CHOOSE 180 Team

Our team is intentionally made up of people with lived experience from the communities we serve. We are a diverse group of leaders with different skills and experiences that come together through a passion to serve young people.

Headshot of Allie Steinberg

Allie Steinberg

Diversion Workshop
Coordinator

  • Allie is passionate about empowering young people to be their best self and to empower communities to be healthy, safe, and thriving environments. She believes that connecting young people with positive resources and opportunities, while also helping them explore their strengths, interests, and motivations, allows them to define what success means for them, and develop tools to reach their goals. Allie joined CHOOSE 180 in July of 2022 after graduating with her Masters in Social Work.

Headshot of Cemal Ford

  • Cemal joined CHOOSE 180 in 2022 with BS in Sports Management, BS Business Management and minor in Finance. He has worked with various nonprofits for over 20 years. His hobbies are traveling, playing golf, watching sports and trying new restaurants.

Cemal Ford

Director of Community Engagement

Headshot of Chase Gawiran

Chase Gawiran

Restorative Community Pathways Community Navigator

  • As someone growing up impacted by the criminal legal system, Chase wanted to dedicate his life to sharing his experiences in the hope that young people can grow and thrive in a similar fashion that was done for him.

Headshot of Christina Umali

Christina Umali

Teaching & Advancement Project Manager

  • As someone who has been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, Christina is passionate about systemic change and using both qualitative and quantitative methods to uplift and leverage community voice. She joined CHOOSE 180 in 2022 after graduating with her Masters in Public Health from the University of Washington. Outside of work, she enjoys working out, traveling, and eating good food.

Headshot of Daicia Mestas

Daicia Mestas

Expressive Arts
Therapist

  • Daicia is a 2020 MSW University of Washington graduate and is certified in Expressive Arts Therapy. Daicia choses to use the expressive arts in counseling because she believes in the power that creativity can have on a young person. She is from the New Mexican desert, she loves poetry, activism and her family/friends.

Headshot of Dante Thomas

Dante Thomas

Program Coordinator,
School-Based Diversion

  • Dante is passionate about creating an inclusive and welcoming enviornment for all students to grow and learn. He has been working with students from diverse backgrounds since 2019, and have worked with a multitude of non-profits including: Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, and Becoming a Man. He is looking forward to creating a culture of equity and inclusion.

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Demitrus Wood

CHOOSE Freedom
Navigator

  • Demitrus joined CHOOSE 180 in March of 2024 and serves as a School-Based Diversion Program Coordinator.

Headshot of Durell Green

Durell Green

Teaching & Advancement Project Manager

  • Durell has navigated the process of transforming from one of society's rejects, to a community asset. He believes strongly in the power that lies in personal choice and community. He envisions a world where systems and "isms" do not rob our youth of recognizing and operating in their gifts and purpose. He is particularly passionate about those impacted by mass incarceration, AKA modern slavery. 

Headshot of Edoukou Assouan

Edoukou Assouan

Communications & Marketing Manager

  • Edoukou believes in the power of words, as a communications and marketing professional she has used her knowledge to advocate against harmful systems. She joined the CHOOSE 180 team in 2023 as the Communications and Marketing Manager.

Headshot of Evangejalynn

⁨Evangejalynn Rund⁩

CHOOSE Freedom
Navigator

  • Evangejalynn is a seasoned professional with over a decade of experience in nonprofit settings, including housing, mental health, and program management. As a certified peer counselor for nearly ten years, she has dedicated her career to supporting individuals facing similar challenges. Her passion for youth and young adults drives her to create opportunities and resources that she wished had been available to her as an at-risk youth navigating complex trauma. Evangejalynn’s commitment to empowering the next generation is at the core of her work in the community.

Headshot of Emily Westlake

Emily Westlake

Director of
Operations

  • Emily’s family was deeply impacted by the criminal legal system with the incarceration of her dad, and is most inspired by organizing work led by current and formerly incarcerated people. She has been active in prison reform and abolition work since moving to Seattle in 2013, and is a graduate of Seattle University’s Masters of Nonprofit Leadership program. She is from New York and in her free time enjoys swimming, music, and art.

Headshot of Esther Lee

Esther Lee

Contracts & Reporting
Manager

  • Esther joined the CHOOSE team in August 2022 with the goal of supporting staff in service of the youth and young adults of CHOOSE 180. She is passionate about creating structures of support and collaboration centered on the collective ability to exercise agency, honor human dignity, and cultivate thriving communities.

