Head of School Search

Originally from Yorkshire, England, Rebecca graduated from the University of Keele with a BA Honours in Russian and history before obtaining Chartered Marketer status with an MA in marketing. Rebecca spent a memorable year at the State Linguistic University in Moscow before embarking on a year-long trip around the world. Her love of travel continues to this day and having lived in Sydney, Moscow, London, Hong Kong, and Seattle, often wonders, “Where next?”.

Having worked with UK Magic Circle and AmLaw law firms throughout her career, Rebecca started her own consulting firm in 2014, specialising in business development and marketing for law firms in the AmLaw Top 25. Her career has seen her leading on global rebranding, communications, and winning new business strategies within the legal sector across Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Rebecca and Kenneth have three amazing children: Violet (7th Grade), and Arthur and Dora, both alumni of St. Thomas School and now a senior and sophomore respectively at Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island, Canada.

Rebecca serves on the Shawnigan Lake School USA Board and acts as a board advisor to Be Bold Girls, a nonprofit focused on emboldening and equipping girls to be changemakers.

Rebecca is president of the St. Thomas School Board of Trustees. Having set up home on four continents, Rebecca is acutely aware of the importance of multiculturalism and the impact effective governance of a school can have on all school constituents, especially its students and the contribution they will make in society in years to come.

Rebecca is passionately committed to the power of community within St. Thomas School and she believes parents and guardians volunteering within school, regardless of the role, enables their children to become more successful emotionally, socially, and academically.

John Sherwood is a partner with the law firm of Peterson Russell Kelly Livengood PLLC and practices in the areas of real estate transactions, business planning, tax law, estate planning, probate, and trust. He is admitted to practice in Washington and before the US Tax Court. In addition to St. Thomas School, John serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ronald McDonald Charities of Western Washington and Alaska and serves on the Seattle Foundation Professional Advisors Council and the Planned Giving Advisory Counsel for Overlake Hospital. John grew up on Yarrow Point and attended St. Thomas School before moving on to University Prep. He graduated from Arizona State University in 1994, earned his law degree at Gonzaga University Law School in 1997, and an LL.M. (Tax) from the University of Washington in 1998. John lives in Kirkland and enjoys golfing, travel and other opportunities to be outside.

Sarah is passionate about making a difference in young people’s lives – both on the athletic field and in the classroom. A former English teacher, Sarah taught and coached at Stuart Hall High School in San Francisco and Oak Knoll School in Summit, New Jersey. In 2001 she founded Best Foot Forward, a consulting company that provides guidance for college-bound high school students with a focus on student athletes. Prior to her career in education, Sarah worked as an analyst at First Union Securities. She holds an A.B. in English from Princeton University and a master's degree in English from Columbia University.

Sarah currently serves on the board of Upower, a nonprofit that provides free fitness, health, and wellness classes for underserved youth in King County. She and her husband Douglas, an STS alum, have three children who attended St. Thomas School.

Jane Fellows has been teaching in the field of Early Childhood Education for many years. This is her twelfth year at St. Thomas School. Before joining STS, she taught Junior Kindergarten at Lake Forest Country Day School in Illinois, Elementary Science at the Norwood School in Bethesda, MD, and was both a Kindergarten Teacher and Special Educator in the Concord, NH School District.

Jane earned her master’s degree Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development,in Boston, MA.

Jane is married with four grown children. Outside of school she loves to knit, read, hike, ski, and take their trawler on adventures in the Pacific Northwest waters.

In 2016, Erin Kaneko opened the Seattle office for Wilshire Capital, a multi-faceted real estate investment company specializing in financing, asset management, construction management, and development. In 2019, she co-founded the WCS Group, a minority and women-owned real estate company working in conjunction with Wilshire Capital. Prior to the aforementioned, Erin was a managing partner at a multi-family office and was responsible for the investment strategy for the West Coast. She was also a member of the alternative investments committee and strategic planning committee and was involved in sourcing, due diligence, and liquidity management for both the internal and external investment funds.

Prior to the abovementioned, Erin was a restructuring consultant in charge of the overall financial and operational restructuring of businesses facing bankruptcy. Her responsibilities included assisting in the transaction details and negotiations concerning the acquisition of the company’s real estate assets, investigating what factors led to unsatisfactory financial performance, and debt restructuring.

Erin received a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2005 and earned an M.A. in International Economics from Waseda University in Tokyo in 2008. She also actively supports and has served in various capacities for a number of NGOs including UN Women, CARE, Construction for Change, and UN Crisis Relief. Erin and her husband TJ have four children; three currently attend St. Thomas School. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, reading, and painting.

Gina grew up in Hong Kong, and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese in addition to English. She graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Chemistry, MA in Education and JD. She practiced intellectual property law in the Silicon Valley, primarily on complex corporate partnering transactions involving leading high technology and biotechnology companies. Locally, Gina has volunteered with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project as an attorney. Most recently, she is volunteering at Jubilee Reach to pilot a challenging math program for underserved children. She has always been passionate about education, especially mathematics and science education.

Gina and her husband, Rodi Guidero, currently have two children at St. Thomas School. Her older children are STS alumni. She has volunteered at St Thomas in many roles, including as a room parent and helping the Chinese community. Along with enjoying the supportive school community, Gina has appreciated the school’s solid academic programs, paired with strong social emotional programs. Right from the beginning, she was impressed by the purposeful and thoughtful way the school makes decisions.

Karen Mathewson joined the St. Thomas School as a Middle School science teacher in 2018. In March 2022, she was named the director of the Middle School.

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Karen earned her undergraduate degree from the University of New England. She began her career teaching outdoor science at the Keystone Science School in Colorado and the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) in California. While at CIMI, Karen lived and taught both on Catalina Island and on the tall ship SSV Tole Mour. Karen moved to the Seattle area to attend graduate school at Seattle University. After earning her masters in teaching, she was a founding faculty member of Eastside Catholic Middle School, where she taught science for 10 years. Karen earned her National Board Certification in 2012, and in 2016, she became a National Board Facilitator to help other teachers pursue their own certification.

Karen is married to an STS alumni and is the proud parent of two STS students. She is also the aunt to three STS alumni. She loves skiing, swimming, SCUBA diving, reading, and baking cakes, usually with her two daughters.

Emma joined the St. Thomas community in 2021 as an instructional assistant and substitute teacher across all divisions. In the fall of 2022, she moved on to the role of third grade teacher in the Elementary Center. She feels passionately about the school’s pursuit of excellence and connection within the community and has recently joined the committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the 2023-2024 school year to continue the school’s work toward achieving these goals.

Emma graduated from the University of Washington in 2016 with a B.A. in English Literature and Art History. Later deciding to pursue her longtime dream of being a teacher, she returned to school during the pandemic and graduated from Western Governors University with a B.A. in Elementary Education and achieved her teaching certificate through Washington state.

Having grown up in the greater Seattle area, Emma has always enjoyed spending time outdoors. In her free time, she also loves to read, practice yoga, and spend time with friends, family, and her cat Moosh.