|
|
- Info
PEPS Board of Directors
- Melanie Arena is the proud mother of one young daughter. She participated in a daytime PEPS group that still gets together frequently, including monthly happy hours! Melanie works in wealth management at Brighton Jones, in the charming & historic Smith Tower. She received a BS in Accounting from Seattle University and holds her CFP® designation. Melanie & her husband live on Beacon Hill and enjoy exploring the South Seattle parks & restaurants.
- John Barnhardt (Board President) is Director of Network Strategy at GCI, an Alaska-based telecommunications company. At GCI, John is focused on developing specialized Internet and telecommunications services for education, healthcare and rural markets. He received his MBA from the University of Washington and his BS from Gonzaga University, and spent two years in the Peace Corps working on peer-based micro-lending programs. John's involvement with PEPS grew out of a lifelong commitment to education and peer-supported advocacy, along with a wonderful personal PEPS group experience. He lives with his wife and son in the beautiful Ballard area of Seattle.
- Colin Brissey
- James Drage works for Microsoft writing software for Windows phones. He hardly ever talks on his own phone, but uses it to do pretty much everything else. James has a Bachelor of Mathematics in Computer Science and Combinatorics and Optimization (which is a fancy way of saying “counting things”) from the University of Waterloo. He is happily married to his amazing wife, and together they have a daughter who “is a ray of sunshine.” Both his wife and daughter are full of astute observations, goofy songs, suggestions (from his wife), demands (from his daughter), and empathy. James enjoys activities that involve some form of improvisation: playing music, making video art, snowboarding, cooking. James joined the PEPS Board in an effort to support and contribute to the PEPS mission.
- Nicole Ferrer
- Stacey Fitzpatrick is the mother of two young boys. She participated in PEPS with her first child and continues to meet regularly with her PEPS group. In addition to being a mom, Stacey is a part-time attorney at Foster Pepper PLLC and also owns a photography business, Stacey Fitzpatrick Photography, LLC, which specializes in photos of children and families. Stacey received her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and her law degree from the University of Washington.
- Alicechandra Fritz is the mother of one young child. She and her husband participated in an evening PEPS group that has continued to meet biweekly and has been a source of support and friendship. Alicechandra co-led one PEPS group prior to joining the board. Alicechandra's professional experience is in health care; she recently served as Vice President of Regional Health Plans for Health Net and currently is a Senior Manager with Deloitte Consulting LLP. She received a BA in European Studies from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA from the University of Washington and continues to fundraise for both institutions.
- Adrianne Keffeler is the mother of two young children. She participated in PEPS groups with both kids, where friendships have continued to flourish over the years. She has also co-led three PEPS groups (with friends from her own groups). Adrianne is also an active partner at Social Venture Partners and continues to extend her interest in Microfinance through Unitus. Professionally, Adrianne holds a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Education and is a state certificated School Counselor. She has been employed by the Bellevue School District for over 10 years and is currently on leave while pursing other interests.
- Matt LaMotte (Secretary) works for Cushman & Wakefield as a Commercial Real Estate Appraiser. He is also an attorney who has served on the Strategic Planning Committee for the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association, as well as the St. Benedict School Commission. Matt has two young children and has participated in a PEPS Group. He holds a BA from Gonzaga University and a JD from Seattle University. Matt decided to give back to PEPS after attending a couples group following the birth of his son.
- Chris Lodwig is the proud father of a daring, curious, and precocious daughter. His family has been meeting with their original PEPS group twice a month since 2007. Chris joined the PEPS board in 2011, to give back to an organization that brought so much support, friendship, and joy to his life. Chris is a Technical Program Manager at Expedia.com, where he focuses on systems design, and improving organizational efficiency. He was a founding member of the Seattle Outsider Artist Project, which was responsible for several public art installations. He received degrees in both Communications and Comparative History of Ideas from the University of Washington.
- Sarah Makar led Marketing and Brand Management for Expedia and is currently a marketing consultant and occasional landscape designer. She also volunteers regularly as a Seattle-area Master Gardener. Sarah has a young daughter, and participated in a PEPS Group that continues to meet weekly.
