susan seah

Founder & CEO

Susan has been a believer of living life boldly and is always undertaking new challenges to learn and grow. She grew up in Singapore, was on the Singapore National Junior Team for bowling while in high school, and at the age of 17, came to the United States to attend college. She went on to law school after attaining her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) degree and was one of the youngest persons to graduate from her law school class at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She was a corporate lawyer at some of the largest law firms in Chicago and Ohio, and then became Associate General Counsel and General Counsel for private and public traded technology companies. In 2009, she started her own law practice with a law partner and now acts as outside General Counsel for various technology firms.

In 2016, Susan singlehandedly launched the Seattle chapter of LWT (Leading Women in Technology), a non-profit organization focused on advancing leadership skills in women. She grew it into a well-recognized and respected organization in Seattle and helped many women complete LWT’s signature leadership program to become effective movers and shakers in their careers. During the four years of Susan’s tenure as Chair of the Seattle LWT Leadership Team, she was able to successfully develop the presence of LWT in Seattle, and along the way, gained the support of some of the world’s largest companies as sponsors for LWT.

Susan’s mantra of living life boldly goes beyond her professional life. Despite not knowing how to ride a bicycle and having panic attacks whenever in deep water, she was determined to be a triathlete and completed (with lots of tears from extreme exertion, joy and amazement) the Western Australia Ironman race within a year of picking up the sport. For her last milestone birthday, she successfully completed one marathon each month to challenge herself. She has not let fear stop her from learning and doing things that have been (in her words) “truly quite terrifying” for her – from stepping on stage to compete in a body building competition against women half her age to conquering mountain summits through snow and rock scrambling.  Susan does not consider herself as an extraordinary athlete of any sort – just a very ordinary one but with the deep belief that if one is passionate enough about conquering a new challenge, it is always possible with a positive attitude, perseverance, confidence in one’s own abilities and the willingness and desire to learn something new.

Susan also truly enjoys meeting new people, cultivating relationships, and connecting people together. She loves to inspire others and understands the importance of having a community to support other women like her who ascribes to the notion that knowledge is empowering and that there is no slowing down in life’s learning and achievements.

In September 2019, Susan launched The Koa Club as a passion project – combining her love of connecting people, her belief in the need to empower women with knowledge and skills, and her desire to challenge others to be brave in trying new things.  The mission of the club is to provide women achievers everywhere with the opportunity to learn a myriad of professional and practical life skills, while building powerful connections with other women who are similarly unafraid to grow, self-reflect, have fun, take charge, inspire and support others. Through the community, Susan is grateful to have met so many strong, inspiring, and trail-blazing incredible women who have supported, encouraged and rallied around her.

Susan has been featured in the December 2019 Seattle Business Magazine as a “Daring Woman”. She was also interviewed and included as a feature in the Fall 2020 America’s Women Magazine for their inaugural Seattle Edition. In March 2021, Susan’s story about her passion for empowerment of women was highlighted by the Singapore Global Network on International Women’s Day.

Last but not least, one of Susan’s greatest joys is being a tiger mommy to her really cute and fearless beagle pup, Koa.

robin deeslie

Head of Membership & Koa Ambassador

Robin has always been passionate about delivering phenomenal service to customers. She has worked in the service industry all her life, including being a flight attendant and in these service roles, she quickly developed a knack for understanding and caring for customers, who in turn, really enjoyed interacting with Robin because she is naturally empathetic, funny, warm-hearted and she takes the time to appreciate and listen to them.

As Membership Manager and Koa Ambassador for The Koa Club, Robin works hard to assist the Club’s members with their needs and requests to the club and she is constantly at hand to solicit their feedback and thoughts on programming, features and benefits provided by the Club to help the Club in improving its offerings for members. Robin’s key focus is to engage with the Club’s members to ensure that members are having optimal experience through the club.

