PEPS Board Members lend their passion and expertise to help guide PEPS to grow our reach and impact.

The role of the Governance Board is to support PEPS staff, as well as provide transparency for supporters and funders through oversight of the Executive Director, thought partnership on strategy and direction, ambassadorship, fiduciary oversight and crisis management.

The Board prioritizes a shared-decision making process with staff and proactively looks for ways to shift power to staff. The Board meets quarterly. Part of its work is to regularly review its actions and functions through an equity lens.

Board members with subject-matter expertise may also advise staff on specific needs or contribute to individual projects. Those interested in relationship-building often connect staff with potential partners or donors and serve as table captains for our community benefit. These roles are optional.

As part of our ongoing equity work, we have shifted away from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach. We have a smaller Governance Board, where people can best use their gifts, to be paired with a larger Advisors & Ambassadors Network. Learn more about how it's going in a letter from Board leadership.

PEPS values and celebrates the strengths that diversity brings to our organization and is committed to advancing equity through our work. Cultivating a diverse and inclusive Board of Directors is one of our priorities. Black, Indigenous and People of Color and others with underrepresented identities (including, but not limited to: gender identity, class, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, age, ability and background) are strongly and sincerely encouraged to apply.

• If interested in becoming a board member apply online.
  Email Executive Director Dana Guy at danag@peps.org with questions.

2023 PEPS Board of Directors

Sahar Arbab

Sahar Arbab (she/her) works for King County Parks where she leads the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program. The YCC is a paid environmental pathway program for teens interested in learning more about careers related to public lands and the environment. Prior to joining the County, Sahar spent nearly a decade working in the environmental nonprofit sector, where she merged her passions for environmental justice and youth development. Sahar is passionate about creating educational programs informed by local environmental concerns. She has dug in urban gardens alongside youth, created a youth advocacy program, and trained classroom teachers.

Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, she moved to Washington state with her partner, Mike, to pursue graduate studies at Western Washington University. The PNW quickly became home, and Sahar believes it is the best place to build her career and family.

In 2022, Sahar and Mike welcomed their son and found support and resources through a PEPS Group. She volunteers with PEPS because she believes the organization does a phenomenal job of connecting families and building support networks, ultimately creating stronger communities. In her free time, she enjoys running, playing with clay, and hiking with her family and their two dogs.

[Top]

Christine Chang, President

Christine Chang (she/her) is originally from Taiwan and with her father's job as a diplomat, has lived in Indonesia, Germany, Taiwan, D.C., and Atlanta. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Cornell University. Upon graduation, Christine relocated to New York City - which holds the title of the place she's lived in the longest — where she managed a sales team at Expedia. In her work, Christine traveled to Seattle many times and became convinced it was the best place to start a family. She currently is a Regional Vice President at Salesforce/Tableau.

Christine participated in PEPS in 2022 with her then newborn daughter, Margot, and was blown away by the amazing connection, support and camaraderie the group provided. Because of the many countries Christine has lived in, it has become especially important to her the value of diversity and helping children and adults have the tools and understanding to have thoughtful and open discussions around inclusion and diversity.

In Christine's free time, she enjoys being active with her family, yoga, reading and discovering all the beauty the Pacific Northwest has to offer. She became an avid baker in COVID and will still pick up an intense baking project when she finds the time!

[Top]

Erika Dowd

Erika Dowd has been a volunteer Group Leader for Newborn and Second Time Around PEPS Groups, as well as a Table Captain for the PEPS Annual Benefit.

Erika is a former nonprofit leader and fundraiser, with a BA from Grinnell College and a master's in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She has worked with many small to mid-size nonprofits in the areas of development, strategic planning, program management and operations, and is passionate about helping organizations grow in a sustainable and mission-driven way. She is also a dedicated volunteer for multiple Seattle organizations and her kids' elementary school, leads a Girl Scout troop, and has served on the board of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra since 2018.

Erika is the mom to two kids and has been living in the Seattle area since moving here from Silicon Valley in 2014. She was introduced to PEPS when she participated in her own Second Time Around group in 2016 with her youngest child and fell in love with the PEPS model of supporting parents and building deep connections. After going through post-partum depression with her first child and finding a lack of information and support in her local community, she felt compelled to volunteer her time with PEPS to help new parents connect with each other and find resources to understand the physical and emotional changes that can come with this time of their lives. In her spare time, Erika loves to read and explore the Pacific Northwest with her family.

