Did you hear? Zeno got a new address! 3815 S Othello St. STE 100 #359 Seattle, WA 98118

About Us

A racially just world where every child and family is a doer and lover of math. 

Meet Our Team

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Judy Margrath

Interim Executive Director

Judy has had leadership roles in K-12 education and several education focused non-profits.

“I am honored to be working with Zeno as it is stellar in supporting young children with the joy of learning paired with math activities that launch them into successful school experiences.”

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Andriana Alexis

Development + Communications Director

Andriana joined Zeno during the pandemic brining much value to the organization with her experience in developing strategies and communication.

“I love how Zeno collaborates with families and partners to transform the math learning experience for kids of color.”

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Jermell Witherspoon

Assistant Director of Partner Success

Jermell joined the Zeno team in December 2017, bringing his years of non-profit experience to Zeno’s community. Jermell has deep and rich involvement in serving and leading communities dedicated to Justice, equity, and inclusion.

“Zeno is dedicated to pulling out the innate Math brilliance of each child, especially those let down by unjust and inequitable systems.”

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Kate Sedney-Read

Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives

Kate first worked with Zeno in 2013 through the AmeriCorp Vista program and joined the team in 2014. She has enjoyed working in a variety of positions, learning, and growing with the organization!

“For me, Zeno's strength is in how we center people in our work. Our programs are built on listening to community and our organizational culture is shaped by how we value the contributions, experiences, and potential of every team member.”

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Anthony Green

Product + Community Relations Manager

Anthony joined Zeno as a contractor in March of 2020 before officially coming on board as our Production and Sales Specialist in September of 2021. Drawing from 10 years of experience in hospitality management, entrepreneur work and fatherhood, Anthony uses his well rounded experience (including love for international travel) to bridge his love for his community, childhood development and racial equity.

“I love seeing children engage in the experience that Zeno brings through inclusion with our programs and games. You can really see how they benefit from something that should be as simple as representation.”

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Page Brooks

Grants Manager

Page has served in various non-profit leadership roles over the last 15 years. He currently serves as Zeno's grants manger.

“I love helping organizations like Zeno get funded so that all kids, regardless of background, have the joy of learning math skills that will help them in life.”

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Branwyn Flinders

Product + Media Lead Designer + Annual Funds Manager

Branwyn first joined Zeno as a graphic design volunteer, then became a contractor, and officially joined the team in the fall of 2021. She brings 10 years of experience to her role.

“I love how Zeno puts people first in ways that are grounded, thoughtful, and authentic; fostering safe spaces for deep growth and positive change.”

Meet Our Board

Kevin Hu

Kevin Hu

Board Chair

Senior Finance Manager, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Belinda Smith

Vice Chair

Manager, Application Development, Symetra Financial

Michael Ong (200x200)

Michael Ong

Treasurer

Program Manager, F5

Manuela Crowley

Manuela Crowley

Secretary

Math Educator and Bread Baker

Jay Goyal

Jay Goyal

Chair Emeritus

Co-Founder and CEO, Actively Learn 

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Srilakshmi Remala

Director

Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Nikki Freeman

Nikki Freeman

Director

Technology Strategist and Investor, Microsoft

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Chienye Okwuosa

Director

Senior Manager, Microsoft

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Carolyn Landel

Director

Executive Director of Strategic Fundraising Initiatives, University of Texas

Arthur Lee

Arthur Lee

Director

Finance Analyst III, Blue Origin

Zeno believes engaging families through partnership is the most effective and efficient path to teach young children math. We reach thousands of families each year by partnering with any organizations that provides services to families with children ages 3-5. Learn more about our partners by clicking on their profile below.

Family First Community Center

Seattle University

Sprig Learning

MDRC

MathTalk

YMCA of Greater Seattle

Renton Innovation Zone Partnership

Seattle Universal Math Museum

Wellspring Family Services 

Communities in Schools North Central Washington

Seattle Universal Math Museum 

It Takes A Village Family of Schools 

While we are known for our Zeno Game Kits our work extends well beyond games.

