WSA Winter Meeting & Advocacy Day

Learn more aboutMegan Pirie Megan Pirie

Megan Pirie

Director of Person-Centered Services

Department of Corrections

Megan Pirie serves as the Department of Corrections' Director of Person-Centered Services. Pirie is the second person to hold the position, which was created to incorporate the voice and perspective of incarcerated individuals into DOC’s practices and policies. Pirie was released from prison nearly 30 years ago after serving time for selling drugs. She spent most of her sentence at DOC’s ‘Work Ethic Camp’ on McNeil Island. It was an experience that drastically altered the course of her life. “I returned to Spokane as a young single mother determined not to get in trouble again, but with little direction and resources,” said Pirie. “I was lucky to have the support of my family.” Pirie vowed to turn her life around, and she has made good on that promise over the last three decades. She began her post-DOC career working for doctor with a family practice who also served as the doctor for the Spokane County Jail. She transitioned to the car rental business several years later and quickly progressed to a job in sales at a local dealership. The job was lucrative, but Pirie was looking for work that would contribute to dismantling systemic racism. She decided to go back to school to become a licensed substance use disorder counselor. In this role, she helped scores of formerly incarcerated individuals on their path to recovery. Pirie then transitioned to a Recovery Support Navigator at a non-profit revolving bail fund where she focused on preparing individuals for release. Most recently, Pirie worked as a Community Organizer for Stand For Children Washington. It was there that she helped pass legislation that ended the practice of forcing parents to pay for their children’s juvenile rehabilitation. She also assisted with the lived experience compensation legislation that is now being used to pay incarcerated individuals at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. “Incarcerated individuals all have strengths and talents that are often hidden by guilt and shame as a result of their experience with the legal system,” said Pirie. “It’s my passion to help them overcome those obstacles.” Pirie is a graduate of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP Parent Ambassador Program. In her spare time, she enjoys boating and volunteering with the Eastern Washington chapter of All of Us or None, a grassroots organization that works to restore the rights of formerly incarcerated individuals.

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Director of Person-Centered Services

Department of Corrections

Learn more aboutRayna Espinosa Rayna Espinosa

Rayna Espinosa

Tribal Early Learning Fund Specialist

DCYF

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Tribal Early Learning Fund Specialist

DCYF

Learn more aboutAndy Song Andy Song

Andy Song

Chief Operating Officer

Kids and Family Counseling

As a dually licensed Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate, my career has led me through the Developmental Disabilities Adminisrtation where I worked on developing a program for out of home services before becoming the statewide behavior analyst for DDA Headquarters. I then moved on to becoming the first BCBA to work at Seattle Children's Hospital, simultaneously in the PBMU/Emergency Department, as part of the original design team-developing the biobehavioral inpatient hospitalization program at Seattle Childrens Hospital. Other Roles/Specialties: Telemedicine emergency consultant at Seattle Childrens Hospital Full-time Professor at Tacoma CC Elected Representative for Kent School Director, District 1

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Chief Operating Officer

Kids and Family Counseling

Learn more aboutVidya Subramanian Vidya Subramanian

Vidya Subramanian

CEO/Founder

Kids and Family Counseling

Vidya specializes as a dually licensed Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Mental Health Counselor.As a mother of a son with chronic illnesses, Autism and anxiety, she is determined to use her experiences as a tool to provide the most effective, personalized care for your kids-and-family. For the past 20 years she has been providing trauma-informed therapeutic services to the greater Eastside. In her free time, she loves to watch children’s animation movies, explore new places and cuddle up with her cat Darwin. Other Roles/Specialities: Brain Spotting/EMDR Multicultural mental health International outreach and coordinator

