Board Members & Staff

About Us

Board Members

At CSTP, we are proud to have a dedicated and talented team of individuals serving as our board members. They bring a wealth of experience, expertise, and a shared commitment to our organization’s mission and vision. Meet the exceptional individuals who guide us towards success:

Vicki Bates

Board Member

Bio

Lindsey Stevens is a National Board Certified Teacher who lives in Tacoma and started with CSTP in August 2017 as the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Grant Washington State Site Director. Previously she has been a high school social studies and English language arts teacher for 13 years and most recently was a full-time release mentor teacher in the Sumner School District supporting new to career teachers at the secondary level. She has worked with CSTP as a consultant and presenter for the past four years and though she will miss her students and colleagues in Sumner her passion for all things teacher leadership and effective instruction has led her happily to this new work.

Andrea Gamboa

Vice President

Bio

Andrea Gamboa, National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescence/Young Adult Social Studies-History, teaches Social Studies at Foster High School in the Tukwila School District. She has years of teacher leader experience and has previously served as a board member for the Professional Educator Standards Board and as a WEA National Board Jump Start trainer. She is active with her local Tukwila Education Association where she is currently serving as Vice President.

Mark Gardner

Board Member

Bio

Mark Gardner is a National Board Certified high school English teacher at Hayes Freedom High School in the Camas School District. He has been teaching in Washington state since 2002, and credits connecting with CSTP early in his career with helping him develop his skills and potential as a teacher leader. In addition to teaching full time, Mark has served in a variety of roles at the local, state, and national level particularly around supporting new teachers, improving teacher evaluation, and creating systems for supporting teacher professional learning. He also works as lead developer and facilitator for WEA professional learning around student growth and TPEP. Mark’s wife Brie is a paraeducator for Evergreen Public Schools (Vancouver) and together they have three sons who are students in the Vancouver School District.

Manya McFarlane

President

Bio

Manya McFarlane is happily married for 32 years and mother to three amazing adult children, and grandma of two adorable granddaughters. Manya is an Elementary Teacher at Liberty Elementary School in Marysville, WA. She has been teaching for 19 years. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. She became a Nationally Board-Certified teacher in Early Literacy in 2014. Manya is a teacher leader in her district. She is the National Boards facilitator for the Marysville School district. She serves as the Elementary Representative for her Local Association. She serves as a Certification Trainer & Professional Growth Plan Facilitator for the Washington Education Association. She enjoys crafting and reading.

Constantino Montes

Treasurer

Bio

Constantino Montes teaches mathematics and teaching academy in the Pasco School District. A graduate of Eastern Washington University in 2012, Constantino has been teaching for 8 years and is currently working on a Masters in Science of Mathematics Education through Montana State University. He is also part of the Pasco High Leadership team and is part of the Bilingual Educator Initiative program in the Pasco School District which focuses on recruiting bilingual students to become educators. Constantino is passionate about teaching and bringing in students’ humanity into the classroom to create meaningful experiences and teach content. Outside of the classroom, Constantino enjoys a good logic puzzle, working on home projects, and spending time with his wife and children.

Dr. Katherine C. Rodela

Board Member

Bio

Dr. Katherine C. Rodela is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion for Faculty and Staff Development in the College of Education at Washington State University. Katherine teaches courses related to equity, social justice, and inclusion of diverse communities, families, and students in K-12 schools and Higher Education. Her research focuses on leadership for equity, diversity, and justice. Katherine earned her doctorate from Stanford University, and received a BA in Philosophy and History at Seattle University. Before earning her Ph.D., Katherine taught Spanish and Service Learning at an urban high school in Oregon.

Carla Santorno

Board Member

Bio

Carla Santorno is the former Superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools, now serving as Superintendent on Special Assignment providing transition assistance to the new Superintendent and furthering the District’s equity initiatives. She is a national award-winning superintendent and led an academic improvement effort that increased the Tacoma Public Schools graduation rate to 89.9 from 55 percent when she joined the district in 2009 as deputy superintendent. Connecting with all the players in the district – from parents to teachers, food service workers, bus drivers and custodial staff, has been a part of her vision to create an aligned focus from classroom to classroom and school to school. Prior to serving in Tacoma, Carla also served in the Boulder Valley, Denver, and Seattle Public School systems.

