Executive Director – Marissa Philipp, (She/Her)
Hi there, I’m Marissa! I was originally hired at Kids Club in 2009 after moving to Seattle from Colorado! I started out as a staff member working with the 3rd-5th graders, and in 2015 when I returned from graduate school I was hired as the Executive Director. Prior to Kids Club, I had worked as a Before & Afterschool counselor and supervisor with programs in Colorado, where I grew up. I have worked in this field on & off for 19 years. Wow, time has flown! During my adult career, in addition to working with youth I have also worked as a psycho-educational group facilitator of parenting groups for court-ordered adults with domestic violence and drug & alcohol histories; and as a social worker for incarcerated adults serving Life Without Parole. I enjoy working with adults and children and have found in this current line of work that I can connect with both, and that is the sweet spot for me! Outside of work hours I enjoy spending my time with my family. I have a spunky six-year old daughter and a wonderful husband! I love reading bumper stickers on cars, building forts in the living room, and baking treats from scratch. I used to knit, swim, and read, but until my child grows up a bit those are on hold, as I’d rather spend my time with her after a long day than miss any more of her growing up!
Program Director – Shannon Marchand, (She/Her)
Hi! I’m Shannon. I started my career in after school programs in a low-income housing community center. This work exposed me to many assets of social work and family support needs. I went on to work in the field of domestic violence, child protection, and child behavior and mental health. I have my master’s in clinical social work and have worked in the field of trauma and parent education for the last ten years. I have experience in training and facilitating cultural competency initiatives and am passionate about that mission. Working in after school programs in collaboration with educators and families in support of youth is important to me. As for outside of work, I love spending time with my dogs, I enjoy reading and creating art! Family and friends are what I value most outside of work.
Assistant Director – Kiara (Kiki) McCallum, (She/Her)
Hello! Around here, everyone calls me Kiki. I am originally from North Carolina. I’ve been working at Kids Club for almost five years! Over the last two years, I’ve worked with 4th and 5th grade students at Stevens Elementary where I focused on a girls group of color where we met once a week and worked on our social skills, building confidence, and leadership. Throughout the year, I volunteer when I can as an advocate for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). This is a program that offers volunteers to help children that’s experienced neglect and/or abuse in the home and their well-being. I have a degree in childhood development, but want to further my education. I look forward to engaging with the children daily and offering a great support system here at Kids Club. When I am not working, I enjoy movie time with my son and arts and DIY projects!
I just recently moved to Seattle from California after graduating college in May. I studied Digital Media Arts and hope to use my experience to help youth incorporate creativity into their lives! In my past job with youth, I’ve worked as a learning coach focusing on social-emotional learning methods, and I am also currently working as an instructor for stop-motion animation for 3rd to 8th graders. I love attending local art-centered events and finding ways to build community. In my free time, I volunteer with the Seattle Asian American film festival, the Khmer Community of King County, and the COCA gallery in Pioneer square. At home, you can find me cooking up a new recipe and cuddling my dog Chump and cat Tuna!
Hi I’m Ani, I was born in Nampa, Idaho but didn’t grow up there. I come from a military family where after I was born we moved to Georgia where my brother was born and lived there for 4 years, than to San Antonio Texas for another four years, lived in Hawaii for seven years and then moved to Tacoma Washington in 2013, didn’t move to Seattle until 2019! I graduated high school in 2016 and since than, I have been working a number of jobs, but have always done childcare on the side. My longest job in childcare at the moment is babysitting a child who I’ve known since she was 5 and who is now 11! One of my big interests since the 5th grade has been anime and I’ve been collecting manga since middle school. My other interests includes horror whether it be movies, stories, analog, or games. Superheroes is another one especially because my dad has always been super into them and I grew up around it. As for hobbies, it’s definitely catching up on reading, anime, movies that I’ve been meaning to watch, Legos and puzzles are also a pass time that I do from time to time also! I wanted to work at Kids Club because I felt like I’ve always been pretty good with kids. Though I’ve only even worked one on one when it comes to childcare, I thought it would be a good experience to work and get used to working with a big group of kids of different ages and personalities!