Headshot of Henok Gebreyohannes

Henok Gebreyohannes

Restorative Community Pathways Community Navigator

  • Born in Eritrea and raised in Seattle, Henok is an active member in the community fighting against systemic racism and stereotypes. Henok joined CHOOSE 180 in 2021 as a Community navigator with nine years of experience in nonprofit work.

Headshot of Jana Detrick

Jana Detrick

Mental Health
Therapist

  • Jana grew up in the Northwest and has a deep drive to embody love and justice in action. In 2020, Jana began our CHOOSE180 Counseling Program after completing her Masters in Counseling Psychology in 2019. Jana loves to sing, have deep conversations, explore neighborhoods, and watch some ridiculous reality tv on Netflix. :)

Headshot of Jasmin Tucker

Jasmin Tucker

Director of
Programs - Operations

  • Jasmin has a close connection to the School to Prison Pipeline. Before graduating from Northwest Christian University and acquiring her Bachelor's in Business Cum Laude. She was suspended and expelled from several High Schools as a teen and has experienced the effects of exclusion and isolation, being pushed out of classrooms and becoming a product of the school-to-prison pipeline. Jasmin is passionate about supporting youth in their journey to thrive and defying obstacles and systems that hinder their success and wholeness. In addition to her lived experience, Jasmin has worked in healthcare and non-profit for the last ten years. Some of her training and certifications include; Youth Mental Health First Aid, Trauma-Informed Care, and Serving LGBTQIA2S+ Youth in Systems of Care. When Jasmin is not working, she is soaking up the joys of motherhood with her son Kashton.

Headshot of Jayanna Thompson

Jayanna Thompson

Director of Communications & Marketing

  • Jayanna is passionate about using communications platforms for anti-oppression advocacy. She joined CHOOSE 180 in 2021 with a BA in Communications, MA in Nonprofit Management, and a background in nonprofit work. When she's not planning comms, she's usually traveling or spending time outside.

Jennifer Gray

Director of
Human Resources

  • Jennifer is a people leader with a passion for community, people and organizational development. She joined CHOOSE 180 in May 2024 and comes with a BA in Psychology and Masters in Business Administration. She also has a few HR certifications, including a DEI Certificate from Cornell. When she is not working at CHOOSE 180 or as an adjunct professor for Northwest University, she spends her time with her two sweet littles, Zoe and Zion.

Headshot of Johnny Walker Jr

Johnny Walker Jr.

Director of
Programs - Outreach

  • Johnny has been serving in the community since 2009. After 8 years of working with gang-involved youth, he joined CHOOSE 180 to take on a leadership role to help others in their mission to serve our young people. When Johnny isn't working, he is enjoying his time being a husband and a father.

J’Quai Holiday

Aftercare Success
Coach

  • J'Quai had always heard great things about the work that CHOOSE 180 does, and wanted to be a part of that. There is power in words. J'Quai wanted to make sure that J'Quai was speaking life into themselves, others, and into the world. J'Quai wants to see everyone win. There is enough out here for everyone to have some. "Prosper and Flourish".

Headshot of Julissa Sanchez

Julissa Sanchez

Director of
Advocacy

  • Julissa Sanchez is CHOOSE 180’s passionate Director of Advocacy. She works for collective liberation, intergenerational healing, cultural resistance, empowerment of our Young People and transformative justice. Julissa leads with and by the voices of the most impacted.

Headshot of Kanani Parish

Kanani Parish

Program
Manager

  • Kanani always wanted to give back to her community the way it gave to her when she was an adolescent. Kanani has been in non-profit work since 2010, as serving youth and young adults is her passion.

Lamaria Pope

Program
Manager

  • Lamaria is passionate about serving the young people in the Highline School District. Lamaria was a participant in the diversion workshops in 2018 and began to look at her own life as a possibility to be developed, not a problem to be solved. In fact, it later gave her the opportunity to join CHOOSE 180 in 2021 as a full-time program coordinator and in 2024 she was promoted to Program Manager. When she's not in schools facilitating school based diversion workshops, she is working on building her candle business or traveling.

