Postponed – 8th Annual International Women’s Day Mentorship Event

Join YPIN for our 8th Annual International Women’s Day Speed Mentorship event sponsored by Atlas Workbase. Mentees will rotate through mini 15-minute tailored mentorship sessions with the Northwest’s top women leaders.

This event is perfect for early career women seeking to enhance their leadership potential, make a career change, or accelerate their current trajectory. You will be exposed to new businesses, vocations, and opportunities through conversation with mentors and mentees in addition to one-on-one conversations with a handful of mentors selected just for you.

Important note for attendees: 

After your register, please look for emails from YPIN regarding mentor preferences.

Keynote Speaker

Rebekah Bastian is a writer, artist, tech executive, mentor, wife, mother and aerial acrobat. She has held leadership roles including vice president of product and vice president of community and culture at Zillow, and CEO & Co-founder of OwnTrail.

Rebekah built OwnTrail with the goal creating a self-guided mentorship and coaching platform built from a collection of women’s life paths. Through micro acts of mentorship, women can inspire each other and create solidarity around our shared experiences. The result is a powerful tool for understanding the many paths to and from the major milestones in our lives, helping a diverse range of women see people that look like them in places they aspire to, and embracing the fact that there is no one right path. In line with this theme, Rebekah published her first book, Blaze Your Own Trail, in February 2020 with Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Rebekah serves on the Board of Directors of Bellwether Housing and the Advisory Board for the University of Washington School of Mechanical Engineering. She is also an advisor to technology startups, a respected thought leader and community partner. She writes articles in multiple publications including Forbes and is a frequent speaker at conferences and community events. She has been recognized in the Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40, the Inman 33 People Changing the Real Estate Industry and the Female Founders Alliance Champion Awards. Rebekah earned her Masters of Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley and Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington.

About the Mentors 

Karen Aliabadi is the Chief Human Resources Strategist at Delta Dental of Washington. As an expert in organizational strategy, Karen leads collaborative enterprise initiatives to shape the workforce to meet business priorities.

Karen is a Human Resources executive who is passionate about providing companies with the perfect balance of human capital expertise and business acumen. She joined Delta Dental in 2015 after working in Human Resources for many industry-respected companies, including Fisher Communications and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle. With over 20 years of industry experience and strategic insight, she has a solid understanding of people dynamics and builds strong talent management capabilities. Directly prior to starting at DDWA, Karen was the President and owner of the consulting firm, Passio, where she helped clients make sustainable performance improvements through culture.

Karen is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources from the HR Certification Institute. Karen holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Training and Development and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Education from Southern Illinois University. She also completed the Master of Sustainable Business Practices program at Green Mountain College, attaining her MBA while serving as the Vice President of Corporate HR at Fisher Communications.

 

Laurie Alook is a Partner and Pacific Northwest Market Leader at Mercer. Mercer is a global consulting leader that is redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being.

With 15+ years of professional experience, Laurie is a business leader with a proven history of leading through change, engaging people and delivering financial results. She is also an actuary who is passionate about using data to tell a story. And when she’s not on the job, Laurie is a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, volunteer trying to balance it all.

Laurie has lived and worked in the United States and Canada. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and finance from the University of Alberta and is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

 

Maya Babla Appiah leads Microsoft's Inclusive Hiring team, where her vision is to ensure that existing hiring pathways into Microsoft are as equitable and inclusive as possible, expand those pathways, and create new pathways where needed. This team is the hub for programs, partnerships and strategies that help bring diverse talent to Microsoft.

After starting her career in the nonprofit global development sector in Washington, DC, she moved to San Francisco with the goal of mobilizing the immense talent and resources in the tech sector towards social impact goals. While working at LinkedIn, she consulted with Fortune 500 companies on their diversity & inclusion priorities, and served as an advisor to global customers on questions of workforce development, the skills economy and talent trends.

Outside of the office, Maya uses her voice and advocacy to support communities of color. Maya serves on the City of Seattle's Immigrant and Refugee Commission and is helping guide the Seattle expansion of the nonprofit Upwardly Global, an organization that supports immigrants, refugees and asylees to rebuild their professional careers in the US.

