Our Team

Board Members

Timothy Oesterling

Board President

Timothy Oesterling serves as Board President for Salish Sea Deaf School. He graduated in 1996 from Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and currently works as an HVAC sheet metal formen for BLYTHE. In addition to his work at Salish Sea, Timothy also served the Northwest Washington Community of the Deaf as President for two years till the end of 2018. He enjoys camping, hiking, off-roading, hunting and fishing but his favorite hobby is vehicle mechanics.

James “Dino” Christianson

Board Vice President

James “Dino” Christianson, Jr. has been a board member for SSDS since August 2015 when the school founded. Dino has worked as Client Advocate with Hearing, Speech and Deaf Center (HSDC) office, located in Bellingham, since 2004. He has also worked for Deaf Teen Leadership Camp (DTL) since 2009 as challenge course facilitator and currently camp co-director. In this role, he provides enriching leadership training and experiences for deaf and hard-of-hearing high school teenagers in the summer. He loves reading novels and collecting comic books, and having quality times with family, especially his two daughters.

Maria Christianson

Salish Sea Deaf School Director

Maria has served in her current role as Executive Director since 2016. She has worked in the Deaf Education field since 2003 including as a facilitator and director for Deaf Teen Leadership Camp between 2009 and 2017. She was a board member for Northwest Washington Community of the Deaf from 2001 to 2004, Washington State Association of the Deaf from 2007 to 2010 and Board of Trustee for Washington State Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss Center since 2013 to present. She enjoys camping, gardening, family road trips and spending time with her two daughters.

Cathy Schaeffer

Board Secretary

Cathy Schaeffer has been a member of the SSDS Board since 2017. Cathy, who is the President of OARS (Old Anacortes Rowing and Sailing Society), came to know and admire the SSDS students by developing a rowing program for the school. The program developed into a rowing/Sailing STEM program that included classroom lessons and on the water experience. Cathy is a retired nurse practitioner who continues to organize and lead a patient support group. Other favorite activities include fly fishing, ukulele jams and gardening.

Connie Pangrazi

Board Member

Connie Pangrazi recently retired from Arizona State University as an Academic Dean after a 30+ year career in education. Currently, Connie is teaching classes at Skagit Valley College as a faculty adjunct. Connie is active in the community and serves as a board member for both Soroptimist of Anacortes and the Salish Sea Deaf School. She also works with the Therapy Dog program at Island Hospital. She is a 2018 Leadership Skagit graduate and completed a community service project for the Anacortes Family Center during the year-long program. Connie has a son, Matt, who lives and works in San Francisco. She is an avid hiker, rower, and knitter and loves spending time with her black lab, Cessi.

Misty Flowers

Board Treasurer

Misty Flowers has served as the Salish Sea Deaf School Board of Directors treasurer for the past three years. She is a native of Washington State and has been employed by the Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS) since July 2005. Misty began as their business manager and now serves as Finance Director. At ADWAS, she manages a combined budget of approximately 1.4 – 1.9 million annually. Misty graduated in June 2000 from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Option: Management. Misty also voluntarily develops annual budgets for Deaf Spotlight organization in Seattle.

Our Staff

Tonda Smit

Speech Language Pathologist

Tonda has been at SSDS since the beginning. She is a language facilitator during classroom time for all students and also sees students separately to work on whatever specific speech, language or swallowing goals they may have. Tonda has 22 years of experience working in Deaf Education, as well as 15 years of experience working in the healthcare setting (hospitals, etc). She is passionate about making sure that language is available and accessible to ALL children at as early an age as possible. She is a trained Auditory-Verbal Therapist and utilizes many different approaches to engage and succeed with students in articulation, language, and swallowing therapies.
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tonda

Tonda Smit

Tonda has been at SSDS since the beginning. She is a language facilitator during classroom time for all students and also sees students separately to work on whatever specific speech, language or swallowing goals they may have. Tonda has 22 years of experience working in Deaf Education, as well as 15 years of experience working in the healthcare setting (hospitals, etc).

She is passionate about making sure that language is available and accessible to ALL children at as early an age as possible. She is a trained Auditory-Verbal Therapist and utilizes many different approaches to engage and succeed with students in articulation, language, and swallowing therapies.Most recently, Tonda has given back to her community by mentoring/coaching Team 3238 The Cyborg Ferrets, a FIRST Robotics Championship (FRC) team for the past 6 years, as well as coaching Team 27979 the Purple Orcas, a FIRST Lego League (FLL) team for SSDS students two years ago and says that her time with FIRST Robotics is the most worthwhile extra-curricular activity she has ever been involved with. Currently she is helping with community service projects associated with her son’s school.

Tonda’s interests include reading, scrapbooking, Pop-Up books, reading, walking, gardening, reading, getting involved in her son’s lives, hanging out with her husband, camping, reading, jigsaw puzzles, Lake Powell and did I mention reading??