Hello! I’m Giovanni! I’m a recent college grad with a BFA in graphic design. I attended an art high school as well. While in high school, I started my after-school teaching career. At 17, I started teaching troubled youth how to skateboard and find creative outlets for their emotions and better social skills for their community. Once I moved to Seattle I continued to teach the kids and adults in my community how to skateboard and all the life lessons you can learn from skating.
All of this brought me to Kids Club. After 5 years of teaching skateboarding, I wanted to change up the job a bit, however, I wanted to continue to see the joy on the kids’ faces once they overcome a difficult obstacle. I enjoy seeing them realize nothing is impossible as long as you work hard and put your mind into whatever it is!
Once upon a time, Marc was tasked with writing a mini auto bio blurb for an organization’s newsletter and website you might have heard. From the Light within, he would hope to shine through his multicultural rainbow lines. Asian race, Filipino ethnicity, American nationality declarant. He is the youngest child of Philippine born parents. Passion for diverse community service with youth and children as a career, He has had this experience for ten (10) plus years. Eclectic in his taste of food, music, T.V., etcetera Family, friends, theatre, cooking, hiking, camping, painting, and anything 90s are a plethora. As one concludes this vignette, Marc hopes that his mini words will become worthy in time. For you see, a new journey embarked with Kids’ Club After School Program will come to be a family he finds.
I am from Tacoma WA. I am also an actor singer dancer in the Seattle area. I really enjoy sharing my love for the arts with the kids in kids club. I’ve also found a way to connect with the kids through sports. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the kids the past couple of years. This place never feels like a job. I look forward to seeing the kids every day. If your child enjoys theater and/or sports, I’d love to chat with them. It’s pretty great talking Shakespeare and football with the kiddos!
“Hi! I’m Izza and I’m a psychology major at the University of Washington. I’m from Bellevue, Washington, and I want to become a child therapist when I graduate so getting that experience with the kids at Kids Club is so awesome! It has shown me each day that working with kids is something that I really wanna do!!”
Hi there,
I spent a lot of my early childhood living in different countries (mostly across West and East Africa) before settling in Southeast Seattle in late 2013. I’ve been an avid reader since I was in kindergarten and enjoy sharing my passion for literature with youth I work with today! I am inspired by the joy for learning and building relationships that young people exhibit in schools and work to foster an environment that empowers students academically and socially.
Hi I’m Josh! Originally, I lived in Marysville for most of my life but recently moved to Edmonds. I graduated Everett community college with a degree in global studies with an endorsement in biology! I gravitated towards more creative experiences which led me to my bachelors in digital marketing. Before working for kids club, I was a part of a quartet newspaper focusing on lgbtqia+ issues. Outside of work I love to paint, play games online and being active. I started working here because I have previous experience working with kids, it really opened my eyes to the joy of helping the youth.
Hi, my name is Richard. I’m originally from Michigan (Go Blue!) but have moved around a lot the last 15 years. I lived in Arizona for 9 years with a gap in the middle as an au pair in Span for 8 months. I moved to Seattle 2 months before covid started; great timing, I know. I have been an elementary teacher assistant for over 8 years. I have experience with kids 3-12 years old. I’ve worked at many summer camps. I’ve worked at public and private schools and was a substitute PE teacher at one of the private schools. I love being active and doing any sort of sport. I coached little league baseball for about 4 years, some in Arizona and some here. I’ve done a lot of volunteering as well, including being a Big Brother for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Arizona. I enjoy working with kids for a few reasons. 1. It allows me to be active and move around a lot (I don’t like sitting still). 2. Being around kids keeps me in a good mood. Kids are generally pretty happy from my experience, and that good mood rubs off on me. 3. I like to teach, so it works well being around those little people that need to learn! I look forward to working with the kids at Kids Club and I hope they will have fun with me too.