Christie Baird is a finance manager at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she supports the strategic and financial planning for a $150M global policy, advocacy and communications portfolio. Prior to the foundation, she worked in analytics and account management at EducationDynamics, an online marketing agency supporting education clients, where she led advertising and scholarship campaigns to help post-secondary institutions attract and enroll more nontraditional and minority students. Christie earned her BA in Business Administration and MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business, where she was the Michael G. Foster Student First Scholar and Delta Gamma Foundation Graduate Fellow. She enjoys spending time with her children, hiking, boating in the San Juan Islands, and Husky football.

Emily Bancroft is responsible for the strategy, oversight, and management of VillageReach programs and global operations, working closely with a global team of more than 200 employees.  A leader in systems change, much of Emily’s work is focused on aligning governments, donors, private sector partners, and NGOs to help scale and sustain innovations. She is recognized for her global leadership in improving supply chains and for developing scalable and replicable digital health solutions in low- and middle-income countries. Prior to joining VillageReach, Emily worked with the International Training and Education Center on Health (I-TECH), Physicians for Human Rights, and NPower, a pioneering social enterprise focused on transforming the way nonprofits use technology to achieve their mission. Emily is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Services at the University of Washington. She holds an MPH from the University of Washington School of Public Health and a BA from Princeton University.

 

Majd Baniodeh Originally from Palestine, Majd Baniodeh has spent much of her career building local and global programs focused on humanitarian efforts, diversity and inclusion, and social impact. Most recently, Majd was part of Starbucks’ Global Social Impact and Public Policy team where she led the company’s refugee hiring initiative in the U.S. In addition to leading partner engagement opportunities, grant giving to refugee agencies, and the internally led- Welcoming Refugees Alliance, Majd managed Starbucks relationships with external U.S. refugee stakeholders to support hiring efforts, promote awareness and build a network influencers. Majd holds an MA and a BA in International Relations.

 

Kipepeo Brown is the Chief Creative Officer for Strategies 360 and their creative agency, The Hilt, a role that integrates her experience in marketing, brand development and management, CRM and CEM, organizational strategy, communications, PR, advertising and community outreach together. Pep has worked for international, national and regional companies and non-profits across diverse B2B and B2C industries. She is a recognized leader of large and small multidisciplinary teams that execute strategic and creative results to drive engagement, thought-leadership and brand loyalty as well as profit and market share growth. With 20 years of experience spanning health care, architecture and design, public affairs and agencies among others, she has mastered the integration of creative services and business goals.

Additionally, Pep is an advocate for diversity in education and has volunteered and served on the boards of several non-profit organizations including The Martinez Foundation and currently, The Technology Access Foundation (TAF). She is a Seattle native with a young son as well as a proud Husky and graduate of the University of Washington with degrees in communications and ethnic studies. As a self-described adrenaline junkie away from work, she enjoys high-speed motorsports and any activity outdoors.

 Dr. Julie Cerenzia is Director of Research and Information Services at global affairs consulting firm Bryant Christie Inc. (BCI) and has spent 25 years working in the public and private sectors to promote and facilitate international trade.

Julie currently leads international market and regulatory research, data analysis, and strategic planning efforts for exporters of food, beverage, and agricultural products. Clients range from global fast food restaurant chains and major food manufacturers to agricultural cooperatives and produce farmers.

Julie previously served in the U.S. International Trade Administration, where she focused on international finance, investment and public-private partnerships, and foreign anti-competitive practices; and earlier managed international tourism promotion for the state of Montana. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins SAIS and holds a PhD from George Mason University.

Carla Costa Sandine is PATH’s chief marketing and communications officer, joining the organization in 2016 to transform PATH’s brand experience and engagement strategy and oversee the institutional marketing and communications.

In 2011, Ms. Sandine founded Highway Twenty, a marketing firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. The agency provided customer research, brand and marketing strategy, design, and digital marketing for a wide range of corporate, nonprofit, government, and political organizations and campaigns. The women-led firm doubled to tripled agency revenue each year in business, and won over 50 new clients before being acquired in fall 2016 by the content marketing firm Casual Astronaut.

