About Us
The CAJPA is now formally established and has applied to become an official state affiliate of the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association.
CAJPA Board Members
Meet the members of our newly formed board, representing communities across Northern and Southern California.
Elizabeth Forsyth
Elizabeth discovered her love of puzzles during Covid and has since participated in speed puzzling events far and wide. Her greatest accomplishment in puzzling, besides fitting her growing puzzle collection into her house, has been placing 9th in Teams at the 2025 Nationals.
Originally from San Diego, Elizabeth now lives in the Bay Area with her husband. When not puzzling she runs a Silicon Valley based literary arts organization.
You can follow her puzzle adventures on Instagram at @puzzledlizzie.
Chair/President
Vice President
Yuewen Chun
Yuewen (@thehungrypuzzler) is always up for some good eats She grew up loving puzzles (not just the jigsaw kind!) and games. She discovered speed puzzling in 2023 and dived into practicing in 2024 after signing up for her first nationals.
Her favorite part of puzzling though are the people in this community she has met (and has yet to meet!). Though she currently resides in SoCal with her husband and two children, she also lived in NorCal for 7 years, where she attended college.
Secretary
Lindsay Steenstra
Lindsay grew up in the Midwest where assembling puzzles was a common pastime, especially in the winter months.
She started speed puzzling when her friend and then volleyball peer started hosting competitions through Pacific Puzzlers in San Diego, CA.
She currently serves as a Founding Member of the CAJPA.
You can find Lindsay on Instagram: @cheesypuzzler
Treasurer
Jaclyn Taernhed
Jaclyn played her fair share of board games and puzzles growing up, but then life happened. It wasn’t until working a 1,000 piece jigsaw in 2023 that she and puzzles were reintroduced — and just clicked.
Chicago born and raised, Jaclyn’s also lived around the globe — from Madison to Delhi, NYC to Sweden. Now based in the Bay Area with her family, she loves connecting with fellow puzzle enthusiasts locally and across social media (IG: @lovemeapiece).
Speed puzzling may one day be in the cards, but for now she’s savoring every slow, satisfying snap.
Alison Youngblood
Alison has loved jigsaw puzzles for as long as she can remember, and discovered speed puzzling in 2023. She lives in the Bay Area with her two young children.
After many years in tech as a user experience researcher and designer, she now spends her free time racing through puzzles, running, building LEGO with her kids, and is a member of the year-round volunteer team for the USA JPA.
She’s drawn to the mix of strategy, speed, and focus that puzzling brings.
Board Member
Board Member
Jen Hsieh
Jen has enjoyed jigsaw puzzles all her life. After learning about speed puzzling in early 2024, she started hosting social speed puzzling events to connect with more local puzzlers, and fell further in love with this amazing community. She might have come for the puzzles, but she is certainly staying for the people!
Semi-retired from engineering, Jen is now a full-time mom with two young kiddos and a supportive husband who helps run her events and builds custom shelves for her ever growing puzzle collection. (Jen is adamant that doing puzzles and acquiring puzzles are two different hobbies, and she is 100% addicted to both.)
You can find Jen on Meetup or on Instagram: @foxncatpuzzles
Board Member
Jiamei Qian
Jiamei loves puzzles of every kind and jigsaw puzzles are no exception. She learned about speed puzzling in 2024 and found a great community of like-minded puzzle lovers.
Based in the SF Bay Area, she has since participated in various competitions of all different sizes from local to international. She even hosted a 12-hour puzzle marathon on the Peninsula.
She’s excited to be part of the CAJPA board and build community with others who also love jigsaw puzzles.
You can follow her on Instagram: @blueorca.puzzles, Youtube: BlueOrcaPuzzles, and website: puzzles.blueorca.org.