Meet Our Team
Jennifer Kelty (she/her/hers), Executive Director
Jennifer grew up in Arizona but has called Seattle home for the past 33 years. She came to TCC as the Executive Director in 2007 and has been managing nonprofit early learning programs in the area for 30 years. She began her career working as a Licensed Massage Practitioner specializing in pregnancy/infant massage before joining the early learning sector as a teacher and then ECEAP administrator. In addition to leading TCC, she is a part time Social Worker with WA State’s Department of Children, Youth and Families and prior to this, served as a family advocate and CASA (court appointed special advocate) with King County’s Dependency Court.
Jennifer holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood and Family Studies, an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Special Education, and certificates in Human Resources, Nonprofit Management and Fundraising Management from the University of Washington. She volunteers with several community nonprofits and spends her spare time with her son Dakota, who is an RN at the UW Medical Center, and her two feisty felines, Sir Alfie Beans and Fergus AF. When she is not working or volunteering, you can usually find her somewhere out in the woods, scaring the wildlife away with her singing.
Martin Salinas, Program Supervisor
Martín is originally from Mexico and moved to California in 1984. He graduated from St. John’s Seminary College in 1998 and later moved to Seattle with his family. He joined The Children’s Center staff as a Pre-K Teacher when the center opened in 1998 and has been a part of TCC ever since. Martín also taught Spanish at Arbor Heights in West Seattle and was an adult ESL instructor with a nonprofit in White Center, Burien and Sea-Tac.
Martín and his wife have four children ranging from fourteen to twenty-three years old, and several of his children have also worked at TCC in recent years. Martín lives in Sea-Tac and loves playing soccer, dancing, and spending time with his family. He also volunteers at his children’s school(s) and in the community. He feels that he has always had a calling to teach and loves working with learners of all ages.
Tanay Kouyate, Program Manager
Tanay has been part of TCC for 22 years. She started working as a summer volunteer with TCC when she was fourteen and taught for several years in our PreK class before becoming our Program Coordinator. In June 2018, she graduated from the BA Program at North Seattle College and recently completed the Nonprofit Management Certificate program at the University of Washington. Tanay believes in the importance of being a part of a child’s growth and values helping children go down the right path to be successful adults and community members. She was born and raised in Seattle and is a graduate of several neighborhood schools including Northgate, Wedgwood, and Bryant Elementary. She also attended Eckstein, Seahawks Academy, and Northgate Middle College where she served as student body president.
Tanay loves to travel and participate in Guinean cultural events, and is big on spending time with her husband, family, and friends! Tanay also loves meeting new families and building community partnerships to welcome everyone to the wonderful TCC family.
Melissa Graham, Program Coordinator
Melissa is originally from Brooklyn, New York. She moved to Seattle, WA in the summer of 1998. She has a teenage son and a daughter that attends TCC, along with a pet Chihuahua. Melissa is passionate about serving in her community. She is actively involved in outreach and advocacy for populations experiencing homelessness, and she is a member at Roots Community Church where she also volunteers in Hospitality and Children’s Ministry. Melissa has worked with children in both early learning programs and with at-risk youth in community organizations prior to starting at TCC in 2022.
In her free time, Melissa enjoys spending quality time with her family and close friends, going on walks, reading, and watching movies.
Malgorzata Kozubczyk (she/her/hers), Pre-Kindergarten Co-Lead Teacher
Malgorzata was born and raised in Poland, where she earned a degree in Economics and worked in banking before moving to Seattle in 1995. From there she split her time raising two wonderful children and going to college to become a Pharmacy Technician. She spent countless hours volunteering at her children’s schools and Polish scouting events. She has always had a natural connection with children and enjoys spending time with kids of all ages. Malgorzata joined the TCC team in 2017 in our Toddler classroom before moving to our PreK classroom. She is currently pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education at North Seattle College.
In her free time, she enjoys gardening, reading, biking, and traveling to Poland to visit her family and friends.
Rebecka Miller (she/her/hers), Pre-Kindergarten Co-Lead Teacher
Rebecka grew up in Juneau, Alaska and moved to Seattle in 2024. She studied at Northern Michigan University and went on to get her Masters of Education in Denver, Colorado at Regis University.
Rebecka has worked with kids from all age groups from toddlers to sixth grade. She started teaching for Americorps in 2020 teaching third grade and sixth grade. Rebecka then fell in love with teaching Preschool while in Colorado and taught Pre-K for two years while in Denver.
Outside of School Rebecka loves going for hikes and camping in the mountains. If she is not outside you will find her sipping coffee on the couch with her two cats Tony and Tash.
Yordanka El Tahel (she/her/hers), Preschool Co-Lead Teacher
Yordanka is originally from Bulgaria and came to Seattle with her husband and two children in 1997. She studied medicine and worked as a pediatrician for 12 years in Bulgaria before coming to the United States and joining the TCC team in 2000. Yordankaholds an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from North Seattle College, and her dedication to working with young children and families continues to grow as she focuses on their social-emotional, physical and cognitive development. Yordanka is also trilingual and fluent in Bulgarian, Russian and English.
In her free time, Yordanka enjoys reading, singing, dancing, and spending time with her family.
Isabel Warren (she/her/hers), Preschool Co-Lead Teacher
Isabel was born and raised in Seattle and is currently attending the University of Washington. She’s in her third year studying Early Childhood Education and Family Studies. She grew up in a Latino/African American household and enjoys spending time with kids. She grew up taking care of her three younger siblings and has worked with young children since 2019. She is partnering with the UW for a paid internship at TCC which she started in October 2022 and is now working full time in our Preschool classroom.