Ms. Sandine previously served as Public Affairs Officer for the International Rescue Committee, Phoenix, overseeing marketing and communications for the refugee resettlement agency. She formerly served as outreach coordinator and spokesperson for the IRC’s Anti-Human Trafficking Program and program coordinator. Prior to her tenure with the IRC, Carla ran marketing for a healthcare recruiting firm and was a digital advertising consultant.

Ms. Sandine was named one of Arizona’s top 35 entrepreneurs under 35 in 2013 by the Arizona Republic. She frequently speaks on marketing for social good, diversity in advertising, and entrepreneurship. In 2015, she was named one of the Phoenix Suns & National Bank of Arizona’s Amazing Women. Ms. Sandine has served in board and committee roles with Social Venture Partners, Equality Arizona, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Planned Parenthood, Central Arizona HIV Prevention Advocates, and more.

 

Alison Davis Riddell is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at balena, a technology startup enabling developers to build and deploy IoT applications. She previously held roles in product, marketing, business, and strategy at the company and has helped it scale to a nearly 100 person team with millions of dollars in revenue and hundreds of thousands of IoT devices managed on the platform. Prior to balena, Alison was the Chief of Staff to the CEO and Founder at Impossible Foods, a Bay Area startup transforming the global food system by creating plant-based meat and dairy products, where she led special projects including development of the initial go-to-market strategy. Before transitioning to operating roles in fast-growing companies, Alison started her career in the investment world as an Analyst at the University of Washington Endowment, a $5b+ fund investing across global markets and asset classes.

 

Kayla DeMonte is the Managing Director at Citizen University, a Seattle based non-profit working to build a culture of powerful, responsible citizenship across the US. Kayla leads the team on strategy and execution of a national slate of programs focused on strengthening citizen power and renewing civic practices. Prior to this role, she was Director of Programs & Partnerships at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, where she built and managed a roster of public programs including the Young Professionals Network and Women in Business & Leadership Initiative. Kayla moved to Seattle in 2009 to work for Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, where she fell in love with large scale community events and the craft of celebration. She currently serves as a member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and has held volunteer leadership roles with organizations like The Vera Project and ArtsFund.

 

 Anjali Desai is a senior program officer at Panorama, where she develops stakeholder engagement and advocacy strategies, provides strategic communications for complex global health projects, and leads a team that focuses on outbreak preparedness. Her passion for social impact and justice stems from her upbringing in Zambia.

Most recently, as a program officer for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program at the State Department, she developed and executed community engagement strategies with the Affected Populations, Human Rights, and Community Engagement unit. She co-led the development of a $100 million fund focused on key populations and led processes to improve global, regional, and local community engagement across PEPFAR programs, policies, and country plans. Prior to PEPFAR, Anjali supported two initiatives at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research center.

Anjali holds a Master of Science in Global Health and Development from the University College of London, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and a Certificate in Project Management from the University of Washington. A passport always by her side, Anjali is a keen traveler and has a goal of experiencing 50 countries by age 50 (she’s currently at 38 countries and counting).

Yvonne Eldridge works within Nike, Inc. Global Marketplace Procurement as Senior Manager, leading global efforts in strategy development, tactical execution, contract structuring and negotiations, and cross-functional collaboration that most closely touches the digital and in-store consumer experience.

Yvonne is a WNS – Denali consulting alumni previously based in Bellevue, WA, prior to joining Nike, and worked as Director of Operations for Self Service Networks software. She holds a BA in Public Relations and brings more than 20 years of experience in operations, business development, program and team development, procurement, and vendor management.

 Yvonne finds her balance in triathlon, yoga, and the PNW outdoors, and serves on professional committees for the advancement of culture and community and phenomenal females in the workplace.

Lizzy Ellingson is the Chief Digital Experience Officer at David’s Bridal where she oversees all digital touchpoints, both in-store and online. Prior to this, she was the co-founder and Chief Product and Design Officer of Blueprint Registry, a digital registry and website builder focused on creating a personal; omni-channel shopping experience for millennials during special occasions. Blueprint Registry was acquired by David’s Bridal in 2018.

