Former public school educator, marketing and advertising experience; dance educators; communications experience; board experience with other nonprofits; entrepreneurial business development; program development and advocacy.
Meet Our Team
AIM’s board and staff members bring diverse and broad experience to the organization. AIM’s leadership team represents the following areas of experience and expertise: former public school educator and owner of All That Dance; marketing and advertising experience; dance educators; communications experience; board experience with other nonprofits; entrepreneurial business development; program development and advocacy. Additionally, the leadership includes parents of youth with disabilities, as well as individuals who identify as Neurodivergent or Disabled.
Administrative Team
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Kristin is thrilled to be a part of the AIM community! She brings with her a background in music therapy, music education, arts administration, and youth development work. Her highest priority in her professional life is to foster creative spaces where young people, families, community members, staff, and volunteers feel valued, supported, and free to bring their full authentic selves. In her personal time, you can find her on outdoor adventures, crafting, and learning new things.
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Maygan Wurzer, teacher coordinator, received her degree in Speech Communication from the University of Washington. She gained teaching experience as a public school teacher and then went on to found All That Dance (ATD) in 1995. She has been the Director of ATD for the past 27 years as it grew into an inclusive, welcoming space that is committed to the idea that everyone can dance, and is a fixture in the Seattle community. She has also served on the board of a local nonprofit, The Healing Center. She brings to AIM her passion for bringing movement to all dancers and her years of experience as an educator.
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Megan Martinko (she/her), Volunteer & Evaluation Coordinator, graduated from John Carroll University in 2015, with a degree in History and a minor in English. She then received her Masters in Museology with a focus on Education and a Certificate in Evaluation from the University of Washington in 2015. She is currently the Communications Manager and Tap Department Lead for All That Dance. She brings to AIM her years of experience working in nonprofits and dance education.
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Mackenzie Guillen, Registration Coordinator, graduated from UC Irvine in 2015 with a Bachelor's Degree in Dance. She has a personal connection to the disabled community and has treasured her time working with disabled community members since youth. She enjoys supporting AIM behind the scenes administratively, and is always excited when she gets the occasional opportunity to substitute an Adaptive Movement class. Outside of AIM, Mackenzie enjoys teaching dance, spending time with her son and husband, and adventuring with her pups.
Support Staff & Teaching Artists
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Erika, Teaching Artist, has had the privilege of teaching for AIM for over two years now. Erika has a degree in dance from Pace University with an emphasis in pedagogy. Erika has a dance background mainly in ballet and jazz. She still does much of her own training and performing when she is not teaching. Erika enjoys learning about each of her students and the individual movement qualities they bring to AIM. She loves to find music and develop activities that her students connect to that instill joy, confidence and self expression.
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Bee (they/them/he/him), Support Staff, recently graduated magna cum laude from Cornish College of the Arts in 2023. Bee draws from his experience as a queer, disabled artist to give voice to the human experience. Born and raised in Oak Park, IL, they have over 20 years of dance education in ballet, Graham, contemporary, improv/contact improv, jazz, integrated dance, and more. Bee's work has been performed in Cornish's New Moves, MOMENTA's CounterBalance, and HEARTH, their up-and-coming dance company, co-directed by artistic partner Vera Drumond-Moore. They also put energy into their other passion, teaching, working with students of all ages at Haven Dance Academy, All That Dance, AIM Seattle, and the Academy of Music and Dance in Ballard and Shoreline. With almost a decade of teaching experience, Bee strives to create a welcoming space where dancers can explore and discover the creative force that they are!
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Gloria (she/her), Support Staff, is a senior at the University of Washington studying neuroscience and dance. She grew up dancing traditional Chinese dance and ballet and now runs a Chinese dance team at UW (@tcduw on Instagram)! Gloria is passionate about making the arts increasingly accessible and allowing everyone to experience the magic of dance. She loves spending time and creating relationships with the dancers and helping them have fun in class!
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Issy Flack (she/her), Support Staff, is a current student at UW studying Special Education. She has been working with AIM for four years and is so excited to be part of the support staff team. In her free time she loves to hike with her dog, explore places in the area, and do crafts!
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Taara Elahi, Support Staff, is a recent graduate from the University of Washington with a double degree in Biochemistry and Dance. She is currently working as a clinical research coordinator at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and plans on applying to medical school in the coming year. Taara was a competitive gymnast before she began dancing and she is very passionate about serving her community. She has found a deep interest in using dance to help improve the human condition and aims to continue advocating for marginalized groups throughout her future medical education.
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Miranda Swan Veenhuysen (she/they) has been teaching dance in the Puget Sound region for over a decade. She holds a degree in Theater Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a dual emphasis in Dance and Drama. She completed her teacher training at the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, WA in 2010. She is also part of two performance collectives: MoDanCo (modern dance) and Rain City Tappers (tap
dance). Her goal as a teacher is to inspire a life-long love of dance in her students.