[Top]

Rebecca Koladycz

Rebecca Koladycz (she/her) knows firsthand how important early parenting support is: her Seattle-based sister raved about her experience in PEPS and advised her to connect with an early parenting support group when she was pregnant with her daughter over a decade ago. That proved to be sage advice that Rebecca passes on to all her expecting friends, as she treasures and is still close to the families from her now scattered New York City parenting group. Having relocated to Seattle from Brooklyn, Rebecca is thrilled to have the opportunity to support PEPS as a board member and is committed to ensuring that all new parents have the support they need to thrive.

In her professional life, Rebecca is currently the Director of Programs and Learning for Listen4Good, an initiative that supports nonprofits in developing systematic client feedback loops. She has a history of working with nonprofits across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America through diverse roles held at International Planned Parenthood Federation, including developing and rapidly scaling a performance management system with local and international partners in 21 countries in Africa and Asia to ensure access to a full range of reproductive healthcare.

Originally from Texas, Rebecca has a Master’s in Social Anthropology from University of Rochester. From the start of her career working in teen pregnancy prevention and sexuality education to evaluating grant-funded programs in public schools to years in international development, Rebecca is keenly aware that the structural barriers communities face in accessing education and healthcare are the same whether in a ‘developing’ country or right here in her new home of Washington state. As such, Rebecca is driven by a strong desire and need to grapple with, reflect on, and be humble in the face of complex equity, social justice, and power dynamics wherever they are at play.

As a recent transplant, Rebecca looks for any opportunity to bask in the beauty of Pacific Northwest nature and indulge in her new-found passion for hiking.

[Top]

Christine Leber, Secretary

Christine Leber (she/her) became a mom while juggling international travel as a litigation consultant in the engineering/construction field in New York and San Francisco. After moving to the Pacific Northwest and with the arrival of their third child, she put her professional career on pause to juggle life with small children. She joined the board of her local cooperative preschool, and it was that experience that helped her see how her consulting skills translated into useful tools for serving her community.

Christine first encountered PEPS as a participant in the Parents of Adolescents and Teenagers (PAT) program. She was entering a new phase of parenting and seeking out resources to better understand her newly minted adolescent about to enter middle school. Christine had such a great experience as a participant that she jumped at the opportunity to serve as the Group Leader of a Newborn Group.

Parenting is an experience that no one can be entirely prepared for. Christine has been grateful for the parent education resources she has had access to through cooperative preschools, parent educators, and PEPS. She recognizes the importance of building community and believes deeply in the PEPS mission and values.

[Top]

Stephanie Sharkey, Vice-President

Stephanie Sharkey (she/her) is mom to Abigail and Nolan and has a professional background in events, non-profits, and associations.

At The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), Stephanie leads the Operations Department and builds operational efficiencies in support of delivering IFM’s educational offerings, certification program, and partnerships to advance IFM’s mission, and the widespread adoption of functional medicine. She previously worked as IFM's Chief of Staff for three years and supported and then managed IFM's conferences and exhibiting efforts the six years prior.

When pregnant with their daughter in 2017, Stephanie and her husband heard from multiple people that they "had to" sign up for PEPS. And she is so grateful that they did! It was the exact community and motivation to leave the house that was needed at the time. Knowing how much the PEPS experience meant to her back in 2017, Stephanie has been a supporter and advocate from the sidelines. Having read about the PEPS board transformation and seeing PEPS' continued efforts towards expanding access through new programs and focus on equity, Stephanie is excited to join the PEPS board and be a part of helping more people feel supported and connected through various stages of parenthood.

Stephanie enjoys cooking, yoga, and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her family.

[Top]

Kathryn Zetzer, Treasurer

Kathryn Zetzer (she/her) is a Supervisor at the Washington State Emergency Management Division where she oversees a team that manages the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Homeland Security grants for the state. She currently manages more than $100M in multi-year grants focused on building regional capabilities and facilitating statewide conversations.

Kathryn first heard about PEPS in 2018 and joined her first PEPS Group in 2020. PEPS was the connector, educator, and guiding voice that she needed. She joined the Board of Directors in 2019, driven by the organization’s vision to build "resilient families, connected communities, and equitable outcomes" for all families in Seattle. When she’s not volunteering with PEPS, Kathryn can be found running, hiking, or chasing her kids at a local park.