BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Alan Cantlin - President
Alan grew up playing squash in Portland, Oregon. He became passionate about the game at an early age and played competitively throughout high school and college. He was a member of the US National Junior Team in high school and a 3-time All American in college. Alan has experienced firsthand the personal and academic benefits of playing squash competitively and believes that WESA can help provide underprivileged kids the same benefits from the game that he experienced.
Bill Loughrin - Treasurer
Raised in Edmonds, WA, Bill now has a CPA firm there, which his father started in 1972. He Graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in business with a concentration in Accounting. Outside of his work as a CPA, Bill spends much of his time volunteering for a variety of organizations, all of which work to better the lives of youth, by helping them to grow and reach their fullest potential. Bill brings his love of squash, extensive work on nonprofit boards, and his financial expertise to WESA.
Naveen Garg - Secretary & Co-Founder
Naveen has decades of computer software industry experience with Texas Instruments, OpenText Gupta Europe, Microsoft and now to his own startup NLPCORE. He has worked in India, Europe and the USA over the years, played Squash in many more places, and has been passionate about this game ever since he picked up the racket for the first time in his first year at college.
Gustavo Gutiérrez Gómez
Gustavo started playing squash when he was 8 years old and, since that moment, has appreciated what squash could give him inside and outside the courts. Over the years he has noticed how discipline in his work, patience with oneself, respect for others and hard work can go long ways.
Now as a member of WESA, he wants “to share and teach that vision that starts on the court with a not-so-bouncy ball and can permeate each aspect of the life of the youth.” He hopes to be an example for WESA scholars and a mentor in their academic and sports life.
Anne-Marie Canis - Co-Founder
Anne-Marie is director at Les Enfants and Los Ninos de Seattle – an emergent French and Spanish bilingual preschool in Madrona neighborhood of Seattle. She moved to Seattle in 1996 from Paris, France and has worked with children during most of her career in the US as a French language teacher. Anne-Marie has numerous close friends in the Squash playing community and is passionate about the educational programs of the organization.
Callahan Jacobs
Young people are the future and will shape the world in which we live, but in order for that to be a better world every student, regardless of circumstance, needs opportunities to grow in all facets of life. I joined WESA because it is uniquely structured to develop well-rounded, community oriented individuals by providing resources both inside the classroom and out and because I hope to learn from these students and work with them to build something better together.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Alexander De La Rosa - WESA Student
Alexander joined WESA in 2014, when he was in the 5th grade at Northgate Elementary. He is now a junior at Ingraham High School, and is taking classes at North Seattle College. In addition to playing squash, Alexander runs on the cross country team, holding the record for the fastest 400m of any Ingraham freshman this decade. Alexander captained WESA’s middle/high school team in 2019-20 and serves as a wonderful role model for his teammates both on the court and in his academic pursuits.
Click here to watch Alexander’s speech at the 2020 Knockabout.
Dedy Fauntleroy - School Principal
Dedy Fauntleroy is principal of Northgate Elementary in the Seattle Public Schools. She is also the current co-president of the Principal Association of Seattle Schools and serves in a leadership capacity at the Association of WA School Principals, on the Board of the Association of WA Student Leaders and has consulted with the WA Office of Superintendent of Instruction regarding education during the COVID crisis. She previously served as principal of John Stanford International School and Loyal Heights Elementary. Before becoming a building leader, Dedy served as teacher leader in roles that included an English language learner instructional coach, consultant for the Council of Great City Schools, and collaborator with the Center for Teacher Quality. She also served as classroom teacher in grades 2–8 for 17 years. Fauntleroy earned her Bachelor of Arts at Smith College, her Master of Education from the University of La Verne and principal certificate from the University of WA Danforth Educational Leadership Program. In May she will complete her Doctorate of Education from the University of WA Leadership for Learning program.
Martha Frost - Social Worker
Martha graduated from Simmons School of Social Work in 1985. She then worked at the Department of Children and Family Services and at the Family Service Association of Greater Boston. She received her supervisory experience working in a group practice in Chelmsford, MA, providing long-term treatment to adolescents, young adults, and families. After receiving her L.I.C.S.W., she went to work at Boston City Hospital providing long- and short-term counseling to at-risk pregnant women, with a primary focus on substance abuse. She then switched to part-time private practice while raising her four children. When her youngest was in high school, she went back to working part-time in a group practice and part-time at a high school while continuing her private practice. She worked with high school students in the school setting for thirteen years. Today, she works full time in private practice. Outside of her work, she joined the Board of Cambridge Family and Children’s services and the Board of Teen Empowerment in Boston. Both organizations work to help provide policy for education and housing, as well as direct clinical services to at-risk urban youth. Martha feels fortunate to have worked with individuals from a variety of backgrounds to support them with a wide range of challenges, making for a very fulfilling career. Very impressed with the work WESA is doing, she is thrilled to join WESA and help support our students in any way she can.
