President

Allison Gross

Allison (she/her) Began studying ballet when she was 5 years old. She danced with SCDT 1995-2016. Nearly thirty years later and she still loves being in the studio. Along with dancing, she grew up assisting in pre-ballet classes, running rehearsals, and organizing performances. After graduating from Seattle Pacific University with a degree in communications in 2011, she began teaching preschool. Currently, Allison works as a nanny in Magnolia. It brings her such joy to work with children every day and pass along her love for dance. She is so excited to lead Seattle Civic Dance Theatre in fostering a love of dance in the next generation.

Vice President

Monique Wuesthoff

Monique (she/her) danced with SCDT from 1988-1994, 1998-2000, and 2010. She loved ballet from her very first class, because she got a compliment from Ms. Randie. (Ms. Randie told her mom, “I get her until she’s 18.” ) She has absolutely loved the arts her whole life, even before she started dancing. She put on concerts for her family (still does, whenever she has a captive audience.) She is a 3rd generation West Seattleite. She currently owns a small business in a male dominated field, previously having worked 20 years in a female dominated industry. She feels that this has given her some excellent problem solving capabilities and a good understanding of how to work with people from all walks of life. She's a professional communicator. As a parent of adult children, she feels that she has a unique point of view on our board that can be helpful in navigating the needs of our dancers. Her goal is to develop and nurture confidence in young people. She also hopes to be a trusted adult for kids who may need that support in their lives. 

Treasurer

Haley Stoll

Haley(she/her) studied ballet from 1999 until 2010. She graduated from Western Washington University in 2014 with a BS in Mathematics. Since graduation Haley has worked as a Crew Member at the local West Seattle Trader Joes, a Bookkeeper for Neumos and for the last 5 years she has worked as an Employee Benefits Analyst for Insurance Brokerage firms in the greater Seattle area.
 
Dance has been a huge part of her life. She found a family and a community at SCDT, and it made her into the person she is today. It has helped her find her life passions and taught her to be both strong willed and vulnerable. SCDT was there to celebrate the highs in each other's lives, but was also there when times were hard. Haley looks forward to creating a safe place for students to grow together through dance and in all aspects of their lives.

Secretary

Addy Forte

Addy (she/her) studied dance in her youth and was a Concert Dancer with SCDT from 2010-2012. Her love of the performing arts continued through college where she costumed many shows at the Regional Theatre of the Palouse. She studied apparel, merchandising, design and textiles at Washington State University. Upon graduation she moved to Los Angeles where she works in the fashion industry.
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Addy feels lucky to be able to give back to her dance community that supported her growing up. She is providing website support, email correspondence and volunteering as best she can from afar. She is excited to be working with her fellow concert dancers again. Each board member and volunteer is a leader of their own. Addy knows the initiative, kindness and creativity across the board is a direct result of getting the opportunity to dance and perform as kids. She is looking forward to setting the stage for other young dancers to become their own leaders as well. 

Board Member

Emma Van Orden

Emma (she/her) began dancing with SCDT when she was 4 and has continued dancing ballet and jazz through college and adulthood, taking classes whenever she can! She received a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington and now works as a river restoration engineer, improving fish habitat and reducing flood risk in local streams and rivers.

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SCDT and the other members of this board were such important parts of Emma’s life growing up, and she’s so grateful for the opportunity to foster community and a love for dance in future generations. She played the school mistress in the 2024 production of The Magical Doll Maker and absolutely loved getting to know the students playing the school children and seeing another generation of young dancers perform all the roles she grew up dancing. She’s looking forward to working with SCDT!

Board Member

Emily Jones

Emily (she/her) danced ballet with SCDT from 2003-2015, many of those years alongside her dad, the former Doll Maker of 21 years.

Growing up with her fellow SCDT dancers created a strong sense of sisterhood, through long rehearsal days, fundraising events, and trips to the local bakery every Saturday. The hours spent training and advocating for the dance community together brought her a strong sense of purpose from a young age.

Emily has a bachelor's in Business Management and works in the private events and venue management industries. Dance continues to impact her life, either attending classes when able or in small dance sessions in her home kitchen. She is excited to work alongside her SCDT members to continue bringing arts to Seattle youth and building the local dance community.

Board Member

Heather Halvorson

Heather (she/her) grew up in West Seattle and studied ballet at SCDT from 1998 to 2013, ages 3-18. Ballet was an integral part of Heather’s childhood and young adulthood, the dance studio was her home away from home. After graduating high school, she took a break from dance and attended the University of Oregon to study Environmental Studies and Business. She now lives in Portland, OR where she works in Operations at Adidas North America HQ.

Over the years, ballet took a backseat to other priorities, until 2022 when Heather began attending open classes at a local studio in Portland, where she continues to dance 2-3 days/week. The return to ballet has been a nostalgic return to art, expression, and movement. Heather deeply understands the value that dance can bring to a person’s life (at any age!) via community, physical fitness, confidence-building, expression, and escape. She is grateful to have found her way back to the community she grew up with at SCDT, and is eager to support this growing dance organization.

Board Member

Autumn Stoll

Autumn (she/her) started ballet at the age of three, and it quickly became a formative part of her childhood and teen years. She has many cherished memories from the Magical Doll Maker, from dancing on state to rehearsals and laughing back stage with friends. Her favorite role to dance was the Arabian doll!  She holds a bachelor's degree in Food and Nutrition and a master’s in Food Science. She currently works for the University of Minnesota as a statewide Food Safety Extension educator and continues her passion for dancing by  taking adult ballet classes.

Ballet will always be a part of Autumn’s life, and she is excited to join the board and continue contributing to the dancing community.