Treehouse Welcomes New Leadership

We are pleased to announce that Nani Jackins Park and Darrell Powell have joined the executive leadership team at Treehouse!  Jackins Park now serves as the director of education programs, and Powell as the director of administration and finance. 

“We were thrilled to welcome Nani and Darrell to Treehouse and are incredibly fortunate for the depth of experience and expertise they bring the organization,” commented Janis Avery.

They will play lead roles in guiding Treehouse on our journey toward doubling the high school graduation rate for foster youth in King County by 2016.

Nani Jackins Park has over 13 years of experience providing dynamic and collaborative leadership, and has held a number of key positions in Washington State higher education. She has served as the director of student services for the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges, and was the founding director of Tacoma Community College’s TRIO Student Support Services Program, which provides first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities with comprehensive resources to support their education attainment.

Nani is also known for her work developing the pilot that led to Washington State’s Opportunity Grant Program, which prepares low income adults for high wage, high demand careers, and as the founder of the First Peoples’ Undergraduate Scholars Program at The Evergreen State College.  Prior to joining Treehouse, she was the Principal of EquityworksNW, a consulting firm focused on promoting equity and social justice through education.

Nani’s  background in educational leadership, program planning and implementation, and data evaluation will significantly increase our capacity to provide the best possible service to clients, and continually improve Treehouse educational and well-being outcomes for foster youth.

Nani is a Ph.D. candidate in the Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Program at the University of Washington. She received her BA from The Evergreen State College, and holds an MA in Counseling Psychology from Lewis & Clark College.
 
Darrell Powell has over 20 years of experience in finance and business, and has held a number of leadership positions as an executive, business owner, and entrepreneur.  Prior to joining Treehouse, he served as a managing member at Pinnacle Development Group, and as principal and chief operations officer of Griffin, Hall & Associates LLC, where he oversaw all consulting engagements with governmental agencies.  Powell has served in a number of executive leadership roles including chief accounting officer, vice president of finance, and director of business operations.  He is active in church and community service and is immediate past treasurer of the Central Area Senior Center.

Darrell’s background in financial management, operations, strategic planning and technology integration is an exciting step forward in building a world-class infrastructure at Treehouse to more effectively and efficiently serve our foster youth.

Darrell holds an MBA in Finance from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and received a BA in accounting from Tennessee State University.