Allison Church has the incredible privilege of serving as Head of Schools for Hope Harbor. Leading Hope Harbor at St. David's has genuinely been a dream come true for her, and she is thrilled to now be leading and serving families at Hope Harbor's newest campus, Hope Harbor Children's Center at the Soup, having been an integral part of bringing this expansion to life.

She holds a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education, a graduate certificate in Child Development, and a Bachelor's Degree in Family and Human Development. She has spent her entire career immersed in this field and cannot imagine doing anything else. Her path has taken her through wonderfully varied settings, from innovative outdoor Waldorf-inspired programs to pre-kindergarten classrooms in mission-driven nonprofit schools. Before that, she began her career in caregiving as a certified nursing assistant on the burn unit at Harborview Medical Center (a career that came to an end when she couldn’t stop passing out during procedures). That early grounding in direct, hands-on care still shapes how she thinks about caring for people today.

Before coming to Hope Harbor, Allison partnered with Rebecca Hope at Lopez Children's Center, where together they revitalized the school's team, curriculum, and vision from the ground up. They secured multiple grants that expanded programming, strengthened educational quality, and helped build a thriving, child-centered learning community, and that work taught Allison just how much is possible when a community rallies around its children. She has gone on to raise significant amounts of grant funding for early childhood programs and was honored to receive an award for trauma-informed care and practice, work she cares about deeply because every child deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported.

At the St. David's campus, Allison also built a partnership with UW Friday Harbor Labs and developed a pre-K curriculum alongside them, giving the school's youngest learners a truly one-of-a-kind window into science and the natural world right here on the island. She is also the founder of the children's art galas at Medio Cafe, one of her favorite ways to celebrate young artists, bring the whole community together around their creativity, and honor their work, just as we would for adults.

As a San Juan Island resident of the past six years, Allison cares deeply about creating a place where every child and every family feels they belong. She believes children are capable, deserving of respect, and worthy of every opportunity to thrive. Advocacy is not just part of her job. It is the heart of everything she does.