Please join us in welcoming Cynthia “Haskit” Hall, M.Ed. as our new Infant Toddler Program Director at Holly Ridge Center!
Haskit (pronounced HOS-KIT), her given Makah tribal name, joined us in March and spent meaningful time with our outgoing director, Alicia Skelly, to ensure a smooth and thoughtful transition. She brings a deep respect for early support services, a strong sense of community, and a genuine warmth that has already made a lasting impression.
Cynthia “Haskit” Hall, M.Ed. of the Makah, Jamestown S’Klallam and Quileute tribes, is on the Pacific Lutheran University Indigenous Community Advisory Board, the University of Washington Indigenous Education Advisory Board and the Washington State Native American Education Advisory Board. An alumnus of Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA, and City University, Bellevue, WA, she has taught all ages from infants to adults. She has worked in both the public and private sectors for the K-12 system, tribal schools and pharmaceutical companies as an educator, trainer and speaker. She has rich experience in child development and elementary education as well as deep knowledge of curriculum and instruction. She has been in educational leadership for 12 years and was most recently employed as an instructor for the University of Washington in the College of Education. Prior experience includes coordinating early learning curriculum at the Muckleshoot Child Development Center and teaching Native American Culture at Chief Leschi Schools, as well as serving as director of early learning programs for tribal, state and federally funded programs in the Salish Sea region.
Haskit has enjoyed a lifetime of learning cedar bark weaving and other cultural arts with many talented and gracious elders and artists in the Northwest Coastal region and loves to spend time learning and trying new techniques or remembering old ones. In her personal time, Haskit enjoys meal planning and cooking for her family and can often be found reading or re-reading a book or cookbook. Haskit also loves attending live theater and cultural events as she had a past life as a performer with a vocal scholarship at PLU. She exercises some of those performing skills while she uses the old ways of teaching lessons through Indigenous storytelling. Haskit is an Indigenous healer and implements elements of her healing in her professional development offerings and regular staff meetings, to remind herself and others that we are not truly healed until we can show up as our whole selves in all spaces, fully integrated and fully human, which is a life-long effort.
Haskit believes every child deserves to be seen, valued, and included—in their classrooms, in their communities, and alongside their peers.
We are honored to welcome her leadership and vision into our Holly Ridge family.
