The professionals that make up the Talaris staff come from a variety of disciplines. By combining experts in the fields of parenting, childcare, education, business development, healthcare, marketing, and communications, we are building a team that understands and represents the world we are trying to reach. We invite you to meet our team through the summary bios below.

Katie Simons - Executive Director
Carolyn Bardon - Director of Finance and Operations
Stacey Cooper - Director of Product
Calvin L. Lyons - Director of Partnerships
Patsy Maltby - Project Manager
Alison Maul - Administrative Assistant
Beth Rogers - Bookkeeper
Perry D. Murrell, Sr. - Director of Operations
Elizabeth Nelson, EdD - Director of Research & Communications
Carolyn Pirak - Manager of Partnerships
Mary Westering - Executive Assistant/Office Manager
 
 

Katie Simons is the Executive Director at Talaris Institute. As Executive Director, Katie reports directly to the Board and directs all aspects of general operations, planning, research, product development, distribution and evaluation.

Katie has a BA in Psychology and Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard. Prior to joining Talaris, she was Director of Brewed Coffee for Starbucks, where she had innovation and P&L responsibility for the brewed coffee business. Previously, she was a Project Leader for Boston Consulting Group, providing strategic management consulting to companies in a variety of industries. Katie was also an Account Director for Avenue A and a Fulbright scholar in Gabon, Africa.

Katie’s husband, Steve Carter, is a family practice physician. Katie and Steve have a vivacious 2 year old daughter named Ella.
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Carolyn Bardon is the Director of Finance and Operations at Talaris Institute, reporting to the Executive Director. As Director of Finance and Operations, Carolyn is responsible for business planning, financial oversight & reporting, operations support and team leadership.

Carolyn joined Talaris from the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she recommended systems improvements, and implemented policies and procedures related to finance, financial planning & analysis, IT, HR and facilities. Previously, she was the Co-founder and CEO of a small business and Director of Business Planning for an internet start-up. She also has financial experience working at the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and in private equity. Carolyn has a BS in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Carolyn and her husband Max are the proud parents of a two year old daughter named Ava. In addition to spending time with family, Carolyn's interests include yoga, running, tennis and community service.
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Stacey Cooper is the Director of Product at Talaris Institute, reporting to the Executive Director. As Director of Product, Stacey provides product vision and strategy, and leads the team to manage the existing product portfolio and to develop and launch new products.

Stacey joined Talaris from the Starbucks espresso team, where she identified, commercialized, and launched products in Starbucks retail stores. Previously, Stacey has been a member of the Starbucks global strategy team focused on North American strategy, a McKinsey & Company consultant, and a member of the Walt Disney Company's strategic planning organization, where she analyzed acquisition opportunities, devised long-term strategies and evaluated operations of ongoing businesses. Stacey has a BA in economics with a minor in psychology from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Outside of work, Stacey and her husband Ryan enjoy traveling and spending time with their exuberant goldendoodle puppy.
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Calvin L. Lyons is the Director of Partnerships at Talaris Institute, reporting to the Executive Director. As Director of Partnerships, Calvin contributes to the Talaris mission by providing team leadership, partnerships vision and strategy.

Calvin joins the Talaris team from Rainier Scholars where he directed all aspects of the educational non-profit including general business operations, fundraising, marketing and program operations. Calvin has a BS in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Purdue University, an MBA from Pepperdine University and recently completed the Executive Leadership Program at Seattle University.

When not at the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, traveling, chess (collects chess sets from around the world), and exercising.
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Patsy has been with Talaris since 2003 and has fulfilled many duties including project management, marketing support, customer service, event and office management, as well as being an executive assistant to the CEO. As Project Manager for Talaris, Patsy works closely with all members of the Product Team on new product development, from conception to creative to final production of the product. She is also the liaison for all product vendors. Always mindful that our goal is to produce high quality products and materials for parents, caregivers and early learning professionals, Patsy oversees the final production process. In addition, she manages the Parenting Counts website and all of the conferences, events, and special projects such as charitable distribution of product through military installations. All of this, and she is the mother of two teenage boys and loves spending time with her family and friends.
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Beth joined the Talaris team in April, 2009. Working part-time as the bookkeeper she reports to the Director of Finance and Operations. She has spent most of the past fifteen years raising her children and volunteering for a wide variety of non-profit organizations. Her volunteer activities have included working with the homeless and leading teams of youth on volunteer trips overseas.

