Get to Know Us: Q&A with Theresa Farrell
We have a small but mighty team here at Seattle Parks Foundation, with dedicated and knowledgeable staff ready to help our fiscal partners achieve their goals.
Our Accounting Assistant Theresa Farrell (she/her) is originally from New Jersey and has lived in Seattle for over seven years. In 2017, she switched her career path from working within a classroom to handling all the bookkeeping/payroll duties for a nonprofit school. As the Accounting Assistant at SPF, she handles all the account receivables/payable. In her spare time, she enjoys going for hikes, traveling, and exploring old historical sites.
Thank you, Theresa, for sharing more about yourself with us!
The world of accounting and finance can be daunting to those who haven’t worked with numbers before. What’s one piece of advice that you would offer to a new partner in our fiscal sponsorship program?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The partner financial reports are not as scary as they look.
Accounts receivable and accounts payable, and all the invoices and balance sheets in between, require a lot of attention to detail. Do you have any favorite tools or tricks that you use to stay organized?
I tend to write things down since that helps me remember valuable information. I try to take my time with my job tasks and tend to double or triple check my work.
You came to SPF after working for a nonprofit school. What has drawn you to work for nonprofits?
I like working for nonprofits, knowing that our work is very meaningful to our community is extremely rewarding. Working for a nonprofit, you tend to wear many hats which enables you to gain more experience in various areas within your workplace.
You’ve been on the SPF team for almost two years. How has your job evolved or changed over time?
I have definitely taken on more job responsibilities in the past two years. From payroll and implementing a new PEO to handling all the 1099s for our independent contractors, my responsibilities have grown since I first started working at Seattle Parks Foundation.
You were born and raised in New Jersey and moved to Seattle in 2015. What do you miss most about the East Coast, and on the flip side, what do you love about the West Coast?
Besides missing my family and friends who still reside on the east coast, I do miss some staple food items like pizza (even though Moto pizza is slowly filling that void) and bagels. I miss visiting NYC, only a 20-25 minute drive from where I use to live in NY. What I love about the west coast is the landscape, from the rugged coastline to the mountains. The ability to drive less than an hour and be on the coastline or to wander in the mountains is pretty spectacular. I also enjoy the summers especially since there is no east coast humidity.
You are one of a few avid sports fans on staff. What’s your favorite team to watch and why?
I am a huge New York Yankee fan. I have been a fan ever since my dad took me to a game when I was about 8. My dad was a big New York Yankee fan, so he passed that on to me and my siblings. I am also a newbie hockey fan. I started following the Seattle Kraken last year after one of my friends took me to a game at Climate Pledge. Once you see a hockey game live, you are hooked and that is exactly what happened to me.