Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of Washington for 2024. Washington State offers a fantastic economy, culture, and atmosphere for well-established executive leaders and up-and-coming young professionals alike. Industry giants Amazon and Microsoft are headquartered in The Evergreen State, and the list of top-ten employers includes Walmart, Kroger, The Home Depot, Target, and Boeing Co.
The top women leaders of Washington serve in the state’s thriving industries, such as clean tech, global health, tourism, agriculture, food manufacturing, and even creative services.
Among these leaders, we honor the accomplishments of Tija Danzig. As the Senior Director of US Programs for Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization, she oversees health programming that improves climate and disaster resilience, and she played a critical role in the company’s pandemic response.
We also acknowledge the career of a high-impact channel sales and business development leader, Joanne Bromwell. As a Strategic Partnerships Executive for Formant, founded by former Google, Savioke, and Redwood Robotics software engineers, roboticists, and product managers, Bromwell defines and executes a revenue-generating growth strategy for the company.
Lastly, a business leader at the intersection of technology and law, Keyuna Evans serves as the Corporate Counsel for Microsoft’s Marketing and Consumer Business. She has also offered patent counseling to potential inventors and managed the Patent Portfolio for Microsoft’s Corporate Division.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Washington for 2024.
2. Lisa Hornschemeier
VP of Software Engineering, Subscription & Tenant Lifecycle Management, Oracle
Lisa Hornschemeier is the Vice President of Software Development at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. She is responsible for the subscription and tenancy platform services that run cloud subscriptions for Oracle customers.
She has developed industry expertise in developing and running order-to-cash e-commerce patterns in support of cloud revenue management and tenancy management services for cloud customers. Hornschemeier is an engineer with more than 20 years of work experience in software development and engineering. She is a member of Oracle’s Women Leadership organization and an Engineering Mentor & Sponsor for Oracle’s female talent.
Before joining Oracle, Hornschemeier was a product and engineering leader at Microsoft, where she led commerce and partner solutions for Azure. She also helped accelerate the Azure business by showcasing the expansive and complicated Microsoft SAP environment and traveling the world with SAP and Azure to keynote conferences that showcased the partnership between SAP and MSFT. Hornschemeier earned an MBA from Xavier University - Williams College of Business and an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems, CS minor, from Miami University of Ohio. She and her four children are active in her community in Bellevue, Washington.
3. Denise Merle
Senior Vice President & Chief Administration Officer, Weyerhaeuser
Denise Merle is a Senior Vice President and Chief Administration Officer at Weyerhaeuser Company. Weyerhaeuser owns nearly 12,400,000 acres of timberlands in the US and manages an additional 14,000,000 acres of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada.
In this role, Merle oversees the human resources, communications, corporate affairs, sustainability, and information technology functions of one of the world's largest forest products companies. With over 40 years of experience in various roles, she has developed deep expertise in financial management, audit, M&A, and organizational development.
She is an experienced board member of multiple local and national organizations and drives successful financial and human capital strategies that align with business goals. Merle earned an MBA from Seattle University and an undergraduate degree in accounting from Pacific Lutheran University.
4. Jasmine Walia
SVP & Global Market Leader - Travel, Entertainment, and Hospitality, Alorica
Jasmine Walia is the Senior Vice President and Global Market Leader of Travel, Entertainment, and Hospitality at Alorica. Walia has spent nearly 20 years at Alorica, one of the largest global business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies with over 100,000 employees across 17 countries, as well as several years at online retail giant Amazon.
Having started her career on the front lines as a customer service agent, Walia is a dynamic leader with 25 years of contact center experience across learning and development, content management/moderation, quality, operations, transformation, employee health and safety, product development, and client relationship management. In a client services leadership position, she has worked directly with Fortune 100 and 500 companies across technology, entertainment, logistics, retail, and financial services.
Walia is also a passionate people leader who manages and guides her team through a combination of servant and collaborative leadership styles. She believes in finding her team’s superpowers and bringing the best out of them by coaching, developing, and challenging individuals. Walia volunteers as the regional co-chair of Alorica’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee for North America. Through her commitment and input, the company’s award-winning TIDE (Together for Inclusion, Diversity & Equity) initiative has helped employees through their own DEI journeys and furthered Alorica’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, which has also positively impacted Alorica’s culture, work environment, recruiting and retention. Walia has a Bachelor’s degree from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
5. Heather Coleman
VP of Clinical Practice & Professional Practice, MultiCare Health System
As System VP of Clinical and Professional Practice at Multicare Health System, Heather Coleman is accountable for the creation of a strategic vision aligned across eleven facilities, and for the development and implementation of an organizational culture that fosters clinical excellence. Her achievements have brought immeasurable value to the organization, including the development of the Simulation Center of Excellence, the establishment of a Workplace Violence Prevention program, and a regional staffing center. Coleman has maintained a clinical new grad staff retention rate of 91% during a two-year COVID crisis and has developed and implemented a Workforce Development plan.
