BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Geoff Harrison - Board President
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Geoff started playing tennis when he was nine years old and grew to love the sport for its competition, all-around athleticism and most importantly, the fun of it. He has played competitively throughout his life and coached at the college level.
Geoff is a strong believer in early education success being a foundational skill for fulfillment in life. He has served on the board of New Discovery School, a play-based pre-school and coaches youth soccer and baseball teams.
Professionally, Geoff is a Partner and Chief Design Officer at Blink, a UX research and design firm.
Sean Gu - Board Treasurer
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Sean’s interest in tennis began early when his parents put a racquet in his hand and scheduled 3 hour practices every other day for the next 5 years. The efforts culminated in a so-so club level playing career, but Sean’s passion for the sport remains to this day. He believes youth sports not only help improve fitness but also teach great life lessons such as sportsmanship and overcoming adversity.
Sean is a licensed CPA at Brighton Jones where he advises on tax matters. He is also an adjunct professor at Northwest University teaching taxation and personal finance. Sean received his B.S and M.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois. He enjoys consuming financial content and helping others achieve their goals.
Elizabeth Fletcher - Board Member
Elizabeth started playing tennis about four years ago, and currently plays on several tennis teams out of TCSP. When she isn't shuttling her two children from activity to activity, she keeps busy volunteering at their schools and various other organizations in the area.
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In addition to her role at STEF, she currently helps organize the Food Bank donation program at the Magnuson P-Patch, is the treasurer with the NESLL Pilots softball program, and coordinates community building events for her neighborhood association.
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Elizabeth graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in History. She taught high school history for seven years in both Florida and Washington's public school systems. She believes that making meaningful connections with her students is the best way to lead them on the path to success.
Marla Aginian - Board Member
Marla has been playing tennis for as long as she can remember. While growing up in Birmingham, Michigan she played USTA Juniors in addition to local swim teams and high school golf. She loves all sports and believes youth sports are the best way for kids to build social connections, grow healthy and learn to love physical activity.
Currently she is managing two teenage boys and their multiple sport schedules including high performance tennis but she is also playing competitive tennis, swimming with a local masters team and organizing social golf. Marla believes sports are for life!
Marla has been volunteering with STEF since 2019 serving as an on-court tennis coach. She enjoys making personal connections with the kids while watching them grow their tennis and fitness skills. She hopes to further raise awareness of STEF in our community with local fundraising events, community outreach and voluntary youth involvement.
Marla is a CPA and has a BS in accounting and MBA in marketing from Indiana University. She has held various roles at Arthur Anderson, The Walt Disney Corporation, Reckitt Benckiser and most recently product manager at Starbucks Coffee Company.
Blake Buchert - Board Member
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Blake started playing tennis at a young age and it slowly turned from an occasional hobby to a passion competing across the USTA circuit. While in high school, he finished as a two time state doubles champion in Missouri. He maintains an interest in the sport and watches his favorite player, Rafael Nadal, as much as possible.
Outside of tennis, Blake graduated with a Master's in Health Administration and works as a Business Manager at Seattle Children's Hospital. His interest in STEF comes from the love of the sport as well as the kids and families he sees in the clinic. He hopes to promote the health, wellness, and life skills that sports bring to kids.
Sherry Li - Board Member
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Sherry’s tennis career started at six years old with her dad tossing balls over a patio chair on their driveway. This rapidly progressed to her family moving from New Jersey to Florida for more advanced training, which resulted in a short professional tennis stint before attending Yale University and playing on their Division I tennis team. Sherry believes that tennis at all levels is an excellent avenue for children to develop self-confidence, grit and integrity.
After college, Sherry moved to Seattle and spent the last six years in corporate strategy and finance roles at Amazon, REI and Smartsheet. Outside of Smartsheet and STEF, Sherry is a member of the Washington Alpine Club, where she runs the monthly newsletter and is a volunteer climbing instructor.
ADVISORY BOARD
Colin Plank - Founder & President Emeritus, STEF Advisory Board
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Colin Plank is the Board President and founding member of Seattle Tennis & Education Foundation. Colin hopes that STEF can impact as many children as possible with positive mentors, useful life skills and a passion for tennis. He is also the President of Centripetal Films where he produces award-winning narrative features and documentaries including EDEN and Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey.
He graduated from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland with a B.A. in History and was a member of the historical honor society, Phi Alpha Theta. In addition to filmmaking, Colin and his family support other local charities, including Treehouse, Childhaven and Invested.
Roger Rogoff - Member, STEF Advisory Board
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Roger's passions in life have been kids, family and tennis. He is married with two daughters, ages seven and 15. As a kid, he played junior tennis in Tucson, eventually playing in college at Emory University in Atlanta. He taught tennis to adults and children in his late teens and early 20s.
One of Roger’s greatest regrets is taking a break from tennis when he began his legal career in the early 1990s. He prosecuted child sex crimes as a King County Deputy Prosecutor, spending significant time with underserved and at-risk youth. As an Assistant United States Attorney from 2006-2013, he prosecuted federal offenses, including Sexual Exploitation of Children. He is currently a judge in King County Superior Court, Juvenile Division.
Roger is a 4.5 player who competes in USTA leagues and tournaments.
Wadiya Udell - Member, STEF Advisory Board
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Wadiya is a developmental psychologist and faculty member at the University of Washington Bothell. She received an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College (MA) and a PhD from Columbia University. Wadiya has worked to promote developmentally appropriate and comprehensive approaches to health promotion and risk prevention among youth.
“Community-based programs offer great opportunities to enhance the factors that promote healthy development among youth and children," she says. "STEF offers youth in underserved Seattle communities opportunities to foster their physical, educational, and socio-emotional health in a fun and engaging setting.”
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Jim Vana - Member, STEF Advisory Board
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Jim is a Partner at the Perkins Coie law firm, practicing in the intellectual property field. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Indiana University.
Jim has been an enthusiastic supporter of tennis for many years with a focus on what the sport can do for youth. He previously volunteered with the Washington Tennis Foundation in Washington, DC.