Thomas Bates is the Vice President for Civic Engagement at Rock the Vote, where he leads voter registration and education, issue advocacy, and research efforts for the nation’s largest nonpartisan voter registration and engagement organization. Prior to joining Rock the Vote, Thomas was the cofounder and executive director of Democrats Work, a national organization that connected grassroots Democrats with community service projects and built a service-based approach to politics. He has worked on Capitol Hill as a top aide to a Member of Congress, practiced law as a litigator at Cooley LLP, and served as a senior advisor on the reelection campaign of Governor Chris Gregoire. He is a graduate of Duke University and the New York University School of Law and currently serves as Commissioner on the Washington State Commission on National and Community Service. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Courtney Noble, and their son, Clive.
Jon Clarke is a Senior Loan Officer with the Enterprise Community Loan Fund, which provides financing for affordable housing and community facilities. Jon previously served as a Senior Program Officer with Impact Capital and as a housing developer for Beacon Development Group, where he managed the development of multiple affordable housing projects for nonprofit and Housing Authority clients throughout Washington State. He also worked as an analyst for the Tax Credit Division of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Jon has a B.A. in Economics from Holy Cross, and an M.S. in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin.
Leslee Currie joined the Solid Ground Board of Directors in 2008 after retiring in 2007 from a long career devoted to advocating for and supporting adults with developmental disabilities to live successful and meaningful lives in community-based independent living. A cofounder in 1982 of the Western Washington-based Creative Living Services (CLS), as Executive Director, Leslee led CLS in creating a well-respected model program for supporting adults with disabilities to build lives in communities, rather than living in institutions. Over the years, Leslee served on many state and national boards, provider associations and task forces, which helped steer policy, funding and human rights issues for people living with disabilities. Leslee was honored to receive a variety of leadership and achievement awards over the years in recognition of her commitment to improving the lives of persons with developmental disabilities and their families in our state. Leslee is a graduate of the University of Washington. She currently does consulting work in the field of disabilities and facilitates support networks for people with disabilities with a nonprofit organization called LifeSPAN.
Antoinette Davis is Managing Member at Davis Khan PLLC. She practices in the field of bankruptcy and consumer rights litigation. Before starting the firm, Antoinette worked at a bankruptcy boutique. She has also served as Judicial Clerk to Washington State Supreme Court Justice Tom Chamber, in-house counsel for a publicly traded corporation, and VP of Human Resources for a publicly traded technology company, where she was responsible for building the human resources department from the ground up and managed all aspects of human relations and people services. Antoinette co-authored the Washington State Bar Association Civil Procedure Deskbook, Chapter 16, Rule 16: Pre-trial Procedure and Formulating Issues (2002, 2007) and a manual for the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission titled Building a Diverse Court: A Guide to Recruitment and Retention. Antoinette serves as a member of the Washington State Association for Justice Diversity Committee and is on the Board of Directors for CENTS (Consumer Education and Training Services). In addition, she volunteers for the Home Foreclosure Legal Aid Project and is a member of a number of professional associations, including the National Association of Consumer Advocates and National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. Antoinette is a recipient of Washington Law & Politics Rising Star and the King County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s 2010 Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award. In her spare time, Antoinette loves to spend time with her wonder-dog Bear and also enjoys cooking for and entertaining friends and family.
Alain Dias
is Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Ascentium Corporation, one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies in North America. A member of the Ascentium executive team and Board of Directors since 2006, Alain has held several senior positions including responsibilities for sales and marketing, merger and acquisitions, strategic alliances, and corporate development. A widely read authority on the subject of business transformation and coauthor of seminal industry text Technology Strategy: Pure & Simple, Alain has assisted companies and government agencies worldwide in reinventing themselves through technology. Before Ascentium, Alain was a senior director at Interlink Group, where he helped clients such as Microsoft, Alyeska Pipeline, and Bonneville Power Administration identify emerging market trends and strategic technology opportunities. Prior, Alain was a partner with DPI Worldwide, a management consulting firm, leading the firm’s global technology practice and helping Fortune 500 companies such as 3M, Caterpillar, and FedEx align technology with business strategy. Alain is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Nathan Garnett joined the Solid Ground Board of Directors in 2011. His previous nonprofit experience includes service on the Board of the Unemployment Law Project, a legal aid organization that advocates for recently unemployed workers, where he served terms as Board Chair and Board Secretary. He also sat on the Board of the West Seattle Food Bank, where he served terms as Board Vice President and Board Secretary. In addition to board service, Nathan has volunteered in food distribution at the West Seattle Food Bank, as a pro bono legal advocate at the Unemployment Law Project, and as a pro bono legal counselor at the WashingtonCASH low-income entrepreneurial clinic. He is currently Associate General Counsel of InfoSpace, Inc., where he focuses on business and technology law. He previously worked as an associate at Perkins Coie LLP and as Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at drugstore.com, inc. Nathan has a B.A. in History from the University of Washington and a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
Nellie Johnson received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in 1987, and has lived and worked in the Pacific Northwest most of her life. She has worked in the Aerospace Industry, Niche Marketing, Publishing, Education, Retail, Cellular Technology, and Insurance, and she currently works for Grubb & Ellis Management Services. She is responsible for the management of a small team, and procurement and vendor contract negotiations in support of servicing and managing properties, including over 10 million square feet for Microsoft Corporation in the United States, Europe and China. Special interests include Ancient Chinese History, Geography and Creatures of our planet, Literature, Race Relations, and pumping up the volume to be a better volunteer and Board member.
