Our Staff
Heather Thomsen Tang
Pastor/Head of Staff
Heather is a west-coast native who has spent seasons of life in Western and Eastern Washington, Northern and Southern California, and North Carolina. She’s a Whitworth Pirate who received a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Heather and her husband Davin, who also has an MDiv from Fuller and works in the University Ministry at Gonzaga University, are the grateful parents of Ellia and Beckett, who keep them quite busy! Together they enjoy playing soccer and backyard wiffle ball, hiking, skiing, running, movie nights, and Seattle Mariners baseball.
When asked what she loves about Colbert Presbyterian, Heather said: "Colbert has been a deeply formative community for me. It was my home church during and right after I attended Whitworth University for undergrad. I look back on my time at Colbert with great fondness, and also with great appreciation for how profoundly I was shaped during my years worshipping and working there. I'm grateful for the chance to "come home," in a sense, and continue sharing in the love, joy, and justice of Jesus with these brothers, sisters, and friends."
Email Heather here
Marissa Kuuskvere
Director of Youth Ministries and Digital Media
Marissa (Riss) has a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Whitworth University.
Riss entered into ministry at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church, where she worked in the youth ministry for three years. After graduating from Whitworth, Riss spent two years leading mission trips and wilderness trips across the country for youth groups.
Her parents live in on the South Hill and her sister and brother-in-law live in the Carolinas. Riss’s beloved Spanish Water Dog, Huckleberry, loves to do anything Riss is doing!
Outside of work, Riss enjoys the almost endless selection of outdoor activities Spokane has to offer. It is her personal goal to try each and every one of them. For fun, Riss enjoys doing things that bring her both joy and a rush of adrenaline, anything from walking her dog to rock climbing.
When asked about her heart for youth ministry, Riss said, “most of my motivation to be in ministry comes from a desire to help students understand their identity in Christ, not just as a good Christian kid, athlete, or musician, but as a beloved son or daughter of the King. It is all too easy to put our identities in things that will pass, and I love seeing the joy that comes when a student puts trust in the Lord.”
“Colbert is a welcoming, supportive, rambunctious, and tight knit community. I love how many friendships you can develop over different generations and the joy it brings when we are all together.”
Email Riss here
Karissa Forsyth
Director of Children’s Ministry
Working at Colbert Pres is a sort of homecoming for Karissa. After spending her early years in California and the Seattle area, she ventured to Whitworth University to receive a degree in theology. Upon graduating, she took a position at Colbert Pres as the Director of Youth Ministry. Those years were joyful, challenging and formative. The call of adventure took Karissa and her husband, Jeff, to Virginia for grad school (and also a lot of exploring new cities!). They liked the East Coast more than anticipated, moved to North Carolina and had three kids. But their love of mountains and their West Coast families eventually won out over the many charms of the South and the Forsyths relocated to Spokane in 2023. With great joy they have made Colbert Pres their church home and Karissa is once again on staff, but this time serving the youngest in our congregation. Karissa enjoys running, adventuring with her family, cheering on the Seattle Mariners, coaching soccer, and snacks.
Email Karissa here
Alison Southwick
Office Manager
Alison Southwick is a Spokane native who, with her family, found her way to the worshiping community at Colbert Pres around 2023. She and her husband, Tyler, have had stints living in Utah, the Seattle area, and the Portland area. Alison is grateful for the opportunity to use her extensive “chaos management” skills cultivated over the years of raising five children to support and assist the ministries of Colbert Presbyterian.
Email Alison here
Halle Aparicio
Interim Worship Leader
Halle Aparicio grew up in the small town of Brewster, WA. Her family lives there, and with two sisters still in high school she makes the two-and-a-half-hour drive home a couple weekends each month just to spend time with them.
A recent Gonzaga University grad, she now works as a teacher, a role that brings her deep joy and purpose. Halle loves to be in awe with students as they uncover the world around them everyday.
While at Gonzaga, she was a leader of a multi-denominational worship service called Common Ground. That experience shaped the way she approaches worship not only as a joyful expression, but also as a holistic invitation to bring all the experiences of one’s life before the Lord. Halle feels grateful to call Colbert Presbyterian home — a place where she can be known, grow in faith, and share life with others who care deeply about loving God and their community.
Bob Olson
Sexton
Bob and his wife Wendy have worshipped at Colbert since the church’s earliest days in the late 1990s. Now retired, Bob is using his considerable construction and handy-man vocational skills in the volunteer role of church sexton, in which he diligently cares for Colbert’s facilities and grounds.