PHILANTHROPY NORTHWEST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Bristol Bay Native Corporation Education Foundation
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Marketing & Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Vice Chair of Programs
Job Titles:
- Community Leader
- Member of the Board
Job Titles:
- Director, Grantmaking, EPA Thriving Communities Program
Danielle relocated to Seattle after living in Boston, where she worked at the Boston Public Schools as deputy chief of staff. While there, she was involved in leveraging community and private partnerships to improve educational outcomes and expand educational opportunities for Boston Public School's students. Danielle has significant experience in the private and nonprofit sector, and thrives in diverse environments. She enjoys getting to know people, particularly those who are also working to improve communities through thoughtful decision-making and collective impact, and loves getting to know our members and learning more about the Pacific Northwest.
Danielle has a master's degree in higher education administration with a focus on philanthropy, advancement and development from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Danielle lives in Seattle with her husband, Jeff, and their two children.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Executive Officer, Philanthropy Northwest and the Giving Practice
Jill comes to Philanthropy Northwest and The Giving Practice with more than two decades of leadership in the philanthropic and public sectors. She is energized by bringing people, resources and great ideas together to build greater racial and economic equity and is eager to partner with our members and clients to actualize a more just future for our northwest communities.
Prior to her role as CEO of Philanthropy Northwest and The Giving Practice, Jill served in various leadership capacities at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, most recently as the director of strategy, planning & management and chief of staff for the U.S. Program. As a local government leader, she served as the director of the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development. Jill previously established her own independent consultancy for philanthropic, nonprofit and government clients; and was a management consultant with Deloitte in their public sector practice.
Jill is a fourth-generation Japanese-American and Seattleite, raising a teen, tween and pandemic puppy alongside her husband. She recently hung up her running shoes for a pickleball racquet. Passionate about sharing the stories of the Asian American experience, she serves as board co-president for the Wing Luke Museum.
Jill received a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound, where she is trustee emeritus.
JulieAnne is a lifelong Washingtonian with a deep commitment to philanthropy and nonprofit work as agents of impact and social change in the Northwest. As a Senior Program Manager for The Learning Network, JulieAnne's role is focused on convening funder tables, leading skill-building trainings for grantmakers and project management for the Philanthropy Northwest Annual Conference. JulieAnne brings experience in facilitation, workshop design, grantmaking and community-based philanthropy initiatives.
Prior to joining Philanthropy Northwest, JulieAnne was with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for five years working as both a grant manager and a grantmaker on global vaccine and U.S. education initiatives. She has a background in nonprofit work focused on civic engagement, voter education and outreach, campus organizing and policy advocacy for college access and affordability. JulieAnne holds a certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Washington and a bachelor's degree in political science and diversity in higher education from Western Washington University. JulieAnne lives in White Salmon, WA with her husband and enjoys exploring her home in the Columbia River Gorge. She also loves veggie gardening, especially growing tiny tomatoes and giant zucchini.
Job Titles:
- Associate, Marketing and Communications
Growing up in a family whose work has primarily been done in the nonprofit sector, Karalyn has always had a passion to use her skills to help small communities prosper. At Philanthropy Northwest, Karalyn manages social media strategy, website updates and marketing campaigns to further implement Philanthropy Northwest's mission. She is passionate about the power of social media and the creativity that coincides with the platforms. If you have questions about social media strategy, Karalyn is your go-to gal.
Karalyn holds a bachelor's degree in media and communications from the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington. Karalyn is a part of the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) and LGBTQI+ community. Karalyn lives south of Portland, Oregon with her fiancé, two cats, a dog and a tortoise.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Karen is a professional storyteller with more than fifteen years of experience developing and leading marketing, communications and public relations campaigns. She is passionate about nurturing a storytelling culture in the organization and sharing our network's impact through digital media.
Karen came to Philanthropy Northwest from the City of Seattle where she worked as a communications advisor at the Department of Transportation. Originally from Baltimore, she's lived in Seattle for 19 years and also worked previously at the YMCA of Greater Seattle as the director of strategic communications and public relations. Her work with Philanthropy Northwest includes communications and content strategy, brand management, social media marketing and media relations.