Robin’s interests include travel, studying history, cultures, food, and foreign languages, she is also an artist that dabbles in painting, drawing, and fused glass. Robin received her Bachelor’s Degree (BA) in Theatre and to this day, is grateful for the skills she learned from that degree, as well as the many other careers she has dabbled in.

Robin says:

“I love that The Koa Club provides the opportunity to enrich skills and broaden peoples’ knowledge while connecting with a group of diverse individuals. Building a community of people that helps enrich each other excites me and I am grateful to the Club’s founder, Susan Seah, for their long-lasting friendship and this new opportunity.” 

aminah settles 

Leadership Programs Coordinator

One of Amina’s greatest strengths is her ability to connect with people. For the last few years, she has been working as a nursing assistant, providing direct care to patients of all ages with very diverse backgrounds. No matter their situation or the differences she might have had, the most important thing for her was to find a way to build a relationship with them so that she could provide the best care possible. With this experience and all of the challenges that have come with it, she have developed strong interpersonal, collaboration, and communication skills, and she is very confident in her ability to find a way to connect with anyone she comes across! Her proudest accomplishment thus far is being a team captain for her division 1 college soccer team for three out of the four years she played. She is a graduate of California State University, Bakersfield with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, and has also completed the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Program from the American Healthcare CNA Training School. As the Leadership Programs Coordinator, Aminah is responsible for managing a variety of projects and tasks related to our FollowMyLead programs, including coordinating with participants and speakers for the Program, assisting with Program workshops, gathering and distributing useful resources to participants, and managing participants’ and speakers’ questions, comments and concerns.

Aminah says:

“I have always been passionate about being able to create relationships with different people. After spending the few years in the healthcare industry, working with patients in different specialties, I have learned a lot about how to connect with people, no matter how much we may differ. I am excited to translate this to The Koa Club and continue building connections with the powerful women in this community. Women empowerment excites because women deserve equal opportunities in all aspects of life. I love how The Koa Club works to provide the tools that women can access and thrive in these opportunities, whether they be personally or professionally. I really resonate with Susan’s belief of challenging yourself and living your life boldly and I am excited to be a part of a community that encourages this mindset while connecting people from different backgrounds.”

yazmen brandon

Social Media Manager

Yazmen at a young age realized the power in media and wanted to make a difference through it. She knows that the media is one of the greatest gatekeeps of how we frame our opinions in the world and her goal is make more positive and inspirational perceptions. Throughout her life, she has overcome many challenges that have shaped her into the woman that she has become today. Challenges that have given her the necessary skills to make greatest leaps in her life, such as graduating college.  She is a graduate of the University of Akron with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies, a Bachelor’s in Spanish as well as a minor in women’s studies.

Yazmen says:

“As a young woman just starting out in her career, I have already faced many challenges that have almost shied me away from my biggest dreams. The Koa Club is doing something helps ease my fears astronomically! Having a safe space for women, especially with same ambitions and goals, to converse and learn makes me excited to help and learn things for myself. No one gets anywhere without some kind of support and The Koa Club supports women, which makes me very proud.”

alyssa strainer

Digital Engagement Manager

Alyssa describes herself as a connector. Her love language is service, and helping people is her motivation. She began a career in sports that self-evolved into high level hospitality and communications.

As Digital Engagement Manager for The Koa Club, Alyssa strives to assist The Club’s members with conversation, personal interaction and a continued sense of community. Alyssa’s priority is showcasing the benefits that we all know and love, with the rest of the world!

Alyssa’s favorite things outside of the club include family, travel and her new found passion for tennis… ability hopefully following soon.