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CEO/Founder

Kids and Family Counseling

Learn more aboutDr. Mona Johnson Dr. Mona Johnson

Dr. Mona Johnson

Executive Director Teaching & Learning System Pathways

ESD114

Dr. Mona Johnson recently joined the Olympic Educational Service District 114 Team as the Executive Director of Teaching & Learning System Pathways at Olympic ESD 114. Most recently she worked in the South Kitsap School District as Executive Director of Wellness & Support and at the WA State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction where she managed a wide variety of programs & professionals focused on ensuring that students and staff district-wide are healthy, safe, engaged and supported in their pursuit of social emotional wellness and academic success. Prior to this, Mona also served as Chief of School Behavioral Health at the U.S. Army Medical Command Child, Family & Adolescent Program where she had overall responsibility for the development of international School Behavioral Health Center programs on Army Installations in the U.S and Europe. Mona presents, publishes, and consults at the local, state, and national levels in the areas of professional wellness, social emotional resilience, and trauma recovery. Most recently she published the article “Self-Care is Not Enough!” in the summer 2022 edition of Educational Leadership Journal. Past authored & co-authored publications include “Self-Care: The Antidote Compassion Fatigue” in the Educational Leadership Journal (2020); The Heart of Learning and Teaching: Compassion, Resiliency and Academic Success (2009); Compassion Fatigue Training for Educators (2012); and How the Traumatic Experiences of Students Manifest in School Settings, (Rossen & Hull, Editors, 2010 & 2013). Mona received the 2019 Touching Trauma at Its Heart Educator Award from the National Attachment and Trauma Network. Past awards include Champion for Children from the National Association of Children of Alcoholics and the Advocate of the Year Award from Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. Mona has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Washington and a Washington State Superintendent credential. Her masters and undergraduate degrees are in Social Sciences and Social Work. Mona lives in Gig Harbor, WA with her amazing husband Dan and two over-indulged rescue cats Emme & Elle.

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Executive Director Teaching & Learning System Pathways

ESD114

Learn more aboutScott Hanauer, MA CMHS MHP Scott Hanauer, MA CMHS MHP

Scott Hanauer, MA CMHS MHP

Clinical Director

Family Education and Support Services

About Scott Hanauer, MA CMHS MHP

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Clinical Director

Family Education and Support Services

Learn more aboutJoel Ryan Joel Ryan

Joel Ryan

Executive Director

WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP

I've been the Executive Director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP for the past 15 years. I've worked on everything from state funded preschool, special education policy, child care, housing, food insecurity, and most recently supporting families during COVID. I'm probably most proud of my work last legislative session where I successfully advocated with lawmakers, the Governor, and coalition partners to secure more than $400 million in new investments in early learning through the passage of the Fair Start for Kids Act. Before coming to Washington State I was the Government Affairs Director at the National Head Start Association where I served as the Head Start community's voice in DC. I worked closely with members of Congress and the White House. I travelled all across the country and had the opportunity to teach grassroots organizing to low income communities which I really enjoyed. I have a law degree from American University in DC where I focused on constitutional law and a BA degree from Brandeis University in History and Politics. I'm an Americorps alumni—serving as a City Year Corps member in Boston where I was a literacy coach and helped to set up a community wide volunteer program and educational spring break camps. My most important job is that of a husband and dad to a 15 year old. I coached her basketball team for 7 years and have coached track as well.

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Executive Director

WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP

Learn more aboutKaty Warren Katy Warren

Katy Warren

Deputy Director

WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP

Katy Warren has been working at WSA Head Start and ECEAP for 15 years after wandering the world in her 20’s. After college at William and Mary she served as legislative assistant and Press Secretary for Rep. Sid Morrison, (R, Zillah) and then went travelling off to central and South America. She has worked as a cafeteria dishwasher, a public engagement consultant, an insurance adjuster assistant, a database developer and quasi-interpreter for a weatherization program, a waitress in a pancake house, a census taker, a focus group facilitator, an English as a Second Language teacher in Vietnam, a bookkeeper back when they wrote things on ledgers, a title company clerk, and a Spanish drill instructor. She loves to travel and have been to 34 countries and has lived in Mexico, Spain and Vietnam. Now she tries to make the world a better place for children and families by hassling elected officials and bureaucrats. She writes children’s books for her niece Eliza, who is also the person upon whom she experiments with all the CLASS instructional support strategies she learns while walking through the trainings she arranges for early learning staff.

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Deputy Director

WA State Assn of Head Start and ECEAP

Learn more aboutSandy Diaz Sandy Diaz

Sandy Diaz

ECEAP Advocacy Fellow

Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP

Grew up in Santa Clarita, California Graduated with my B.S in Child Development, Cal Poly SLO Graduated with my Master’s in Education Policy from UW A part of the Pathwaves Fellowship that elevates the voices of leaders of color within the early learning policy environment in Washington Beginning as a preschool teacher, I knew I was passionate about early learning. Working with kids was my favorite part of the day, but I quickly realized all the flaws within the system. Because of that experience, I wanted to be advocating for the families I saw myself in at the system-level. I am excited about early childhood policy work because it has a strong foundation in community

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ECEAP Advocacy Fellow

Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP