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Staff
Rita Alcantara
Program Director
Rita was born and raised in south Seattle by two amazing Filipino parents. For a short time, she ran away to a
place with a bit more sun, attending Santa Clara University and earning a B.A. in Studio Art and Art History. After
graduating, Rita promptly returned to Seattle, its comforting rain and the strong community that surrounded her here.
After a few years working as a photographer, she felt compelled to give back to the very community that raised her
and so began her journey in the world of non-profit arts education and youth development. Rita is excited to join
the PV team and feels honored to be considered a colleague among individuals of such passion and caliber. Rita loves
karaoke, hip-hop, traveling, eating, being brown and being a girl.
Tyler Bosma
Office Manager
After a boring but privileged suburban Seattle upbringing, Tyler attended the UW, doing his bachelors
studies in Linguistics. After college, he moved to the Georgia, where he had an amazing learning
experience (along with some culture shock) while he worked for two years in a rural factory. He then started
courses in Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, focusing on queer theory along
with race, class, and gender studies. Through his work at Powerful Voices, Tyler is involved with the
Children, Youth & Family Sub-Coalition of the Seattle Human Services Coalition and the Safe Schools
Coalition. Tyler loves working at Powerful Voices, and is excited DAILY to be a part of such amazing and
important work in support of girls. In his free time, Tyler volunteers for the United Way Free Tax Campaign
and takes service trips to New Orleans through a scrappy little non-profit called Katrina Corps. Tyler also
works as Operations Coordinator for another great Seattle non-profit -- Seattle Works, and is excited
for the changes that increased volunteerism will bring to our community.
Madeleine Clifford
GirlsRAP AmeriCorps Intern
Madeleine was born and raised in Seattle; she’s lived in Columbia City, Capitol Hill, West Seattle and
the Central District. Her biracial upbringing as the child of a Jamaican immigrant father and a white
mother has provided her with the unique ability to appreciate racial difference and to struggle for
understanding. Finding her own path was difficult, but creativity — particularly the written word and
performance — motivated her to claim her voice and share her experiences with others. She became involved
with the Seattle spoken word scene through Youth Speaks in high school. She then went on to attain a B.A.
in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis at UW. Currently, she emcees in a hip-hop duo called Canary Sing.
Madeleine is enthusiastic about interning for Powerful Voices this year especially when it comes to teaching
workshops, learning from young women, and helping equip girls with the tools they need to reach their potential.
Devon De Leña
Outreach Coordinator
Devon de Leņa was born and raised by two very progressive parents in a not so
progressive town (Bellevue WA). She is proud to say that she has four amazing
sisters and grew up in a large tight-knit family. After transferring to Western
Washington University to finish her undergraduate degree she joined a campus
outreach group called Women's Empowerment and Violence Education. Her experience
revealed the injustices of women in her community and inspired her to create a
self designed B.A. in "Cross-Cultural Women's Empowerment." After graduating
Devon traveled to Kenya to work with adolescent girls on healthy lifestyle
choices and HIV/AIDS. Devon is thrilled to be the Just Serve Americorp Member
for PV this year. On her off time Devon enjoys watching movies, cooking and
relaxing with her rambunctious family.
Sarah Insel
Case Manager
A Californian by birth and a social worker by training, Sarah learns from all people and things she interacts
with -- however, she learns the most valuable things in her life from young people, nature and community.
After two years of living in New York City primarily for school, she decided Seattle was the place for her
to return to continue learning. While in New York Sarah worked with the Osborne Association's NY Initiative
for Children of Incarcerated Parents, and facilitated the Correctional Association's Juvenile Justice Project
SAFE Passages Program for LGBT youth. Most recently in Seattle she's worked at the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars
program and Passages Northwest, a girls’ outdoor education organization. Sarah brings a liberation framework
to her self-awareness, anti-violence and anti-oppression collaborations with young people and constantly
promotes youth-led solutions and advocacy. Her personal organizing centers the experiences and wellness of
incarcerated transgender, gender variant and queer young people, social work education and issues of refugee
resettlement. Sarah loves using her hands, watching (weather and power) change, exploring multiracial
identities, being silly, backpacking, political education, unicorns and her siblings. She is thrilled
to be a part of the PV community.
Tanya Kim
Executive Director
At PV she integrates her passion for the arts, youth development and leadership
development. She has over twelve years of experience in implementing and managing
youth programs. She is a member of the Minority Executive Directors Coalition,
Asian Pacific Directors Coalition, Seattle/King County Gang Prevention Taskforce,
Juvenile Detention Oversight Committee, Washington Women’s Foundation Impact
Assessment Committee and Women Business Owners. Outside of PV, Tanya serves on
the Minority Advisory Board to the President of Western Washington University
(WWU) and served on the Korean Community Counseling Center Board of Directors.