As a chief nursing executive at MultiCare Deaconess Medical Center, Coleman was accountable for the cost and quality of care provided across all clinical service lines, achieving DNV Comprehensive Stroke Certification in 2018, accomplishing a 9% growth in patient admissions, and reducing registered nursing turnover by 6%. As a chief nursing executive at Swedish Ballard Medical Center, she was responsible for the oversight of nursing practice and the provision of inpatient/outpatient rehab services, environmental services, volunteer services, respiratory therapy, and materials management. Her achievements include opening a 22-bed Acute Inpatient Mental Health Program, implementing the national Daisy Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice, and leading the Pathway to Excellence award re-designation.
Coleman earned a Master’s in Nursing from the University of Phoenix and an undergraduate degree in nursing from Linfield College. She is currently enrolled in a Doctorate of Nursing Practice-Executive Leadership from American Sentinel College. She has completed Green Belt Six Sigma Training, Accelerated Implementation Methodology Accreditation, Clinical Leadership Development-VHA, Change Facilitation Certification, and Nurse Executive Advanced Certification. Coleman is a member of various healthcare organizations and has been recognized as a March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Finalist in Leadership.
6. Kate Lucente
Partner, DLA Piper
Kate Lucente is a Partner at DLA Piper, a global law firm capable of taking care of the most important legal needs of clients, wherever they do business. With offices throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, they represent more clients in a broader range of geographies and practice disciplines than virtually any other law firm in the world.
Lucente focuses her practice on data governance and management strategies, and compliance with state, federal, and international laws related to privacy and security, data protection, communications, e-commerce, marketing, and advertising. Lucente has spent the past 15 years with DLA Piper. Before that, she served with Bank of America in Jacksonville, Florida. Before that, she was she was an account executive at Cox Communications.
Lucente graduated from the University of North Florida with an undergraduate degree in communication and from the University of Florida with a Master’s in Communications and a JD in law.
7. Isabelle Portilla
Vice President of Co-op Brands, REI
Isabelle Portilla is a transformational product leader with nearly 20 years of expertise in the outdoor and active industries within soft goods and hard goods. She currently serves as the Vice President of Co-op Brands for REI.
Portilla leads with clarity and vision. She balances a growth mindset and business sophistication that delivers on financial and brand objects. She compliments financial outcomes with values-based strategies that prioritize climate impact, customer centricity, and inclusion. Portilla is known for building teams that effectively incorporate data, research, and inclusive design principles. She has a track record of progress, building and evolving brands through realizing their products' highest potential. With experience within global and DTC brands, Portilla works seamlessly in complex organizations, bringing clarity and leadership to her direct teams and the cross-functional teams she partners with. She is a strategic and creative leader with operational strength and the capacity to move teams to action and excellence.
Outside of her work, Portilla is personally committed to growing access and awareness to arts and outdoor education for under-resourced communities. She is currently a member of the board of directors for Youth in Focus, an organization preparing the next generation of creative thinkers to meet the emerging needs of a global society. She has also served as an ongoing mentor for the Camber Outdoors Professional Mentoring program, guiding young leaders through a year-long program that supports leadership growth and DEI principles. She has also participated as a mentee in the Camber Outdoors MENtorship program partnering with executive male leaders to create advocacy and allyship alongside up-and-coming female leaders.
8. Alyssa Fitzpatrick
Global Vice President, Elastic
Alyssa Fitzpatrick is the Global Vice President of Elastic. She joined Elastic to lead the explosive partnering strategy and sales execution.
Fitzpatrick is a recognized leader in transforming global direct and indirect sales in the software industry. She develops pioneering methodologies to promote profitable growth for both sides of partnering for technology leaders, including Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, and CA Technologies. She has managed relationships for thousands of global and local partners, encompassing management consultancies, global systems integrators, services partners, managed services providers, value-added resellers, and more. Fitzpatrick is known for establishing and executing innovative strategic vision and organization to create effective and efficient sales plans and optimized routes to market.
Fitzpatrick graduated from the University of Washington with an undergraduate degree in science and has earned executive education certifications from both the University of Washington and Southern Methodist University.
View the complete list of awardees.
