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Board of Directors

Washington Women’s Foundation is governed by a 20-member Board of Directors elected by the membership. President Carla Lewis and a small professional staff manage the Foundation’s work, in coordination with members serving on various committees.

Click below to learn more about our Board members:
Rhoda Altom • Cherry Banks • Judi Beck • Grace Chien • Kathleen Edwards • Mary Ann Ekman •Anne Farrell • Carrie George • Kate Janeway • Martha Kongsgaard • Kaycee Krysty • Carol Lewis • Donna Lou • Pamela McCabe • Laura Midgley • Gail Ransom • Judith Runstad • Iyabo Tinubu-Karch • Susanna Tull • Alison Oresman Wilson

Emeritus Board Members

2011 Board of Directors

Rhoda Altom

Rhoda Altom is a founding board member and past chair of the board. Rhoda also serves on the board of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund, founded and continues on the YWCA Endowment Guild and is an Emeritus Board Member and Past President of the YWCA Board. She is a Trustee of Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center serving as Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair. Rhoda has also served as Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign for The Northwest School, Board Trustee – Cornish College of the Arts, and Board Trustee – Health Team Northwest. Rhoda is President of Milestone Properties, a real estate investment firm.

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CherryBanks
Cherry McGee Banks, Ed.D joined the Foundation in 2008 and has been an active member of the Grant Committee. She is currently the co-chair of the Discovery Days Committee. Cherry is a professor of education at the University of Washington-Bothell. She has been published in numerous journals and is the associate editor of the Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education, coeditor of Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives,  co-author of Teaching Strategies for the Social Studies and author of Improving Multicultural Education: Lessons From the Intergroup Education Movement. Professor Banks serves on several national committees and boards including the American Educational Research Journalʼs editorial board and the Board of Examiners for the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.
 
 
Judi Beck

Judi Beck is a community volunteer and has been a member of the Foundation since 1995. She is past chair of the foundation and currently serves on the Planning, Governance, and Resource Development Committees. She has also served on the Grant and Education Committees. Judi is the Immediate Past Chair for the ArtsFund Board of Directors, and also serves on the ArtsFund Foundation Board. She is a member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation Emeritus Board, the Aids Housing of Washington Emeritus Board, and the KCTS Board of Directors.

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Grace Chien Grace Chien is Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Western Washington, a recipient of WWF’s 2008 Pooled Fund Grant in Human Services. Grace also serves on the boards of the Alliance of Nonprofits and Seattle Rotary #4, and is a past appointee of the Governor on the Washington State Commission for National and Community Service. Grace received her Juris Doctorate and Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington. She is an alumna of Leadership Tomorrow and the Executive Development Institute. Grace joined the Foundation in 2009.
 
Mary Ann Ekman

Kathleen Edwards joined the Foundation in 1996 and has served as a member of the Grants and Impact Assessment committees, and completed terms as chair of the Education Committee and Committee Cabinet. She is currently the vice chair of the Finance Committee. Kathy has an extensive background in finance, nonprofit consultation and board service. She currently serves as Board President of Cedarmere Foundation, is a member of PATH's Development Committee, Women's Funding Alliance's Nominating Committee, and Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest's Investment Committee.

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Mary Ann Ekman

Mary Ann Ekman is a founding member of the Foundation and is currently Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee. Mary Ann has served as Board president for both the University of Washington Law School Foundation and the Pocock Rowing Foundation. She has provided pro bono legal and tax advice to Magnolia Helpline, SYC Rowing Foundation, Cascade Rowing Foundation, Episcopal Church of the Ascension and Magnolia Lutheran Church. She is a former tax partner of Deloitte & Touche and a former partner of Karr Tuttle Campbell, P.S. She maintains her law practice in downtown Seattle.

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Anne Farrell

Anne Farrell is a founding board member of the Foundation who currently serves on the Planning Committee. Previously she has chaired the Grant Committee, Governance Committee and served on the Finance and Education Committees. Anne is President Emerita of the Seattle Foundation. She has served on the boards of many institutions including Children’s Hospital, Leadership Tomorrow, Alliance for Education, Council on Foundations, the Seattle Public Library Foundation, and the Pacific Northwest Grantmakers Forum (now Philanthropy Northwest). She currently serves as a Trustee of Seattle University and is a director of KCTS Television.

