H.M. JACKSON FOUNDATION - Key Persons

Carol's responsibilities include leading the Jackson Leadership Fellows Program and strategic communications. Before joining the Foundation, she was president and founder of the Foundation for Russian-American Economic Cooperation (FRAEC), a nonprofit advancing U.S.-Russia business and community relations. Previously, she had a career as a consultant and public speaker, conducting training courses in marketing, customer service, and sales. She is the author of two books - Marketing Your Service and Professional Selling. She has a B.A. from the University of Washington in Far Eastern and Slavic Studies, with an emphasis on Russia.

Christina McHugh

Christina McHugh (Class of 2023) is the Housing and Adult Services Evaluation Manager at King County's Department of Community and Human Services. As a social science researcher, she is dedicated to undoing inequities and helping communities thrive by improving social programs. In her current role, Christina leads performance measurement and evaluation teams supporting King County's Housing, Homelessness, and Community Development Division and start-up of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, King County's Adult Services Division including implementation of the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy, as well as federally funded COVID-19 response programs including the Eviction Prevention & Rental Assistance Program. She has more than a decade of experience conducting mixed methods evaluations of social programs. Prior to joining King County, she studied cash, food, and child care assistance programs at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. As a consultant with ICF, she led evaluations of workforce development programs funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and various non-profit organizations and foundations. Christina holds a Master of Public Policy and Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Craig Gannett

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors

David Rostov

Job Titles:

Member of the Officers Team
Treasurer / Seattle, WA

Douglas Wagoner

Douglas Wagoner (Class of 2023) served Washington State as Director of Communications for U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02), Deputy Press Secretary/Digital Media Manager for U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Communications Lead for the Washington State Department of Health's Office of Healthy and Safe Communities. Before returning home to Seattle, Douglas also worked as a Field Organizer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and on a campaign to stop a statewide ban on same sex marriage in Minnesota. Today, Douglas lives in West Seattle and serves as Deputy Director of Communications for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and a Commissioner on Seattle's Community Police Commission, roles in which he advances his passion of improving outcomes and decreasing harm in the criminal justice system. In June of 2022, Douglas graduated with a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Washington, and he remains active in his local community, including serving on the Board of Directors of the West Seattle Food Bank.

Gretchen Frankenstein

fo..@hmjackson.org

Job Titles:

FOUNDATION STAFF Member
Office Manager

Prior to joining the Foundation, Gretchen managed facilities utilization for Plymouth Church and implemented operational improvements. Gretchen has extensive experience designing field programs for environmental nonprofits and assisting other small organizations with improvements in finance and operations to enable them to better fulfill their missions. Gretchen also coaches organizations entering the world of grants to help them gain competency with grant seeking and management. Gretchen has a Master's degree from Western Washington University in Marine Ecology and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington Russian and East European Studies.

Joel C. Merkel

Job Titles:

Member of the Officers Team
General Counsel / Seattle, WA

Karla Graue Pratt

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors

Kathryn Terry

te..@hmjackson.org

Job Titles:

Executive Director

Prior to joining the Foundation, Katy worked at King County Parks, serving for ten years as the Deputy Director and Interim Director. Her previous experience included work in the nonprofit and public sectors in programs, donor relations and finance. Katy has joint Master's degrees from the University of Washington in International Studies and Public Affairs, and a B.A. from Columbia University in Russian.

Kiana Scott - President

Job Titles:

Member of the Officers Team
President

Larry Phillips

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors

Linda Mason - VP

Job Titles:

Member of the Officers Team
Vice President

Maria Denny

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors

Maura Sullivan

su..@hmjackson.org

Job Titles:

FOUNDATION STAFF Member
Program Officer

Maura leads the Foundation's grant making, including managing proposal development and the review process. Maura also advances organizational initiatives and priorities. Her previous work experience includes management auditing in county-level government and serving as legislative fiscal staff on the Washington State Senate's Ways & Means Committee. Maura earned joint Master's degrees from the University of Washington in International Studies and Public Affairs, and a B.A. from the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

Michele Frix

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors

Priya Saxena

Job Titles:

Member of the Board of Directors

Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson

Recognized as one of the most successful leaders in American public service, Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson was widely regarded as a master statesman and legislator across his 43 years of service in the U.S. Congress. Historians acknowledge that Jackson was extraordinarily effective as a political leader in his era. Those who worked with the Senator or studied his work continue to view him as someone of great character and dedication, as did his legions of constituents. Born and raised in Everett, Washington, Jackson graduated from the University of Washington with a law degree in 1935. He began practicing law in Everett. Quickly drawn to the lure of public service, Jackson was elected as Snohomish County's prosecuting attorney at the age of 26. In 1940, Jackson was elected to represent Washington's 2 nd District in the U.S. Congress. His Congressional work was briefly interrupted when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War II. Returning to the House of Representatives, he played an influential role on issues including public lands, reclamation, and hydroelectric power development. In 1945, Congressman Jackson visited Buchenwald a few days after the death camp was liberated, an event that deeply affected his views on freedom and human rights. He was one of the first American politicians to emphasize the significance of human rights in international relations, culminating in the passage of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the 1974 Trade Act. He also helped unify American foreign policy by identifying international communism as a political and ethical threat in the modern world. Jackson served as the 2nd District's Representative until 1952, when he successfully challenged Harry P. Cain for his seat in the U.S. Senate. He then served for more than 30 years in the U.S. Senate. Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson represented Washington State in the United States Senate for over 30 years, and is still considered one of the most effective and capable legislators of the past century. For him there was no higher calling than public service, and he worked tirelessly to develop and pass legislation especially in the areas of the environment, energy, national security, and human rights. Understanding the need for consensus and bipartisanship, Senator Jackson built effective, bipartisan coalitions to support and pass some of the most important pieces of legislation that are still with us today, including the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), Wilderness Act, Youth Conservation Corps Act, and the Jackson-Vanik Amendment (which led to the current Global Magnitsky Act). Senator Jackson also understood the need for educated, informed, compassionate leaders. He never tired of encouraging those who worked for him to enter public life and run for office. He understood the connection between academic knowledge and policy making, and the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington is named in his honor and in remembrance of his emphasis on creating policies based on the most current factual information rather than emotions and perceptions. Upon Senator Jackson's death in 1983, The Henry M. Jackson Foundation was founded to continue Senator Jackson's unfinished work in the areas in which he played a key leadership role. Our work is guided today by Senator Jackson's skills as a leader, including integrity, civility, and fact-based decision making, as we develop and support leaders and organizations that tackle some of the toughest problems that humanity faces.

Tom Bugert - VP

Job Titles:

Member of the Officers Team
Vice President