Rebakah Daro Minarchek

Grant Chair

Rebakah Daro Minarchek is an Environmental Sociologist and a faculty member at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her research and teaching interests include environmental justice, the politics of natural resource access, food systems, and environmental history. She lives in Port Townsend with her family and has two children in Port Townsend schools. When not teaching on environmental topics at UW, she enjoys exploring the forests, beaches, and waters of the area with her family and dogs.

Aldryth O'Hara

Treasurer

Aldryth O’Hara graduated from Whitworth College in Spokane, WA in 1975 with a major in Political Science.  Following a career in banking and time off to raise a family she completed her accounting education and became a CPA in 1992. She received a Master of Science in Taxation from Golden Gate University in 2000.  Aldryth is a founding member of PTEF and has been PTEF Treasurer since 2007. Aldryth is a strong supporter of public schools and enjoys supporting teachers in Port Townsend through her work with PTEF.

Nelia Swayze

Nelia Swayze re-landed in Port Townsend in 2012 after many years sailing with her family in the Pacific. She has a daughter who benefited through many years of PTEF projects in the schools and sees the value of what PTEF grants enable for educational opportunities in our district. Now that her daughter has graduated from the Port Townsend School District, she still wants to support innovative education in the schools that inspires our children to have a life long interest in learning.

Helen Dailey-Fallat

Helen Dailey-Fallat is a native Washingtonian who ventured to New England for her undergraduate degree in sociology, studied abroad for a year in Italy, and spent two years in Senegal as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She earned a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Washington and moved to Port Townsend in 2017. She has two children in Port Townsend schools. She’s invested in ensuring the youth of Port Townsend have opportunities for place-based learning especially involving cross-cultural exposure. When give the opportunity, she will climb mountains, attend live music, and travel.

Mary Visher recently moved to Port Townsend from California to help take care of her grandchild, Alder. Before this move, she served on the local school board in her remote and rural northern California community. She also founded and led a grassroots organization, EduAct, with a mission to recruit volunteers from the community and match them with opportunities to support teaching and learning in the schools, such as tutoring, mentoring, and supporting enrichment activities. She chose to pursue these activities after retiring from a 40- year career as a public policy researcher and evaluator, with the last 20 years focused on education. She is looking forward to continuing to contribute to supporting public schools through PTEF in Port Townsend. 

Sandra Wanstall

Sandra Wanstall moved to Port Townsend in 2018 after selling her business in Seattle. She has two adult children, values education that addresses all human intelligences and believes in the positive impact of passionate teachers. A New Englander by birth, Sandra has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Williams College and is a practitioner of yoga, qigong and somatic movement. She lives in cohousing and has a deep curiosity about mindfulness practices, human consciousness and the power of intention.

Vanessa Wade has lived in Washington state for the majority of her adult life. Her educational background includes having graduated from a public magnet school in South Carolina, earning an Associate's degree from Columbia Basin College (Pasco, WA), studied abroad in China and graduated with a Bachelor's degree from University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies (Seattle, WA) nearly two decades ago, and in the last decade, various yoga teaching certifications. Vanessa is an active OCEAN parent and strongly believes in the importance of education, multicultural exposure, and providing innovative opportunities for all students to foster their curiosity and aptitude for learning.