Alyssa says:

“The thing that excites me the most about empowering women and the Koa Club mission is community. The idea that a platform of people I haven’t met (yet) are now my best friends, biggest supporters and future mentors is invigorating. I can’t do much alone, but together we can do it all! I look forward to hearing others’ stories of how they cleared their paths and held out their hands to help others along the way.”

lisa schmidt

Special Projects Coordinator

Growing up in the ‘Girl Power’ generation in the Midwest, Lisa has been an advocate for female empowerment all her life. From being one of only two girls playing youth soccer with the boys, to being the only female member of a video production team in New York City, Lisa knows what it’s like to look around and want more representation. She has always looked to strong women in media as role models, and credits the heroines of the big screen, filled with moxie and gumption, as a major contributing factor to the woman fighting for equality that she is today. Lisa’s love of these incredible characters is what influenced her to choose a path in Theatre, earn her BFA in Theatre Management and ultimately her decision to move to New York. After several years working in the city, Lisa got married and felt it was time for a change. A move out west and several odd jobs later, including nannying and dog walking, brings Lisa to The Koa Club, and she couldn’t be more thrilled! Lisa joins The Koa Club as Special Projects Coordinator and is looking forward to jumping in and helping the team succeed in any way she can. Lisa enjoys spending time with her husband and their dog, Koda on the many outdoor adventures Colorado has to offer including hiking, kayaking and skiing. Lisa is also a proud marathon finisher and has completed three, overnight 200 mile team relays. When she’s feeling less active you can find Lisa listening to a podcast or audiobook while working on something crafty or binge watching the latest craze on the multitude of streaming platforms.

Lisa says:

“To be part of such an inspiring group like The Koa Club means I get to help pave the way for younger generations finding their way, still fighting our fight of equality. Coco Chanel said, ‘A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.’ A group like The Koa Club provides the tools needed to do just that and I am beyond excited to be joining the team. Together we will empower women and create a future where there are no longer female leaders, just leaders.” 

melissa kennard

Events Coordinator

Melissa gets excited about planning and sourcing for fun, unique and impactful events. Even when the COVID-19 pandemic created unexpected obstacles to having in-person events in 2020 and 2021, it did not stop Melissa from coming up with various creative events for the restaurant business she was representing at that time, making the most of the digital tools and resources she was able to access and use to create effective online events.

Melissa is a woman of many talents, which we are certain you will no doubt agree when you read her note below, and she is even a fantasy football league champion. Melissa graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelors of Science in Communications and Public Relations and is currently completing her MBA from Belmont University.

As the Event Coordinator for The Koa Club, Melissa will assist with the planning, scheduling and execution of all events for The Koa Club membership, maintaining, attending and tracking the events, and conducting pre- and post- follow ups with the event participants and speakers.

Melissa says:

“Since I was a kid, everything that I did or was interested in was put in a box. For example, I love football…”oh that’s a guy’s thing.” Or that I don’t want kids…”well that’s your job as a woman.” Women’s empowerment to me is being able to celebrate yourself and others just for being who they are and showing everyone that no matter what type of woman you are, you are a badass. I get excited that I can share this feeling with others everywhere”

kiana matthews

Executive Assistant

Kiana has always been interested in the intersection of psychology and marketing, and has pursued her career as an Account Executive in the marketing industry. She has a keen eye for consumer behavior and has been successful in developing effective marketing strategies for various clients. With strong skills in project management, Kiana is able to tackle complex tasks and deliver results.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton and a Master’s degree in Applied Psychology with an emphasis in Consumer Marketing from the University of Southern California. Additionally, Kiana has earned graduate certificates in Marketing and Strategy, Management Consulting. As an Executive Assistant, Kiana will support the organization’s founder and CEO in her various pursuits.

In her free time, Kiana enjoys staying active through dance and fitness classes. She is also passionate about nutrition and enjoys experimenting with healthy recipes in the kitchen. 

Kiana says:

“I am excited to connect with the incredible women of The Koa Club, who are continuously defying limitations, creating meaningful change, and redefining societal norms both professionally and personally. I love that The Koa Club offers workshops that help empower women by enhancing skill sets and knowledge, both within and beyond the workplace. Also, as an advocate for representation, I believe that empowering women and amplifying our voices will foster a more inclusive and equitable society, making a lasting impact for generations to come.”