Alumni
Our alumni are those who embody and extend text, soul, and culture far beyond the walls of 2501 Elliott Avenue. Our hope at The Seattle School is to be led by you, alumni, and your stories – how you labor to live out your calling among the people and communities they serve – and, where appropriate, to join and partner with you as you seek to serve God and neighbor.
Alumni Community
The Office of Students & Alumni, the Alumni Quad, and our growing number of Alumni Chapters seek to carry forward The Seattle School’s alumni mission through:
- Creating opportunities for alumni to connect with and care for each other well across the nation and around the world
- Providing creative and enjoyable ways to continue conversation and connection with The Seattle School
- Supporting alumni vocation and calling through lifelong learning and skill-building
The Alumni Quad is an advisory group made up of four alumni who serve the Alumni Association by advising the Office of Students & Alumni on your behalf. They create, facilitate, and evaluate alumni projects and events and meet with alumni near and far to foster connection and support. Membership is a one-year commitment of 10 service hours each month. If you are interested in joining, contact Paul Steinke, Vice President of Student and Alumni Development.
Find a Local Alumni Chapter
Alumni Chapters act as hubs for graduates across the United States. Each regional facilitator offers resources to benefit local alumni, facilitates an Awaycoming event in their area each October, and represents regional alumni to the Office of Students & Alumni in their mission to join and partner with alumni locally, nationally, and across the globe.
Arizona
Facilitated by Elisa Mitchell, MACP ’09, and Caleb Mitchell, MA, MDiv, LPC
elisa@phxcounselingcollective.com
caleb@phxcounselingcollective.com
Phone Number: (480) 381-4642
Description of chapter/location: There are a small group of TSS graduates here in the Phoenix area. They gather occasionally around events such as Symposia or for dinner to catch up. Several are working in various therapeutic capacities. They would love to be a place for any alumni of The Seattle School to connect. They are also happy to connect with those who are looking at Arizona as a possible place to live after graduation.
Facilitator Bios: Elisa & Caleb Mitchell are co-owners of The Phoenix Counseling Collective. They moved back to Arizona in 2011 and have been working in private practice. They live in the downtown area with their two daughters, and ironically live in the same neighborhood as two other The Seattle School grads. They enjoy downtown Phoenix (but greatly miss Seattle!) and love heading north to the mountains for camping and skiing.
California – Bay Area
Facilitated by Jari Russell, LMFT, MACP ’11
California Bay Area Alumni Chapter Facebook Group</a
jari.lyn86@gmail.com
Phone Number: (206) 769-0522
Description of chapter/location: The Bay Area Alumni Chapter consists of members from all The Seattle School’s degree programs who live in SF, the East Bay, and North Bay. They get together a few times a year to connect, remember/reuse the Seattle School-isms they can’t/don’t use elsewhere, and discuss what text.soul.culture means in the Bay Area. Their members work as therapists, social workers, artists and consultants, as well as in Christian ministry, tech, urban planning, and more. One of their greatest accomplishments has been chartering the path to licensure for The Seattle School grads in California, and are proud of our Associate and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists!
While their collective work spans a wide range, they have found connection in how to bring aspects of vocation they developed at The Seattle School to the specificity of the Bay’s diversity, economics, and culture. Another core of their group identity is their love for food and drink, which San Francisco and Oakland spoil them with. If you’re considering a move, or even come to visit, they’d love to take you to a meal!! If you join their ranks, you can expect to meet them around a table, and they look forward to communing with you.
Colorado
Facilitated by Lindy Pearson LPC, MACP ’15
Colorado Alumni Chapter Facebook Group
lindy.pearson@theseattleschool.edu
Description of chapter/location: Northern CO (Fort Collins)
Facilitator Bio: Lindy is Coloradan borne, PNW grown woman who finds herself jumping back and forth from the vast blue skies and Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the deep gray waters and mossy ferns of the Pacific Northwest. In the past she has worked in business and marketing with professional sports teams in CO (Rockies and Kroenke Sports Enterprise; Nuggets, Avalanche, Mammoth, Rapids). After moving to Seattle she worked in Student Life in The Office of University Ministries at Seattle Pacific University and completed her internship and externship in the Student Counseling Center at SPU. Currently, she resides in Northern Colorado (Fort Collins) where she practices with some fellow The Seattle School & The Allender Center colleagues at Restoration Counseling.
In addition to good food, beautiful humans and glorious terrain, memories of Seattle hold for her work in the field of hospice, working in patient and respite care as well as bereavement for those who lost a loved one. When not sitting in the therapy chair you might find her discussing podcasts with her husband, pretending she is a horse with her 4 year old daughter, tending to one of the many “furball” family members, or caring for one of her numerous therapy plants.
Illinois
No current facilitator
Michigan
Facilitated by Kelly Powers-Gutierrez, LLMSW, MACP ’04
Michigan Alumni Chapter Facebook Group
kellypowers.therapist@gmail.com
Description of chapter/location: The Michigan Alumni Chapter of the Seattle School of Theology & Psychology is comprised of therapists, pastors, holistic health workers, spiritual directors, and artists. They have gathered for trainings, happy hours, and collaborations in work.
Facilitator Bio: Kelly graduated in 2004 with a MA in Counseling, when we were still called Mars Hill Graduate School and called Bothell home. Her time at the school deeply transformed her both professionally and personally. After graduation she served at universities, churches and an international non-profit. Kelly recently relocated back to Michigan and completed a second master degree in social work, fulfilling the state’s licensure requirements. Specializing in grief, she launched her private practice this past year in Grand Rapids, MI. When she’s not at work, she and her husband Sam are searching for the best tacos in town and enjoying Lake Michigan. She feels it is a joy to give back to the Seattle School and serve the local alumni. Please feel free to reach out for support or collaboration.