Michael Witherspoon

Community Engagement
Manager

  • Michael is passionate about community building and fostering joy in the lives of others. With a love for creativity and innovation, Michael constantly seeks new ideas and opportunities to collaborate with others towards a greater good. Whether through spreading joy or working towards a common goal, Michael strives to make a positive impact on the world around him. He joined CHOOSE 180 in 2023 with a BA in Geography, MBA, and a background in community work. Michael spends his free time coaching girls basketball at Foster High School in Tukwila, Wa.

Michelle Hurd

Office
Manager

  • Michelle has a passion for creating an inclusive and enjoyable workplace where staff are and feel valued, appreciated, and celebrated. She joined CHOOSE 180 in June 2023 and brings over 15 years of nonprofit experience, including 10 years of direct service and over 8 years in management and operations. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of developing programs, managing employees as well as employee recruitment, establishing client enrollment systems, and leading organization operations.  


    In her downtime, you can catch her cheering on all the local sports teams (and some non-local favorites, too), traveling, and getting creative. Michelle is PNW through and through. She especially enjoys anything outdoors – kayaking, riding bikes, playing catch, hiking, snowboarding, jumping in an occasional 5K run – anything that keeps the body moving and takes advantage of our beautiful state.

Headshot of Miran Kim

Miran K.

Grants
Manager

  • Miran joined CHOOSE 180 in 2022. She is interested in community-based programming and articulating the relationship between racial capitalism and the carceral state. Miran holds a MA in Communications and a BA in English.

Headshot of Nneka Payne

Nneka Payne

Executive
Director

  • Nneka is a relationship-focused and mission-driven leader who holds a dynamic background spanning a decade across community-based organizations, human services, and the legal system. Rooted in her firsthand experiences with the King County juvenile legal system, the mission of CHOOSE 180 is deeply personal for her. She has witnessed how the strain between systems, processes, and people create significant gaps and limit opportunities for young people and is committed to eliminating those strains and identifying possibilities.

Headshot of Trish Mejia

Patricia “Trish” Mejia

Program Coordinator, School-Based Diversion

  • Trish is passionate about creating connection, working with young people and forming authentic relationships. She joined CHOOSE 180 back 2022 with 17 years of youth/teen programming experience with the City of Burien. When she isn't doing outreach, she's spending quality time with her dog and going to shows.

Headshot of Robert

Robert Sappington

Director of
Finance

  • Robert is passionate about helping people unlock their full potential through data-driven decision making. He joined CHOOSE 180 in 2024 with a JD, an MBA, and experience in both Fortune 100 companies and startups spanning financial services, basic materials, software, publishing, and clean tech industries. After crunching numbers and developing strategy, Robert enjoys hiking and paddleboarding.

Headshot of Rebecca Thornton

Rebecca Daye

Finance
Manager

  • Rebecca started volunteering with CHOOSE 180 as a workshop speaker in 2016. In March of 2020, she came on full-time as our Office Manager/Bookkeeper and now holds the Finance Manager role. Rebecca is passionate about giving back to her community through her own story of resiliency and has infused her passion for helping others with her passion for finance - creating a pathway to support our staff in all they do for our community.

Headshot of Seth Davis

Seth Davis

Program Coordinator,
School-Based Diversion

  • Seth Davis joined CHOOSE 180 in January 2023 as a School-Based Diversion Coordinator. Seth grew up as a son of a pastor and a troubled young person in school. Receiving guidance throughout high school helped him stay out of trouble and helped him find his passion for being that mentor for young people that he also received. He has been working as a mentor for youth since he was 19 years old. Now, he is more passionate than ever about seeing the youth of this generation reach their full potential. He is a husband, mentor and business owner with a lot of insight to give the young people of the community.

Headshot of Travis Ross

Travys Ross

Aftercare Success
Coach

  • Ross was raised in High Point, West Seattle with the vision of the struggle as normal. Not wanting to be a statistic, he paid attention and learned what not to do. He picked up coaching sports and found his passion in helping the youth. It started with sports, and then the conversations started to get deeper. He knew he could use my status to make a change in the youth, and here he is!

Headshot of Troy

Troy Landrum

Program Manager
Aftercare

  • Troy Landrum Jr. is a native of Indianapolis, IN and has lived in Seattle, WA for 10 years. He is passionate about leadership development and youth development through the arts. Troy graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Washington Bothell.

Board of Directors