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My name is Ashritha Cheeyandira and I am a 3rd year at the University of Washington studying Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. I joined AIM to help neurodivergent minds stay active through dance therapy. One fun fact about me is that I have 10 piercings!
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Will Shaw (he/him) received an undergraduate degree in Public Health and is now pursuing his Master of Occupational Therapy at the University of Washington. He is passionate about serving the community and loves animals, especially his two cats, Pippa & Pepper. He hopes to merge his two passions and work in animal-assisted therapy one day.
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Madeline grew up dancing at All That Dance and holds a Minor in Choreography from the University of Southern California. She currently teaches at ATD and runs their Mentee Program, which places high school students into dance classrooms to gain teaching and leadership experience. She is passionate about making dance accessible to people of all abilities, sizes, ages, and genders. Outside of the studio, she enjoys hiking, backpacking, skiing, and rock climbing.
Board of Directors
Anneli Jefferson
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Anneli Jefferson (she/her), Board Co-President, received her degree in Marketing from the University of Pretoria and then her MBA from the University of Phoenix. She co-founded Largesse Company, working with and providing a business platform for marginalized artisan communities around the globe. She has served on the Board of Open Doors for Multicultural Families. As the parent of a child severely impacted by her disability, she contributes valuable lived experience. She brings to AIM years of entrepreneurial background in marketing and business development.
Katie Hurt
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Katie Hurt (she/her) earned her Juris Doctor Cum Laude from Seattle University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of Washington.
Katie grew up in the disability community, so understands firsthand the struggles and needs of families impacted by disabilities. Her interest in advocacy began when her brother was diagnosed with Autism as a child. She chose to pursue a career in the legal profession to better meet the more complex needs of families like hers.
Ms. Hurt has experience navigating the areas of federal, state, and county benefits and understands how assets, income, and special needs trusts can impact an individual’s access to them. Ms. Hurt has also gained expertise in guardianship, estate planning, trust drafting and administration, special education, and independent living and housing options. In her free time, Ms. Hurt enjoys skiing, running one-day relay races with her husband and friends, and swimming with her kids. In 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, she received recognition as a Washington State Super Lawyers Rising Star in the area of Estate planning.
Beatrice Hewitt
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Beatrice Hewitt (she/her), Board Co-President, received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from The University of Illinois at Chicago in 1996. Teaching in various settings and volunteer work have been her life-long calling and commitment. She has two amazing daughters, one with disabilities. Learning to care for her daughter launched her into a new career in specialized program development and advocacy. She brings to AIM a passion for creating a safe, welcoming place for everyone to experience joy and acceptance.
Christopher Jones
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Christopher Jones (he/him) is the Director of Operations at APPLE Consulting, a therapy company for individuals on the autism spectrum. He has served in multiple director roles and consulted widely for disability-related companies across the US and Canada.
He also served as adjunct faculty in the School of Education at the University of Washinton. His prior positions in academia supported his research looking at social supports for young adults on the autism spectrum as well as adaptive development and self-help skills for younger children on the spectrum.
Dr. Jones has nearly three decades of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and young adults with developmental disabilities and over 20 years working specifically with populations affected by autism.
He also served as founder and president of the Washington Association for Behavior Analysis from 2014-2016 and is still active within the association’s leadership.
Jenny Moss Benson
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Jenny Moss Benson (she/her) received degrees in journalism and Spanish from Pacific Lutheran University. She was a book development editor and project manager at Prentice Hall and Microsoft Press. She also was a project manager and warm line volunteer at Perinatal Support Washington. She is the parent of a disabled child with very high support needs, which has inspired her passion for disability and mental health advocacy. She brings to AIM a focus on thinking creatively and comprehensively to make things happen.
Michael Ferguson
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Michael Ferguson (he/him) is a senior tax partner with 30 years of experience, based in the Seattle office of EY, serving as tax account leader for public and private companies.
As a leader of the Pacific Northwest international tax and transaction services practice, Michael has extensive experience providing tax advisory and compliance services to US and foreign-based multinational companies, focusing on developing sustainable, cross-border operating models that appropriately balance a company’s business objectives with tax risk.
Michael has a B.A. in Accounting and Finance from Washington State University and obtained a CPA and CMA accreditation.
Andrew Mullenix
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Andrew Mullenix (he/him) is a registered nurse in the state of Washington and received a Bachelors in the Science of Nursing from Hope College in 2003 and a Master’s in Health Administration from the University of Washington in 2016.
He provided nursing care to children with medical complexity on the medical and cancer care units at Seattle Children’s starting in 2003. He has continued his career as a leader at Seattle Children’s.
Informed by an extensive background in administrative leadership, understanding of the healthcare landscape, and familiarity with the disabilities community, Andrew’s unique perspectives contribute to a well-rounded board focused on achieving AIM’s mission and vision.