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Cathy Graffuis

Educational Facilitator

Cathy has been employed at Salish Sea Deaf School as an Educational Facilitator as well as an on-site Certified Interpreter since 2016. She has been in the field of Deaf Education in one capacity or another for thirty years. She started working as a Para-educator in a Deaf preschool at the age of 18, and now has a degree in Early Childhood Education. She says she is always eager to learn more, which is evident in the abundant hours of workshops, trainings, and college courses that she has enrolled in which all revolve around educating children.
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Cathy

Cathy Graffuis

Cathy has been employed at Salish Sea Deaf School as an Educational Facilitator as well as an on-site Certified Interpreter since 2016. She has been in the field of Deaf Education in one capacity or another for thirty years. She started working as a Para-educator in a Deaf preschool at the age of 18, and now has a degree in Early Childhood Education. She says she is always eager to learn more, which is evident in the abundant hours of workshops, trainings, and college courses that she has enrolled in which all revolve around educating children.

Cathy is a part of a large, multi-generational Deaf family, where both of her parents are Deaf, as well as three brothers, and one of 2 sisters. She has numerous extended Deaf family members scattered from coast to coast. ASL is Cathy’s first language. She grew up in the Deaf World, and continues to thrive there today.

Cathy and her husband have 4 amazing children from the ages of 16 to 27. Their youngest son is Deaf and is part of the inaugural SSDS class that started in 2015 when the school opened.

Cathy enjoys volunteering her time to help out at the school’s community sign class, she has served on 3 separate Board of Directors over the years, volunteered within all of her children’s school classrooms as they were growing up, when she was not homeschooling. She is one of the core founders and a part of the grassroots movements to get Salish Sea Deaf School established. Her hobbies include reading, playing video games with her sons, curling up to watch a good movie, hiking, boating, and looking for beach glass.

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Thuy Truong

Support Staff

Thuy has served as a support staff since September 2019. Previously, she worked for The Market, LLC (formerly Brown & Cole, LLC) as an accounting clerk for 19 years in Bellingham, Washington. She moved to Bellingham from Vietnam in 1990 when she was 15 years old and graduated from Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver, WA in 1994. She has been involved as a board member for Northwest Washington Community of the Deaf (NWWCD) for 20+ years. Thuy enjoys camping, hiking with family and watching Asian films
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Thuy Truong

Thuy has served as a support staff since September 2019. Previously, she worked for The Market, LLC (formerly Brown & Cole, LLC) as an accounting clerk for 19 years in Bellingham, Washington.

She moved to Bellingham from Vietnam in 1990 when she was 15 years old and graduated from Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver, WA in 1994.

She has been involved as a board member for Northwest Washington Community of the Deaf (NWWCD) for 20+ years.

Thuy enjoys camping, hiking with family and watching Asian films.

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Jenna Graffuis

Educational Facilitator

Jenna is currently an Educational Facilitator at Salish Sea Deaf School (SSDS) in the Elementary Pod program. This will be her second year working at SSDS. Before coming to SSDS she spent 7 years working in Special Education and has been an asset and integral member of the educational team with her speciality training in Behavior Management, Data Collection and Curriculum Modification. Jenna brings all these skills to SSDS along with her positivity, nurturing demeanor and creativity.
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Jenna Graffuis

Jenna is currently an Educational Facilitator at Salish Sea Deaf School (SSDS) in the Elementary Pod program. This will be her second year working at SSDS. Before coming to SSDS she spent 7 years working in Special Education and has been an asset and integral member of the educational team with her specialty training in Behavior Management, Data Collection and Curriculum Modification. Jenna brings all these skills to SSDS along with her positivity, nurturing demeanor and creativity.

Prior to moving to Washington, Jenna spent 3 years volunteering for a wildlife rescue organization, including establishing an abandoned newborn squirrel nursery in her own home, and working at their bird rehabilitation center. Jenna also contributed many volunteer hours providing childcare and holiday party activities for a non-profit organization called “Deaf Connection” which provides opportunities for families with deaf and hard of hearing children to connect with one another and to other Deaf community members. This was particularly meaningful because Jenna grew up with many Deaf family members. Her little brother is Deaf, as are her grandparents, 6 aunts/uncles, and many cousins.

When not in the classroom Jenna enjoys spending time with friends and family. You can often find her on her paddle board at Lake Whatcom, or hiking on the vast trails Bellingham has to offer. She also enjoys playing video games and board games.

Gwen Bowen

Support Staff

Coming soon.
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Gwen Bowen





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Employment

Salish Sea Deaf School is now accepting applications for teaching positions within our rapidly growing bilingual (ASL/English) private school.

Job Title:

Deaf Education Teacher
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