9. Pallavi Wahi
Co-Managing Partner of United States & Managing Partner of Seattle, K&L Gates
Pallavi Wahi is a Co-Managing Partner for the United States and Managing Partner for Seattle at K&L Gates. The Seattle Office is one of the firm’s largest offices with more than 175 lawyers.
is a passionate advocate for the Seattle business community and the people and companies who help the region thrive. She is co-United States and Seattle managing partner of K&L Gates, an integrated global law firm with 45 offices spanning major US cities, including world capital and financial centers. She also serves as the firm’s diversity committee chair and co-chairs the firm’s India practice. As an experienced litigator, Wahi practices complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on corporate and intellectual property litigation.
In addition to her practice, Pallavi is an avid writer, speaker, and community champion. She is the current vice-chair and incoming chair of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Chamber’s Community Development Roundtable, on the boards of the Woodland Park Zoo and the Seattle branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, and actively involved in the International Women’s Forum and many other organizations. Pallavi is regularly recognized for her contributions to both her clients and the community.
10. Keyuna Evans
Corporate Counsel, Microsoft
Keyuna Evans is Corporate Counsel for Microsoft’s Marketing and Consumer Business. Before her current role, Evans worked as an intellectual property associate with the Surface Team in Patent Portfolio Development. In this role, she worked closely with engineers and attorneys to develop IP strategies, drafted patent applications, and invention disclosures, participated in harvesting sessions, and reviewed patent cases. In addition to her involvement with the Surface Team, Evans offered patent counseling to potential inventors and managed the Patent Portfolio for Microsoft’s Corporate Division.
Prior to her career in law, Evans worked for several global automotive companies, including Chrysler and Ford Motor Company. She also held positions with Automotive Tier 1 Suppliers, Federal-Mogul, International Automotive Components, and Detroit Thermal Systems. She has contributed to the automotive industry in several roles, including production supervisor, manufacturing engineer, senior quality engineer, and warranty engineer. Working in diverse capacities in the automotive industry enabled Evans to work effectively and respectfully with cross-functional teams, suppliers, OEMs, and Union members to produce quality products for current and future consumers collaboratively.
Evans holds an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from Wayne State University, a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and a JD from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. She served as a member of the Washington State Lorne Miller Bar Association Judicial Panel, where she evaluated judicial candidates for judicial appointments. Additionally, she worked closely with the Seattle Clemency Project advocating for clients to receive clemency. She was also an adjunct at Seattle Central Community College, where she taught law and statistics. Evans serves as a board member of the Heidelberg Project, a Detroit-based nonprofit organization, co-lead of the ChIPs Pacific Northwest Chapter, and City Lead for the Seattle for the Legal Council on Legal Diversity.
11. Patchen Haggerty
Partner, Perkins Coie
Patchen Haggerty is a Partner in the trademark, copyright, Internet, and advertising practice, and a member of the firmwide Management and Executive Committees of Perkins Coie LLP. Haggerty manages global trademark and domain name portfolios and trademark enforcement programs for market-leading companies. She also guides clients in the protection, development, commercialization, licensing, assignment, and sale of intellectual property rights and assets. In her practice, Haggerty regularly manages trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings, concurrent use proceedings, and trademark application appeals before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings. Her background in trademark enforcement matters includes dispute resolution and administrative actions around the world.
Haggerty first got her start in 2003 as an associate at Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. From there, she went on to Dorsey & Whitney LLP as a partner, her most recent position before joining Perkins Coie.
She was previously named the 2018 Seattle Trademark “Lawyer of the Year” by US News/Best Lawyers, is ranked one of the "World’s Leading Trademark Professionals" in the World Trademark Review 1000, is ranked in IP law by Chambers USA, is recognized as a "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers Magazine, and has been recognized as an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property Magazine. She maintains an active profile as a presenter and author on emerging issues in trademark, copyright, and IP legal protections. Haggerty graduated from Indiana University School of Law with a JD and from Purdue University with an undergraduate degree in communication and journalism.
12. Jennifer Darmour
Vice President of Oracle Health Design, Oracle
Jennifer Darmour is a design leader who has been driving product design and innovation across consumer, enterprise and healthcare industries. She has worked with renowned companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, Xbox, Amazon, Samsung, Panasonic, Lenovo, HTC, Sonos, Adidas, Nike, Gates Foundation and many more national and international companies. She has been leading cross-functional initiatives across organizations to innovate at scale and deliver world-class and award-winning user experiences that solve the needs of users and substantially differentiate in the market.
Today, she is the VP of Design for Health at Oracle. Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. Oracle's core application software is a suite of enterprise software products and now healthcare products after the recent acquisition of Cerner. Jennifer is leading the effort to reimagine healthcare from the ground up across all pillars of health that spans a large portion of Oracle applications, while taking advantage of new technologies such as AI and GenAI as an integral part of the new product experience.
