Meet Our Team

Darcy Webb

Director of Education

Director

Darcy has worked for Sylvan since 1991, becoming the owner of the Federal Way center in 2000. What does she love most about working at Sylvan? The chance to give families hope and to change the trajectory of a child’s life, one family at a time. She has a B.A. in Communication Arts and an M.A. in Education from Austin College in Sherman, TX. She taught 4th and 6th grade in Texas before returning to her native Washington.  When Darcy isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find her: hiking, mountain climbing, reading, fostering cats, and hanging out with her family and friends.

Mia Braithwaite

Teacher

Director

Mia Braithwaite was an elementary and middle school teacher for 20 years before she joined Sylvan as a Director in 2023. She taught grades 3-8, all subjects, in two different states, but her favorite age group and subject was middle school math. When Mia isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find her outside, running, hiking, camping, and backpacking. Her favorite part of working at Sylvan? Being able to work with teachers AND students, helping both to grow in their learning.

April Devies

Executive Administrator

April was born in Oahu, Hawaii! She loves reading comic books and scary books, as well as listening to music, and playing and watching football. South Africa is her favorite place to visit; she loved the interaction with people and eating all of the food. She met so many nice people and saw amazing animals! She loves working with the kids here at Sylvan– their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn are encouraging! She loves to see the kids work to improve and it makes her want to progress and do her best every day!

Andreas is a Washington native hailing from Tacoma. History is a passion of his and he has begun work to get his history degree from Portland State University. He is an accomplished piano and clarinet player, having played them since the 5th grade. His favorite book is The Art of Getting Stuff Done by David Allen because it gives a lot of solid life advice to follow when life becomes challenging. When asked what he likes best about working at Sylvan he says, “It keeps me on my feet and presents an opportunity to offer help to my community members.”

Pat Farmer

Teacher

Pat is a retired elementary teacher in Federal Way, WA with a gift for working with kids. While Pat has many tutoring talents, she finds the greatest joy in reading tutoring. She studied Elementary Education at Bowling Green University in Ohio. What she enjoys most about teaching at Sylvan is seeing students developing their problem-solving skills, their confidence, and their success in meeting their own goals. Pat has been on our team since 2002, but when she isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find her reading, going to the theater, rooting for her favorite Duke basketball team, playing Jeopardy and board games, and spending lots of time with her granddaughter, Hannah.

Hans grew up in Graham, WA, and of all the places he’s visited, the top of Mt. Rainier is his favorite. He has an eclectic mix of hobbies, including architectural drawing, organic fruit growing, thrifting, and American cars. Hans enjoys working at Sylvan because of the structure, sequential learning, and the ability to work with a variety of students with different ages and personalities.

Sheila Breindel

Teacher

Sheila is a Bronx, NY native who lived in several other states before settling in Washington. She most recently got to travel to Germany and loved it. He favorite hobbies are reading mystery, horror, and historical fiction novels, as well as biographies. Sheila says, “I love working for Sylvan! I’ve been an SLP and a teacher since 1970 and when I retired, I was sorry not to be with children. Sylvan fit me perfectly!”

Patrick Gamit

Teacher

Patrick is a local high school English-Language Arts teacher. He likes to travel (Japan was his favorite) and rock climb. According to Patrick, the best part about being a teacher is interacting with students and watching students interact with each other in a way that fosters and supports their learning. He says, “It’s fun to get reactions from students when they realize and understand something. It’s even better when they make connections between what they learn to something else.”

Chris Reyes

Upper Level Math Teacher

Chris is a native of SeaTac, WA, and graduated from the University of Washington. Chris loves camping, traveling, drawing, and reading. His favorite place to travel is Yellowstone because of the beautiful forest with lots of wildlife. What he likes best about Sylvan is watching the problem solving process of each learner.

Glen Lutz

Teacher

Glen is a Seattle, WA native who has traveled to Paris and loves visiting museums. His favorite hobbies are baseball, golf, and traveling, and he loves reading mystery novels and the newspaper. The thing Glen likes best about working at Sylvan is personalizing the educational journey for his students, and seeing his students achieve, succeed, and become more confident learners and people.

Rachel VerKruyse

Teacher

Rachel was born in Fort Worth, Texas and moved to Washington at a young age. She has degrees in English Literature and French. Her favorite place that she has visited is Second Beach in La Push Washington because it has a beautiful forest vibe all the way to the beach and she loves exploring the tidepools there. Rachel also enjoys music (including collecting vinyl and cassette tapes), dancing, crocheting, reading mystery novels, and traveling. Her favorite part of working at Sylvan is sharing her love of learning with her students, She learns something new from them every session as well!

Brittany Barber

Teacher

Brittany is a Philadelphia native who received her bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and her teaching certificate from the University of Washington. Her teaching enjoyments encompass assisting students reach their full academic potential and tackling new challenges. She enjoys yoga, watching, and/or listening to baseball games. Brittany also enjoys reading, exploring The Great Northwest, traveling across the country, and spending time with friends. She is a big sports fan, supporting the Eagles and the Nationals…that’s ok we don’t hold it again her!