- Sara Manning is a senior associate at Point B, Inc., a management consulting firm. She specializes in implementing information technology solutions to critical business problems. She holds a BA from the American University in Washington, DC and an MBA from the University of Washington. She was a member of a PEPS group after the birth of her first child, and she remembers being so relieved that she wasn't the only new mother who felt completely clueless! She was raised in the Sammamish area and now lives just blocks from her childhood home with her husband and their two children. The whole family, including very active grandparents, enjoys taking part in outdoor activities such as cycling, swimming and hiking. In what little spare time she has left, Sara enjoys losing herself in a good book and has made it to almost every monthly meeting of her book club for the past 12 years.
- Shelley Prosise works for an Institutional Review Board as the Manager of Participant Safety, ensuring that research performed on human subjects is safe and ethical. She received a bachelor's of science in Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she has extensive experience working for nonprofit organizations supporting children and families. Shelley joined a PEPS group with her husband when her first daughter was born. PEPS quickly became a very important part of her life, especially 17 months later when her second daughter arrived. Since then Shelley's PEPS group has become a family away from home, and her frequent PEPS meetings are something her whole family looks forward too. Prior to joining the PEPS Board, Shelley facilitated PEPS orientations for almost two years, was a volunteer on the PEPS events committee, and Newborn group leader. Her interests include making jewelry, rock climbing, attending Zumba classes, and chaperoning children's birthday parties.
- Dan Raymond (Board Treasurer) is the Treasurer and CFO for Gary Merlino Construction Co., and has been with the Seattle-based company for over 15 years. Dan received his B.A. in Accounting from Shippensburg University and is also a CPA. He served as a Board member for the Puget Sound Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association for four years, including one year as president. Dan and his wife live in Wallingford and have two daughters. They are still active with the PEPS group they joined in 2002.
- Lexy Relph
- Carolyn Sherman practices Internal and Pediatric Medicine at Providence Physicians Group's Harbour Pointe Clinic in Mukilteo. She has special interests in female and adolescent medicine and mental health issues. Carolyn and her husband live in Seattle and joined a PEPS Group in 2004 after the birth of their first daughter.
- Vicki Smolke is a parent education and early childhood teacher education instructor at Bellevue College since 1991. She also teaches parenting classes for the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island. Prior to starting her own family she was a special education teacher. She and her husband have two sons. She was a participant in the founding year of PEPS with her first son and continued her connection with PEPS as a volunteer leader and as a parent in the first second time parent group with her second son.
- Samantha Steinwinder is Managing Director of Concept Communications, a boutique public relations agency she founded in 1999. Samantha has spent nearly two decades running PR campaigns for both established companies such as Microsoft and Intuit, and start-ups, whose visibility has helped lead to successful IPOs, acquisitions, and long-term growth. She graduated Cum Laude from Menlo College and has two young daughters, whose PEPS groups still meet and play regularly. She and her husband spend their free time watching or playing nearly possible every sport with their family.
- Christina Stewart is an NCIDQ certified professional Interior Designer, specializing in healthcare, hospitality and corporate projects. She is also the founder and co-chair of the design industry fundraising event Product Runway. In addition to her Interior Design accreditation, she also holds a degree in Political Science and Economics from Western Washington University. A proud wife and mom, Christina, her husband and their young daughter still meet regularly with their PEPS group, crediting them with a much-needed weekly sanity check.
- Katie Thompson a Seattle Native, is a partner at Trilogy Partnership, a Bellevue-based firm focused on investing in early stage technology companies. She joined PEPS as a first-time mother in 2005 and she and her husband now have two children. Nearly six years later, Katie’s PEPS Group still gets together. Having fund immeasurable benefits from this group of women, Katie was inspired to join the PEPS Board to ensure that others could have a similar experience. Katie enjoys great family adventures, kids who sleep through the night, and sunny Seattle days.
- Karianna Wilson is the mother of two amazing young children, a son and daughter. She had a wonderful experience with PEPS after the birth of her son in 2006 and joined the Board in 2010. In her spare time, she is the Chief Operating Officer of Northwest Physicians Network, an association of 450 independent physicians. She received both her B.S. in Psychology and her MHA from the University of Washington. She and her husband live in Edmonds.
|
