The business office is a mystery to most students. Beyond the basic knowledge that it’s somewhere in Moore, not much is known about it — but behind its discreet door lies an entirely new world full of nice furniture and a wonderful group of people. 

As you make your way up the stairs to the third floor of Moore, you’ll pass by a few offices. The first things you’ll notice are the family photographs, paintings, and plants that line the walls. You’ll be greeted by everyone with a smile, chat with a few people, and leave the business office with a handful of chocolates and snacks — and with a newfound appreciation for the teamwork and community that drives the business office. 

Without further ado, here are introductions to the wonderful team working behind-the-scenes for Lakeside’s business office.

Amy Rice came to Lakeside over six years ago from the Seattle Art Museum where she did just about the same job as she does here: pay the bills. If the lights stay on, that means she’s done her job. She pays for everything from Tatler printing, dance DJs, clubs, and credit cards. She loves to paint, and along with Sarah Damm (who also paints), they’ve decorated the business office with some of their work. “You can come up and see them sometime, and raid our candy bowl,” she says. “Third floor, Moore!”

Ashleigh McLean has been in the HR office at Lakeside since 2019. Her work revolves around all aspects of employment at the school: managing the hiring process, issuing contracts, onboarding new employees, helping employees navigate the various benefits available to them, communicating with payroll, and anything else that is employment related. She has three daughters (Harlow, Navy, and Wilder), and a three-legged Goldendoodle named Billy Crystal. 

Birage Tandon has been at Lakeside for 10 and a half years. She was hired as the chief financial officer, but now she also oversees areas like the business office, human resources, facilities & maintenance, food services, technology, and summer programs. She loves to travel and has lived in cities in India, Europe, and the US. She’s been to all seven continents and has had some amazing experiences like rafting the Zambezi river, diving the Great Barrier Reef, and being chased by a yak!

Clayton Castagnola has been with Lakeside for two years and helps process donations that the school receives. He works alongside the development office, PGA, The Downtown School, and others to make sure that donations are being tracked and used for the purpose that the donors intended. He also helps with student billing for households at The Downtown School. In his free time, he loves to hike and backpack. 

Derrick Godornes is responsible for paychecks of everyone who works for Lakeside school, except for independent contractors and vendors. He’s responsible for the paychecks of teachers, substitute teachers, coaches; to which is also a partnership with HR in making sure everyone gets paid correctly and accurately. He enjoys long bikes on weekends, traveling with his family, and doing home improvements and fixing things.

This is Sarah Damm’s 9th school year with Lakeside. She’s the point person for the parent and guardian community when it comes to their Veracross family portal and Magnus Health portal. She does all the configurations for the student billing and enrollment modules in Veracross, the Magnus Health database, as well as the accounting entries associated with tuition, financial aid, and students’ miscellaneous expenses throughout the year. Her family are huge hockey fans, and her 9 year old daughter even plays hockey for WWFHA, the only all-female hockey league in the state. 

Sarah Quackenbush has been working with nonprofits and private schools in the greater Seattle area her whole career. Her role at Lakeside largely includes accounting for & managing the school’s endowment alongside the CFO, Controller & Investment Committee. She also helps divisional directors & administrators manage their budgets, collaborates with the business office staff on the School’s financial reporting needs, and calculates the annual endowment draw each year. Her favorite food is “a toss up between Thai food and Mexican food. I don’t think I can pick one!”

Troylyn Goldsberry was hired in April of 2020 right when COVID hit. As a controller, she manages the day to day operations of the business office. She likes to refer to herself as, “not your typical bean counter!” She’s more of an extrovert and enjoys making those around her smile and laugh. The craziest thing she ever did was jump out of a plane at 12,000 feet. She notes, “I can say I skydived once and I can also say that once was enough!”

Ying Purcell has been with Lakeside for four years. She works as business office manager and Assistant to CFO/Assistant Head of School, managing the business office, Ms. Tandon’s calendar, and overseeing the custom bus program. She’s worked as a teacher, consultant, project manager, and executive assistant in a variety of countries including China, Belgium, and Japan, and she finds meaning and purpose in her work at Lakeside. She also likes doing yoga, Zumba, camping, and hiking. After being inspired by her artistic colleagues, Ms. Damm and Ms. Rice, she began to learn Sumi-E painting with brushes and inks.