She has a strong background in user experience design, product management and digital transformation. Prior to Blueprint, Lizzy was CEO of Showman Design, a design consulting agency that worked on a range of digital and brand projects for SME’s and Fortune 500 clients. Prior to Showman Design, she worked at Microsoft’s EXG division, Sagmeister & Walsh and Tether Inc, a full service design agency based in Seattle.

Lizzy graduated from the University of Washington where she received a B.A. in Visual Communication Design and holds a Masters in Design from the School of Visual Arts. In 2014, Lizzy was named Print Magazine’s top 20 designers under 30.

 

Michele Frix is Chief of Staff at Seattle Foundation. She previously worked with the foundation’s key partner on global philanthropy, Seattle International Foundation (SIF). During her seven years with SIF, she launched initiatives and built programs with stakeholders to address poverty and inequality around the globe. She led their grantmaking strategy, overseeing more than $17 million in grants in over 65 countries. Prior to SIF, Michele worked as a Research Analyst for the Technology and Social Change Group at the University of Washington.

Michele is a board member of Splash, an international nonprofit committed to providing clean water for kids across Asia and Africa. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies, with a minor in Human Rights. In 2015, Michele was named an American Express NGen Fellow, and a member of the inaugural class of Henry M. Jackson Leadership Fellows. In 2017 she represented Seattle in the Young American Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

 

Alejandra Gonza is Director of Global Rights Advocacy, a Seattle based non-profit dedicated to use international human rights mechanisms. Formerly, she was the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Washington’s School of Law, where she now teaches Human Rights Advocacy as an Affiliate Professor of Law. An Argentine lawyer, Gonza served as an attorney at the Inter-American Commission and the Inter-American Court, and has litigated before both institutions.  She has published on several topics on human rights, such as freedom of expression, personal liberty, indigenous rights and property rights. She was a visiting scholar at the University of Notre Dame Law School.

 

Claudia Harner-Jay is the Deputy Director of PATH's Market Dynamics program, with 20 years of experience developing markets and creating and overseeing partnerships with private, public, and international organizations to solve global health and agricultural problems. In her current role, she helps oversee a portfolio of projects across child health, maternal health, reproductive health, and WASH; designs, develops and implements health technology market access strategies globally; and provides technical guidance and managerial leadership to project teams. Before joining the Market Dynamics program, Claudia led several initiatives including PATH's Innovation Countdown 2030, $25 million Safe Water Project, and led PATH's collaboration with Merck for Mothers.

Prior to PATH, Claudia worked at Monsanto Company, where she created the company's strategy to enter the smallholder farmer market in Mexico and obtained funding for startup activities; at the Harvard Center for International Development; at Nike; and at UBS Financial Services Company in Zurich, where she earned her Swiss Banking Diploma.

She holds an MBA and an MS in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan, and a BA in International Affairs from the University of Puget Sound. Claudia is fluent in German and Spanish. She has worked in Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil, India, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Cambodia, Panama, Ecuador, Indonesia and South Africa.

 

Stacey Jehlik is the International Affairs Director for the City of Seattle, where she manages relationships with the consular community, oversees the City’s sister cities program, coordinates meetings for inbound international visitors, tracks the City’s international engagement efforts, coordinates activities with local stakeholder organizations, including the Seattle International Affairs Advisory Board, and manages international travel for the Mayor. She speaks Japanese fluently, and spent her early career as a self-employed Japanese-English translator and project manager. Stacey is also the Co-Owner/Operations Manager of Obec Brewing, a craft brewery that opened in Seattle in 2017. She co-founded the nonprofit Center for Czech Education and Culture (2008), studied the Czech language, and supports the work of the Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Claremont McKenna College and an M.A. in International Studies (Japan Studies Program) from the University of Washington.

 

Vanessa Laughlin left a career in management consulting in early 2018 to focus full time on developing Banister Advisors.  Her 15+ year professional background spans a variety of functional areas, including strategy development, implementation planning, business process improvement, product marketing, technology implementations, organizational design, and change management.

