Our Team

David Koff (HE/HIM):
FOUNDER, Improv Trainer & Teacher

As a professional actor, David’s appeared on “The West Wing”, “The John Larroquette Show”, “Sesame Street”, and others. His acting reel showcases some of his most popular work on TV, Film, and commercials. He is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA.

As a facilitator and trainer, David’s trained staff and leadership teams at Nike, Intel, Tektronix, Joyful, PWC, Comcast, and many other Fortune 500 companies using his unique and powerful blending of tools from the worlds of acting, improvisation, and psychology.

David began studying improv at The Groundlings in 1992 and never looked back. He went on to study under Stan Wells at The Empty Stage Theater, and with Bill Steinkellner in his master class. David’s produced fully or partially-improvised shows for the stage since 1995, including the long-running “Fake Radio” and “The Wonderful Woman of Oz”.

Prior to opening Change Through Play, David taught improv classes and performed in the main company at Curious Comedy followed by The Brody Theater under Tom Johnson. He also taught at CSz.

In 2017, David received a RACC grant for his applied improvisation work at St. Andrew Nativity school. That work led to a documentary you can watch here and, in 2018, delivering keynote about his students at the AIN conference in Paris. You can watch his presentation to learn more or visit David on his website.

Natasha Von Salza (she/her):
improv & Theater Teacher

Natasha graduated from CSU Chico State in 2013 with a degree in Political Science and Outdoor Education. She studied abroad in 2012 in Sweden, where she lived until 2021. After a corporate career as a manager for Starbucks for over 5 years, she returned to her artistic roots and now teaches outdoor education to children ages 5-12. She uses improv, structured curriculums and experiential learning to facilitate children's learning and play. Natasha studied improv under Mary Pat McCoy at Change Through Play, before going on to study under its Founder, David Koff. She remains in the studio’s Advanced Lab series, where she continues to study, develop, and refine her long-form improvisation practice and knowledge.

Brittney Van Eck (she/her):
Client Development

Brittney’s been an integral member of our team since 2021. She brings a background of social media and communications saavy to Change Through Play and has helped anchor how we promote what we do and where.

Brittney is born and raised in South Africa and continues to live there even now. She is our first ever remote employee! What began during the pandemic has blossomed into a true partnership.

Brittney has become our client liaison and development staffer. In that role she’ll be helping the students in our Portland improv classes along with our clients who reach out to us for corporate and business training in Portland.