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Carrie George

Carrie George has been a member of the Foundation since 1999 and has served as Grants Committee Chair and Discovery Days Co-Chair, and as a member of the Membership Committee, Impact Assessment Committee, and Committee Cabinet. She will chair the new Innovation Grant Committee in 2011. Carrie served on the Mercer Island School Board from 2001-2005, and was President of the Board for two of those years. Professionally, Carrie is a partner at Inviso Corporation where she established and leads Inviso's management consulting practice.

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Kate Janeway

Kate Janeway is a founding member of the Foundation. She is the Chair of the Board, serves on the Governance Committee, the Planning Committee, and is the Board Liaison to the Grant Committee.  She chaired the 2009 Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Kate recently shifted her professional work from consulting to executive coaching focused on sustaining the vision, commitment and resiliency of leaders.  Kate has decades of experience leading Boards.  She currently serves on the boards of three foundations and The Frye Art Museum. Kate previously served on the board of the Seattle Foundation for nine years, as well as the Haas Foundation – now InvestEd – and The Orcas Island Community Foundation.  Kate is a certified Hudson Institute Coach (CHIC). She holds a BA in American Studies and Humanities from Stanford University, a JD from Georgetown Law Center, and an MPA in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from the University of Washington.

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Martha Kongsgaard

Martha Kongsgaard joined the Foundation in 1997 and played a key role in WWF's Endowment Campaign. She and her husband, Peter Goldman, founded the Kongsgaard-Goldman Foundation in 1988, and make grants to a variety of environmental, social justice and arts organizations in the Pacific Northwest. The Kongsgaard-Goldman Foundation has been named a Family Foundation of the Year at National Philanthropy Day. Martha, a lawyer by training, is currently the chair of the Puget Sound Partnership and serves on the boards of IslandWood, Earthjustice and Cascade Agenda. She has received numerous awards including Seattle University School of Law Women's Law Caucus's Woman of the Year award.

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Kaycee Krysty

Kaycee Krysty is President Emerita of Laird Norton Tyee, one of the largest privately held wealth management firms in the Pacific Northwest. Kaycee was recognized six times by Worth magazine on its list of the "Best Financial Advisors in the US," and was honored in 2006 as one fo the Puget Sound Business Journal's Women of Influence. Kaycee has been a member of the Foundation since 2006. In addition to serving on our board, Kaycee also serves on the board of the YWCA.

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Carol Lewis

Carol Lewis is a founding member of the Foundation and joined the board in 2006. She is the chair of the Governance Committee. She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Philanthropy Northwest, a non-profit membership association for foundations and corporate giving offices in six Northwest states. Prior to joining Philanthropy Northwest in 2005, Carol served as Corporate Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer for Coinstar, Inc. Prior to that, she held positions as Executive Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Senior Vice President for Egghead Software and Deputy Mayor for former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer. She currently serves on the boards of the Seattle Parks Foundation, Crosscut, and the Nesholm Family Foundation.

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Donna Lou

Donna Lou, a member of the Foundation since 2005, is currently board liaison for the Diversity Grant Committee.  Donna served on the Education Grant work group in 2006 and Arts & Culture in 2007 and has served as a Site Visit Team Leader.  She is also on the board of College Access Now and has been a member of Social Venture Partners since 1999.  Donna served on the board of the Seattle Foundation from 2005-2010.

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Pamela McCabe

Pamela McCabe, member of the Foundation since 2000, joined the board in 2008.  She is currently the Board liaison to the International Grant Initiative.  Previously, Pamela chaired the Communications Committee, Grant Committee, the Impact Assessment Committee and the Committee Cabinet.  An active community volunteer, Pamela currently serves on the Seattle Parks Foundation Board and the Lopez Island Family Resource Board. She has been a mediator with the Dispute Resolution Center of King County. Pamela has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer, board chair for the Children’s Trust Foundation and counselor for Planned Parenthood.