Vanessa holds an MBA with distinction from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and a BA in Economics from Tufts University. When she's not building spreadsheets to plot out home improvement plans or volunteer activities, she might very well be found in her sewing room working on a creative project or spending time with her husband, two young sons, and beloved chocolate lab.

 

Catarina Macedo is a Product Manager for Microsoft Xbox, where she focuses on making Xbox a safe and inclusive gaming community where players can find games they love, connect with like-minded individuals and create memories they can share with the world.

She is one of the leads for Women in Gaming, part of Microsoft’s Gaming For Everyone effort. She has participated as a speaker at several tech and women-focused conferences, with the goal of inspiring young women to pursue a career in gaming and supporting and empowering women who are working in the industry. Caterina strives to bring to others what games brought to her: virtual worlds to connect with other people no matter where in the world they are, and build friendships for life. She strives to build platforms and games that have the power to create positive and meaningful impact in people and the world. With a Master in Computer Science, majoring in game development, she joined Microsoft in 2014 in Portugal where she held several different roles before immigrating to the US in 2016 to pursue a role at Xbox.

 

Jennifer Malloy began her work with refugees in Vietnam in 1992 where she taught English to those designated for U.S. and Canadian resettlement. She has worked with refugees and immigrants in Washington State since 1995, where her focus has been on refugee resettlement and English language instruction. She has worked for a variety of agencies including the former Catholic resettlement agency, International Rescue Committee and Literacy Source. She now works as the Administrator for the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA), which is the state agency tasked with the distribution of federal Office of Refugee Resettlement dollars. ORIA has fourteen programs providing an array of services to refugees from employment & training to naturalization.

 

Dena Morris is president of the Washington Global Health Alliance, a membership organization that connects and informs organizations working to improve health equity among the world’s most vulnerable populations. Dena leads WGHA’s strategic and operating plans, builds community across diverse stakeholders, and develops events and conversations to advance common goals, share best practices, and foster collaboration.

As Washington, DC, Director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Dena led CDC’s Congressional engagement during the agency’s response to the Zika virus, the challenge to its opioid prescribing guidelines, and the federal interagency water contamination discovery and response in Flint, MI.

Dena went to CDC from Capitol Hill, where she led the policy team for a senior member of the Senate Leadership. Before joining the Senate, Dena was senior vice president of a DC-based consulting firm, where she chaired the health and disability rights practice team.

 

Roshni Naidu is currently a senior technical product manager in the analytics team within Amazon - the team is central to Amazon and helps evaluate the revenue impact of every single customer action that a customer can take within the Amazon world. In her free time, she has a podcast ("Maverick Millenials") and does stand-up comedy.

 

 

Courtney Nolen-Viducich, M.S. currently works in Tacoma, Washington for Child Care Resources as the Director of Provider Services for King and Pierce Counties. She is responsible for the Provider Services department which includes technical assistance, coaching, and training to child care providers under the Early Achievers program (Washington State’s Quality Rating Improvement System), as well as broader support for the child care population through technical assistance and professional development. In addition to her role at Child Care Resources, she serves as a Professional Development Specialist for the CDA council, is an active board member for the Pierce County Chapter of the Washington Association for the Education of Young Children and the AAS Advisory Committee for Pierce College. Courtney has her master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies, with a specialization in Teaching Adults in Early Childhood from Walden University.

 

Katie Okumura has spent over a decade in the Seattle area using food as a conduit for cultivating conversations and relationships between people and brands. Her passion for meaningful connection over a good meal, cup of coffee, or ice cream cone, has led her to work with many influential brands, including her current role at Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream. As the company’s Director of Marketing and Outside Sales, she's had the good fortune of partnering with other iconic brands such as Theo Chocolate, PCC, Smith Brothers, and many more. When she’s not working, you can find her giving out free advice on the next restaurant you should eat at or a great recipe you should try.

