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.

Find a Chapter

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 is a small group of Seattle School 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 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 Seattle School degree programs who live in SF, the East Bay, and North Bay. They get together a few times a year to connect, remember/reuse 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 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 Seattle School & 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.

Illinoise
No Current Facilitator

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

Mid-Atlantic Alumni Chapter Facebook Group

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 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 Seattle School love. This will be a new phase for our region, and it will be exciting to see what emerges!

Christy graduated from The Seattle School 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 Seattle School alum, staff, and students. Feel free to reach out!!

Tennessee
No Current Facilitator

Texas – Central
No Current Facilitator

Washington
No Current Facilitator
Washington – North Sound Alumni Chapter Facebook Group