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Laura Midgley

Laura Midgley has been an active member of the Foundation since 2002, serving as Committee Chair for Grants, Cabinet and Discovery Days. In her capacity as Cabinet Chair, Laura served as an ex-officio member of the Board in 2007 and 2008. Laura is currently the President of the board for Child Care Resources. She has previously served on the board of her daughter’s school, University Prep, where she was also President of the Parent Council. Laura is also former Board Chair for Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS) and founding board member of Rebuilding Together Seattle. Laura has volunteered as a court appointed special advocate for Family Law CASA and as a host for AFS.

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Gail Ransom

Gail Ransom, member of the Foundation since 1997, chairs the Resource Development Committee and serves on the Planning Committee. She is past chair of the Education Committee. Gail’s firm, Ransom Development Services, has provided fundraising consultation to nonprofits for more than 30 years. Gail is involved with the Northwest Development Officers Association and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She currently serves on the Boards of Rainier Scholars and the Peach Foundation. Gail previously served on the Boards of the United Way of King County, North Seattle Community College and the Providence Medical Center Foundation.

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Judith Runstad

Judith Runstad has been an attorney with Foster Pepper, LLC for over 35 years; she is currently Of Counsel, specializing in the areas of real estate development, land use and environmental law. She serves on the boards of Wells Fargo and Potlatch Corporation; is past chair of Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Seattle Association and the United Way of King County Campaign; and is a former trustee of Seattle University, Leadership Tomorrow, The Seattle Foundation, Seattle Art Museum, ACT Theatre and YWCA. Judy joined the Foundation in 1996 as a founding member.

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Iyabo Tinubu-Karch, MD

Iyabo Tinubu-Karch, MD has practiced medicine in the Pacific Northwest for 14 years, and is currently on active medical staff at Swedish Hospital and the VA Medical Center. Iyabo holds a faculty position at the UW School of Nursing and previously sat on the Washington State Medical Association Practice Informatics Advisory Committee. In the community, Iyabo co-chaird the Summit Club of the Swedish Medical Center Foundation, served as a volunteer physician for the Center for Multicultural Health, and was previously a member of the Board of Trustees of Childhaven. She joined the Washington Women's Foundation in 2003 and has served on the Grant Committee and Diversity Grant Committee.

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Susie Tull

Susanna Tull joined the Foundation in 2005. She is currently the Cabinet Chair and in that role is an ex-officio, voting member of the board of directors. She recently completed three years on WWF’s Grants Leadership Team and previously served as a Grants Work Group Leader and Work Group member. Susie served on the board of Seattle Pro Musica and is an active community volunteer, most recently with College Access Now. She spent many years volunteering for local public schools. Until recently, Susie worked as an independent marketing consultant with a focus on public transportation demand management. Currently, she is an internet retailer.

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Alison Oresman Wilson

Alison Oresman Wilson, is a founding member, serves on the Planning and Governance committees and is the board liaison for the Member Engagement Committee. A past chair of the board, Alison also served as the foundation’s first Membership Committee chair.  A journalist and award-winning food writer, Alison’s third cookbook, Pastry Queen Parties, came out in 2009. She recently co-founded Oresman & Oresman LLC, a beauty consulting business and website. Alison has served on the boards of Pomegranate Center, a local non-profit devoted to environmentally responsible, community-generated design and development, and The Children’s Garden, a progressive preschool in Issaquah. She currently is an advisory board member for UW’s Center on Infant Mental Health and Development.

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Emeritus Board

Julia Calhoun
Julia Calhoun has been a member of Washington Women’s Foundation since its inception in 1995 and has served on the Grant Committee and the Endowment Committee. She is the past President of the Board of Trustees for Treehouse, and a past Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Northwest Children’s Fund. Julia was also honored by the Puget Sound Business Journal as a Woman of Influence in 2007.
 
