At The Seattle School, we remain deeply grateful for the faculty who continue to shape students’ hearts and minds through immersive learning, thoughtful care, and innovative teaching. From long-standing professors to returning alumni and new adjuncts, each educator brings our mission to life—transforming relationships and forming reflective practitioners.
As we reflect on this past spring and look toward the year ahead, we want to honor a few of the individuals helping shape what’s emerging in our community. This highlight list focuses primarily on newer faculty and recent teaching developments—not a comprehensive overview of every professor and their impact. Whether you’re a recent graduate or a long-time alum, may these glimpses offer renewed connection to the wisdom, formation, and care being cultivated in our classrooms.
Dr. Elizabeth (Lizz) Barton (Core Faculty) joined the Counseling Psychology faculty in 2024, bringing over 20 years of experience in university counseling centers. A licensed clinical psychologist with dual doctorates in Clinical Psychology and Theology, she’s known for her relational depth, embodied teaching, and commitment to helping emerging clinicians find their voice. Originally from rural Washington, Lizz integrates her love for story, formation, and belonging both in the classroom and in her community.
Dr. Allison Bradford Chow (Adjunct Faculty)
New to our adjunct faculty, Alison Bradford Chow, a Seattle School alum, brings a clinical lens shaped by psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and an appreciation for the ways our earliest experiences shape our lives. More about Allison is coming soon!
Dr. Monique Gadson (Core Faculty)
For Spring 2025 term, Monique Gadson introduced a new elective: African American Experiences in Societal Context. Through historical, cultural, and personal engagement, students were invited to reflect on how systemic realities shape both their own formation and their future work in clinical and ministerial contexts. The course is part of a growing commitment to center underrepresented narratives within our curriculum.
Shauna Gauthier, MA (Adjunct Faculty)
Alum Shauna Gauthier taught CSL 564 Assessment & Treatment of Trauma & Abuse in Spring 2025 offering students a grounded, compassionate environment to engage complex clinical content. Students praised the course’s thoughtful pacing and spacious design, noting Shauna’s ability to blend structure and emotional care—a hallmark of trauma-informed pedagogy.
Dr. Paul Hoard (Core Faculty)
In his Helping Relationships courses, Paul Hoard has been integrating tools like AI into roleplay and training exercises, inviting students to explore empathy and therapeutic dialogue in new ways. These experiments foster both clinical skills and critical discussions about the role of AI in mental health care—a timely and necessary conversation.
Dr. Joel Kiekintveld (Adjunct Faculty)
Joel brings experience in both pastoral leadership and clinical practice. His teaching bridges the spiritual and psychological with grounded clarity, helping students navigate vocational discernment and integrative formation.
Dr. Ron Ruthruff (Core Faculty)
Each spring, Ron Ruthruff leads one of our most beloved intensives: SFD 520 Engaging Local Partnerships: Northwest Native American History, Spirituality, and Culture. Held in Yakima, this travel course offers a deeply immersive learning experience through partnership with Indigenous communities. Alumni consistently describe it as a formative turning point—where land, story, and responsibility converge. Ron’s steady leadership reflects our commitment to place-based learning and the wisdom of community elders.
Dr. Lauren D. Sawyer (Affiliate Faculty)
Last year, in Beauty, Brokenness, & the Cross, Lauren Sawyer offered a hybrid-format course featuring podcast-style lectures and asynchronous learning. Her theological imagination and accessible teaching style created a powerful space for reflection and embodiment. We’re also celebrating Lauren’s upcoming book release: Growing Up Pure: White Girls, Queer Teens, and the Racial Foundations of Purity Culture, which explores identity, faith, and adolescence with academic and cultural insight.
Dr. Adam Schneider (Adjunct Faculty)
Adam (MACP, 2017), an experienced psychodynamic psychologist, is new to adjunct faculty this fall. His teaching is marked by practical experience, theoretical rigor, and a deep commitment to ethics. We’re honored to welcome Adam into the classroom.
Dr. Doug Shirley (Core Faculty)
Doug Shirley brings a rich legacy of integrative teaching that weaves together theology, psychology, and spiritual formation. Known for his invitational tone and reflective depth, Doug’s courses—like Spiritual Formation & Direction—offer students frameworks to sustain healing work for the long haul.