Riannon Bardsley, Executive Director, began working with youth and at-risk populations at age 12. During her adolescence, Riannon volunteered with the Special Olympics training team in Seattle Washington, where she was born and raised. This led to work on the Teen Link Line at the Crisis Clinic at age 14. This 8 year experience inspired her to continue working with people who were struggling and in need of support, kindness and opportunities. Riannon continued to work and volunteer in program development and direct service work with women and children in a Domestic Violence Shelter, Group Homes for runway youth and teenage girls in foster care, a Seattle downtown shelter working with vulnerable populations of people experiencing homelessness, as well as a housing program in down town Seattle for mentally ill and fragile homeless adults. Once completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Non-Profit Business at Evergreen College, Riannon worked in a Juvenile Prison as a counselor for mental health, maximum-security females (12-19 years old).

Throughout all of these experiences her dedication to her community and to people who were asking for help never wavered. In 2006, Riannon moved to Bellingham, WA where she began working at NWYS in the Whatcom Transitional Living Program. This is also when Riannon took on one of her biggest challenges to-date; parenting. In 2007, Riannon and her partner became foster parents and have invited many loving and needy children from Whatcom County into their home.
The newest challenge in Riannon’s life is as Executive Director of NWYS. Riannon is excited about this opportunity to continue to offer and provide support, direction and hope to those in her community that are less fortunate.

 Hannah Fisk,  Housing Programs Manager, has been working for NWYS since 2007. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 2007 with a Bachelors degree in Social Work. She graduated in 2010 with a Master’s degree in Social Work from Eastern Washington University. In 2003, Hannah started working with at-risk youth in detention centers and has continued to work with youth in various settings.

Jen Jorgensen graduated from Western Washington University in 2005 with an undergraduate degree in psychology. As of autumn 2009, she has gone back to school at theUniversity of Washington to obtain a Masters degree in social work. Jen has worked in a variety of capacities at NWYS, including: foster care, safe home, counseling, and she is currently the full-time case manager in the Whatcom Transitional Living program.

Jen is very busy with working full-time and going to school. Because of this, she doesn’t have a lot of free time. When she does, she enjoys baking, bowling, reading, and finding yummy local restaurants to eat at. She also spends a lot of time every day walking and entertaining her “child,” a 12 pound yorkie-bichon dog named Peeka.

Jaclyn Garuti, Skagit County Case Manager, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of South Florida and her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut. Jaclyn has worked
with at-risk youth in various settings in different areas of the country; her most recent experience includes working at an organization that provides equestrian based programming for at-risk youth in Hartford, Connecticut. Jaclyn
is a New England native from Farmington, Connecticut but is excited about living in Washington and exploring all that the beautiful Pacific Northwest has to offer.

Claire Mannino, Program Coordinator for the Queer Youth Project, earned a Bacholors Degree in Psychology, and a Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling. In addition to working with the Queer Youth LGBTQQ youth program at Northwest Youth Services, she plays drums and sings in an all-girl, all-queer garage band, spends lots of time with her 7 year old daughter playing and learning new things, enjoying all kinds of art and music, and reads a lot. She loves working towards making Whatcom and Skagit Counties a more inclusive and exciting place to be for everyone, especially adolescents.

Cathy Beaty, Program Coordinator Youth Accountability Program, earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Iowa State University and has been a resident of Bellingham for 35 years. Cathy and her husband have three grown children and three grandchildren.

She enjoys reading, walking the dog and family time. Cathy has been at Northwest Youth Services for almost 14 years of which the past 9 have been spent coordinating the Teen Court program. “Working at NWYS has given me the opportunity to meet and work with so many dedicated professionals. They all share a common passion and concern for the youth in our community. It is truly heartwarming to come to work everyday with such caring individuals.”

Christopher “Kip” Zwolenski,  Whatcom County Supportive Program Case Manager and Site Monitor for the Transitional Living Program, has been working with NWYS since the spring of 2008. He graduated from Goddard College in 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education with a focus in Early Childhood Education, Leadership Studies, and Dual-Language Instruction. He is currently pursuing a M.Ed. in Continuing and College Education with a specialization in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Western Washington University.

He moved to Bellingham ten years ago after growing up in Tampa, Florida. While he sometimes severely misses the swamps of his childhood home, Kip is for the most part content to explore the waters and mountains of northwest Washington. Kip and his wife Brook are avid D.I.Y.ers (do it yourself) and you can often find them fermenting vegetables from their garden or building some new structure in their yard. He also likes to wrestle with his dog Burlington.

Having taken some time off from teaching, Kip is excited to be working in his new capacity at NWYS with a team of equally passionate individuals. His role allows him to take part in informal educational experiences with youth that adds a new skill-set to his teaching repertoire.

Michael Fitz, The P.A.D. Activities/Life skills coordinator, began working for Northwest Youth Services in 2011 and worked as a P.A.D. overnight youth worker before moving into his role as the Activities/Life skill coordinator.  He received his AAS from Whatcom Community College and is currently pursuing a BS in Human Services Management.  Before working at NWYS Michael was the assistant/program director of Fircreek Day Camp in Bellingham Washington.  Between full time work and school Michael stays extremely busy.  However, when he gets the chance to relax he enjoys spending time with his wife and all of the outdoor activities Bellingham has to offer.

Maggie May is NWYS’s puppy. Maggie is an English Mastiff and was born on March 18th 2009. Maggie comes to work three days a week and enjoys barking and playing with anyone who comes into the office. Maggie enjoys long trail walks during the day, visiting Chris for treats, and going into Riannon’s office to play.