Superintendent & Executive Leadership

Governance and Staff

PSESD operations are overseen by our superintendent and a leadership cabinet. Our staff of nearly 400 administrators, educators and support personnel coordinate more than 100 programs organized into five departments.

PSESD Superintendent, John Welch

John P. Welch, Superintendent

John P. Welch was appointed in 2012 as the Superintendent of the Puget Sound Educational Service District. As the agency's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Welch leads the educational service district serving 436,000 students from preschool through grades 12, across 35 school districts, 7 charter schools, and 2 tribal compact schools in the greater Seattle–Tacoma region of Washington State. The vision of the agency is to ensure success for each child and eliminate the opportunity gap by leading with racial equity.

Previously, Mr. Welch served as the Superintendent of Highline Public Schools and Vice President for Business and Administrative Services for South Seattle College. Mr. Welch holds an MBA from Pacific Lutheran University and a BA in Business Administration from Eastern Washington University. He is a graduate of the Broad Urban Superintendent's Academy and has taken executive development courses at Harvard University, Stanford University and University of Denver.

Executive Leadership

Brad Brown, Executive Director, Learning, Teaching and Family Support

Brad Brown
Executive Director, Learning, Teaching and Leadership Development

Image of Maxine Broussard-Upchurch Executive Director of Human Resources

Maxine Broussard-Upchurch
Executive Director of Human Resources

Clairmonte Cappelle, Executive Director – Workers’ Compensation Trust, Unemployment Pool & Technology Services

Clairmonte Cappelle
Executive Director, Workers’ Compensation Trust, Unemployment Pool & Technology Services

Kay Lancaster, Associate Superintendent – Early Learning, P – Third Grade

Kay Lancaster
Executive Director, Early Learning

Amber McCulloch
Executive Director, K-Postsecondary

picture coming soon

Felisciana Peralta
Executive Director, Equity in Education

Julie Rolling, Executive Director, Learning, Teaching and Family Support

Julie Rolling
Executive Director, Learning, Teaching and Family Support

Sarita Siqueiros Thornburg Executive Director Strategy, Evaluation & Learning

Sarita Siqueiros Thornburg
Executive Director, Strategy, Evaluation & Learning

Jolianne Valentino
Executive Director, Business and Operations