Staff Directory

Jessica Turpin Patterson grew up in Olympia, Washington where she graduated from Capital High School in 2002.  She completed her undergraduate studies at Gonzaga University in 2006 where she majored in History and Teacher Education. She spent her early career years teaching on the Whiteriver Apache Reservation in Arizona. There, she worked as a middle school Reading Interventionist, Math & Social Studies Teacher, and coached volleyball, basketball, and track.

At St. Madeleine Sophie School, she has held many roles- teacher, Inclusion Specialist, Director of Student Life, Athletic Director, counselor and coach. Jessica obtained a Master’s degree in Special Education in 2015 and finished her second Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Notre Dame’s Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program in 2021; she now works as an adjunct professor for the program’s Leadership for Inclusive Education course. Jessica began teaching at St. Madeleine Sophie in 2012, she now serves as the Principal. Jessica is also a member of the Diocesan Diversified Learner’s Committee, the Fulcrum Diversity and Inclusion Committee, volunteers for CYO Athletics, and consults to support inclusive student services at other schools around the country.

Jessica loves spending time with her friends and family, and has two beautiful boys that keep her busy! It is her honor to work at SMS and be a part of all the incredible work that is being done to form faithful citizens who INCLUDE! She loves working with incredibly strong and passionate teachers who give tirelessly to fulfill the mission of the school and Parish. She believes there is something to be learned from every student and family she works with, and cherishes the unique charism of St. Madeleine Sophie School.

Andrea was born and raised in San Diego, California. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Learning and Development from the University of Texas. After graduating, she spent six years living in Italy, where she worked as an English tutor and at a design studio while beginning her own family.

Andrea began her career in Catholic education at American Martyrs Parish School in California. After moving to Seattle in 2007, she taught at St. Alphonsus Parish School for seven years before joining St. Madeleine Sophie School. During her time at SMS, she has taken on several roles, including fifth grade teacher and, most recently, Vice Principal.

Andrea’s commitment to meeting the individual needs of students inspired her to earn a Master’s degree in Special Education from Seattle University. She also participated in the Archdiocese of Seattle’s GRACE Teacher Leadership Program and recently completed her Principal Certification and Master’s degree in Educational Administration at Seattle University.

Andrea is grateful to be part of the SMS community and values the relationships she has built with students, families, and colleagues over the years. She especially enjoys working together to create a school community where students feel known, supported, and encouraged to grow. Outside of school, Andrea loves spending time with her husband and three daughters, traveling, and making time for family and friends.

Marissa Shaw lived just north of Seattle, Washington her whole life until she moved to Portland, Oregon where she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in both Secondary Education and Spanish as well as gained endorsements in Middle School Mathematics and Special Education. Marissa also has her Master’s of Educational Leadership from Eastern Washington University. She has been in classrooms from 4th grade all the way to high school. Marissa has been at St. Madeleine Sophie since 2021 and has loved every moment at SMS. Marissa is St. Madeleine Sophie’s Dean of Students and will be working alongside all students to ensure they have a successful experience at SMS. She will be supporting students both academically and personally. Marissa is the 6th grade homeroom teacher as well as teaches both middle school Math and Spanish. In her free time she likes to be outside biking, hiking or swimming, spend time with her family, friends and dog, and she loves nothing more than when the sunshine peeks out.

Ginny grew up in New Jersey, has a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, and a Masters degree in Computer Science from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She and her husband, Phil, have been actively involved at St. Madeleine Sophie Parish since moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1984.

Ginny spent many hours volunteering at St. Monica’s and Eastside Catholic, where her two children, Christine and Jimmy, attended. Being a part of the wonderful staff and community at St. Madeleine Sophie School has been the perfect solution to filling the void left when they graduated!