 

Rachel Paris-Lambert joined the World Affairs Council in 2012 and serves as the Director of the International Visitor Program, which advances the mission of the Council by connecting the Greater Seattle community with emerging global leaders through professional and youth exchange programs. In this capacity, Rachel oversees the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), which is the State Department’s premier professional exchange program as well as numerous Global Youth Leadership Programs, Professional Fellowship Programs, and custom exchanges. Rachel cultivates collaborative relationships with local and national partners, provides strategic support to the CEO, and leads the growth and diversification of the Council’s exchange programs.

Prior to joining the World Affairs Council, Rachel worked on professional exchange programs at World Learning in Washington, DC. Rachel gained transformative international experience working for the Fulbright Commission in Bogotá, Colombia as an adviser for Colombian students seeking to study in the United States, and for Semester at Sea, where she coordinated in-country academic programs for the Fall 2008 voyage, which included on the ground programming in Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, India, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Costa Rica. Rachel led several international exchange programs for U.S. high school students in Central America, and spent four years teaching and coordinating environmental education programs and leading wilderness trips for the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine and the Teton Science School in Jackson, Wyoming. She obtained a TESOL certificate from the School for International Education, and subsequently taught English in Colombia and Costa Rica. Ever since studying abroad while in college in Belize with SIT Study Abroad, Rachel has honed her passion for global citizenship and experiential learning. Rachel served as a mentor for the Seattle Girl’s School and volunteers for the Glacier Peak Institute. Rachel received an M.A. in international education from the SIT Graduate Institute and a B.A. in anthropology and biology from Whitman College.

 

Kim Peterson an inspirational speaker, corporate trainer & personal brand & style consultant, Kim Peterson, a 425 Magazine “Woman to Watch”, started her image consultancy, Uniquely Savvy Inc, while homeless 20 years ago. Today, high achievers, emerging leaders, and leaders across various industries work with Kim when they want to increase their confidence, credibility, and success with greater ease.  People need to buy into YOU first before they buy your product, service, ideas, or brand of leadership so the question becomes, “How can you holistically package to S.E.L.L. the brand called you with clarity, authenticity, and personal effectiveness?” The answer is rooted and grounded in the marketing process of authentic personal branding. Kim’s individual clients have included Senior VPs at Microsoft, Boeing, T-Mobile and beyond. Vistage International, Columbia Bank, MCAWW, William Kastner Law, Kimpton Hotels, Amazon, and Boeing are among corporate clients.

 

Julie Pham, PhD is Vice President of Community Engagement at Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). She leads the WTIA Ion Program, a cross-sector collaboration institute. Julie serves on the Seattle Impact Hall board, the Leadership Tomorrow Curriculum Committee, and as the co-chair of the Community Involvement Commission (City of Seattle). She is the winner of 2019 Female Founders Alliance Champion Awards in the Advocate category, a member of the 2018 Harvard Business School's Young American Leaders Program, a 2015 German Marshall Memorial Fellow, and a 2011 Puget Sound Business Journal ’40 under 40’ honoree. She has served on the boards of Social Venture Partners-Seattle, MLK Business Association, and NAAAP-Seattle. She earned her PhD in history at Cambridge University as a Gates Cambridge Scholar and graduated magna cum laude from UC Berkeley, where she studied history.

 

Tamara Power-Drutis provides strategic communications for leaders and organizations with transformative concepts. She is the former Chief of Staff of Amplifier, the visual design lab that flooded the streets with messages of hope during the 2017 Inauguration and Women’s March on Washington. Prior to Amplifier, she served as the Executive Director of Northwest news site Crosscut Public Media, leading a successful merger with PBS member station KCTS9. While at Crosscut, Tamara was named a Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute fellow, conducting applied research on dialogue with news consumers, and leading a team to develop and publish the free online tool Opt-In, which enables stronger and more strategic newsletter engagement. Tamara was an inaugural Henry M. Jackson Foundation Leadership Fellow in 2016-2017. She now serves on the Henry M. Jackson Leadership Council, working to develop thoughtful next generation leaders that foster a bipartisan approach to challenges in the fields of international affairs, human rights, environment and natural resources management, energy, and public service. She previously served as the Communications Coordinator for the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education and began her career as a Research Associate at Ross Strategic. Tamara holds a B.A. in Political Science from Pacific Lutheran University where she conducted applied research as a Sustainability Fellow and served as the Vice President of the Associated Student Body. She is a product of Washington State and a proud card-carrying member of the U.S. National Parks.