Tatu Murronmaa - Squash Professional
Tatu is a European Squash Federation (ESF) Level 3 Coach (the top level available in Europe) and has a long history of coaching and playing at the national and international level.
Tatu began his squash career as junior player and part of the Finnish National youth squad. He then moved to the Netherlands in 1999 to practice at a higher level while starting to develop his credentials as a coach. In the following years, he played in the Dutch Premier League in teams with world renowned players such as David Palmer, Anthony Ricketts, and Olli Tuominen among others. He also represented the Finnish National Team during those years.
Tatu also studied art education in the Netherlands and taught art in several Dutch high schools. He is a passionate painter and supports WESA by auctioning his work in the fundraising events.
Annelize Naude - Squash Professional
Annelize brings 30 years of experience to WESA, including playing as a professional from 1996-2010. Born in South Africa, she went on to represent South Africa as a junior and senior in both World Open Championships and Commonwealth Games. Annelize reached a highest world ranking of 13, won 3 National titles and 5 PSA international titles. She was also part of the Dutch National team that won the European Team Championships in 2010. Prior to arriving in Seattle, she was the assistant coach at the Heights Casino in Brooklyn, NY for 3 years, squash manager at Spa Zuiver Club in Amsterdam and owner of Orange Squash Events responsible for running various events in the Netherlands. When she isn’t on the squash court she spends time as a DJ and audio engineer, surfing, biking and any fun outdoor activity.
Lisa Predovich - College Counseling Advisor
Lisa is passionate about educational access for all students, particularly students who have experienced homelessness or foster care. For ten years she worked in the non-profit sector focusing on scholarship programs, college persistence and retention, and education policy. She has in-depth knowledge of college and financial aid systems and how to empower students to navigate those systems in support of their educational success.
Lisa currently works for DocuSign where she serves as the Senior Program Manager, Global Scale of Customer Learning. She received her BA in Educational Leadership from The Evergreen State College and her M. Ed. in Student Affairs Administration from Western Washington University.
Michelle Sarju - Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Advisor
Michelle Sarju, MSW, is a Maternal-Child Health professional with over two decades of experience in the field. She holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. Michelle also graduated from the Seattle Midwifery School in 1999 and practiced for 12 years as an out-of-hospital Midwife in Seattle, Washington.
She has provided strategic leadership to local, national, and international Maternal-Child Health work and racial equity efforts. She was a key participant and advisor in a state-wide initiative to build a racial equity theory of change for the state of Washington’s Early Learning Plan. In 2015 she was appointed by the King County Executive to be co-chair of the Best Starts for Kids initiative—an initiative passed by County voters to invest in prevention and early intervention for children, youth, families, and communities. In 2019, Michelle was selected for King County Executive’s Performance Excellence Individual Contributor Award.
She is currently an Implementation Manager at King County Public Health. For fun, Michelle loves watching and attending women’s college and professional basketball games.
John Siegel - Fundraising Advisor
For nearly 30 years, John Siegel has been an avid squash player and USSRA league member in New York City, Seattle and Washington, DC.
In a career devoted to higher education fundraising, he currently serves as Marquette University’s Director of Development for the Mid-Atlantic based in Maryland.
John earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the College of William & Mary and his graduate degree in public policy management from New York University.
John is excited to return to the squash courts as soon as it’s safe to play inside again.
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS BOARD
Palak Goel - President
I first picked up a racket nearly a decade ago, I was instantly welcomed into the small, close knit squash community. Joining WESA gives me the opportunity to give back and grow the community in an extremely positive and impactful way. Furthermore, having volunteered for and played with students from urban squash programs around the country, I have seen first hand the tremendous impact these programs can have on students both on and off the court.
Committees: Fundraising and Board Development, Human Resources
Brittni Hamilton
There is nothing more exciting to me than seeing a young person that loves sports and has a promising, well-rounded future. I grew up in competitive swimming and at all times wanted a mentor that I could look up to, befriend, and be encouraged by. I joined WESA to build positive relationships with youth in the area and to learn from their experiences.
Committee: Fundraising and Board Development
Radhika Joshi
Over the last 10 years, squash has played a huge role in shaping me as both an athlete and a person. WESA gives me the opportunity to give back to the community that had such a huge impact on my life. Working with squash and education programs in the past has been an extremely rewarding experience, and I look forward to working with a similar program again.
Committee: Facilities
Zeke Sarju
Enabling young students to succeed and receive educational assistance is important, WESA looks to do that paired with a sport I love. I hope to be a mentor to our students and enable them to reach their full potential through education and give them important physical time while playing Squash. Also, I hope to bring a different lens and more diversity to WESA and show the students we work with that people of all backgrounds play squash.
Committee: EDI, Events
Join Us!
We are interested in expanding our Board of Directors. If you are interested in joining us and making a big impact for our scholars, send an email to Naveen Garg, Board Secretary, at naveen.garg@WESAcademy.org.
If you are interested in joining our Young Professinals Board, please reach out to Kate Frost, Executive Director, at kate.frost@WESAcademy.org.