Father Tony Bawyn is a Seattle native who attended St. Luke School in Shoreline. He began his Seminary studies at St. Edward Seminary and St. Thomas Seminary in Kenmore and then graduated from Gonzaga University with a B.A. in philosophy. He studied theology at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and came home to be ordained on August 21, 1982 at St. James Cathedral by Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen. His first assignment was as Parochial Vicar (assistant pastor)  at Holy Rosary in West Seattle. Since then he has served parishes in Kirkland, Tacoma, Vashon Island, Gig Harbor, and Seattle. Aware that Father Jim Picton had facilitated a canonical internship for Father Tony during his Seminary days, Archbishop Murphy asked Father Tony to study Canon Law for the Archdiocese in 1990. After receiving a licentiate degree from Louvain, he served in the Chancery as canonical consultant, where he first met Loretta Sursely. He then returned to Louvain for his doctoral studies, finished his dissertation and was awarded his diploma in 2000. Archbishop Brunett appointed him Judicial Vicar in 2000, and he has been serving in that capacity in the Seattle Tribunal for 20 years. Father Tony has recently returned from a sabbatical in Belgium, and is pleased to begin his ministry at St. Madeleine Sophie Parish. Father Tony has more than 25 years’ experience with the model of parish priest collaborating with a lay Pastor Coordinator, and he finds it a good fit with his canonical work. In his free time, Father Tony loves to cook, go on day hikes, listen to music and enjoys visiting his family, most of whom live in the Puget Sound area.

Brooke grew up in Gig Harbor, Washington.  She earned a Bachelor of Social Welfare degree from the University of Washington and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan.  After graduating, Brooke married an Air Force officer and worked as a social worker for the next six years.

Brooke has three children.  When her youngest child started preschool, she began teaching.  She worked as a preschool teacher for three years and completed additional coursework in Elementary Education.  Next, Brooke worked as a second-grade teacher for Alexandria City Public Schools and earned a Postgraduate Professional License with an Elementary Education Endorsement.

As a military spouse, Brooke moved around the United States for 20 years before returning to Washington.  Brooke feels grateful to be back in Washington, surrounded by family and friends.  In her free time, Brooke enjoys being with family and friends, gardening, baking, playing games, visiting museums, and drinking coffee.

Laura Hange has always loved spending time with children. She is originally from Chicago,
IL. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Marquette University in
Milwaukee, she earned her teaching certificate from Northeastern Illinois University. Soon
thereafter, she decided to go on an adventure and move west. Upon arriving in Seattle, she
taught pre-K at a childcare center in Bellevue. After that, Ms. Hange spent twenty
wonderful years teaching first and second grade at Open Window School, an independent
school for gifted learners on Cougar Mountain. Recently, she stepped into a multitude of
substitute positions at The Giddens School, a preschool through fifth grade independent
school in Seattle. She is excited to watch her Kindergarten students learn and grow this
year at St. Madeleine Sophie!

Ms. Hange has lived in the PNW for approximately twenty-five years. When she is not
teaching, she enjoys spending time with her silly rescue hound, Pony. She also likes
playing trivia, sewing, and watching all sorts of sports. She is particularly passionate about
cheering for the Chicago Cubs.

Katie was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended Catholic school for 17 years, and loves to give back to the community through teaching. She is a graduate of Gonzaga University with a degree in Special Education and certifications in both Special Education and Elementary Education. Katie has been teaching at St. Madeleine Sophie School since 2018, and is so grateful to be a part of this community. In her free time, Katie loves to spend time with her family and friends, cooking, crafting, and reading. While her extended family is still in California, she loves getting to experience the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and the community of St. Madeleine Sophie School.

Mandy was born and raised in Spokane where she later attended Gonzaga University to pursue a bachelor degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. After graduating Gonzaga, Mandy moved on to graduate school at the University of Portland through the Pacific Alliance of Catholic Education (PACE) program. In the PACE program, she worked toward a Master’s in Education with an endorsement in Reading while teaching 1st Grade in Ogden, UT for two years.