 

Adrienne Quinn is a Distinguished Practitioner at the Evans School and teaches Executive Leadership, Managing People in Nonprofit and Public Agencies and Homelessness and Social Justice.

Most recently, Adrienne was Director of King County Department of Community and Human Services where she managed a staff of nearly 500 and a biennial budget of $1.5 billion. Under Adrienne’s leadership, King County adopted and implemented the voter approved Best Starts for Kids, implemented performance based contracting and visual management systems, and integrated the Medicaid mental health system with the substance use disorder system. Her previous professional experience includes serving as Executive Director of the Medina Foundation, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations for Enterprise Community Partners and Director of Seattle’s Office of Housing.

Her professional affiliations and community service have included Locals Executive Committee for the American Public Human Service Association, Planning Commissioner for the Seattle Planning Commission, Housing Development Consortium Board, and Board President for Plymouth Housing Group. Adrienne holds a Juris Doctor degree from Seattle University, a Master of Divinity from Harvard University and a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross.

 

Elizabeth Scallon Award winning leader in the PNW startup ecosystem, Elizabeth Scallon is a scientist, mentor, and 15-year leader in scientific and technological innovation. Previous to WeWork Labs, Elizabeth led the team at CoMotion Labs at the University of Washington coaching and growing the robust bench of NW tech and biotech startups, and helping the University to be best in class for Innovation. An out lesbian from before the L Word pilot episode, Elizabeth has a passion for spotlighting and developing outsider voices, a tendency that aided her biotech startup team at VLST (her title: Head of Ops) grow to 50 employees and $35M in funding.

 

Nicky Smith is the Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee in Seattle, which provides opportunities for refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking, survivors of torture, and other immigrants to thrive in America. She has more than 25 years of progressively responsible professional experience with non-governmental organizations in crisis affected countries; of which 12 years have been spent in a conflict and post conflict setting.

Prior to her role as Executive Director at The IRC in Seattle, Nicky was responsible for establishing and managing new country programs for the IRC. Her areas of expertise include emergency preparedness and response, country-program management, refugee policy and advocacy, and strategy and change planning. Before joining the IRC, Nicky worked for almost 10 years with Doctors Without Borders and Children’s Aid Direct in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan and Nepal, amongst other countries.

Nicky is a member of the Civic Council of the Masters of Arts in Applied International Studies Program at the Jackson School of Business, University of Washington.  She is also a member of the City of Seattle’s Census Taskforce, and the Washington Advisory Committee for the US Global Leadership Coalition.

 

Jennifer Spatz is the Founder and CEO of Global Family Travels, a Bellevue-based company whose mission is to “Learn, Serve and Immerse,” and which offers educational and immersive travel experiences to build cultural bridges and to foster global citizens. She is also Co-Founder of Impact Travel of Greater Seattle, an organization which provides education, advocacy and community-building around sustainable tourism, with the goal of strengthening Greater Seattle’s communities. Prior to founding Global Family Travels, Jennifer spent her career in international development, trade, and finance, including roles at Weyerhaeuser Company as an Export Credit Manager, and International Trade Economist for USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. She holds a double B.A. in International Studies and Anthropology from Bates College, and a M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children in Bellevue.

 

Bettina Stix is Sr. Manager at Disaster Relief by Amazon. Her career at Amazon started in 1999 as a books editor. She led international website teams for both Germany and France, was responsible for Global Policy in Customer Service and the expansion and benefits program for Amazon Prime. In 2017, she started Disaster Relief as part of Amazon’s newly formed Community Engagement team. Disaster Relief by Amazon provides aid through Amazon’s logistics and technology, and allows customers and employees to participate in Disaster Relief.