As an executive design leader, Jennifer believes that the bar for healthcare experiences has been too low for too long. Utility-alone is not enough. Creating world class design has now become a table-stake. Design should improve our lives and bring us joy. It should delight and become a personal part of us no matter the context. And why not bring consumer-grade quality to our healthcare experiences to achieve just that. Jennifer is changing that standard at Oracle by introducing a brand new approach to user experiences and influencing organizational culture change in doing so. To achieve this, it takes insatiable optimism, patience and a constant desire to learn, refine and grow. That leads to world-class experiences and positions the business as leaders in their domain. Such success starts with crafting a set of goals that are shared across all stakeholders, creating a vision that aligns to those goals, then patiently executing on that vision across the organization.
Previously, she worked as a design executive at Chrono Therapeutics, a medical device start-up that aimed to get people off substances such as cigarettes and opioids. Jennifer graduated from ArtCenter College of Design with an MFA in media design. She holds a number of design awards, has been awarded dozens of patents and her work is also included in the permanent exhibit at the Museum of Science in Vienna.
13. Rachel Fidino
Chief Executive Officer, LA CANNEBERGE
Rachel Fidino launched her skincare line, LA CANNEBERGE, in September of 2022, and served as the CEO. She opened New U Women’s Clinic and Aesthetics in February 2020, which serves as a one-stop solution for women of all ages. Fidino is the founder of a 501c3 nonprofit called the Healing Hands Project that improves menstrual health, access to feminine hygiene products, and quality of life for low-income, homeless women, and young women escaping sex trafficking.
Fidino is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse with over 12 years of clinical experience. She is double board certified and holds national certifications as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and in Advanced Genetics. She is passionate about improving the lives of women and is actively involved in legislation for Washington State. In 2023, she passed legislation in Washington State that mandates insurance coverage for breast MRI for women at risk for breast cancer.
Fidino is a published author and was featured on the cover of Women's Healthcare Journal for her article on caring for women on adjuvant endocrine therapy following breast cancer treatment. She is a National Keynote Speaker for Cancer Genetics and a national FDA trainer for Merck. She speaks at conferences across the country on various women’s health issues. She was recognized as 1 of 10 Young Professionals in Business Under 40 by the Tri-Cities Journal of Business in 2021. She won the 2022 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award. New U Women’s Clinic & Aesthetics was voted Best Women’s Clinic, Weight Loss Center, & Med Spa for Tri-Cities Best in 2022 and 2023.
14. Kelly Kennedy
Fractional Chief Financial Officer, Willow Innovations, Inc.
Kelly Kennedy is the Fractional Chief Financial Officer of Willow Innovations, Inc. Willow forever changed the way women pump with the world's first quiet all-in-one, in-bra wearable breast pump launched in 2014.
Previously, Kennedy served as CFO for The Honest Company, a mission-driven, digitally-native brand focused on leading the clean lifestyle movement, as CFO for Bartell Drugs, the beloved Pacific Northwest pharmacy chain with 67 locations, and as CFO and director at Sur La Table, the iconic Seattle-based cooking school and kitchenware retailer.
Prior to Sur La Table, Kennedy was CFO at See's Candies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Kennedy earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in economics from Middlebury College.
15. Christine Andreasen
CEO & Director of Luxury Real Estate, Christine & Company
Christine Andreasen is the CEO and Director of Luxury Real Estate at Christine & Company. As one of the leading real estate professionals in the Seattle area, Andreasen always communicates her commitment to your success when she helps you with your home sale or purchase.
With a real estate career that has spanned two decades, Andreasen has an unconventional trajectory to, where she is today. Initially licensed in Salt Lake City in 1996, She spent a good part of her career traveling the country as a keynote speaker coaching and training agents to produce extraordinary results and building successful careers. After the real estate crash of 2008, Andreasen put all her time and efforts back into the home-buying and selling side of the industry. During the ensuing 10 years she has climbed to the top of the charts.
Andreasen has built an award-winning team of superstars. She and her team compare what they do to the way an orchestra creates beautiful music and her willingness to go above and beyond hasn’t gone unnoticed. Her team has been voted Best of Seattle by Seattle magazine for five years. She was awarded Top 100 Most Influential Agents in Washington by Real Estate Executive Magazine. Her team regularly receives accolades and awards year after year from eXp Realty, one of the world’s fastest-growing real estate brokerages, but what makes the team most fulfilled is the results they produce for their clients. Andreasen graduated from San Jose State University.
View the complete list of awardees.