Mandy enjoys spending her time with family and friends, hiking, cooking, running, crafting, and traveling. She loves exploring the many facets of Western Washington and looks forward continuing her teaching career at St. Madeleine Sophie.

Claire was born and raised in Federal Way, Washington, and attended Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese from 1st grade through high school. She graduated from the University of Portland in 2021 with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Theology. After graduation, she taught 4th grade for 2 years in Las Vegas, Nevada as a part of the Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education (PACE) Program. Through PACE, Claire earned her Masters in Education with an endorsement in English for Speakers of Other Languages.

In her free time, Claire likes to read, hike, play pickle ball, or play board games with her friends and family. Claire is so excited to be back in the Pacific Northwest, and to have the chance to teach 4th grade at St. Madeleine Sophie!

Angela Ensminger is a teacher and middle school department chair at St. Madeleine Sophie Catholic School.  Her involvement with SMS goes back to the founding of the school, where she was instrumental in defining the school’s focus on inclusive education for all.  Currently, her classes include middle school Math, Algebra I and Geometry as well as Religion, Robotics and a Math / Art elective.

Outside of SMS, Angela is president of the Puget Sound Council of Teachers of Mathematics after serving multiple years on the board.  When the Northwest Mathematics Conference is hosted by Washington, she has served on the conference committee.

Angela holds B.S. in Mathematics from Loyola University in New Orleans and a M.S. in Statistics from the University of Texas at Dallas.  She received her teaching certification from Western Governors University.   While her professional experience spans teaching at all levels from elementary to college, her passion is working with middle school students.

Riley Hole Was born and raised in Seattle with a small detour to Cheney to attend Eastern Washington University. He graduated with a BA in Social Studies Secondary Education. This is his second year teaching full time, previously, Riley has spent time substituting for every grade level from first grade to seniors in high school. When he’s not at school, he enjoys spending time with friends, golfing, bowling, watching movies, and reading.

Corinne Theis grew up in a military family, living primarily on the East Coast of the US. She graduated with a Masters in Elementary Education from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2018. After finishing her degree, she moved out west to Seattle and has been teaching in the Archdiocese ever since. This is her second year as SMS’s Inclusion & Intervention Specialist, putting her years of experience to good use! When not at school, Corinne enjoys reading, sewing and crafting, playing games with friends, and spending time outside.

Sherri grew up in the fog of the San Francisco Bay Area, and migrated north when she attended Seattle University.  Graduating with a Bachelor’s in Education, she majored in English, and minored in Math/Science and Music.  She continued graduate work at Seattle Pacific University toward her Master’s in Language Arts.  Over her 25 years of teaching, she’s taught grades one through five, as well as music and art for PK through 8th grade, in eastern Washington, Oregon, Redmond, and several schools in the Seattle Archdiocese.  During this time, she also founded a gospel choir and directed several Christmas musicals for her parish, and developed the PK and Kindergarten program there for Religious Education.

She and her husband, Kevin, have just sent their youngest off to college at University of Miami, with the other four scattered to Madison, Boston, Napa and Los Angeles – lots of visiting opportunities on both coasts!  When she has a chance, she loves to read or steal a free moment for quilting – it’s like art that can keep you warm!  She’s excited to share her love of music and art with the St. Mad’s children this year.

Nicole was raised in Colorado and earned Bachelor’s degrees in Special Education and Elementary Education from Boise State University. She began her teaching career at St. Madeleine Sophie School, where she taught 4th Grade for eight years. During that time, her curiosity about computer science led her to create and launch an after-school coding program for students. In 2023, Nicole transitioned into her current roles as Technology Teacher and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Coach. She also serves as the school’s Social Media and Marketing Director. Nicole is passionate about helping students develop strong SEL skills, navigate the digital world with confidence and kindness, and discover new ways to learn and create. She also loves taking pictures and capturing the many special moments that make the St. Madeleine Sophie community so unique!