Bettina is a board member of Farestart, a local Seattle non-profit that transforms homelessness, hunger and poverty into human potential. She has a PhD in Comparative Literature and an MA in History from the University of Stuttgart.

 

Sarah Studer is the Assistant Director at the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business. The Buerk Center offers exceptional curriculum, real-world experiences, and connections to the Seattle entrepreneurial community to inspire students from all majors and disciplines across campus to pursue their entrepreneurial passions. As assistant director, Sarah manages the annual Dempsey Startup Competition (fka the "Business Plan Competition") and the Jones + Foster Accelerator program, which helps early-stage, student-led companies through the decisive first six months of their startup journey.

 Prior to joining the Buerk Center, Sarah was the Managing Director of Seattle Impact Hall (nee Impact Hub Seattle), where she oversaw three main lines of business, including leasing private office space, the individual membership program and event space rentals. In addition, Sarah built partnerships across the community to host signature events with Fledge (the conscious company accelerator) and SOCAP 365, as well as programs focused on the issue of homelessness.

 Sarah believes that voting, volunteering and giving blood are three of the most important actions an individual can take to have a positive impact on their community. She has served as a board member at Seattle City Club (2016-2019), chaired the young professionals group at the Women's Funding Alliance, and served on the board of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy and co-founded EPIP's Seattle chapter.

 

Laurie Taylor joined the World Affairs Council in January 2015 as the Director of External Relations. She is tasked with building strategic partnerships for the council and extending the reach of our platform in this region. Prior to joining the World Affairs Council, Laurie directed Community Relations for Mercy Corps. Seattle is a dynamic global city and the World Affairs Council creates a forum for anyone in our community to engage in conversations around global issues. Laurie has a BA in Public Relations from Washington State University, a Master’s in Education from Seattle University and is an alum of Semester at Sea.

 

Kate Thorson is an Engagement Manager at Camber Collective, a strategy advisory firm focused on health and social impact. She works with nonprofit and foundation clients to guide strategy development, operational and program design, and investment planning. Prior to Camber, she worked in program management for Partners in Health, a global health and social justice nonprofit organization, where she worked to bring innovative community-based healthcare and social programs to underserved rural communities in Rwanda. Kate earned a Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the Foster School of Business at University of Washington, where she was also a START Global Innovation Fellow and a Leadership Fellow at the Center for Leadership and Strategic Thinking. Kate serves on the Board of Directors at Health Alliance International.

 

Erika Trott is a Senior Manager in Supply Chain Operations at T-Mobile, partnering with teams to deliver projects. She went to Western Washington University, majoring in Human Services (Social Work) and worked as a foster care social worker before being laid off in the 2009 recession. Determined to maximize the opportunity, she spent 6 months traveling through South America, learning Spanish and meeting people. She eventually came back to Seattle and started a new career in Supply Chain at T-Mobile and has been there for the last 9 years, working in various positions including Retail Replenishment, Allocation Planning, managing a team in Order Management and now as a Project Manager in Supply Chain Ops.

 

Brenda Tyler (she/her) is a former Peace Corps volunteer with over 10 combined years of experience in the fields of fundraising and international development. With a Masters of Science in Peace Operations (mediation, negotiation, and conflict resolution focused degree), Brenda has researched and written for the International Peace and Security Institute, been a grant writer for international nonprofits and local universities, conducted trainings and presentations on effective donor communication and stewardship, and is a former bakery owner and trained barista. Currently the Manager of Donor Stewardship at Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands (PPGNHI) and Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK), Brenda builds out robust stewardship programs to retain, engage, and educate Planned Parenthood supporters. She encourages you to ask her anything.

 

Laurel Yamaguchi is a Senior Program Strategy Manager at Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company created by Melinda Gates. Laurel supports the Women and Tech Innovation team and leads Pivotal’s work on diversifying pathways into careers in tech.   

Prior to joining Pivotal, Laurel helped to create a new team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to optimize engagement and strengthen mission critical partners. She has served in senior leadership for a range of issues impacting communities of color such as access to post secondary education, HIV prevention and childhood obesity. Laurel earned a BA in Diversity Management at Western Washington University.

 

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