17. Alpa Parikh
Vice President of Internal Audit, Smartsheet
Alpa Parikh is the Vice President of Internal Audit at Smartsheet, the premier enterprise work management platform that aligns people and technology so organizations can move faster and drive innovation. Smartsheet empowers its millions of users to drive meaningful change. As a finance executive with over 20 years of experience in internal audit, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), enterprise risk, and governance, Parikh has worked across the healthcare, energy, and technology sectors. She has a track record of helping companies establish global functions and build best-in-class teams that drive strategy and achieve cross-functional results. Alpa has significant experience with boards and audit committees, and functional expertise in ethics, finance, business risk, and internal controls.
Alpa is on the board of trustees at Youth Eastside Services (YES), a not-for-profit that provides mental health services to children and families. She has also been on the board of the Seattle Institute of Internal Auditors and chair of the Masters of Accounting advisory board at UW Bothell.
18. Shane Fisher
Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group
Shane Fisher is a Managing Director and Partner of Boston Consulting Group, a global consulting firm that partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. Shane joined the organization in 2011. She is a core member of the consumer practice specializing in retail, and an expert in digital marketing, retail media, personalization, and large-scale change.
With 14 years of consulting experience in supporting large-scale change within and across consumer, retail, and travel brands, she supports retail/consumer clients in setting up new digital customer experiences to drive customer acquisition, engagement, and retention including experiences related to loyalty, personalization, digital media, and retail media. In her recent case work, Fisher has led personalization capability builds, including pilot test design, execution and measurement, scaling campaigns, and tech and data builds. She leads the Women@BCG initiative for the Seattle office, as well as pro bono work with local social and public sector clients.
Fisher graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School with an MBA in consulting and from the University of California, Santa Cruz with an undergraduate degree in psychology.
19. Cao Xiao
Vice President of Artificial Intelligence, GE HealthCare
Cao (Danica) Xiao is the VP of AI at GE Healthcare, a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier.
Previously, Xiao has held leadership positions at multiple technology and healthcare companies, including VP of AI/ML at Relativity, Senior Director of Machine Learning of Amplitude, Global Head of Machine Learning of IQVIA, and research lead of MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab at IBM Research. She has successfully driven the creation of machine learning innovation for industry AI transformation, particularly in healthcare and medicine. Besides, she is a passionate machine learning researcher and thought leader with over 120 highly cited papers published in leading AI/ML venues, with a strong focus on the topic of AI for healthcare.
Xiao also co-authored a textbook on deep learning for healthcare, which is used in top CS graduate programs, such as UIUC, GaTech, and PSU. She got her PhD in Machine Learning from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 2016.
20. Renait Stephens
CEO & Publisher, Study in the USA
A global marketing and strategy expert, Renait Stephens has extensive experience in the field of international education. She is the Chief Executive Officer and publisher of Study in the USA, which runs on a simple mission to provide the best possible information about US education to international students and connect them with reputable schools.
Over the last decade, Stephens has steered the growth of Study in the USA from a niche industry to a global multimedia company, promoting US education institutions to more than two million international students every year.
Under Stephens’ leadership, Study in the USA donates regularly to regional education conferences in the United States and abroad to provide travel grants. Most recently, the company launched a scholarship program for international students. Stephens has received awards from Apex and the Western Publishing Association, along with recognition as an SBA Small Business Person of the Year Semi-Finalist. She studied at Royal Holloway, University of London, and graduated from The Evergreen State College.
21. Margaret K. Cerrato-Blue
Partner, Cerrato-Blue Law
Margaret Cerrato-Blue is a Partner of Cerrato-Blue Law, where she represents manufacturing and commercial clients in environmental, natural resource, and litigation matters in Washington and California.
Cerrato-Blue focuses her practice on regulatory compliance, including California’s controversial “Proposition 65” chemical exposure warning law, federal and state OSHA regulations, and the US Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). She also represents clients in Superfund-type cleanup cases at legacy remediation sites, such as at harbors and airports, and also at smaller sites.
She began her career in 1992 at White & Case in Los Angeles as a commercial litigator where she focused on insurance recovery for environmental response costs. Prior to rejoining Riddell Williams, she practiced as a general practitioner with an emphasis on civil litigation. She was born in France and has lived many years in Paris. Cerrato-Blue is fluent in French. She graduated from Georgetown University with an undergraduate degree in foreign service and a JD, and from the University of Washington with a master’s degree in international studies.
22. Kelli Jo Norris
President, Goodman Real Estate
As President of Goodman Real Estate (GRE), Kelli Jo Norris is a passionate servant leader who has driven the success of GRE’s three companies’ integration, which resulted in all companies operating at their highest potential. She attributes their success to focusing on developing a foundation of vision, strategy, and goals in partnership with CEO George Petrie. Her goal of creating a culture of positivity, transparency, and authenticity not only attracts top talent but also cultivates the next generation of leaders.
