Päivi Tetri

President Päivi Tetri was born in Jyväskylä, Finland, and immigrated to Seattle, Washington, in 1957 along with her parents, Eero and Helli Tetri. She moved with her family to Juneau, Alaska, in 1968, where she enjoyed being part of a small and vibrant Finnish community. Päivi is proud of her Finnish roots and continues to maintain connections with her extended Finnish family, Finnish language and Finnish culture.

Päivi has established citizenship in both the United States and Finland. She received an undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Oregon and a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She did research on human genetics at Yale University, and worked primarily as a psychotherapist before retiring in 2008.

She helped to establish the Kids’ Clubhouse, a not-for-profit bereavement support center for grieving children and their families in St. Louis, Missouri, where she served as both Program Director and Executive Director for more than ten years. Päivi has served on the boards of the Kids’ Clubhouse, the Chinese Outreach Ministry at Samuel United Church of Christ and The Samuel Pre-school board. She served as an English as a Second Language tutor and volunteered caring for orchids at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

She has served on the Finlandia Foundation National Board of Trustees since 2011.

Päivi is married to Brent Tetri and has two grown daughters.