Board of Directors

Washington Women’s Foundation is governed by a 15-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 – from Grant to Finance to Education.

2008 Board of Directors

	Rhoda Altom is a founding board member of the Foundation and currently serves as Vice Chair and heads the Planning Committee. She previously served as Treasurer. 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.
	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 incoming board 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, and the Aids Housing of Washington Emeritus Board.
	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 and is a current member of the Resource Development 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. She currently serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of Evergreen School and University Prep and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Children’s Hospital as well as Partners For Our Children. Julia was also honored by the Puget Sound Business Journal as a Woman of Influence in 2007.
	Mary Ann Ekman is a founding member of the Foundation and is currently Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee. She also serves on the Planning 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.
	Anne Farrell is a founding board member of the Foundation who currently chairs the Governance Committee and serves on the Planning Committee. Previously she has chaired the Grant Committee and served on the Finance Committee. 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, 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 and the Seattle Public Library Foundation.
	Kate Janeway is a founding member of the Foundation, and she serves on the Governance Committee and as the board liaison for the Membership Committee. President of Great Governance Group, Kate works with closely held and mission driven companies on high stakes strategic challenges, including succession planning, alignment of the Board and the executive team, and governance issues. Kate has graduate degrees in law and management. She has decades of Board experience and currently serves on the Boards of four foundations, including the Orcas Island Community Foundation and the Haas Foundation. She previously served on the board of the Seattle Foundation for nine years.
	Carol Lewis is a founding member of the Foundation and joined the board in 2006. 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, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and the Nesholm Family Foundation.
	Donna Lou, a member of the Foundation since 2005, is currently board liaison for the Education 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. Donna is on the board of the Seattle Foundation, serving on both the Governance and Grants & Community Leadership Committees at the Foundation. She is also on the board of College Access Now and has been a member of Social Venture Partners since 1999.
	Pamela McCabe, member of the Foundation since 2000, currently chairs the Communications Committee. Pamela joined the board in 2008. Previously, Pamela chaired the Grant Committee, the Impact Assessment Committee and the Committee Cabinet.  An active community volunteer, Pamela currently serves on the Seattle Parks Foundation 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.
	Dorothy Nelson, a member of the Foundation since 1997 and the Board since 2004, currently serves as Board Secretary and has chaired the Grant Committee and served as initial chair of the Impact Assessment Committee. Dorothy led a task force which developed the Strategic Plan in 2005 and served as Co-Chair of the Search Committee. Dorothy has chaired the boards of FareStart, Eastside Mental Health, the United Way of Island County, and Amara Parenting and Adoption Services, in addition to other board memberships. She is currently serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in the King County Family Court.
	Jeannie Nordstrom, a founding member of the Foundation, serves on the Resource Development Committee and co-chaired the 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.
	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 20 years. Gail is involved with the Northwest Development Officers Association and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Gail has served on the Boards of the United Way of King County, North Seattle Community College and the Providence Medical Center Foundation.
	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 (and Grant Committee Chair) of Seattle Foundation; and vice chair of 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 is the founder of the Foundation and served as president from 1995 to 2008. Colleen has been instrumental in inspiring more than a dozen similar women’s philanthropy organizations across the country. In addition to volunteering with organizations as diverse as the Junior League, Planned Parenthood, the Seattle Art Museum, she has chaired the boards of Seattle Children’s Home and United Way of King County. She is also a founder of City Club and has served as a Trustee at Whitman College.
	Alison Oresman Wilson, a founding member of the Foundation, currently serves as chair of the board. Alison joined the board in 2004 and previously chaired both Planning and Membership committees. A journalist and freelance food writer, Alison is writing her third cookbook and also works as a writing and editing consultant. Alison formerly 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.

Directors Emerita include:
Sue Lile Hunter
Faye Sarkowsky

Committees

Committees are a vital part of the leadership of the Foundation.
See our Organizational Chart. 

Board Committees include:

Communication Committee
Pamela McCabe, Chair

Finance Committee
Mary Ann Ekman, Chair
 
Governance Committee
Anne Farrell, Chair 

Inclusiveness Initiative
Raleigh Bowden, Chair

Operational Committees include:

Committee Cabinet
Laura Midgley, Chair

Education Committee
Sarajane Milder, Chair
Kathleen Davis, MD, Vice Chair

Impact Assessment Committee
Diane Carroll, Chair
Cindy Shurtleff, Vice Chair

“Many of the Foundation’s members are recognized leaders in our community who have great financial capacity to give. But instead of being intimidating, Washington Women’s Foundation creates parity because everyone’s $1,000 into the pooled giving fund counts the same. And we all have one vote to choose pooled grant recipients. It’s equality for everyone.”