Executive Committee
Catherine Simonsen
Founder / Co-President
Catherine has been involved with Minds Matter since 2004. She started as a mentor in New York City, served for two years as the Director of the Sophomore Program, chaired the board from 2007-2008, served as Director of Programming on the National Executive Committee from 2008-2009, and founded the Seattle chapter of Minds Matter in 2013. Catherine graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in economics and science, technology, and society. She worked as an analyst and associate in over-the-counter equity derivatives at Goldman Sachs in New York from 2004-2008, graduated from Yale Law School in 2011, clerked in federal circuit and district court in Seattle from 2011-2013, and is now an attorney at Perkins Coie LLP.
Ann Rubin
Co-President
Ann joined Minds Matter Seattle in 2013 as Mentor & Director of Summer Programs, becoming President in 2015. Born and raised in Tokyo, she is a certified college counselor and owner of COLLEGE-DO, a private college counseling service firm specializing in both local and international students. She has enjoyed working closely with each of the mentees in finding their best-fitting summer programs and looks forward to supporting even more students in the coming years. Ann obtained her B.A. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College, an M.A. in Education from Columbia University Teachers College, and her college counseling certificate from UCLA.
Nicole Arroyo
Director Of Mentoring & Academic Planning (Sophomore Program)
Nicole started with Minds Matter in 2014 as a sophomore mentor. She has previously worked with students in many capacities, including tutoring, mentoring, and teaching, but most notably as an instructor for the Talent Development Institute. She graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2012 with a B.S. in molecular bioscience and biotechnology. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in immunology at the University of Washington. She is interested in curriculum development and pedagogy and plans to be a professor at a small university.
Joseph Buchta
Director Of Mentoring & Academic Planning (Junior Program)
Joseph joined Minds Matter Seattle in early 2015 as a sophomore mentor and is now the Director of Mentoring & Academic Planning. Joseph graduated as valedictorian of his high school and received a full tuition scholarship from Wayne State University. At Wayne State, Joseph received his BA in Mathematics, BS in Computer Science, and an MS in Computer Science. After several years of working for large companies, such as Amazon and Dell, Joseph joined Cyanogen Inc. as a Principal Product Manager where he is building the future of mobile computing.
Forrest Collman
Director Of Fundraising
Forrest has been a mentor with Minds Matter since 2014, and is currently acting as the Director of Grants. Forrest was born and raised in Franconia, NH, a small town of ~1,000 people in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and attended the small public high school there, where his graduating class contained 39 people. Forrest attended Princeton University as an undergraduate, where he majored in Physics. He liked it enough to stay on for his Phd., though switched fields to become a neuroscientist. After four years working as a post-doc, he moved to Seattle to take a job as a Scientist as the Allen Institute for Brain Science, where he studies the different types of synapses in the brain and how they change during learning.
Namita Das
Director Of Volunteer Recruitment
Namita has been involved with Minds Matter since 2013 from when Minds Matter Seattle chapter started, serving as a Sophomore Academic Mentor for a year followed by Director of Volunteer Recruitment and Retention. Straight after high school, Namita moved from India to Dubai for studies and graduated from BITS Pilani – Dubai Campus with a B.Eng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering followed by a M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. From 2010, she has been working for Microsoft in various roles, and is currently a Customer Experience Marketing Manager.
Melissa Hendershott
Director Of Mentoring & Academic Planning (Senior Program)
Melissa joined Minds Matter Seattle in 2014 as a junior mentor and now serves as the Director Of Mentoring & Academic Planning. She graduated from Boston University with a degree in biochemistry and completed a PhD in cell biology at the University of California-San Francisco. She now works as a postdoc at the University of Washington. Melissa is excited to have the opportunity to guide our first senior class through their college application process this year.
Sarah Herman
Director Of Summer Programs & Financial Aid
Sarah is Corporate Counsel at Amazon in the Web Services Infrastructure group. Sarah attended the University of Washington through the Early Entrance Program and holds a degree in Public Health. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia in 2011. Sarah has served as Director of Event Fundraising, a sophomore mentor, and now Director of Summer Programs & Financial Aid.