With an innovative and inclusive leadership style, Norris fosters an environment of humility while empowering her team and celebrating their successes. Through mentorship and developing team members, she challenges each person to grow in their roles and beyond. Norris first joined Goodman Real Estate in 1996. Her career spans more than 25 years, working in every facet of real estate, including development, property management, acquisition, and land disposition.
Norris is an active member of several industry organizations, such as the North Seattle College Residential and Property Management BAS advisory board, Commercial Real Estate Women, and Downtown Seattle Association.
23. Janet Harvey
CEO, inviteCHANGE
Janet M. Harvey, the best-selling author of the award-winning leadership and coaching book, Invite Change. Lessons from 2020, The Year of No Return is CEO of inviteCHANGE, a human development organization specializing in generative learning and coaching for enterprises that shape a world, where people love their life’s work. As a visionary leader in the global professional coaching industry, Harvey is an International Coaching Federation Master Certified Coach and Accredited Educator who engages leaders, teams, and global enterprises to invite change that sustains well-being and performance excellence.
Being better humans together requires claiming a true self first and then choosing to live inside out as we transform, evolve, and be resilient to the complexity that is the future. As she shares, “Coaching in its many forms has at its root the effect of awakening consciousness and doing so in a highly accelerated fashion that improves productivity and financial outcomes while also generating a healthier workplace climate.”
Harvey uses her executive and entrepreneurial experience to cultivate leaders in Generative Wholeness™, the inviteCHANGE signature generative coaching and learning process for people, processes, and systems. A vanguard leader and inspirational speaker, Harvey ignites audiences, her colleagues, audiences, and clients regard her as a bold, curious, provocative, articulate, and compassionate human being. Harvey has served as a global board leader for ICF, as a director from 2009-2013, as past president in 2012, as chair for the foundation of ICF 2013-2017, and more recently as treasurer for the ICF Thought Leadership Institute 2020-2021.
View the complete list of awardees.
24. Alexandra Lozano
Founder & CEO, Alexandra Lozano Immigration Law PLLC
Alexandra Lozano began her professional career 15 years ago. Today, she is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alexandra Lozano Immigration Law, the largest humanitarian immigration law firm in the United States serving the Latino community exclusively. They are best known for their groundbreaking work with VAWA I-360 cases, particularly those for male clients, and T Visas for victims of human trafficking. The firm also handles other complex cases, such as relief post-deportation and post-criminal convictions. Lozano is an advocate for immigrants and the injured.
Additionally, Lozano is the founder of the international lawyer network, AMIGA Lawyers. AMIGA's purpose is to support mother immigration attorneys with a community of resources and information to build successful businesses, create winning cases, and live holistic lives. They provide coaching, classes, and digital resources to bring value to members’ lives personally and professionally. It is a community for inspiration, motivation, and encouragement for mother immigration lawyers.
Outside of law, Lozano is the Co-Founder and Partner of INVEST in the US, whose mission is to help investors find businesses with a proven track record for success that will allow them to make money and apply for the E-2 visa. Lozano graduated from Seattle University School of Law with a JD.
25. Stacey Hotter Knight
Founder & President, L.E.A.P.S. and Beyond
Stacey Hotter Knight is the Founder and President of L.E.A.P.S. and Beyond, Inc., a behavioral health agency providing Applied Behavior Analysis services (ABA) services to individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. She founded L.E.A.P.S. in 2013 with dedication, passion, and belief that children with autism can reach their fullest potential if treated early and comprehensively.
Hotter-Knight has been trained in conducting a variety of assessments, designing and implementing curriculum, and reducing severe maladaptive and self-injurious behaviors. At L.E.A.P.S., she is dedicated to providing the highest quality of ABA services, using research-based strategies supported by empirically proven methods, ensuring clients reach their maximum potential.
Knight graduated from California Southern University with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, from Washington State University with an EMBA, from National University with a Master's degree in Special Education and Teaching, and from the University of California, San Diego with an undergraduate degree in psychology.
26. Casey Huang
Partner, Mithun
Casey Huang is an Architect and Partner at Mithun, an integrated design firm dedicated to creating positive change in people’s lives and recipient of the 2023 AIA Architecture Firm Award. A leader within the firm’s multifamily housing practice, she brings a strong contextual approach to the planning and design of place-based residential communities and civic projects. Casey draws from more than 30 years of experience to craft spaces and places that enrich the daily lives of residents while advancing building and site performance, human health and social equity.
Casey attended Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of the premier architecture schools in China. Her international professional relationships bring new partnerships to projects and a perspective that informs her work with diverse populations. Casey’s design talents have resulted in many award-winning projects including Liberty Bank Building, Anthem on 12th, Goodwill Job Training & Education Center, Marina Building at Shilshole Bay Marina, Thea’s Landing and the REI Seattle Flagship Store.
