Staff
We have a small staff, both paid and volunteer, who run our programs and help behind the scenes.
Teri Hein, Executive Director
Teri is a native Washingtonian, veteran classroom teacher, and published author. She has traveled extensively and taught in Latin America. In addition to awards for her teaching and writing, she received a Fulbright Scholarship to research Ecuador’s varied cultural influences on the learning styles of its children.
Justin Allan, Store and Events Manager
Justin, a multiple discipline artist, purveyor of barn yard noises and faux languages, and long-time stargazer brings his nine plus years retail experience to 826 Seattle as the Store and Events Manager. He attended Everett Community College and Cornish College of the Arts, though a degree in anything substantial continues to elude him. He currently lives in a historic building on First Hill with his temperamental and noisy cat.
Alex Allred, Financial and Operations Manager
Alex can usually be found happily crunching numbers in the 826 Seattle office, though she loves numbers and words equally. She studied English and Creative Writing at U.C. Santa Cruz, and served as Archie McPhee’s Accounting Manager for nearly eight years. She and her husband live in Seattle’s Central District and enjoy going to see independent films and traveling.
Norma Andrade, Director of Programs
A native Bronx Latina, Norma treasures her raíces (roots) in the Andean range of Ecuador. Upon witnessing the mesmerizing beauty of Taita (Father) Rainier, Seattle enticed her. She comes to 826Seattle after 12 years of trekking in the vast educational terrain of Canada, Zambia, Holland and the U.S. as an educator, researcher and writer among other things. Along the way, she received her BA from Dartmouth College and her MA from Columbia University.
Chloe Horning, Development Associate
A few years back, Chloe studied English Literature and Philosophy at Smith College, where she was surrounded by smart women. A native New Hampshireian, Chloe considers Seattle her adopted home, but will gamely answer questions about the Old Man in the Mountain, or what (exactly) would happen to her if she were for some reason no longer able to “live free.” You can find Chloe doing a wide variety of tasks around 826, including using her mad writing skills to ask people for money.
Toffer Lehnherr, Programs Assistant
Toffer was born in Florida, but raised in Tennessee. He currently lives in Fremont with his wife and two dogs. He sat around reading for several years, which a university awarded him a degree for doing. Toffer still reads, even though no one grades him anymore. He enjoys music, but not loud music that hurts his ears, and watching sports, except when his team loses. You will find him running our drop in program (and enjoying it) Monday through Thursday. Another thing he enjoys is ice cream, even in the winter.
Devyn Perez, Work Study Administrative Assistant
Devyn is in a constant state of running around. Currently, she is running between school (where she is finishing her Senior year of undergraduate study in Communications), job number one (being a hostess at a nearby restaurant), and job number two (assisting here at 826 Seattle). In her free time, Devyn can usually be found with a coffee cup in one hand and a treat of some kind in the other. She also loves coat weather and exploring this new city that she likes to call home.
Haley Mackrow, Intern
Haley is thoroughly enjoying her time at 826, and despite her current search for a ‘real job’ wishes she could work at 826 forever. Her days at 826 are spent balancing her passions for doing homework with students who didn’t know topics such as multiplication tables or constitutional rights could be so complicated until they asked her, and administrative tasks that the rest of the staff are ecstatic to pass on. She enjoys long run on sentences, hanging out with her vegetable garden, her cool red bike, and popcorn.
Maiko Okuno, Intern
Maiko is from Japan, studying English communication for one year at the University of Washington. She loves American “fat food,” Seattle’s rainy and cold weather and busy and noisy 826 Seattle! She can be found in the tutoring room, The Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co., the office, and helping on field trips. She describes herself as sometimes excited and sometimes sleepy.
Danny Shapiro, Intern
Danny Shapiro comes from his mother, but more specifically - and perhaps less literally - from Los Angeles, CA. He graduated from University of Richmond quite recently and his fields of expertise include, but are not limited to: Spanish, English, and Creative Writing. He enjoys writing, filmic and literary absorption, adventurous eating, and sports. Recently, he changed his religion from Judaism to 826 and its softball team, The Oscar Wildes.
Sukie Zietz, Intern
Sukie is a native Philadelphian and is currently studying anthropology at the University of Washington. She plans to eventually return to Massachusetts, graduate from Mount Holyoke College and go on to work in the international development sector. At 826 Seattle, she can be found updating the databases, tutoring the students and, occasionally, doing the hokey pokey. She also happens to be classically trained in opera, but now only sings to scare away the neighborhood cat.
Doug Woodbury, Mathematician-in-Residence
Doug is our drop-in tutoring math whiz, one of those rare breeds that can actually explain advanced algebra and trigonometry to even the least enthusiastic high school student. While we have other great math tutors, we count on Doug to head up our math team daily. In his spare time, Doug likes to cook and play obscure German board games. (He also teaches writing workshops!)