She developed a passion for the outdoors during an Outward Bound semester course while in her senior year at Washington College, and became a full-time Outward Bound instructor following graduation. The natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest is one of the things that motivated her to stay in the Seattle-area and she often spends her weekends hiking, camping or snowshoeing. She's also an enthusiastic Orioles baseball fan and is happy to spot more and more O's hats popping up in Seattle.
Prior to that Lalitha spent 11 years as Managing Director at the social impact consulting firm, FSG. In her time there, she led the San Francisco and India offices, US Health and Corporate Shared Value practices and co-authored publications on shared measurement, shared value and corporate equity. She led dozens of client engagements in strategy, corporate philanthropy, CSR, shared value, evaluation/learning and collective impact. Her corporate clients included Intuit, Medtronic, UnitedHealth Group, Eli Lilly, Symantec, VmWare and Cisco.
Prior to joining FSG, Lalitha spent five years in nonprofit management. Lalitha started her consulting career with McKinsey & Company and subsequently co-founded and ran a venture-backed technology startup in San Francisco.
Lalitha holds a Master's in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Cambridge University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee
- Member of the Board
- Vice Chair of Board Operations
Lisa's most strident work in this area is through convening people in efficient learning communities, where she curates their conversations and skill-building around philanthropic strategies with a racial equity lens. Through her consulting, Lisa focuses on the development and implementation of programs and initiatives that encourage better relationships between institutions and communities, particularly those communities that are under-resourced.
Lisa earned a bachelor's degree in English modified with Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Dartmouth College, a master's degree of arts and a master's degree of philosophy in American Studies from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. Married and the parent of one child, Lisa lives in metropolitan Chicago.
Born and raised in Yakima, Luke came to Seattle to attend the University of Washington and never left. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics, he worked for the finance and cash management division of Nordstrom, then in the finance office for the Daybreak Star Cultural Center for the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation and other small nonprofit organizations.
Luke brings his knowledge and experiences to Philanthropy Northwest's finance team and learning network. When he is not at work, he spends his time at his community garden. If he can get out of town, he enjoys hiking, fishing and looking for fossils on the Washington peninsula, Oregon coast and eastern Montana. In 2016, he helped discover the Tufts-Love Rex, a Tyrannosaurus rex skull that is displayed at the Burke Museum in Seattle.
Job Titles:
- Director, Community Partnerships, EPA Thriving Communities Program
Taking an outside-in approach, Lyn focuses on catalyzing collective action through networks. Her current portfolio of work includes co-managing Building Community Philanthropy, an $8 million-dollar, multi-year grant from the Gates Foundation, and sleuthing the role of philanthropy during the COVID-19 pandemic by co-directing the Washington Equity Relief Fund for Nonprofits which re-distributed $12 million of CARES Act funding to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities on behalf of the Washington State Department of Commerce. She is the architect of the Regional Community Foundation Network, the Rural Funder Series and Cohort, and the Tribal Broadband Learning Community. She is also working on building a movement of anti-hate funding in the Northwest. In addition to this, Lyn staffs the executive committee and nominating and governance committee of Philanthropy Northwest's board of directors.
Before joining Philanthropy Northwest in 2006, Lyn was a development officer at the United Way of King County. Prior to that, she worked at a wireless software start-up company and in the legal field. Lyn is currently a board member of the Seattle Parks Foundation, a network of community leaders and public partners working together to make public spaces happen. She is also a volunteer Girl Scout troop leader. Lyn is a former board member of a network of early learning centers called Sound Child Care Solutions, a former board member of Conflict Resolution Institute and a former chapter co-chair of the Seattle Puget-Sound Chapter of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP). She is a graduate of Council on Foundation's Career Pathways, a national leadership development cohort, and she received her bachelor's degree from Lewis and Clark College.
Job Titles:
- Board Member for Mountain Pacific Bank and for the Whitehorse Foundation
Maddy knows the value that community foundations play in supporting their local communities and is very happy to lead our Regional Community Foundation Network efforts. In her role, Maddy supports community foundations by providing them with learning opportunities, spaces for information sharing and opportunities for them to engage in shared action.