Constantino Montes

Treasurer

Bio

Stephanie Prosser joined the CSTP team in September of 2020 as a Project Coordinator. She graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Elementary Education. Stephanie has 12 years of teaching experience- the last five of which have been with Puyallup School District at Spinning Elementary (Go Viks!). She lives with her husband Johny, and her 2 children Harper and Fletcher. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading and rooting for the Cougs.

Dr. Katherine C. Rodela

Board Member

Bio

Erin Marzwick started with CSTP in March 2014 as the Communications and Events Coordinator. Prior to CSTP, Erin worked for the Professional Educator Standards Board for ten years, most recently in educator data and communications. Erin is a life-long learner and passionate about using technology to increase access to resources and learning materials. She frequently watches “how-to” videos on YouTube and takes free online classes. In her spare time Erin loves to travel, walk with her two dogs and attempt (not always successfully) new recipes.

Staff Members

Meet the team which works year-round to support teachers in the State of Washington.

Lindsey Stevens, Executive Director

lindsey@cstp-wa.org

Bio

Jeannie Gruber, Finance Manager

jeannie@cstp-wa.org

Bio

Jeannie began serving CSTP in July 2015 as the Finance Manager. Prior to this she worked as the Executive Director at United Way of Mason County followed by the Director of Volunteer Programs for United Way of Thurston County. Olympia has been her home for 7 years where she enjoys gardening, hosting dinner parties and spending time with her husband Jeff and her two daughters Ruby and Sophia. She seeks to maintain an attitude of gratitude and hopes to laugh at least once per day.

Ada Foote, Communications and Events Coordinator

ada@cstp-wa.org

Bio

Ada (she/they) is connected to a long line of educators, including her grandmother, mother, mother-in-law, and wife. Coming from her experiences as a queer person, she is excited about opportunities to support and advocate for diverse voices in education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Whitman College. Ada lives with her wife and one particularly demanding black cat in Olympia, where she can usually be found watching action movies or romcoms, attempting new dinner recipes, and playing various musical instruments.

Anzara Miller, Director of Leadership and Development

anzara@cstp-wa.org

Bio

Anzara Miller has been working in education for 23 years as an administrator, professional developer, technology specialist and middle school Spanish teacher. She has a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Concordia University Portland and a Master of Arts in Teaching from University of Portland. Most recently she has served as the Director of Professional Practice and Assessment in the Shoreline School District where she has worked for the past 17 years in supporting teachers and administrators in improving their practice. Anzara’s expertise is in developing and facilitating professional learning for adults to lead them in productive conversation and collaboration. She has worked with CSTP through her work as an Instructional Framework Specialist and State Lead for the Danielson Framework for Teaching. Anzara lives in Shoreline with her two daughters.

Saara Kamal, Project Manager and Learning Facilitator (she/her)

saara@cstp-wa.org

Bio

Saara (she/hers) is an antiracist educator whose pursuit of liberation stems from her own lived experiences as a multiracial woman of color who grew up in and navigated predominantly white spaces and the harms of racism, sexism, and classism. As a facilitator, she has deep experience working with BIPOC educators, BIPOC leaders, and white leaders as they unpack the ways their racialized and intersecting identities and has a particular skill in creating spaces that center BIPOC voices, needs, and experiences through a lens of healing from racial trauma. Saara completed her Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and most recently served as the Program Manager for the Martinez Fellowship, which serves BIPOC early career educators across Washington State. Saara lives in Burien with her dude and her dog and can usually be found taking “nature baths” by hiking and running the beautiful nature trails!

Erin Marzwick, Communications and Events Coordinator

Erin@cstp-wa.org