Reviewing photos during our 2006 Face-to_face exchange

BRIDGES STAFF

Joyce McClure
Executive Director
Joyce brings to Bridges more than 30 years of experience in management and marketing with major corporations and advertising and public relations agencies in New York City , Boston , Los Angeles and Seattle . As a volunteer consultant, Joyce led Bridges’ media outreach during our partnership with Seeds of Compassion in April 2008. She then led Bridges’ staff and board in our first long-range strategic planning process before joining the Bridges team as Managing Director in November 2008. She assumed the position of Executive Director in January 2009. Prior to Bridges, Joyce was Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer on the Microsoft account at their public relations agency-of-record. A lifelong world traveler, Joyce lived in Iran as a child, an experience that parallels Bridges’ mission. An award-winning photographer, her photography of recent journeys can be viewed at www.joycemcclure.com and www.flickr.com/photos/joycemcclure/collections.
206.925.5301
joyce@bridges2understanding.org

Tania Westby
Program Director
Tania is a photographer who has been involved with Bridges since 2004. She is fascinated by the odd details and everyday beauty of the places in which we live, and is interested in telling stories of people and places through photographs. Her photography can be seen at www.taniawestby.com. Tania learned about Bridges while studying photography in the Rocky Mountain School of Photography's summer intensive program. She spent two years as a weekly volunteer classroom mentor with Bridges classrooms at Aki Kurose and Hamilton Middle Schools in Seattle prior to joining the Bridges staff in 2006. In her role as Program Director, Tania leads Bridges’ efforts to refine and enhance the organization’s programs as well as sustain a highly qualified support staff to meet the needs of Bridges’ partner schools. Since joining Bridges Tania has led numerous workshops in Seattle as well as at our international sites in Guatemala, Peru and India; managed the Bridges web site, and co-developed the Bridges Digital Storytelling in the Classroom Curriculum.
206.925.5304
tania@bridges2understanding.org

Annie Von Essen
Communications and Marketing Manager
Annie is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Social Work (MSW) and received her MPA degree from the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs in May 2009. Annie is involved with our strategic planning process along with market research, public relations, fundraising and program evaluation. She speaks Spanish and has a rich history of youth and community work in the US and El Salvador. Annie is excited to be working with an organization with a global focus and we are thrilled to have her!
206.925.5311
annie@bridges2understanding.org

Jennifer Geist
Coordinator of International Programs
Jennifer co-founded Passport Schools NW in 2003, which eventually joined with Bridges in 2006. She develops curriculum, provides vital support to our classroom projects, mentors teachers, is involved with program planning, and is developing our international intern program through the University of Washington.
Jennifer loves working directly with teachers to incorporate global perspectives into their pre-existing curricula through online project collaborations. Jennifer created the Spanish language program at John Hay elementary School, and has written an interactive curriculum for K-6 Spanish. She is a founding member of Successful Schools in Action and currently sits on the steering committee for the Washington State Coalition for International Education. As a language teacher, Jennifer was selected to participate in the 2003 Department of Education/iEARN C3 World Project, a year-long professional development program.
206.250.6435
jennifer@bridges2understanding.org

CONTACT INFO
Bridges to Understanding
601 N 34th St
Seattle, WA 98103
ph: 206.925.5300
email: info@bridges2understanding