A first-generation immigrant, Casey has been actively involved in the Asian community. She has served on the board of Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) for 10 years, where she has provided leadership on promoting affordable housing development in the Seattle Chinatown International District. She previously served on the board of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP).
27. Samantha Rist
Vice President of People, Hiya Inc.
Samantha Rist currently works for Hiya as the Vice President of People, a SaaS startup that provides spam and fraud call protection and identity services to more than 400 million users around the globe. In 2020, Rist relocated to the Pacific Northwest to work for Ekata, an identity verification solution that enables frictionless onboarding and purchasing experiences and combat fraud worldwide. Ekata was acquired by MasterCard in 2021, and she stayed on for one year post-acquisition as an integral part of the successful integration.
In 2016, she joined Katerra, a construction startup putting modern technology to work at all levels of building design and construction to help address some of the industry’s most entrenched challenges. She started the HR function when the company was less than 200 people and helped build out the HR technology stack and scale to more than 5,000 people over two years across the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, and India with more than 20 acquisition integrations. She then moved into operations with health, safety, environment, and quality roles. Prior to Katerra, Rist spent over 20 years in Schlumberger, the largest oil and gas services company in the world. She started her career as a wireline engineer in the field and held a number of positions across the US, Asia, and Europe, spanning field operations, and operational management with P&L ownership, R&D, and human resources.
Rist received her undergraduate degree in Geological Engineering from Cornell University, a Master’s in Management of the Oil and Gas Industry, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Petroleum Engineering from Hariot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
28. Jennifer Sunshine Steffens
Chief Executive Officer, IOActive
Jennifer Sunshine Steffens is the Chief Executive Officer of IOActive. Steffens is responsible for all aspects of the company’s global business and strategic vision.
Steffens brings a wealth of industry and business experience to the company, having been an early member of several successful startups. IOActive is a trusted partner for Global 1000 enterprises, providing research-fueled security services across all industries. Its cutting-edge security teams provide highly specialized technical and programmatic services, including full-stack penetration testing, program efficacy assessments, and hardware hacking.
Earlier in her career, Steffens was a director at Sourcefire, where she helped build and grow the business from $250,000 to an over $35 million run rate in just four years. Working closely with the CTO, Steffens helped commercialize the open-source Snort technology and build several service offerings around the research initiatives. Prior to joining IOActive, she came to Seattle to help the struggling startup GraniteEdge reinvent itself. She spearheaded initiatives to restructure the company and developed a product strategy to drive early market penetration that ultimately secured two additional rounds of funding. With over 15 years of industry experience, Steffens has also held senior management positions at Ubizen, NFR Security, and StillSecure. She earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Mary Washington.
29. Aisha Anders
Vice President & Principal Consultant, WSP
Aisha Anders is the Vice President and Principal Consultant for WSP, a leading professional services consulting firm. Anders helps to shape the way infrastructure agencies extract more value from their assets through effective business change.
Anders brings nearly 20 years of experience developing and delivering communication, organizational change management, and strategic marketing programs to achieve business goals within the transit and transportation sectors. Her ability to establish and nurture relationships across an organization has enabled her to develop and implement new business initiatives across asset management, quality management, and strategic planning programs.
Anders has worked with some of the largest transit properties and innovative transportation departments in the US, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Maryland Transit Administration, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Colorado and Virginia Departments of Transportation, and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. Anders holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Washington and is a Prosci-certified change management practitioner.
30. Erin Morgan
Chief Financial Officer, Junior Achievement of Washington
Erin Morgan is a proven leader with 23 years of experience in finance and operations. She currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Junior Achievement of Washington, the world's largest organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on learning.
From her career focus on corporate and not-for-profit rescue operations, Morgan brings key strategic value to financial and operational cleanup initiatives. She unlocks organizational equity by connecting big-picture objectives with refined implementation innovation above and beyond her fluency in business and financial systems, forensic accounting investigations, and diverse accomplishments across startups, and M&A lifecycles. Her civic accomplishments include the Bishop’s Cross Award for stewardship to the Diocese and the Tornado Disaster Relief award from the Oklahoma American Red Cross.
Morgan previously served as a consultant and SME for Robert Half in financial leadership roles for Techtonic Group Inc., as chief financial and operations officer for Hawaii Preparatory Academy, as CFO and canon to the bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, and as director of accounting and risk management for a defense contractor. Morgan graduated from the University of Oklahoma.