Sue Lile Hunter

Sue Lile Hunter, a founding director of WWF, served on the Board until 2006, acting as Vice President from 1995-1997 and Treasurer from 1997-2003. Sue currently serves on the board of Facing the Future, and is an honorary trustee of Children’s Hospital & Medical Center. Sue has served on a variety of boards in the Seattle area including YWCA of King County, Washington State Hospital Association, Leadership Tomorrow, Junior League of Seattle, and United Way of King County. She is a co-founder of CityClub, and was a recipient of the Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Community Service Award.

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Dorothy Mann

A founding member of WWF, Dorothy Mann served two terms on the Board of Directors beginning in 2004. She is currently a director of Virginia Mason Medical Center,  sits on the Seattle Art Museum Development Authority Council, and serves as Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. Dorothy is an adjunct professor in the UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Dorothy served 14 years as the Regional Health Administrator for US Public Health Service, where she was the ranking federal public health official in the Region. Dorothy is also a member of the Washington State Women’s Forum and a consultant on nonprofit governance with the Seattle Executive Service Corps.

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Alison Oresman Wilson

A member of WWF since 1997, Dorothy Loucks Nelson served on the Board from 2004—2009. She has chaired the Grant Committee and was initial chair of the Impact Assessment Committee which she helped to establish.  Dorothy  led a task force which developed the Strategic Plan in 2005 and was Co-Chair of the Search Committee that recommended Carla Lewis as the new President of WWF in 2008.  Dorothy has chaired the boards of FareStart, Eastside Mental Health, United Way of Island County, and Amara Parenting and Adoption Services, in addition to other board memberships.

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Jeannie Nordstrom

Jeannie Nordstrom, a founding member of the Foundation, co-chaired the President Search Committee. An active community leader, Jeannie has served on the Board of the YWCA for many years and was board president during the years when they raised $42 million for new projects in support for women and children in the community. In addition to the YWCA, her lifelong passion includes the humane and ethical treatment of all animals. She has also served on the board of the Delta Society, Cancer Lifeline, IslandWood and The Market Foundation. Jeannie has been a division director for the United Way of King County and an elementary school teacher.

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Faye Sarkowsky

Faye Sarkowsky, a founding board member of WWF, served on the Board until 2007. Faye has been an active community volunteer, serving as the president of the Seattle Art Museum, an honorary board member of the Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, and served as the Commissioner of the Washington State Arts Commission. Faye was the first female chairman of both PONCHO and the Fifth Avenue Theatre Association. She has received numerous awards for her commitment to arts organizations and the community. Along with her husband, Herman, Faye received the PONCHO Founder’s Award, the Gates Volunteer Service Award from the University of Washington and the Jerry Pennington Award for Service from Children’s Hospital.

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Maggie Walker Maggie Walker is a founding member of the Foundation, first Chair of the board and Planning Committee, two time grant committee member, and helped lead the development of the Foundation’s endowment. Maggie is past chair of many boards: Woodland Park Zoo Society, Henry Art Gallery, ARCS and UW Arts and Sciences. She is currently board chair of the Bullitt Foundation and MOHAI; vice chair of the Seattle Foundation; and president of the board of the Seattle Art Museum. She co-chaired the UW Arts and Sciences Capital Campaign as well as the campaign for Lake Union Park. Maggie also co-chairs the Cultural Task Force for the Prosperity Partnership and was a co-founder of Social Venture Partners.
 
 
Colleen Willoughby

Colleen Willoughby is the founder of the Washington Women's Foundation and served as president from 1995 to 2008. Colleen has been instrumental in inspiring several other similar women’s philanthropy organizations across the country. She has served as President of the Junior League of Seattle as well as the board of the Association of Junior Leagues International. She has served on the boards of The Seattle Foundation, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center Foundation and the Saul and Dayee Haas Foundation. She has chaired the boards of Leadership Tomorrow, The Seattle Children's Home, and the United Way of King County. She is a founder of CityClub and currently serves as Vice Chair. She is an Emerita Trustee of Whitman College and currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Committee at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She is the WWF board liaison to the Impact Assessment Committee and serves on the Inclusiveness Initiative and Development committees.

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