Mid-Atlantic
For more information on contacts in the Mid- Atlantic are, check out the Facebook group.
Mid-Atlantic Alumni Chapter Facebook Group
Facilitated by Rev. Michele Ward
michele.314.lynne@gmail.com
443-977-7155
Facilitator Bio: Rev. Michele Ward(she/they) joined the staff at the Presbytery of Baltimore as the Associate Presbyter for Missional and Community Engagement in August 2024. She continues in her role at Ashland Presbyterian Church as the Transitional Pastor and Head of Staff on a quarter-time basis.
She is a clergy organizer with a focus on food access for Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), a Metro-IAF chapter, since 2021. Their team of community leaders has delivered over 15 million pounds of food since 2020.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English/Writing from Whitworth University (2010), a master of divinity from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology (2015). Michele has done post-graduate work in church revitalization and community organizing (2018). She is currently a candidate for the doctor of ministry degree in Creative Writing and Public Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (2025).
Michele believes that the most authentic way to practice community organizing is to live an integrated life. She lives in East Baltimore where she organizes. Michele currently facilitates a block captain program focused on monthly stoop nights, trash pick up, and block-to-block relationships. They received a Weaver Award from the Aspen Institute for her community organizing efforts with her neighbors in 2021.
In their free time, Michele is hanging out at the neighborhood farmers market, reading a novel, and planning their next tattoo. She has two cats, Hugo and Eliot. Her partner, Rev. McKenna Lewellen, is also a Presbyterian minister and serves a local congregation in the Baltimore region.
Oregon
Facilitated by Nicole Hagerty LMHC, MACP ’15
nicole@nicolehagertycounseling.com
Phone Number: (360) 562-0652
Description of chapter/location: The SW Washington and Portland alumni group is made up of more than fifteen graduates of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology (previously known as Mars Hill Graduate School). With alumni who have graduated over the last 20 years, our group offers alumni from various stages of their journey a chance to learn from and support each other. Meetings are usually a time to gather around yummy food and warm conversation in one of our alumni’s homes, offices or a local restaurant. In addition to their bimonthly meetings, they provide alumni with a chance to reconnect with The Seattle School for continuing education opportunities or by hosting professors or other alumni to present to the group.
Facilitator Bio: Nicole is a 2015 graduate of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. She currently works in private practice in Vancouver, WA. When not at work or facilitating alumni gatherings, Nicole enjoys time with her husband and two teenage daughters. Nicole is a lover of people, the Oregon Coast, Pilates, good books, gardening, dancing and a really good hike. She calls Washington home but won’t forsake New Jersey, her birthplace.
Southeast – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North & South Carolina
Facilitated by Facilitated by Christy Doucette LPC, MACP ’14
Christy.E.Doucette@gmail.com
Phone Number: (360) 562-0652
Facilitator Bio: Previously the Carolina’s, Christy will be coordinating for portions of the Southeast (North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida) in North America to expand our reach and connection with the TSS love. This will be a new phase for our region, and it will be exciting to see what emerges!
Christy graduated from TSS in 2014 and promptly returned to the beaches of South Carolina to pursue licensure and re-establish her life after embracing all things Seattle. After 9 years in community mental health and primarily a school setting, Christy is 1+ years into working in private practice. Create Space Therapy emerged from Christy’s own need for ample space in all facets, and is now extra grateful for the spaciousness and ability to live and work at a slower pace.
Christy and her husband Keith love the outdoors, frequenting the beach or paddle boarding in the creek, bike riding, or strolling for an evening walk listening to birds. They have 8 nephews, several God children, and three cats by happenstance, and love all fiercely. She loves connecting with TSS alum, staff, and students. Feel free to reach out!!
Tennessee
No current facilitator
Texas – Central
No current facilitator
Washington – North Salish
No current facilitator
Washington – North Sound Alumni Chapter Facebook Group
Washington — South Salish
No current facilitator
Privileges & Resources
An an alumnus of The Seattle School, you can take advantage of ongoing benefits:
Our alumni are lifelong learners. Alumni may utilize their annual Community Audit Voucher to sit in on one class for free. (CEUs may be purchased for $30/seat hour, if desired). In addition, all non-degree seeking alumni in need of additional course credits receive a discounted tuition rate of $500 per credit. To register for a course using the Community Audit Voucher, please email Mac Martin at academics@theseattleschool.edu for details and class availability.
We seek to work closely with alumni as they pursue job placement, licensure, and ordination through the documentation of course content, letters of support, and facilitating connection with other alumni in your area.
Contact the Alumni Programs Coordinator for resources and assistance.
Alumni are active participants in conferences, and events hosted by The Seattle School. Symposia, Awaycoming, and the Alumni Lecture Series are annual gatherings designed for, with, and in honor of you — our alumni.
The Office of Students & Alumni and the Supervisor of Alumni Outreach create and distribute a quarterly, electronic Alumni Newsletter: Continuing Conversations. In it you will find school news, alumni updates, and myriad opportunities for continuing education and connection with The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. If you are an alum who would like to receive the newsletter or if you have questions about the newsletter, please email alumni@theseattleschool.edu.
Alumni have lifetime library privileges. You may request that the library send you a reasonable number of articles and/or book chapters (within copyright restrictions) to help with your lifelong learning. As staffing allows, limited reference and research support is available by appointment (in person, by email, or by phone). Local alumni may borrow physical books and audio-visual materials and have on-site access to the online databases.
Our financial service team is available to advise alumni on matters of repayment and loan forgiveness.
Download the Path to Repayment Guide
Connect with Financial Services