Staff & Board
Rebecca Thomas
Interim Executive Director
Katie Stein
Executive Operations Coordinator
Jamilah Williams
Manager of Communications
Through numerous leadership roles across social impact sectors, Chris successfully led efforts to expand health care, improve educational outcomes, and expand access to services on behalf of children and families. She led the League of Education Voters, one of Washington state’s foremost education advocacy groups working to provide every student in the State equal opportunity for success. While at LEV, Chris played a central role in bringing charter schools to Washington, eventually co-founding WA Charters and serving on the Charter Commission. Before joining the League of Education Voters, Chris worked for Planned Parenthood Federation of America as their Director of Government Relations and with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin as VP of Public Affairs.
Darcelina lives in her hometown of Spokane, Washington. Raised by a single parent with an eighth-grade education, Darcelina understood the value of education from a young age. She is the first in her family to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree; she enjoyed her educational experience so much that she pursued a second degree! She holds degrees in Organizational Management and Accounting from Whitworth University.
Darcelina and her wonderful, supportive husband are founding parents at Spokane International Academy where their two sons attend. In 2015, Darcelina volunteered with Washington State Charter Schools Association to rally parents and community members to advocate for public charter schools; this is where her passion for education advocacy began. She quickly discerned that parents often did not know the power of their own voices – and that she could help them harness their power.
In 2017, Darcelina began working as an organizer for Stand for Children Washington, an education advocacy non-profit, as their Spokane organizer. During that time, she supported families by developing workshops to help them navigate K-12 and postsecondary education opportunities. In addition, Darcelina helped to implement a parent fellow program and parent advocates to work alongside the Spokane district to support the Racial Equity Resolution by hosting parent listening sessions and developing a racial equity team.
Darcelina is excited to be using her skills in her current role at WA Charters. In her personal time, she works to keep her boys from fighting too much while playing Minecraft. She is a talented singer and enjoys karaoke and singing at church and local events.
Mitch Price is a founding team member of WA Charters. Prior to joining WA Charters, he worked on the successful statewide ballot measure campaign in support of Initiative 1240, which authorized the creation of public charter schools in Washington state. Previously, Mitch was a researcher at the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education, where he studied education law and policy. Mitch has also worked as an attorney, a college admissions and financial aid counselor, and a substitute teacher.
Katie attended Southern California College of Business and Law, where she earned her AA degree in paralegal studies. She has 18 years of experience as an Executive Assistant. She excels in organization, problem-solving, multi-tasking, and event planning. Her commitment and passion for helping others shine through!
Katie enjoys music of all genres and has an extensive and eclectic collection of vinyl records, CDs, and cassette tapes. Her favorite thing to do is to attend live concerts with her husband.
Rebecca Thomas is an experienced leader with 18 years in public education as a teacher, school leader, and advocate, dedicated to expanding opportunities for students and strengthening the organizations that serve them.
Rebecca began her career as a Teach For America corps member, teaching middle school English in Houston’s Alief Independent School District. She then joined YES Prep Public Schools, where, as Dean of Instruction, she coached teachers and staff and helped grow a new 6th–12th grade campus, culminating in 100% of the founding class earning college acceptances.
She went on to serve at the Texas Public Charter Schools Association, first as Vice President of Advocacy and then as Chief of Staff. There, she built a robust advocacy and communications team and led the development team in a funding diversification strategy spanning the organization’s 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and affiliated PAC.
Most recently, Rebecca served as a consultant with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and PLT Strategies, partnering with state charter associations across the country to help their leaders grow, strengthen, and build organizational capacity. That work led her to Washington state, where the board of directors selected her as interim executive director of the Washington State Charter Schools Association – bringing her keen understanding of thriving public schools, advocacy and politics, and what makes a high-quality state charter association.
Rebecca earned her B.A. in Political Science with honors from The University of Texas at San Antonio and a master’s degree in Political Science from Eastern Illinois University. Outside of work, she enjoys reading and playing family games with her two children.
Jonthomas “JT” Williams works to support high quality, anti-racist educational programs that uplift the voices and stories of families from the Global Majority. He does this through advocacy, collaborating with educators, and working together with families to dismantle oppressive systems and hold those systems accountable.
