Meet Our Staff

El is a queer / transgender / nonbinary / Latine / Chicanx / community activist and former stand up comedian who joined PK in 2018 after being asked to perform at a Pizza Klatch fundraiser. El grew up all over Washington state, from a small farming community in Lewis County to the Quinault Tribal Nation on the Olympic Peninsula, but they’ve always called Olympia home. They graduated from The Evergreen State College in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree focused in constitutional law, tribal law and social sciences. They have been a featured performer and speaker at LGBTQ+ comedy shows, Pride events and LGBTQ+ focused panels and discussions throughout the country. They are excited to utilize both their lived experience and their background in LGBTQ+ community organizing and outreach to benefit queer and trans youth, especially those in smaller rural communities like the ones they grew up in.

Chrys is a queer chicana who was born and raised in a port town outside of Los Angeles. She moved to Olympia 11 years ago and fell in love with the PNW. In her free time Chrys enjoys camping, hiking, pinball, and finding new rivers and lakes to jump in during Summer. She recently graduated from Evergreen State College with a Bachelor of Arts specializing in psychology, and queer and gender studies. Her goal is to provide queer youth in her community with a safe space to discuss their intersectional identities and to connect these students with the resources they need to transcend from surviving their identities to thriving in their identities.

Shannon is a white, lesbian former high school teacher who grew up in rural New York State and moved to Washington in 2016 to teach in Mason County. She graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia with a BA in English Education, and from the University of Colorado at Denver with an MA in Rhetoric and Teaching Writing. Fifteen years in the classroom gave her an abiding determination to empower young people to think, speak and write with their truth and power. She spends her time entertaining her giant dogs, creating weird art, and playing in the garden. She lives in Olympia with her partner and daughter.