Lucy Liu
Director Of Mentee Recruitment
Lucy joined Minds Matter in 2013 as a mentor and is now the Co-Director of Mentee Recruitment. She is currently working at Amazon managing the relationship between the company and major film studios, conducting everything from site merchandising to buying and planning. As the Co-Director of Mentees, Lucy focuses on recruiting and retaining top students from the Seattle area for each year’s Minds Matter class. Lucy holds a B.S. in Hospitality and Business Management from Cornell University.
Tully McGowan
Director Of Mentee Recruitment
Tully began working with Minds Matter in 2012 as a Mentor and fundraiser in New York City. He’s currently the Co-Director of Mentee Recruitment in Seattle, focused on building long-term relationships with schools and guidance counselors. Tully is a private wealth advisor at Alliance Bernstein, L.P., a research and investment management firm. Previously, he led business strategy, project management, and client service teams, all within the wealth management industry. Tully holds a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University.
Katie Moran
Director Of Summer Programs & Financial Aid
Katie Moran began with Minds Matter in 2014 as a mentor for the second group of incoming sophomores. She joined the executive committee in 2015 as a summer program coordinator. She works as a Scientific Projects Coordinator at Adaptive Biotechnologies in Seattle since June of 2015, before which she was a Research Associate at Spectrum Research, an epidemiology company in Tacoma, WA from 2012-2015. Katie graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2013 with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. During her time at UPS, she was President of the Phi Sigma Biological Honors Society, a biology course assistant, as well as an outdoor trip leader.
Alison Petrucci
Director Of Individual & Event Fundraising
Alison joined Minds Matter as a sophomore mentor in 2014. Originally from Connecticut, she has called the PNW home for seven years. She studied Classics at Cornell University and attended law school at the University of Washington. She enjoys volunteer work and has helped with a variety of organizations, including with AmeriCorps and the International Rescue Committee, as a court mediator, and with several youth mentoring programs. She currently works in the restaurant industry in management and event planning.
Rachel Shangraw
Director Of Test Prep
Rachel joined Minds Matter in 2015. Previously, she taught pre-college curriculum for Kaplan Test Prep. Rachel graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Biological Sciences and Minors in Applied Economics and Management and General Education. She is currently a Masters in Healthcare Administration candidate through the University of Washington’s School of Public Health. In 2015, Rachel interned at Providence Regional Medical Center on projects related to service line development.
Kevin Song
Director Of Volunteer Recruitment
Kevin has been involved with Minds Matter since 2014. He started as a Sophomore Mentor and is currently Director of Volunteer Recruitment & Retention. Prior to joining Minds Matter, Kevin graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Economics, Mathematics & Managerial Analytics. After college, Kevin joined Microsoft through the company’s Finance Rotation Program. He currently works as a Strategy Manager on the Windows & Devices Group, focusing on first-party devices such as Xbox, Lumia, and Surface.
Shelby Stoner
Co-Director Of PR & Marketing
Shelby joined Minds Matter Seattle as a Sophomore mentor in 2013 and now serves as Director of Marketing. She has long been an advocate for universal education and has worked extensively in the development sector, including Construction for Change, WINGS, and USAID. Her work and studies have taken her all over the world, including Jordan, Israel, Singapore and Guatemala. Shelby holds an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University and is currently pursuing a J.D. at the University of Washington.
Devon Trumbauer
Director Of Math Matters
Devon joined Minds Matter Seattle in late 2013 as a sophomore mentor and is now the Director of Math Matters. Devon graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2013 with a degree in biomedical engineering and moved to Seattle the summer after. She is now a Product Development Engineer at Impel NeuroPharma, a medical device startup that develops nasal drug delivery technology to bypass the blood-brain barrier. As the Director of Math Matters, Devon loves sharing her excitement for math with the sophomore mentees and is looking forward to another great year.
Arty Vohmincevs
Co-Director Of PR & Marketing
Arty joined Minds Matter Seattle in 2014 as a sophomore mentor. He was raised in Latvia and graduated with BSc (Hons) Computer Science from the University of Manchester. Whilst in college, Arty led MUTIS, the largest society on campus. Under his leadership, the society increased the annual budget by 60%, recruited 300+ new society members and founded an annual investment competition. Having worked for both Citigroup and Microsoft Corp after graduation, Arty is now keen to shape the future by helping rising high school students achieve their long-term goals.