She enjoys spending time with family and friends, discovering new music and recipes, and building community in any way she can.
Nahomi Abe (she/her/hers), Preschool Co-Lead Teacher
Nahomi grew up in Honolulu and is fluent in Japanese. She moved around frequently as a child and in addition to Hawaii has lived in Australia, Japan, and Chicago and has studied abroad in Seoul as well, where she learned a bit of Korean. After graduating from the University of Hawaii, she moved to Seattle to be able to experience all four seasons of weather! Nahomi worked in the customer service industry for over a decade but wanted to find something more fulfilling and started her career in early learning at TCC in 2022. She is currently working with (and learning from) the children and teachers in the Preschool classroom.
When she isn’t working, she enjoys traveling, finding new places to eat, being creative, and relaxing at home.
Erika Hyun (she/her/hers), Toddler Co-Lead Teacher
Erika is originally from Hawaii and, after exploring many other states, eventually fell in love with Washington and has been here ever since. She has been working in childcare programs since 2001. She started out as an infant teacher and is currently working as a Co-Lead Teacher in our Toddler classroom. Erika was a P-Patch Teacher and an Art Teacher in the past and has been cooking since she was four and comes from a family of bakers, so it is in her blood!
Erika and her teenage daughter Skyler love to explore low tides and picnic at the various parks around the Seattle and Shoreline area. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and gardening with her family.
Malinda Chhay (she/her/hers), Toddler Co-Lead Teacher
Malinda was born in the small town of West Covina, California but grew up in the Lacey/Olympia area of Washington. She moved to the Seattle/Shoreline area in 2023 and is still working on navigating Seattle with her handy dandy GPS. Malinda has been working in childcare for 8 years with all ages and absolutely enjoys it. She is excited to be a part of the TCC family and continue her childcare experience here.
Outside of work, Malinda is mom to an 11 year old daughter and two rambunctious kitties. She loves button smashing in video games, and currently diamond painting has become her newest hyper fixation/obsession. She also loves music, live theater and food. She is a total Disney Princess at heart.
Khadija Jallow (she/her/hers), Toddler Co-Lead Teacher
Khadija, born and raised in Seattle, Washington, spent most of her younger years in Bellevue. After graduating high school, she moved to North Seattle and has been there ever since. Her parents immigrated from Gambia West Africa, and she is the oldest with two younger siblings. She started working with children when she was 18 and has enjoyed learning from and with them for over 10 years. She started at the YMCA as a summer camp counselor at Camp Orkila and moved from there to teaching younger age groups at different centers. She loves and adores children and getting to know all their different and unique personalities. She hopes to further her education in early childhood education and continue to foster enriching experiences for all children. She is excited to begin her journey at TCC and make some fun memories.
In her free time, you will find her going on hikes, doing silly activities with friends and family, reading and exploring new restaurants or watching Harry Potter for the millionth time.
Shaban Bihi (she/her/hers), Float Teacher
Shaban is originally from Somalia and completed child development education for kindergarten through 8th grade in 2003. She moved to Seattle in 2006, shifted to health care and attended Seattle Central College. She completed a CMA program and worked as a certified medical interpreter from 2009-2018. She worked as medical assistant for the last 12 years in a variety of health care settings. Shaban believes working with children brings joy, and has two children of her own, Awo (10 years old), and Amaar (8 years old) who are both TCC alumni.
During her spare time Shaban spends time at the lake because she loves water and nature.
Hannah Graham, Float Teacher
Hannah was born and raised in Seattle, WA. She has extensive experience babysitting and caring for family members as well as working in childcare with her church bible study. She is very passionate about working with kids and is currently working towards a degree in early childhood education.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, anything crafty/DIY, cooking/baking, listening to music and spending time with her family and friends.
Kevin Salinas, Float Teacher
Kevin was born and raised in Federal Way. He is fluent in English and Spanish. Kevin is currently attending the University of Washington in Seattle. Kevin works as a float teacher and enjoys working with all age groups.
Kevin lives in Seattle and goes back to Federal Way most weekends to see his family. He loves to play soccer and dance at parties. When he lived in Federal Way, he would take care of his two younger siblings. His favorite thing to do is hang out with his cousins.
Carmen Sanchez (she/her/hers), Float Teacher
Carmen grew up in Washington where she has lived in Burien, White Center, SeaTac, and Tukwila, but currently resides in Federal Way. She was born in a Mexican/American household and speaks English and Spanish. She has traveled to Mexico every year since she was 9 years old and loved the sense of community. She bonded with a lot of the young kids in the neighborhood she stayed at, which made her realize that she wanted to work with young children. Carmen is currently a sophomore at UW Seattle studying to earn a Bachelor's degree in Political Science, with a minor in Education. She joined TCC in early 2022 and loves spending time with the kids and seeing them grow.
In her free time, Carmen enjoys spending time with her friends and family, as well as reading, traveling, and trying new foods.
Maxim (Max) Sanchez (he/him/his), Float Teacher
Max was born and raised in Kent, WA. He is currently a 2nd year student at the University of Washington, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. He likes to play video games and sports in his free time, especially soccer and football, and to visit his grandparents in Puerto Rico and Alaska.
Max is currently working as float teacher in all our classrooms and enjoys helping children of all ages learn and grow!
““We just feel so fortunate to have our little one with you all. So many people don’t have care they can trust and rely on, where their children are 100% safe and loved. We are really grateful! Thank you!!!””
2024 TCC Board Members:
Jessica Gonzalez (President), Andrea Lewis (Vice President), Breanne Buckley (Treasurer), Gina Copping (Secretary), Whitney White, Kerala Cowart, Kim Humphries