Prior to this work, she was president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Snohomish County from 2005 to 2019. Before that, she spent 12 years as an executive director of two nonprofit organizations in Snohomish County.
Maddy is currently a board member for Mountain Pacific Bank and for the Whitehorse Foundation. In the past, she was also a board member for Everett Housing Authority, the board president for the Snohomish County Estate Planning Council, the president of the Everett Rotary Club, a board member for Leadership Snohomish County and a member of the City of Everett visioning committee.
Maddy was born and raised in Everett and has a bachelor's degree in organizational behavior from Stanford University. In her free time, Maddy loves to travel with her husband and daughter. She also loves to paddleboard, golf, hike and garden.
Job Titles:
- Analyst, Public Policy and Research
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Programs
Born and raised in Seattle, Mares graduated from Whitman College with a bachelor's degree in French and economics. Mares has managed social media platforms to build support for marginalized communities, particularly low-income and homeless populations in Walla Walla, Washington. In the years since graduating, she's primarily worked in youth development in South Seattle. Her previous work experience includes running a youth program with Refugee Women's Alliance, supervising a youth internship program with Seattle Housing Authority for a pavement to parks project and analyzing higher education policy at Economic Opportunity Institute. Her broad experience with nonprofits also includes grant writing, fundraising and participating in United Way's board training program, Project LEAD.
Mares is passionate about building grassroots power and supporting marginalized communities. In her time outside of work, she enjoys reading, finding new places to eat and living in peace with her cat.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff and Vice President, Government Engagement
Guided by a passion for advancing opportunity, equity and inclusion for all communities, Meredith connects with and collaborates across Philanthropy Northwest's broad network to strengthen the sector's leadership and advocacy work on public policy issues. She also provides strategic leadership across the enterprise in support of the CEO.
A fourth-generation Seattleite, Meredith brings nearly 15 years of experience in public policy, legal advocacy, cross-sector coalition-building and engagement with diverse communities. Meredith began her career in Washington, DC, as an attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, a national civil rights organization. She also helped lead policy initiatives for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. After returning to the Northwest, Meredith was a partner with the VENG Group, a Washington, DC-based public affairs firm, working with nonprofits and civic leaders around communications and advocacy strategies. Meredith holds a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and law degree from the University of Washington. She is admitted to practice in Washington and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Meredith enjoys spending free time traversing old haunts and discovering new places, especially coffee shops, in the many Seattle-area neighborhoods she considers home. She is also an avid local sports fan and loves the connection that brings with so many different people across the region.
Job Titles:
- Manager, Office and Operations
Michael learned the importance of teamwork and perseverance through participating in sports. Customer service was instilled in him when he worked at Franklin Templeton Investments and it has proven to be an important part of his success in the subsequent jobs he has held. These attributes, skills and experience are what he brings to Philanthropy Northwest in his role as manager of office and operations. Michael works on helping our staff work efficiently by ensuring that they have the proper tools to perform their tasks. If someone in Philanthropy Northwest needs IT support, tools for a project or something else of this nature, Michael is their go-to person.
Michael has an associate degree in computer technology and has years of experience in managing employees and offices. Although this is his first time working at a nonprofit organization, he is excited to help support the organization's mission of building resilient, equitable and inclusive communities in the Pacific Northwest. He lives in King County with his wife and two sons, and his daughter lives in California and visits them several times a year.
Michaela is a deeply curious, overthinking, heart-in-hand lover of people and history. Her background in collective impact organizing and commitment to advancing a world where everyone belongs has led her to serve in many community capacities focused on advancing individual and collective learning around diversity, equity and leadership. This includes her role as the director of community learning for Excelerate Success, an education equity partnership, and in her roles as an equity and leadership facilitator. Michaela holds a bachelor's degree in history and leadership studies from Gonzaga University and a master's in administrative and nonprofit leadership from Whitworth University. Her formal education combined with her passion for capacity building, identity development and community healing guides her career journey as she grows with and cheers on change makers across the Northwest.
As a multi-racial woman, Michaela finds power in the ability to hold the complexities of our interconnected lives. Michaela lives in Spokane, WA and loves to spend time with her extended family across Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, leaning on the truth of her grandmother's favorite saying "we live in such a beautiful part of the world," Michaela loves to experience every bit of our region's beauty!
