time each year helping the children to prepare for their annual performances.
Malgorzata Kozubczyk, Pre-Kindergarten Lead Teacher
Malgorzata was born and raised in Poland, where she earned a degree in Economics and worked in banking before moving to Seattle in 1995. From there she split her time raising two wonderful children and going to college to become a Pharmacy Technician. She spent countless hours volunteering at her children’s schools and Polish scouting events and has always had a natural connection with children and enjoys spending time with kids of all ages. Malgorzata is currently pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education at North Seattle College.
In her free time, she enjoys gardening, reading, biking, and traveling to Poland.
Luis Reyes, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Luis is from Pasco, WA and moved from the eastern side of the state 5 years ago to attend college. He studied at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA where he double majored in biology and environmental studies.
Luis has worked with children of all ages: working with middle schoolers for 3 years between 2019 to 2022 and preschoolers for 2 years between 2022 to present day. He plans to continue his education intergrading his passion for preserving the environment with educating the youth regarding the natural world.
In his free time, you can find Luis in any body of water, playing board games with his housemates, or exploring new culturally rich food around the Seattle area.
Yordanka El Tahel, Preschool Lead Teacher
Yordanka is originally from Bulgaria and came to Seattle with her husband and two children in 1997. She studied medicine and worked as a pediatrician for 12 years in Bulgaria before coming to the United States and joining the TCC team in 2000. Yordanka holds an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from North Seattle College, and her dedication to working with young children and families continues to grow as she focuses on their social-emotional, physical and cognitive development. Yordanka is also trilingual and is fluent in Bulgarian, Russian and English.
In her free time, Yordanka enjoys reading, singing, dancing, and spending time with her family.
Yuanyuan Ni (Kira), Preschool Teacher
Kira is from Shanghai, China. She came to the United States in 2017 and attended a Christian high school in Portland. She moved to Seattle in 2019, recently completed an Associate’s Degree in psychology at Seattle Central College, and plans to go to a university next year to continue her studies in Psychology. Kira had previously worked with children aged 2-8 in Shanghai, and since then has focused on Developmental Psychology. Kira really enjoys working with children.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends and pets.
Shaban Bihi, Preschool Teacher
Shaban is originally from Somalia and completed child development education for kindergarten through 8thgrade in 2003. She moved to Seattle in 2006, shifted to health care and attended Seattle Central College. After completing the CMA program, she worked as a certified medical interpreter from 2009-2018 and a Medical Assistant for the last 12 years in various health care settings. Working with children brings joy to Shaban, as well as spending time with her own, Awo (10 years old), and Amaar (8 years old) who are both TCC alumni!
During her spare time Shaban spends time at the lake because she loves the water and nature.
Erika Hyun, Toddler Co-Lead Teacher
Erika is originally from Hawaii and, after exploring many other states, eventually fell in love with Washington and has been here ever since. She has been working in childcare programs since 2001. She started out as an infant teacher and over the years has worked many roles including a P-Patch Teacher and Art Teacher. Erika started cooking at the age of four and comes from a family of bakers, so it was a natural fit when she joined TCC as our Kitchen Manager in 2018. During Covid, Erika transitioned back to working as a full-time teacher and is currently a Co-Lead Teacher in our Toddler classroom.
Erika and her daughter, Skyler, love to explore low tides and picnic at the various parks around the Seattle and Shoreline area. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and gardening with her family.
Nahomi Abe, Toddler Co-Lead Teacher
Nahomi grew up in Honolulu and is fluent in Japanese. She moved around frequently as a child and in addition to Hawaii has lived in Australia, Japan, and Chicago and has studied abroad in Seoul as well, where she learned a bit of Korean. After graduating from the University of Hawaii, she moved to Seattle to be able to experience all four seasons of weather! Nahomi worked in the customer service industry for over a decade but wanted to find something more fulfilling and started her career in early learning at TCC in 2022. She is currently working with (and learning from!) the children and teachers in the Toddler classroom.
When she isn’t working, she enjoys traveling, finding new places to eat, being creative, and relaxing at home.
Isabel Warren, Toddler Co-Lead Teacher
Isabel was born and raised in Seattle and is currently attending the University of Washington. She’s in her third year studying Early Childhood Education and Family Studies. She grew up in a Latino/African American household and enjoys spending time with kids. She grew up taking care of her three younger siblings and has worked with young children since 2019. She is partnering with UW for a paid internship at TCC which she started in October 2022 and is now working full time in our Toddler classroom
She enjoys spending time with family and friends, discovering new music and recipes, and building community in any way she can.
Carmen Sanchez, Float Teacher
Carmen grew up in a Mexican/American household right here in Washington state, currently resides in Federal Way, and is blingual in English and Spanish. She has traveled to Mexico every year since she was 9 years old and loved the sense of community she feels when she is visiting with the local children and neighborhoods. This love and connection made her realize that she wanted to work with young children. Carmen is currently a sophomore at UW Seattle studying for a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science with a minor in Education. She joined TCC in early 2022 and loves spending time with the kids and seeing them grow.
In her free time, Carmen enjoys spending time with her friends and family, as well as reading, traveling, and trying new foods.
Ella Shahn, Preschool Lead Teacher
Ella was born in Seattle and attended Seattle Public Schools for 13 years. She received a Bachelor's in Sociology and Spanish with a focus in Education, and is passionate about creating engaging, caring, and culturally relevant learning experiences for all children. She has been working with children ages 0-16 as a teacher, caregiver, and mentor for ten years.
When she is not at TCC, Ella spends time volunteering with local mutual aid networks, organizing in her community, playing with her little sister, nieces, and nephews, hiking and exploring Seattle parks, baking (and eating) desserts, and reading. She loves learning in all forms and is excited to continue to learn and grow with the TCC community!
Samantha Salinas, Float Teacher
Samantha (Martín’s daughter) is originally from Sea Tac, Washington and has lived there all her life. Her parents are from León Guanajuato, and she is bilingual in English and Spanish. She is going into her junior year at Mount Rainier High School. Samantha enjoys working at TCC and continues to learn from the kids, especially the younger ones, every day. She enjoys playing basketball, reading books, being surrounded by family/friends, and interacting with little kids.
She enjoys taking care of her younger sister and younger cousins and likes the idea of being able to try new things and being able to expand her knowledge/mind.
Kevin Salinas, Float Teacher
Kevin was born and raised in Seattle. He is bilingual in English and Spanish and is currently attending the University of Washington. Kevin works as a float teacher in all of our classrooms and enjoys helping and working with children of all ages.
Kevin lives in Seattle and goes back to Federal Way most weekends to see his family. Growing up he would often take care of his two younger siblings and loves spending time with family. He loves to play soccer and dance at parties. His favorite thing to do is hang out with his cousins.
Maxim (Max) Sanchez, Float Teacher
Max was born and raised in Kent, WA. He is currently a second year student at the University of Washington where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Max is currently working as a float teacher in all of our classrooms and enjoys helping children of all ages learn and grow.
In his free time, he enjoys playing video games and playing all sports, especially soccer and football. He also loves to visit his grandparents in Puerto Rico and Alaska.
““We just feel so fortunate to have our little one with you all. So many people don’t have care they can trust and rely on, where their children are 100% safe and loved. We are really grateful! Thank you!!!””
2022 TCC Board Members:
Kerala Cowart (President), Jessica Gonzalez (Vice President), Gabe Stephens (Treasurer), Emily Koth (Secretary), Christy Hunt and Theresa Greer