JT has worked in K-12 educational system in the Puget Sound region for about 20 years including, charter public, traditional public, and independent schools. He worked for Rainier Scholars for over 7 years, leading admissions efforts and collaborating with K-12 public and independent schools on equitable enrollment and college readiness pipelines for students that are most underrepresented in higher education.
As the Founding Community and Family Engagement Manager for Ashe Prep charter public school, JT led equitable family-centered engagement, fully enrolled the school, and collaborated with founding families and the community to build a school that was responsive to the needs of Black American families. Most recently, JT worked for the Renton School District as one of only four partnership and engagement managers, leading an anti-racist family and community engagement plan to increase student achievement.
JT earned his B.A. in Community, Environment, and Planning from the University of Washington and has a master’s degree from the University of Washington in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He has certified training in Basic Mediation and Family Mediation; he is currently in practicum to become certified as a Washington state family mediator.
JT is the proud father of one son and volunteers his time to fight for equity and racial justice in his community of South Seattle/Skyway.
Kahliah Laney is an experienced communications leader with over a decade of expertise crafting and executing strategic communications initiatives in the healthcare and nonprofit sectors. Kahliah has a passion for compelling storytelling, and is dedicated to helping organizations effectively navigate complex communication challenges while fostering engagement and trust with all stakeholders. She has a track record of driving measurable impact through strategic communication programs.
With both in-house and agency experience, Kahliah has expertise in both internal and external communications. She has developed, project-managed and executed communications plans for organization-wide transformation projects including EHR implementations, mergers, and bond and levy campaigns. She is most proud of her work on award-winning communications campaigns that won $3.2 billion in funding for school districts across Washington state.
Kahliah has held communications roles at healthcare systems including NYU Langone Health in New York, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle, and MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Wash. Kahliah has also worked as a consultant at Strategies 360 in Seattle, where she created and executed bond and levy campaigns for school districts including Seattle Public Schools.
She was most recently the Director of Communications at ZoomCare based in Vancouver, Wash. A trusted advisor to the executive team, she established a formal communications function while developing comprehensive communications strategies that aligned with ZoomCare’s mission, values, and Patient Promise.
Early in her career, Kahliah worked in production at ABC News’ national studio, supporting then Chief Health and Medical Editor, Dr. Richard Besser, and producing stories for shows including “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” “Nightline,” and “Good Morning America.”
Kahliah holds an M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York and a B.A. in English and Sociology from the University of California, Davis. She enjoys cooking and reading. Kahliah lives in her hometown, Fresno, Calif. with her husband Vishal, their children Charlie and Miles and their family dog, Evie.
Jamilah lives in Seattle and has spent her career using storytelling as a tool to advance equity, strengthen communities, and make complex policy issues accessible. Raised in a family that valued education and advocacy, she learned early on the power of clear communication and collective action—values that have shaped her work ever since.
Before joining WA Charters, she led communications at the Equity in Education Center and at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments. Prior to her work in education, Jamilah served as the Digital Communications Manager at Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest & Hawai‘i, where she developed multi-state advocacy campaigns, rapid-response messaging, and community-centered digital strategies during critical legislative moments.
Jamilah earned her degree in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Washington. During her time on campus, she served as the ASUW Women’s Action Commission Director and played on the UW Women’s Rugby team, formative experiences that shaped her leadership, grit, and commitment to collaboration.
Deeply committed to reproductive and social justice, Jamilah is a former Commissioner on the Seattle Women’s Commission and Board Chair for Sustainable Seattle. She currently serves on the Planned Parenthood Votes Washington PAC.
In her spare time, she’s usually spoiling her cats, gardening, trying new restaurants with her husband, or making (and eating) ice cream.
Bridget has dedicated most of her career to non-profits and quasi-governmental agencies. She is passionate about serving others behind the scenes, whether that is through her 20 years of accounting and operations support, or serving on non-profit boards.
Bridget grew up in a small town in central Washington and got her bachelor degree in Administrative Management from Central Washington University. Her love of numbers has kept her in the financial side of things, but her ability to see the bigger picture and strategically plan and organize, has helped her manage and lead many teams in various departments. Her career took her over to the Olympia area where she has lived the past 13 years. She has a young son and daughter that keep her busy. She enjoys her time outdoors, golfing and exploring, and is a big Seahawks fan.