Staff: Stephanie Edens (she/her)

Stephanie (she/her) was born and raised in rural IL and moved to Seattle after teaching middle and high school English in Chicago. She has a master's in Education Policy from the University of Washington and enjoys using research as a tool for creating more equitable and community-focused changes.

Passionate about building authentic relationships with youth, Stephanie is excited to be a mentor at an organization like Friends of the Children, where youth and their families are supported from early childhood through high school graduation.

She loves reading, hiking, kayaking, painting, hanging out with her cats, spending time with her nieces and nephews, and learning new crafts and hobbies. Oh, and she loves surfing- but has only done it three times and is nowhere near a pro at it!

Her favorite thing about being a mentor is getting to see as kids grow in their confidence and take ownership of the goals and dreams they have for themselves.