Job Titles:
- Manager, Marketing and Communications
Raised in the Greater Seattle area, Mika is proud to call the Pacific Northwest her home. As Marketing and Communications Manager, Mika's work includes developing and implementing marketing and communications strategies that advance our work in the Northwest region. Specifically, she manages our email marketing and social media, and helps maintain our website, develop publications and generally support our marketing and communications department. She is passionate about sharing diverse perspectives and stories and is always eager to learn more about the philanthropic sector.
Mika graduated from Chapman University in 2019, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and entrepreneurship and a minor in women's studies. Her previous experiences include working for a housing authority based in King County and a women's foundation focused on giving in Washington state.
Mika lives in Ballard and in her free time she likes to try different restaurants and cafes, attend Seattle sporting events, go to concerts and explore new places.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Public Policy Committee
- Member of the Board
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Program Strategies
Nancy began her nonprofit career at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which ignited her passion for working in the nonprofit sector. Her subsequent professional moves took her to Washington, D.C., Miami and Atlanta where she built her career focusing on programming and capacity building for youth-serving nonprofits. While she has managed federal programs, developed statewide initiatives and facilitated workshops, a favorite aspect of her work is building relationships. Nancy gets energized by meeting new people, listening to their challenges and helping them find solutions that both honor where they are and help them expand their experiences.
Though Nancy is originally a New Yorker, her parents are from the Caribbean island of Haiti. Immediately after graduating from college she spent six months working there to learn more about her family's culture and about living in a developing country. That proved to be an enlightening immersion experience, with lessons that carry over to her work today.
Nancy is a graduate of Georgia State University and received a master's degree in international development education from Florida International University. As transplants from Atlanta, Georgia, Nancy, her husband Rick and daughter Madison are enjoying exploring the Pacific Northwest!
Job Titles:
- Specialist, Salesforce and Knowledge Management
Rachel is an enthusiastic Salesforce professional. She is a creative problem-solver at heart and has a passion for building solutions that provide value to both the users and the organization as a whole. Rachel has ten years of experience delivering business process solutions for teams in the areas of sales, marketing, customer service, finance and nonprofit. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in entrepreneurship and three Salesforce certifications.
From a young age, Rachel has had a passion for helping others thrive in her community and has worked with various organizations that serve historically under-resourced youth and individuals experiencing homelessness. She has always been interested in the philanthropic sector and mobilizing funds to the folks who need them the most. Rachel lives near Vancouver, Washington with her husband, three children and two dogs. She enjoys working on creative projects at home, audiobooks, live music and exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her family. Reach out to Rachel for questions related to your website account, the job bank or Salesforce.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President People, Operations and Finance
Rachel Jackson is the vice president, people, finance and operations. In partnership with the CEO and Leadership Team, she is focused on advancing organizational and operational excellence through values-aligned systems and processes, including sound financial management and equity-centered people management. She brings 20 years of experience working in operational strategy, grants management and philanthropy. Prior to joining Philanthropy Northwest, she served as director of operations with the Science Philanthropy Alliance, a national PSO. Her previous work includes over a decade based in Botswana managing strategy, grants, resource mobilization and providing technical assistance consulting for a public health agency serving Southern Africa. Rachel also worked with the HIV and Infectious Diseases teams at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, coordinating grant processes for HIV-related projects and working closely with BMGF's India and China offices.
Rachel was raised in Tacoma, WA and did her undergraduate studies at Tacoma Community College and Seattle University. She received her MBA from the University of Cape Town with an emphasis on social innovation. Rachel is active in her church, Pentecostal Covenant Church, and enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with her daughter.
Job Titles:
- Executive in Residence, Public Policy and Advocacy
Remy was the founding executive director of the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, a think-tank that works to bring about shared prosperity for all Washingtonians, an organization that he led and grew into a national model. Remy's previous experience includes a variety of lobbying, policy analysis and research leadership positions with large nonprofits at the local, state and national levels. Remy kicked off his career as a VISTA in northern Florida and then as a Mickey Leland Hunger Fellow through the Congressional Hunger Center.
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Support Specialist
Job Titles:
- Manager, Programs and Membership