BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lakesha Knatt

Lakesha Knatt

Executive Director, Seattle

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers. Lakesha Knatt, Executive Director of Summer Search Seattle,...

 
Lakesha Knatt

Lakesha Knatt

Position: Executive Director, Seattle
Email: lknatt@summersearch.org

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers.

Lakesha Knatt, Executive Director of Summer Search Seattle, is a native of the Seattle area and lives with her family in South King County.

Prior to joining the Summer Search community, Lakesha served as the Regional Director at the College Success Foundation Seattle/King County, where she supported college and career readiness programs starting in middle school through college completion for BIPOC students from low-income households. Lakesha managed a team of 40 professional staff, including school-based staff in 6 middle schools, 12 high schools and 5 college/university campuses across King County.  Lakesha is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work and Field Education at Seattle University and has been teaching in higher education for the past 6 years.  Before that, Lakesha worked as a social worker in various Seattle-based nonprofits including Habitat for Humanity, where she served as their Family Services Director.  Lakesha is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.  She then received her Master of Social Work degree from University of Washington.

In her spare time, Lakesha enjoys engaging in community work, parenting her 10-year-old daughter, traveling as often as possible, and spending time with family and friends.  Lakesha is excited to learn from her colleagues at Summer Search and build on the successes of the previous leadership while leading the Seattle team into a new era of success for the organization.

Therese Williams

Senior Program Director

Pronouns: She/her/hers. Therese is a Sacramento, California native that enjoys...

 

Therese Williams

Position: Senior Program Director
Email: twilliams@summersearch.bricktoweb.com

Pronouns: She/her/hers.

Therese is a Sacramento, California native that enjoys dancing, traveling, and quality times with her loved ones. Therese graduated as a part of the first inaugural class at the University of California, Merced (Go Bobcats!) and received her BA in Psychology, with a minor in Cognitive Science in 2009. In pursuit of a higher learning, Therese moved to the Pacific Northwest to complete her graduate studies in Student Development Administration (M.Ed) at Seattle University in 2013.

Joining the Summer Search Seattle team couldn’t be more of a perfect fit for Therese because she was a product of mentoring and college preparation program called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) during her high school experience. Since Therese’s high school AVID experience, serving students has been a calling that she is truly passionate about. Her background in education spans from transfer admissions advising, academic advising, career advising, and new student orientation within college institutions in both California and Washington State.

In the words of the great Maya Angelou, Therese deeply resonates with the following quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. Thus, Therese considers it a privilege to invite students into a safe space where they feel heard, validated, and empowered to use their voice as a catalyst to spark positive change wherever it is needed. Moreover, Therese is deeply committed towards partnering with students in defining their pathway of success while helping them understand that they were born with the ability to succeed!

Therese resides in south King county (Federal Way), and when she is not at Summer Search, she enjoys dance fitness, Marvel superhero movies, live jazz music, eating lavender ice cream at Point Ruston, traveling to different countries with her best friend, fellowship with her church family, and spending quality time with her amazing husband.

Duron Jones

High School Program Manager

Pronouns: He/Him/His Click here to meet with Duron Duron joined...

 

Duron Jones

Position: High School Program Manager
Phone: (971) 428-0097
Email: duron.jones@summersearch.org

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Click here to meet with Duron

Duron joined the Summer Search team in 2023, with a passion for empowering young people to reach their self-defined comfortable life. Over 10-years of his career was built on supporting youth, with a focus on youth who are the global majority, in gaining access to college, career, and entrepreneurial opportunities that would further them in becoming lifelong learners and achieve success. Duron has served as an adjunct faculty member and director in the business school at a private university, advisor to public school districts on college preparedness programs, and a management consultant for corporations building career readiness programs.

Outside of work, Duron enjoys video games and tabletop games, creative writing, the outdoors, anime, taking naps, and educating people about real estate.

Erik Toth

Seattle Board Chair

Erik is a Principal Owner responsible for Business Operations at...

 

Erik Toth

Position: Seattle Board Chair
Professional Title: Principal, Toth Construction

Erik is a Principal Owner responsible for Business Operations at Toth Construction with his brother Klaus. Toth Construction was started by his father Walter in 1976, and is a premier remodeler and builder of custom homes in the Seattle area.  Erik has a B.S. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Washington. He is also very involved with the Boy Scouts of America, YMCA and the First United Methodist Church. Erik and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Tristan and Emma.

Inducted – Term End: June 2011 – Sept 2024