Tami Zeitier

Teacher

Tami is our home-grown teacher and she has been teaching at the Federal Way Sylvan since 2016. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a minor in Science Education. Swimming and reading just about everything is her hobby. Right now, she is captivated by science fiction and fantasy books. With its beautiful country scenery and great people, one of her favorite places to visit in Costa Rica. Her love and joy for teaching come from helping students build their skills and their confidence.

Joslyn Pocock has been a Sylvan math teacher for years. Currently, she teaches only virtually, but we’d welcome her back to the center heartily. Of all the places she has visited, she likes South Africa and India. South Africa has beautiful animals, and she was impressed by the beautiful countryside in India, as well as the Taj Mahal. Her hobbies include photography and reading – especially reading Historical Sagas, such as those written by John Jakes.

Lyd Thompson

STEM Coordinator

Lyd was born and raised in Federal Way, and is hoping for a degree in biomedical science. Lyd enjoys rollerblading and loves doing tricks on their blades. Their favorite reading material is mystery novels and science fiction. Lyd loves teaching STEM at Sylvan because it’s been an interest of theirs since the age of 10. Lyd loves teaching kids the world of robotics and coding. “The amazement on their faces when a program works will never not bring me joy.”

Erik Scott

Higher Level Math and SAT Instructor

Eric Scott was born in Oceanside CA. He has a Bachelor of Science with honors in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a Masters of Science in mathematics from the University of Washington. His main hobbies are reading, playing tabletop games (Wingspan, Dumplings, and Star Wars: Rebellion), playing video games (Iron fury, Little Kitty Big City, and RPG’s), watching movies, kayaking, and eating at new places. He also enjoys watching football and hockey, and previously played soccer as well as earned a black belt in Kung Fu. Eric enjoys the friendly and positive environment created by the students and staff at Sylvan. People laugh and have fun while they work hard learning new things and developing important skills.

Nico Navales

Teacher

Nico Navales lived in San Diego CA in elementary school before his family moved to Kent, WA. He has a Bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA and has spent time teaching in Japan. He loved living in Japan because of its aesthetics, culture, and food. For fun Nico enjoys reading (fantasy, sci-fi, and classic British literature), writing, camping, and listening to scary story podcasts. The best part about Sylvan is working with the students, making them laugh, and seeing them build confidence in their skills.

Jasmyne Stevens

Teacher

Jazmyne Stephens grew up in Woodbridge, VA. She has a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction and another in Supervision and Administration from George Mason. Puerto Rico is her favorite place to visit because she loves the culture: the food, music, people, climate, and overall the landscape is just beautiful. Her favorite hobbies are dancing, cooking, and learning new things. Jasmine really enjoys reading nonfiction so that she can learn new things. When working at Sylvan the thing she likes most is being in a position to help students turn on their lights and find joy in learning.

Meghan Mitchell

Writing Teacher

Megan Mitchell, known as Meg to us, has a Bachelors degree in English and Creative Writing with a minor in Psychology from Pacific Lutheran University. She’s a bit of a world traveler and Munich Germany is her favorite place she’s visited! The food was delectable, and the views, scenery, city walks were some of the most memorable that she has experienced. Her favorite hobbies are crocheting, thrifting, cooking, writing, aimless exploring outside, and reading, especially sci-fi and fantasy. She loves working with her writing students at Sylvan. “It’s always such a joy seeing them get so excited and passionate about whatever they’re writing about, or seeing their personal projects grow and expand on the student’s accord. Getting kids excited and confident in themselves and their abilities is always so gratifying.”

Trey Konishi

Teacher

Trey is quite familiar with Sylvan from the student side as he attended Sylvan for math help when he was in school. We’re super happy that he was able to come back to us and help out our littles improve their reading skills. He has his teaching degree from Central Washington. His happy place is Disneyland where he love the rides. Golf and baseball are his hobbies and he he enjoys reading about sports and catching up on current events through the newspaper. Trey’s favorite parts about working at Sylvan are building relationships with his students and seeing so much growth them over time.

Kathleen Milewski

Teacher

Kathleen is a reading and writing teacher who enjoys working with students of all ages. Her degree is in English Language Arts and Secondary Education from WSU. Nagano, Japan is one of her favorite places she has visited. She was amazed to walk around the hot springs in the snow and see the monkeys taking a bath. Her favorite thing to read is EVERYTHING! The best part about working at Sylvan is the welcoming and fun environment.

Andreas is a Washington native, hailing from Tacoma. His has a History degree from Portland State University. The Art of Getting Things Done by David Allen is one of his favorite books because it gives a lot of solid life advice when life becomes challenging. Andreas enjoys working at Sylvan because it keeps him on his feet and presents and opportunity to help his community.