PSCCN Team
Kyla Lackie
Postsecondary Readiness Director
Kyla oversees regional strategies and systems alignment to increase postsecondary readiness and access across Pierce and King County. Prior to PSESD, Kyla managed district secondary success and college readiness programming like GEAR UP, Advisory, High School & Beyond Planning, AVID, college access community partnerships, counseling supports, and school college and career programming in Highline Public Schools. She also worked for five years at SOAR, a regional early learning and youth development coalition. At University of San Diego, Kyla earned a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnic Studies and Sociology and a minor in Documentary Photography. She later earned a master's degree in Public Administration at the UW Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Kyla grew up in King and Pierce Counties and lives in South Seattle with her three-year-old son.
Angelica Alvarez
Postsecondary Readiness Student & Family Engagement Manager
Angelica was born and raised in San Luis, Arizona which borders Sonora, Mexico to migrant field workers. She has traveled and worked in the fields alongside her family most of her life and was the first in her family to graduate from high school. Angelica obtained her bachelor’s degree from Goddard College and then dedicated ten years to the Merced County Office of Education before moving to Washington. In Washington, Angelica spent thirteen years at Child Care Resources, a nonprofit agency dedicated to promoting equity for children, building community stability, and encouraging school readiness. She currently supports family engagement work on the Postsecondary Readiness team at PSESD. She is also a Board Director for Highline’s School District, King County Library Board Trustee and currently chairs the Matt Griffin YMCA Board of Directors.
Mercy Daramola
College Access Network Manager
Mercy joined the PSCCN team in December 2018 and supports regional collective action around college and career readiness through technical assistance, project management and stakeholder coordination. Mercy’s experience spans the education pipeline from early learning to post secondary. Most recently, Mercy worked as Director of Programs at College Access Now, a Seattle based nonprofit providing college access and success support to students in high school and college from low income backgrounds across Seattle and South King County. Mercy has also worked at various higher education institutions across the US, from small private liberal arts colleges, to private research universities, to large public universities and more, serving as a board member at Launch, a Seattle-based early learning program. An LA native, Mercy earned her master's in Higher Education and Student Affairs at New York University and has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Dinda Davis
Program Coordinator
Dinda works with the PSCCN team by supporting program operations and logistics, external communications and coordination to support the PSCCN team in delivering effective resources, training, networking, capacity building and technical assistance to school districts, colleges and community organizations in the region.
Fredolyn Millendez
College Access Network Manager
Being the first in her family to graduate from college, Fredolyn became actively involved as a student leader in the UW Dream Project, which partners college mentors with high school students to support the college application process. After earning her degree and working in public housing communities across Seattle through Neighborhood House, she moved to Houston, Texas in 2012 to begin her teaching career as a Teach for America corps member. While in Houston, she taught for three years in a public school and a high-performing charter school. In 2015, she returned to Washington to teach in Tacoma. At PSESD, Fredolyn supports regional collective action around college and career readiness through technical assistance, project management and stakeholder coordination. Fredolyn holds a bachelor’s degree from UW and a master’s degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University.
Jessie Simanton
College Access Network Manager
Jessie supports regional collective action around college and career readiness through technical assistance, project management and stakeholder coordination. Before joining PSESD, Jessie worked on college access and education equity issues as the Program Manager for University Beyond Bars (UBB), a nonprofit that provides higher education opportunities to students incarcerated at Washington’s Monroe Correctional Complex. She also practiced law, supporting parents and youth on family, education, and basic need civil legal issues, and taught Kindergarten. Jessie earned her Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law and has a bachelor’s degree in History from Santa Clara University. She lives in Tacoma.