Our Team
Margaret Cobb
Margaret Cobb is the Founder and President of The Cobb Foundation Northwest. She and her 13 siblings were raised by a single mom, an immigrant from Indonesia. Despite their circumstances, education was always a top priority and the only way to self-sustainability.
Margaret graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. She has spent the last 30+ years at high-tech companies Microsoft and Apple. Throughout her career she has been a proponent for education and women in technology speaking at Geek Girls, participating in “SKYPE in the Classroom” and promoting women in gaming.
In 2020 Margaret was ready for a new chapter in her life. Witnessing the gap in funding for educational experiences outside of public schools, she founded The Cobb Foundation Northwest to fund and create learning and growth opportunities beyond the basics for low-income youth. As President of the Foundation, Margaret focuses on the strategy, day-to-day administration and STEAM programing for the organization. In 2022 she was certified as a LEGO Spike Prime Robotics instructor from Carnegie Mellon University.
Stuart Cobb
As Vice President of the Foundation, Stuart works with Margaret on foundation operations as well as athletics programing for the organization. Born in Oklahoma and raised in Colorado, Stuart has been a lifelong sports enthusiast with primary interests in tennis, golf and baseball. He started playing tennis and baseball at age 7 and golf in his early teens and still plays golf and competes in tennis today. Besides a love for technology and athletics, Stuart is also passionate about animals. He and Margaret currently have two Bernese Mountain dogs named Rosie and Olive. In his professional career, Stuart has been a technical sales engineer for over 30 years, the majority of that time with General Electric Company where he still works. In 2022 he was certified as a LEGO Spike Prime Robotics instructor from Carnegie Mellon University.
Samantha Hyres
As Director of Arts and Literature as well as Secretary for the Foundation, Samantha focuses on communications, program management and Arts and Literature programing for the organization. Samantha’s love of reading and the arts started at a young age and has only grown as time has passed. Her desire to light the creative spark of each individual drives the literature and arts program to unlock the potential within. Samantha has degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from Gonzaga University. She currently works as a Senior Product Manager at Walmart Healthcare. As part of the Arts and Literature programming, Samantha directs our summer dance and arts camps as well as selects our monthly book options for the Novel Experiences book program.
Max Cobb
As Treasurer of the Foundation, Max focuses on the financial operations and the Music program for the organization. Max is a professional guitarist, bassist, pianist, and vocalist based in the Seattle area. He studied jazz theory and guitar performance at Gonzaga University and has performed professionally at weddings and events in the Northwest, and Austin, TX since 2012. When he's not performing, Max teaches music at Music and Arts and St Thomas School to students of all ages - he's been teaching private guitar and piano lessons for nearly 10 years, working with groups and individual youth, handicapped students, adults, and seniors. In addition to his board duties, Max teaches the Music Odyssey private classes as well as the Introduction to Songwriting and Music Theory Summer Camps.