Board of Trustees
Parents are welcome to attend meetings of the Spruce Street School Board of Trustees. The Board is responsible for the strategic, financial, and legal well-being of the school. The Board includes current parents, alumni-parents, staff, and community members. Board members are elected for three-year terms. Download our Strategic Plan and Annual Report.
Anne Szeto-Millstone
Chair
Anne and her partner, Marc, are the parents of a 2023 Spruce Street School alum and a 1.5 year old (class of 2033!) Anne is the Director of Amazon Web Services Strategic Initiatives where she drives entrenchment in emerging technologies. Anne and Marc moved to Seattle over fifteen years ago from New York. Outside of work, Anne likes to travel, run, ski, and rescue plants from the sale bins at Swanson's.
Barbara Frailey
Barbara and her husband Danny have two Spruce Street School alum daughters, now in 9th and 11th grades. Barbara has been an educator for over 25 years in both public and independent schools, and is currently Head of School at Explorer West Middle School in West Seattle. She is an avid reader, knitter, hiker, and (very slow) runner.
Chris Adams
Ex Officio Family Association Representative
Chris and his wife Kaelyn are parents to two children who attend Spruce Street School, one in the YL and one in the ML. Chris works closely with another Spruce Street School family and is active in both the Seattle music community, as well as other non-profit organizations. Chris is also a partner at Mutual Arts Collective, a new art gallery and private event space at Pike Place Market that showcases art from individuals and groups of systems impacted communities. In his spare time, Chris enjoys all sports, coaching his kids’ various teams, and he plays on a men's baseball team throughout the summer.
Chris Ramsborg
Chris and his wife Laura are the parents of two boys. His younger son is currently in the oldest level and his older son attends University Prep. Chris has worked in biopharma development for over 20 years, and is currently an Operating Partner at Flagship Pioneering, a life sciences venture capital firm. His work focuses on identifying and developing novel medicines. In their free time, Chris’ family spends as much time in the mountains as possible.
Donna Cochener
Donna is mom to a Spruce Street School alum, and a student in the oldest-level. She has been practicing as a corporate lawyer in Seattle since 1999 and is currently General Counsel, SVP Legal at Neoleukin Therapeutics, a Seattle-based biotech focused on de novo protein design to create new therapies for the treatment of cancer, auto-immune disorders and inflammatory conditions. She is also Chairman of the Board of Cochener Garvey Capital Partners. Donna serves on the board of the Seattle Repertory Theatre and is a member of the Duke Law School Alumnae Leadership Council. She is an avid swimmer, loves to hike, and also enjoys plays, concerts, traveling and reading.
Erin Becker
Erin and her husband Jon are the parents of two Spruce Street School alum boys, who are now at The Northwest School. Erin has been a prosecutor in Seattle for 20 years, and is currently an Assistant United States Attorney. Her work focuses on violent crime, especially anything to do with guns, gangs, arson, or explosives. In her free time, Erin would rather travel with her family than do almost anything else.
Jessica Ross
Marney Zellers
Treasurer
Marney and her husband Douglas are the parents of two, including one Spruce Street School alum. Marney is the Chief Financial Officer of CHOW Food Management Services, a local restaurant company. She is currently serving as a member of the Finance Committee at The Bush School. She loves spending time running, rowing crew, reading, gardening, and going to the theatre with her kids (dramas with the oldest, musicals with the youngest!). Marney and Douglas are also part owners of Ray's Boathouse and Café in Ballard where the family resides.
Meaghan Darling
Secretary
Meaghan is a parent to two alumni students after nine lovely years as a Spruce Street School parent. She most recently worked as an Associate Production Manager at ACT Theatre and is happy to be back for another year of serving on the Board of Trustees.
Paul Bruene
Paul is an alumnus of Spruce Street School, having attended 3rd to 5th grade here from 1998-2001. He is now a litigator for a multinational law firm where he primarily works on intellectual property and other complex commercial disputes, and he represents companies in various technology industries. Paul was born and raised in Seattle, and in his spare time he likes reading, old movies, and watching basketball and soccer.
Sharron is the parent of two Spruce Street School alums. One alum is a 2013 grad of Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont, and earned an MFA in Lighting Design from UW. The other alum is a 2015 grad of The Northwest School and a 2019 grad of Bennington College. Both attended Billings Middle School where her husband Stephen is a past board president. Sharron has worked in higher education for 30 years and is currently the Director of Admission at Cornish College of the Arts.
Takao Yamada
Takao and his wife have 3 children and are the parents of a YL student at Spruce Street School. Takao is a Seattle-based attorney, and entrepreneur currently focused on his own independent consulting firm. Takao has had his own start up as well as co-founding the social justice organizations AirportLawyer.org and WIDEN. Prior to his work in tech, Takao has also spent time working in the hospitality industry, government affairs and clerked for Justice Mary Yu at King County Superior Court. Takao loves travel, reading, and the beach. Ideally all at once.
Tim Ford
Tim and his husband are parents to a youngest level child. Tim began his career as an urban planner, and for the last decade has played a much different role—President and CEO of LRG, a full-service public relations firm based in Washington, DC and Seattle that provides communication support to government and nonprofit organizations. A semi-recent transplant to Seattle, Tim also serves as the President of the Seattle Public Theater Board of Directors and in his spare time enjoys working on their Green Lake home and planning interesting travel adventures for the family.