LEADERSHIP, GRANTS, PARTNERS & SPONSORS

TOPs Founder Marceil Whitney serves as a Board Member, Director of Outreach and Director of Junior Programming. Marceil has reached youth of all ages and abilities over a 50-year coaching career through the game of tennis. A certified USPTA instructor, Marceil's coaching journey began in her hometown of Molalla, Oregon, and in her sophomore year of high school, she realized her desire to give back to youth through tennis—an opportunity she wished she had received herself.  Upon her family's move to Seattle's Eastside, she brought her passion for youth tennis to the community. In 1991, Marceil authored a book, teaching manual, and VHS video titled "Teenie Tennis: A Love Game" to share her approach to tennis instruction for the youngest of players. 

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Between 1997 and 2012, she coached at Central Park Tennis Club and served as the Redmond High School tennis coach, developing an inclusive team environment with a "no cuts" policy. She has been a longtime partner of Redmond Parks and Recreation, offering tennis camp programming to the general public.  Notably, she was recognized for her "Wake Up To Tennis" program for underserved youth in collaboration with Redmond Elementary School and the Old Redmond School House.

In 2003, Marceil founded Tennis Outreach Programs, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to further expand her desire to give back to the community. With help from supporters and generous major donors, she opened Eastside Tennis Center (ETC) in 2013, a dedicated facility for Tennis Outreach Programs, to ensure TOPs could offer youth tennis programs year-round.  Marceil developed Adaptive Tennis for children with autism and in 2024 introduced Adaptive Tennis for Hard of Hearing and Deaf Students with ASL Interpreters on court.  Marceil's dedication to youth tennis has landed her in the USTA International Hall of Fame (1992) and the USTA PNW Hall of Fame (2023).  Marceil and her husband Brian have 3 children and 9 grandchildren.  

Siddharth Bhatia serves on the TOPs Technology Committee.  Sid's tennis history started over 30 years ago during his youth playing with his brother recreationally, and currently he competes with his ETC USTA adult teams. Sid is a graduate of the University of Waterloo where he studied hardware and software. He spent 12 years working in speech recognition at Microsoft and has also worked in healthcare tech most recently as Vice President at Maven. "I know that picking up tennis in my youth wasn’t just a physical activity, it was a life-long lesson in camaraderie, respect, fair play, and grit. I hope I can play a part in imparting that to our next generation."

Dave Halgren is a Board Member and serves as the Director of Operations for Tennis Outreach Programs and Eastside Tennis Center. After a career in corporate operations, Dave joined TOPs in 2020, driven by a commitment to enhancing customer experiences, streamlining operations, and leading large teams. In his current role, he oversees day-to-day operations at ETC and actively supports TOPs' mission of making tennis accessible to everyone.  Dave has been passionate about tennis since the age of 14, starting at Kamiakin Junior High and later competing at the state level for Juanita High School. He continues to play in USTA leagues, participating in both men's and mixed teams. Professionally, Dave has been awarded for his leadership in managing critical projects, such as natural disaster displacements. In 2021, he was recognized for his efforts in helping TOPs navigate the challenges of the pandemic, ensuring the organization's financial stability.  Dave remains dedicated to TOPs' mission, impacting over 3,500 youth players annually, and welcomes all tennis and pickleball enthusiasts to Eastside Tennis Center!

Helen Halverson serves on the Board of Directors as Human Resources Committee Chair. She is a University of Washington alumni and a long-time PNW resident. Her professional experience in HR has involved a broad range of specialties, including compensation & benefits and mergers & acquisitions. Her two sons are current Eastside Tennis Center students. She has seen first-hand the skills they have developed both on and off the tennis courts through the instruction of ETC’s amazing coaching staff. She cherishes the way the game of tennis brings together her family, as well as connecting her with other players in the community. She believes in our Tennis Outreach Program mission for every child to have the opportunity to develop the same skills and share the same sense of connection through the game.

Charles “Chick” Hodge is a former president of the TOPs Board and currently serves as Vice-President and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee and the TOPs Marymoor Task Force. He is strongly committed to the TOPs mission and finds the work both challenging and rewarding. As a former less-than-affluent junior tennis player, he appreciates those who made tennis possible for him and wants to provide that valuable experience for other kids, regardless of their economic circumstance. He also appreciates the commitment of TOPs to enrichment programs, as well as the generosity of the TOPs donors. Chick is a graduate of Lehigh University and Stanford. He moved to Seattle for a 35-year Boeing career in aircraft engineering.  During this time, he built a neighborhood tennis court, served on the Washington Youth Tennis Foundation, and as Tennis Chairman at the Mercer Island Country Club during a time of a major facility expansion. He later served on the board of the Atlantic Street Center, a non-profit that serves low-income kids and families in Seattle’s Rainier Valley, where he co-founded and taught tennis for thirteen years at a weeklong Tennis Camp at Rainier Playfield.

Aliya Khan serves on the Board of Directors as President. Aliya is an avid tennis player and program manager who joined TOPs in 2020. Aliya is a strong believer in the value of mentorship and sees tennis as a great way to provide kids with a positive environment. A current USTA and Cup player at Eastside Tennis Center and Harbor Square, she remains passionate about bringing tennis to everyone as a way to be active and connected in the community. Aliya is a former technology professional with 20 years industry experience working for corporations including Teligent, OpenText and most recently Microsoft.  She has mentored young adults through the YearUp organization and currently volunteers within Lake Washington School District. Aliya is from Northern Virginia and a graduate of Radford University.

Schyler Pa serves on the Board of Directors as the Outreach Committee Chair. A graduate of University of Virginia, Schyler joined the TOPs board in 2020 to help support its mission of offering affordable tennis programs to youth in the community. She is grateful for her tennis journey which started in elementary school and loves that TOPs helps to grant these opportunities to so many kids. Schyler has been a Corporate Finance Manager and currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff to Microsoft's CFO office. Coming from Virginia, she appreciates the beauty of the PNW and enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and trying new foods in her free time.

Ravi Subramanian serves on the Technology Committee of the Board of Directors. He is a long-time recreational tennis player, fan (nerd) of the game, dad of two, and since recently a host of The Sliced Serve podcast. Ravi believes tennis is a way of life, a form of meditation, and a path to gaining perspective. He joined TOPs to help with the mission of enabling youth to enjoy and appreciate the game. Ravi brings software engineering experience from Microsoft, Amazon, and others, and leadership at various local startups. He holds degrees in Computer Science from the University of Texas in Austin, and The College of Engineering Guindy (India).

Jenny Wang serves as the chairperson for the TOPs Marketing committee.  She played D3 tennis for Grinnell College in Iowa.  She received her graduate degree from Yale where she studied history and East Asian Studies. Jenny previously worked for Cargill in commodities trading. She also worked in digital, direct, promotional, and branding marketing for a Havas agency.  She has served on the Board of Directors for Technology Access Foundation and the Peter Kirk Elementary School PTSA. "I've always been a huge supporter of outreach programs, especially for youth. As tennis will always be a part of my life and my happy place, I am excited to work with fellow tennis enthusiasts to contribute to TOPs mission and values.