Prior to this, Beth worked at Microsoft in Finance and Operations where the team she managed supported a variety of divisions within the company including marketing, public relations, and the publishing division.

Beth has a BA in Business Administration/Accounting from the University of Washington and has also completed coursework towards an MS in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Massachusetts.

Besides spending time with family and close friends, Beth enjoys hiking, running, and travel.
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Alison orchestrates and executes the daily operations of the Vice Chair's office and also plays a role in developing and managing relationships with current and potential partners.

Alison began her work at Talaris in March 2008 after returning from Africa where she focused on building a school and teaching English to Maasai children in a rural village located in Tanzania. Her experience with impoverished children in Africa sparked her passion to work in an environment that focuses on the needs of young children.

Alison spent two years of her college career at Northern Arizona University. She then decided to backpack through Europe, visiting 10 different countries. Her final 2 years of college were spent at Central Washington University where she completed a B.S. in Business Marketing in 2007.

Alison is a triplet with two brothers who she enjoys spending time with. She also appreciates the outdoors, traveling and spending quality time with close friends and family.
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Perry is Director of Operations and as such is responsible for all the day to day activities of the institute along with any special projects as assigned by the director. He has a broad background in both the private and public sectors with positions that range from being the youngest ever computer technician hired by RCA, an advisor to the Vietnamese Army in Vietnam, leadership positions in several community based organizations, member of a special visit delegation to Israel and ten years as Chairperson of the Akron Planning Commission. Perry is retired from Avaya where he spent twenty five years working in the former Bell System. His hobbies include wood-working, astrometry, reading, writing and singing in his church men’s choir.
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Elizabeth Nelson joined the Talaris team in May as the Director of Research and Communications. She is also involved in several research projects at the University of Washington Center on Infant Mental Health and Development, and teaches in their certificate program. She received a UW Royalty Research Grant in 2009 to study the impact of Attachment-focused intervention on the developing HPA axis regulation of infants and toddlers in foster care. Elizabeth earned her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Harvard University. She completed a research fellowship at Children’s Hospital in Boston, in partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Head Start, which focused on helping parents of young children overcome barriers to accessing mental health services. Elizabeth received clinical training in Child & Family Therapy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and provided therapeutic services to families both at Cedars and at the Child Development Clinic in Holyoke, MA. Her research interests are physiological & behavioral outcomes of attachment disruption, and programs that support parent-child attachment.
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Carolyn Pirak is the Manager of Partnerships. In her role, she is responsible for the development and coordination of strategic outreach opportunities and collaborative business partnerships designed to provide families with education and resources that encourage the social and emotional well-being of children.

Prior to joining Talaris, Carolyn was the Director of the Bringing Baby Home Program at the Relationship Research Institute where she created and implemented a certification training program on the transition to parenthood for professionals internationally. She has also spent 15 years at Swedish Medical Center in Birth and Family Education and previously, in Perinatal and Neonatal Services. Carolyn is a nationally recognized speaker on Parenting and Relationship issues and is a contributing author to a variety of publications.

Carolyn holds a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington. She is a Certified Childbirth Educator and a Certified Gottman Educator.  Outside of work, Carolyn enjoys time with her husband and 2 children.
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Mary Westering comes to Talaris with a unique blend of experience, knowledge and creative energy. Her professional resume involves ten years of experience as an escrow closer that involved working with families, finances and familiarity with the many intricacies of the real estate and finance industry. Most recently, Mary was the lead administrative assistant to the Vice President of Licensed Stores at Starbucks as well as the Vice President of Global Beverage. She joined Talaris in December of 2008 as the administrative assistant to Executive Director, Katie Simons. Mary is the proud mother of a twenty-one year old daughter and a grandmother of an amazing three year old granddaughter. She also has two engaging step-sons, twenty-one and eighteen years old. She lives in West Seattle with her husband, who is a public school administrator. Mary's other interests include reading, long walks and spending time with family and pets.
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