Cristin Kent is an attorney at Yarmuth Wilsdon Calfo PLLC. Her practice focuses on civil litigation in a variety of legal areas, including employment, contract and business disputes. Prior to joining Yarmuth, Cristin was an attorney in the labor and employment group at K&L Gates LLP. Cristin has devoted much of her practice to pro bono work, including providing advice to nonprofit organizations, representing an individual seeking asylum, and representing individuals seeking redress for discriminatory treatment. She was named Volunteer of the Month by the King County Bar Association in January 2009 for her representation of a low-income mother in a child support modification.
Ryan Keyser joined the Solid Ground Board in 2008. Ryan works in the internal audit function at Starbucks Coffee Company and is involved with compliance as well as operational audits. Prior to joining Starbucks, Ryan worked for the public accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. He has also been involved with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, a free service for income tax filing help for low-income individuals and households. A native of Seattle, Washington, he earned his Bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University in Accounting with a minor in Philosophy.
Robert Lee is a Project Engineer with the City of Auburn where he manages capital improvements in the transportation, storm drainage, water and sanitary sewer disciplines. Robert has spent his entire professional career in the public sector where he has worked in various engineering capacities at Washington State Department of Transportation, King County and the City of Seattle. During his career, Robert has been an advocate for increasing Women and Minority Business access to public contracting. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Washington and is a Board Director for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Zeta Pi Lambda Graduate Chapter.
Lauren McGowan is the Associate Director of Ending Homelessness at United Way of King County in Seattle, Washington. She began her career at United Way as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2004 and was later hired to manage the Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign. Lauren has had the opportunity to lead United Way’s Asset Building Programs and the investment of $10 million in Housing and Homelessness grants. Most recently she led the development of United Way’s Response to Basic Needs, a strategic response to the economic downturn. Lauren joined the Solid Ground Board in 2006 and recently joined the Board of Community Voice Mail National. She participated in the 2010 Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute and was a 2009 Institute for a Democratic Future fellow. Prior to joining United Way, Lauren worked in Boston on advocacy efforts with the Immigrant and Refugee Community and statewide political campaigns.
Janel Ostrem earned a Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Sciences & Law and Women's Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Washington School of Law in 2006. Both before and during law school, Janel worked for several different nonprofit legal organizations in Seattle including the Unemployment Law Project, the King County Bar Association and the Innocence Project Northwest. While in law school, she also served as Co-President of the Public Interest Law Association. Janel is currently an Associate Attorney at Van Siclen, Stocks & Firkins, a probate and law firm in Auburn, WA. She practices primarily in the areas of family law, estate planning and employment law.
Matt Rorabaugh is a Procurement Financial Analyst in the aerospace industry, working extensively with domestic and international suppliers, assessing prices of purchased parts, and generating data for the company business plan. He also has developed, documented and improved processes associated with supplier relationships, cost models and office tasks. He has volunteered locally as youth leader, tutor and sports coach, and internationally with orphanages, school development, feeding programs and centers for child abuse survivors. He maintains ongoing affiliation with international nongovernmental organizations and has helped develop fundraising strategies for friends engaged in nonprofit work. He is actively involved in a faith community that draws from the Eastside, north King County, and south Snohomish County. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Puget Sound and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Washington.
Patricia Ryan is the general manager of Field Enablement for Microsoft’s Worldwide Public Sector organization where she is responsible for leading specific field projects that have business and customer impact on Microsoft’s global sales in Government, Education and Health institutions around the world. Prior to joining the Public Sector team, Patricia was general manager of Microsoft’s PacWest Enterprise Sales District, where she managed the sales, marketing and systems engineering organization serving Microsoft’s top Enterprise customers in the Pacific Northwest. Patricia has over 20 years of experience in the information technology industry. Previous to Microsoft, she was the vice president of worldwide sales for WRQ, a Seattle-based software and services company. She also spent time living overseas serving as general manager of WRQ Europe in Den Haag, Netherlands. Before joining WRQ, Patricia spent 13 years at IBM where she held a variety of management, sales and technical roles. Patricia earned a B.A. in communications from Stanford University. Patricia lives in Seattle with her son, Cameron.
Barbara Sykes holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Morris Brown College. With three years of medical education from Bastyr University under her belt, she has postponed finishing her degree (doctorate of naturopathic medicine) to enjoy raising her daughter (who is a sophomore at University of Washington). Her areas of interest are community and public health education, and community outreach and empowerment. She has worked at Morehouse School of Medicine, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and currently works at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She also volunteers with various organizations (Pike Place Market Foundation and Bold Hat Productions). She is embarking upon new adventures this year and looks forward to staying involved in the community.
Anthony Wright is the Vice President of Pioneer Enterprises Group at Pioneer Human Services, overseeing five social revenue generating enterprises. He has served as Assistant Commissioner at the Washington State Employment Service Department, overseeing more than 1,000 staff in 50 offices around the state. Prior to Tony’s success as an Assistant Commissioner, he was an Area Director in the Pierce County Workforce Development System and was recognized by Governor Gregoire in the best of GMAP – a performance measurement forum for state managers. His earlier work included operations management at Puget Sound Energy, and a successful career in the United States Army. In 2010, the Puget Sound Business Journal recognized Mr. Wright’s accomplishments by selecting him as a "40 Under 40" honoree. In the same year, the Governor presented Wright the prestigious “Distinguished Leadership in Management Award.” Tony received a Bachelor of Science Degree with a focus on Industrial Technology from Alcorn State University, Lorman, Mississippi. He is a member of the NW Next Leadership Council, and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Delta Pi Graduate Chapter.