Meet the FOC Staff and Board
Shannon Koyano, Operations Director
Shannon grew up in Seattle and has always had a love and admiration for the Volunteer Park Conservatory. She spent many hours as a child walking through the Conservatory with her beloved family matriarchs. Her grandmothers introduced her to the beauty and wonder of nature which has greatly influenced her utter joy and passion for working in the Conservatory. She has continued this family tradition with her own children.
Shannon joined the Friends of the Conservatory staff in the Fall of 2022 and has brought with her a vast array of professional experience including working in nonprofit and education, organic and natural healthcare, as well as owning and operating her own gift shop in the Madison Valley neighborhood of Seattle. Her shop closed in March of 2022 which led her to her role as the Operations Director. She is incorporating both her professional background and her Seattle roots (pun intended) into every aspect of her job.
Her past teaching experience along with her dedication to inclusivity and accessibility, have been a guiding force in how she approaches managing the gift shop volunteers. Working with volunteers is one of the greatest joys of her job and she feels that they are the backbone of this organization. Her goal is to create meaningful relationships with every single volunteer so that they always walk away with a feeling of being appreciated and cared for and above all, a joy for volunteering! Her hope is that people will want to volunteer here for years to come!
Shannon’s experience running her own gift boutique gave her many fundamental skills on how to have a successful and beautiful shop that creates a feeling of happiness and whimsy when visitors walk in. She also enjoys creating eye-catching displays and working with amazing local makers and artists, as well as searching the globe for vendors whose work belongs in this special shop.
Shannon’s degree from The Evergreen State College as well as her background in making organic plant-based healthcare products and her own passion for caring for plants have been a huge influence on her view of how and why plants and nature conservation are so fundamentally crucial for our future and for our planet.
Working within the Conservatory has been an absolute dream come true and she hopes to have a long-lasting career in this glorious living museum. When Shannon is not busy behind the scenes, you can find her sniffing orchids and laughing with the gardeners, greeters and volunteers most days of the week.
Friends of the Conservatory is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors, who are passionate about ensuring the public has enduring access to the Conservatory!
Shannon Tyman, President
Currently: Lecturer, Urban Studies, University of Washington
Shannon Tyman is a lecturer in the UW Department of Urban Design & Planning and a fellow in the Program for Interdisciplinary Pedagogy at UW Bothell. Her research examines questions of social justice in urban food systems, and she has worked as a chef, interned on urban farms, taught courses on urban agriculture and served on the board of a food cooperative. She has also contributed food system research to universities and government institutions. Tyman holds a bachelor’s degree in the growth and structure of cities from Bryn Mawr College, earned a master’s in environmental studies from the University of Oregon, and is a Ph.D. candidate in the UW College of Built Environments.
Erica Merchant, Vice President
Currently: Senior Software Engineering Manager at Indeed
Erica Merchant (she/her) is a software engineer by trade who loves giving back to her community in her free time. She is currently a Senior Engineering Manager at Indeed where she enjoys having the opportunity to serve small businesses while helping people get jobs. Outside of work she has volunteered hundreds of hours each year with organizations like TEALS and RMHC. Most recently, Erica spent five years establishing and running the Washington Chapter of Technovation as the Regional Ambassador, helping girls and non-binary students learn entrepreneurship and coding skills to close the gender gap in the tech pipeline. She is excited to bring her experience to the Conservatory
Having learned a love of plants from her mother and grandmother at a young age, Erica is a passionate hobby gardener and house plant parent. She is excited at the opportunity to be part of the history of such a beautiful, botanical landmark. She can be found on Instagram @yardlessinseattle.
Christopher Bian, Treasurer
Currently: Tech Lead, Google Environmental Insights Explorer
Christopher Bian (he/him) is currently a Tech Lead and founding member of Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer. He is passionate about the intersection of sustainability, technology, and business and how it can be leveraged as a force for good. Previous experiences include product manager, cofounder/CTO, and helping to deploy an educational hydroponics app with the United Nations World Food Programme. He is also a huge plant nerd, particularly of carnivorous plants. Chris believes the Conservatory is in a unique position for transformative impact and is very excited for its future!
Tone Pettit (Anthonio), Secretary
Currently: Founder and Chief Data Scientist, Structured Speculation Foundation; Lead Generative AI Engineer and Composer, Pettitshire Studios; Citizen Data Scientist and Non-Profit Activist
Tone Pettit (he/him) was raised only a few blocks from the State Capitol Conservatory in Olympia, WA, and suspects that’s where his curiosity about plants first blossomed, and a love of horticulture was born. He naturally gravitated to Volunteer Park Conservatory when he moved to Seattle and since 2005, has served on the FOC Board of Directors. Tone has worn many hats around the organization over that span, starting as a volunteer in the Palm House Gift Shop, and working his way up to Executive Director (2013 - 2016).
While not attending Conservatory matters, Tone is a data scientist, writer, and consumer privacy advocate. He is the founder of the Structured Speculation Foundation, a non-profit movement designed to incubate and nurture initiatives that radically improve the quality of life for all people on earth. Tone is also the co-author of two generative works, "The Doctrine for Structured Speculation: A methodology for collective action on a transformative scale" (2020) and "Lights in the Old Fort: The Novelization" (2023). Both documents were curated and co-authored with machine learning algorithms as a part of an experiment to study the feasibility and effectiveness of AI-assisted writing. His thoughts on the ethics of smart device surveillance and consumer data privacy can be seen on CNN, NPR, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Tech, among others.
Linda Koa
Currently: Founder/Consultant, GENMGMT Consulting, LLC
Linda is an experienced senior leader with over 20 years of experience, mostly in the financial services & commercial real estate lending industries. She was formerly the COO of a publicly traded commercial real estate lending company. Linda also worked in various senior leadership roles at many financial institutions and fintech companies. Currently, Linda is an outsourced COO to several start-ups and small businesses. Linda was born and raised in Seattle, is a gardening enthusiast, and a daughter of indoor urban farmers. She currently lives in South Seattle with her husband and son.
John Muniz
Currently: System Administrator, Battery Development, Microsoft
John Muniz is a technology professional with more than 20 years experience in high volume manufacturing. With a background in computer science, John strives to advance operations and increase efficiency through process automation and optimization. In his free time he enjoys volunteering, listening to music, and reading.
Carley Thompson
Currently: Communications Specialist at King County’s Department of Community and Human Services
Carley is a lifelong public servant, working in nonprofit organizations, and federal, state, and local government to make sure people have the information they need to lead healthy and happy lives. With a Masters in Public Health, Carley is passionate about connecting people to social services and health information. With a love of plants, Carley always seeks out gardens and conservatories when she travels and did just that when she moved to Seattle from the East Coast in 2016. Carley loved talking with conservatory visitors as a Gift Shop volunteer and joined the FOC board in 2018. Now, as a new mom, welcoming her son in September 2022, Carley is excited to share her love of plants and the conservatory with her son and children across our region.