History

Founded in 2003 as Explorations in Math, Zeno was created by Akin (nee, Norman) Alston and a group of parents at Wilder Elementary School in Woodinville, Washington. Akin, a mathematician and engineer, had a deep understanding of the power of math and the importance of building a child's confidence in math early through play. He believes math is an equalizer for children in disadvantaged communities.

Prior to our early learning work, Zeno served families across racial and socio-economic groups, with a tiered partnership cost model providing reduced costs to schools primarily serving low-income children and families. Our staff had been primarily white women for most of the organization’s history, leading to a strong focus on economic inequity and general lack of analysis of the impact of systemic racism on the experiences of children and families of color navigating the education system. Shortly before our shift into early learning, the organization began doing more internal work to bring a racial equity lens to not only our constituent focus but the composition of our staff.

Over time the racial makeup of Zeno’s staff and a recognition that systemic racism limits opportunities for success for children of color throughout their academic experience has strengthened our resolve to effect change. This organizational transformation led us to update our mission and programs to focus on the role of race, place, language, and culture on a child’s early math experience, recentering Zeno on Akin’s founding vision of math as an equalizer.

Our Family MathWays program began in 2014 when our board and staff recognized that children participating in our elementary math programs were entering kindergarten with very different levels of math skills and confidence. We developed our Family MathWays program as a small pilot, reaching 250 families in Seattle in 2015-16, and the program grew to reach 500 families in our next program year (2016-17). By 2017-2018 our program had expanded to reach over 1,500 families across King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. Our organization also determined at this time that the Family MathWays program, with an intentional focus on families of color in low-income communities, would be our core work going forward. With this shift, we were able to continue growing year over year. From September 2018 – August 2019, we reached 2,200 families monthly through 35 preschool classrooms, 5 ParentChild+ (home visiting) programs, and 30 FCC (in-home childcare) centers, with an additional 1,110 families receiving games on a less frequent basis and attending one-time community events.

As a part of our goal to expand across the state we conducted a pilot in Pasco to explore our ability to serve home-based childcare environments, and test our ability to reach families outside of the Puget Sound region.

2003 - Our Beginning

  • Founded as Explorations in Math
  • Initial partnership with a low-income elementary school in Seattle
  • Family Math Game Nights, school-wide math puzzles, and in-class teacher mentoring
  • Focus on students, families, and teachers

2014 - Elementary School Expansion

  • Elementary programs adopted in 40+ schools
  • Explorations in Math became Zeno

2015 - New Mission New Focus

  • Mission refined to serve only low-income communities
  • Early learning pilot launched with initial partners, including Chinese Information and Service Center
  • Pre-school math game kits developed

2016 - Shift to Early Learning

  • Early Learning Program added additional partners, including Parent Child Home Progam at Atlantic Street Center
  • Stronger programmatic and resource focus placed on early learning
  • Elementary program offerings reduced

2017 - Deepening Work with Families

  • Family Discussion Group model was established to seek out and include input from communities
  • Inaugural Summer Institute to train educator-partners 
  • 10th Annual Seattle MathFest held at Seattle's Rainier Community Center

2018 - Centering Racial Equity

  • Zeno's work exists at the intersection of race, place, language, and culture with a renewed focus on racial equity
  • Programmatic model shifts to align with Zeno's Equation for Success
  • Early Learning Program became Family Mathways, Zeno's primary program and key focus
  • Over 1,500 preschool-aged children took home monthly math game kits to their families through Zeno partners

2020 - Response to COVID 19

  • Produced videos and animations to share tips on engaging children with math at home
  • Launched a Community Cares Center program to distribute games to families outside of our existing partnerships
  • Launched Zeno Essentials our Professional Development workshop series
  • Adapted our in-person offering to virtual, including family engagement opportunities

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