Teachers & Staff
Head of School
Lisa comes to Silverwood School from West Hills STEM Academy with a BA in Elementary (K-8) and Special Education (K-12) from Central Washington University, and a MA in School Administration from Seattle Pacific University. She taught in the classroom for 11 years: K-8 SPED and 5th/6th grades. Lisa was the Principal at two different sites with the Bremerton School District since 2003. She is passionate and an advocate for underrepresented groups having opportunity and full access to STEM. Lisa is involved in her district, community, and at the state level, serving with several organizations: West Sound STEM Network w/Washington STEM, Olympic Workforce Development Council, Girls on the Run, and Kitsap Commission for Children & Youth. West Hills STEM Academy was the first public PreK-8th STEM School in Washington State and only recipient of the Boeing Early Learning STEM Grant for 2011 and OSPI Designated Lighthouse School for 2013.
Lisa Heaman
Lead Teachers
Ashley McComas - Lodge West
Ashley has a BS in Elementary Education with an Emphasis in Reading from the University of Idaho (2014), and a Masters in Literacy from Grand Canyon University Online (2016). She has 8 years of public school teaching experience: 2 years teaching 2nd grade at Lake Roosevelt Elementary in Coulee Dam, WA, and 6 years teaching 1st grade at West Hills STEM Academy in Bremerton, WA. She and her husband are both teachers and her husband, John, teaches 7th grade English and History in South Kitsap School District.
Ashley McNeil - Barn
Yuki Teng - Treehouse
Becky Rice joined the Silverwood community in 2018 as a substitute teacher. She is now the Lead Teacher in Lodge East.
She grew up in Eastern, Washington and graduated from Wenatchee High School in 2005. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences from Washington State University and a Masters in Elementary Education from Western Governors University. She is a Veteran and served 5 years in the US Navy, working as a Deck Seaman and then an Intelligence Analyst.
She lives in Poulsbo, WA, with her two kids – both of whom are thriving at Silverwood. When she is not on campus, you can find her shuttling around her kids, playing video games, working on a home DIY project, or writing children’s literature.
Her talents are not confined to the classroom. Becky can safely operate an oxyacetylene welder, build a fire, and organize a closet. She firmly believes that her ADHD is a superpower that allows her to master any topic that fascinates her. It also allows her to understand the diverse minds that enter her classroom.
When working with children, she is guided by the philosophy that “Behind every behavior, there is a feeling. Beneath every feeling, there is a need. When we met that need, rather than focus on the behavior, we begin to deal with the cause, not the symptom.” - Ashleigh Warner
Becky Rice - Lodge East
Ashley McComas has lived in Kitsap County since 2007. She has a son, Sawyer who has attended Silverwood since kindergarten. She loves animals and currently has two golden retrievers, Peaches and Piper, and a cat named Morgan. Her older golden Peaches spends much of her time as the Lodge West class pet during the school year.
Ashley has a Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies from the University of California, Fullerton, and a Masters Degree in Cross-Cultural Education from National University in San Diego, California. Before coming to Silverwood in 2009, Ashley taught at a small inner-city private school in Rainier Beach, WA.
Ashley grew up on the other side of the water and has spent her lifetime living between Washington and California. In her free time, Ashley loves traveling with her family throughout the United States, as well as journeying abroad. She has traveled to Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Middle East. She also enjoys scrapbooking and spending time immersed in the beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery.
One of her favorite quotes hails from the wisdom of Mahatma Ghandi, “Be the change you wish to see if the world.” She strives to impart these values to her students by encouraging self and community advocacy in her classroom.
Specialists
Chelsea Natseway - Music/Band
Chelsea is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with a degree in Music Education.
Born into a military music family, she grew up experiencing diverse cultures and musical traditions while living around the world. This exposure has enriched her understanding of music's universality and the power it holds to connect people from different backgrounds.
As an educator, Chelsea has imparted her musical expertise to a wide range of students, both children and adults. Her teaching style is marked by patience, encouragement, and a deep commitment to fostering a lifelong appreciation for music in her pupils.
Beyond her role as an educator, Chelsea is an active performer in the music community. She participates in various musical ensembles, including community theaters, choirs, orchestras, wind symphonies, and jazz bands. Her versatile skills allow her to excel in different genres and contribute to the rich musical landscape of her community.