Tanya is a graduate of WWU (1997) and completed Stanford University’s Graduate
School of Business Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders (2008).
Alma Dea Michelena
Development Associate
Bio coming soon.
Ann Muno
Senior Program Analyst & Advocate
Ann helped found Powerful Voices in 1995. Her social work experience spans the past fifteen
years, including work with schools and community organizations, and is
rooted in a deep commitment to the next generation of girls. Through her
much-cherished involvement in Powerful Voices, Ann has the opportunity to
see girls take hold of their potential and flourish, staff and volunteers
create educationally exciting spaces for girls, and the community invest in
girls' lives. One day, she'd also enjoy the opportunity to study how female
adolescence differs for Italian-American and Italian girls. Ann is an
Illinois native and has lived in Seattle since 1990. She is the proud mother
of five children.
Molly Pencke
Instructional Coordinator, STAGES
Molly Pencke was lucky enough to grow up in the south end of Seattle with her
amazingly supportive parents and big sister, who is one of her best friends.
She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2002 and earned
her B.A. in Community Studies with a minor in Education. During her time there
she was the queen of internships and interned at elementary schools, in a juvenile
detention center, with youth mentoring organizations, and internationally with a
human rights organization in Nicaragua. After college, she could not wait to get
back to Seattle to start her career in youth empowerment. While looking for work
she took a detour and ended up getting her cosmetology license and has been a part
time hair stylist ever since. Molly’s recent experience in organizing and working
for social justice came from her work as a youth counselor at a residential shelter
for homeless and displaced youth and as a program manager working with residents
in affordable housing. She is thrilled to be part of the Powerful Voices team
and is actually excited to go to “work” most days. She enjoys reading, creative
writing, painting, dancing, singing if no one is listening, building relationships,
keeping the peace, eating, and traveling. In the future she will found a youth
empowerment non-profit and plans on writing at least one novel, becoming fluent
in Spanish, traveling the world, and becoming a mother.
Emma Sando
STAGES AmeriCorps Intern
Emma grew up in a small, suburban town just outside of Boston MA, but her heart
was really farther north in the White Mountains, where she spent much of her youth
hiking with her family. Moving to the Midwest to attend Carleton College, she received
her B.A. this past June in International Relations, a degree which allowed her to
pursue her passion for social justice and human rights. During her time at Carleton,
she spent five months in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she studied children’s rights
law and worked with youth who were living on the streets. It was a life-changing
experience, which opened her eyes and her mind. She returned to Buenos Aires in the
summer of 2008 on a fellowship from her college to assist in the start-up of a
grassroots NGO for street children. Upon returning to the U.S., she began to
question her involvement in another country when there was still so much to be done
to fight injustice at home - from whose systems of oppression she has benefited all
her life. She is thrilled and grateful to have the opportunity to work with Powerful
Voices and its AMAZING staff, who inspire her daily with their courage, dedication,
and integrity. In her free time she enjoys running around Seattle’s beautiful
parks, hiking, cooking, and singing.
Sarah Walczyk
Director of Development and Marketing
Sarah Walczyk joined Powerful Voices in November 2006. Sarah brings
several years of substantial fund-raising experience to Powerful Voices,
having worked and volunteered with other non-profit organizations in the
Seattle area since 1998. Before coming to PV, Sarah worked at YouthCare,
where she developed a passion for fundraising for at-risk youth. Sarah is
very excited to be part of the PV family and is eager to work with the
community to promote PV’s programs for adolescent girls. She received her
B.A. in Arts History and Museum Studies from The Evergreen State College. In
her free time, Sarah enjoys listening to music, cooking, volunteering, and
watching movies.
Gloria Womack
STAGES Instructional Coordinator
Gloria was born in Florida but was raised in Ohio. While living in Ohio she obtained
her B.A. in Criminal Justice from Our Lady of Lourdes College. Gloria has always
worked in the social service industry, including working with youth in residential
care, juvenile corrections and Girl Scouts. Prior to joining PV Gloria worked as
the Program Manager for the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars Program which focuses on girls
whose mothers are incarcerated in the state of Washington. Gloria has always had
a passion for working with at-risk and underserved youth. She believes in
advocating for them and providing them with tools and resources to help them
have a successful future. Outside of working with youth Gloria enjoys dancing,
playing pool and reading and watching Sci-Fi.
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