Teaching Assistants
Bio will be updated shortly.
Kenton Lehr - Treehouse
Bio will be updated shortly.
Ms. Beth teaches art and science to grades K through 6th, as well as 5th level math. When she’s not digging in the dirt for dinosaur bones or zooming around the classroom like an electron, she loves to read or watch spooky whodunit mysteries, play video games, rearrange all her furniture at midnight, and go on long drives with her partner, Adam, where they talk about everything - from how to survive a zombie apocalypse to what to make for dinner.
Beth graduated from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, with a BS in Elementary Education. Since she couldn’t settle on a minor, she tried a little bit of everything, including young adult literature, cartography, and video production. She & Adam moved here from Lewiston in 2009 and fell in love with all the green. She has been with Silverwood since 2011.
Beth & Adam have an 18-year-old turtle named Boo Radley, and a fantastic collection of boots and board games. Beth enjoys going to the beach, in all weather, to check out the tides and the treasures that wash ashore. She loves the sound of rain on a metal roof and can’t wait to redo her backyard to include one under which to read and scroll through silly cat videos.
Her very favorite things about Silverwood are the freedom of choice and the incredible community. One of her favorite quotes is from Austrian poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.” Beth uses every moment with her students to encourage them to continually ask important questions and seek out reputable sources, but to practice patience and scrutiny above all.
Beth Anderson - Science
Gonca Karns - Barn
Lindsay Clark - Lodge West
Lindsay joined Silverwood as TA for Lodge West in 2022. She grew up in Kitsap County (Seabeck) and, except for college, has lived in the area her entire life. She earned a BA in History from the University of Washington and is so thankful she gets to utilize it! GO HUSKIES! Both of her daughters attend school at Silverwood. Sydney is a 4th grader in Lodge East and Harper is a 2nd grader in the Treehouse. She lives with her husband Scott and her girls in Bremerton with their four cats Biscuit, Jack, George, and Beans. She also spends time teaching dance classes at West Sound Dance Academy in Silverdale, where her girls also dance. Their schedule keeps them very busy with all the extracurriculars, but in her downtime, Lindsay is a voracious reader. She loves to curl up with a good book, a lap full of kitties, and a cup of hot coffee too!
Office Staff
Ryan Marriott - Director of Operations
Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and History from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, and a master’s degree in Quantitative Analysis & International Development from Columbia University in New York. Before working at Silverwood, Ryan worked for CIESIN at Columbia University in research and survey design for the Millennium Villages Project. His work primarily focused on projects in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria and Senegal, as well as repeated projects in Cote-Sud, Haiti. Before Columbia, Ryan worked as a pandemic emergency planner for the Rhode Island Department of Health, and before that in nonprofit development in Seattle. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys growing food, cooking, reading, and board games.
Michelle Skellie - Executive Assistant to HoS
Michelle has called several places home, but Kitsap County keeps calling her back. She happily returned to the area in 2020 and now enjoys exploring the local parks, beaches, and trails with her husband, two children, and Coda, the family’s poodle puppy. She is a violinist with the Poulsbo Community Orchestra and enjoys making music whenever the opportunity arises.
In 2004, She earned a BA in International Studies from Trinity Western University, where she had the opportunity to study the conflict and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland and the Canadian parliamentary and Non-profit NGO sectors in Ottawa. She began working in the customer service side of veterinary medicine in 2009, where she mastered the art of multitasking and remaining calm under pressure. As a parent, she has come to appreciate the value of creative, compassionate, responsive
Paleiholani Davidson - SISS Coordinator
Palei has lived in the PNW for the past 20 years, coming from Maui, Hawai'i via an extended stay in Southern CA. Palei loves crafting; sewing, knitting, & painting are among her favorites. When not crafting she enjoys family board game night, hula, camping, cooking and most recently gardening.
Palei comes to Silverwood with an extensive background, knowledge and training as a counseling secretary, registrar, and data analyst specialist for the Central Kitsap School District for 12 years. She became a member of the Silverwood Community in 2022 as a parent. Palei is excited to join the Silverwood Staff and share her background working in education. Stop by and say "Aloha".