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31. Kathleen Bougazzoul
Chief Program Officer, Workforce Snohomish
Kathleen Bougazzoul, a resourceful and strategic professional with over 10 years of experience in program management, is the Chief Program Officer at Workforce Snohomish (WFS). She is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce system where communities can thrive. As a subject matter expert in workforce development, Kathleen leverages her knowledge of best practices to develop and implement innovative and collaborative workforce development programs. She is currently leading her team in adopting AI technology to increase equity and inclusion in the workforce ecosystem.
Kathleen studied Public Policy at DePaul University, where she was awarded the Steans Center Community Service Scholarship. During her time there, she developed a mentorship program and designed an environmental justice curriculum for Chicago youth, empowering them to advocate for their community. Kathleen is also a recent graduate of the University of Washington Evan’s School of Public Policy & Governance Executive MPA program.
In her 7+ years at Seattle Jobs Initiative, Kathleen managed sector-based career pathways programs in partnership with the Seattle Colleges and facilitated a dynamic learning community. She developed an integrated plan to increase equity and profitability for Seattle College District’s pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, including strategies to link career pathways with these programs. She also designed the Apprentice Centered Employment (ACE) model in partnership with the Machinist Institute, aiming to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion in all pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.
Kathleen served on the board of City Fruit, supporting the development of environmental sustainability career pathways and leveraging her government contracts expertise. She excels at developing partnerships with values-aligned organizations, removing barriers to program participation, identifying and eliminating roadblocks to project execution, and developing equitable systems to advocate key DE&I goals. Her portfolio showcases her talent for aligning teams around common goals, optimizing and scaling community-based programs, leading mission-critical continuous improvement initiatives, and seamlessly integrating DE&I best practices into existing program models. Her efforts have led to compelling success stories that enhance the reach and impact of established programs.
32. LaNesha DeBardelaben
Immediate Past President & CEO, Northwest African American Museum
LaNesha DeBardelaben served as the President and CEO of the Northwest African American Museum, an anti-racist, pro-equity, affirming gathering place of hope, help, and healing for the entire Northwest region that is building intergenerational cultural wealth. The museum’s exhibitions and programs feature the visual arts, music, crafts, literature, and history of African Americans in the Northwest. Cognizant of the black community’s continuous evolution, NAAM focuses on African Americans whose route to the New World was through slavery, as well as recent immigrants arriving from places, such as Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
DeBardelaben's passion is to drive success for Black museums. She specializes in organizational leadership and management, institutional programming, and strategic engagement. DeBardelaben was also SVP at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit.
With three Master’s degrees, respectively in Museum Studies, History, and Library Science, DeBardelaben is currently pursuing a PhD full-time at the University of Washington and is the past national president of the Association of African American Museums board of directors. She has global experience with museums and libraries in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, England, Germany, and Israel, and is involved in both the International Council of Museums and the International Women’s Forum.
33. Tami Fujii
CEO & Co-Founder, KINONA
Tami Fujii is the CEO and Co-Founder of KINONA, a premium women's golf apparel brand that can be found in over 400 premium golf country clubs, resorts, and retailers.
Prior to launching KINONA in 2018, Fujii worked in marketing for notable consumer product goods companies, such as Eddie Bauer, T-Mobile, and Microsoft. Most recently, Fujii launched her namesake brand consulting firm, Fujii Consulting, which specializes in strategic brand marketing, merchandising, and product development.
Fujii attended Oregon State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in business administration. She learned to golf with her parents during family vacations to Hawaii and Central Oregon. She now enjoys playing golf with her husband, son, and girlfriends. She currently resides with her husband near Seattle, WA.
35. Janet T. Phan
Founder & Executive Director, Thriving Elements
Janet T. Phan is the Founder and Executive Director of Thriving Elements, a nonprofit organization with a mission to create access and opportunities for underserved, underrepresented girls in STEM in order to bridge the gender disparity in STEM fields. The organization focuses on empowerment through mentorship, a topic she spoke about at TEDxZurich in 2020. Phan is also a senior technical program manager for Project Kuiper through Amazon.
In 2022, Phan published Boldly You: A Story About Discovering What You’re Capable of When You Show Up for Yourself, a memoir and self-help book looking at her hardships and sharing life lessons through the lens of resilience and strength. Phan currently works as a senior technical product manager for Amazon’s Project Kuiper with a mission to bridge the digital divide through the launch of low-earth orbit satellites. She had previously held roles at Microsoft, The Boeing Company, and PwC, where she has been responsible for implementing digital platforms across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
Phan has an undergraduate degree in finance and information systems and a Master’s degree in Information Systems from the University of Washington. She is on the board of trustees for the University of Washington’s Alumni Association on the Legislative Advocacy Committee working with state legislators to get funding for higher education so future generations don't have to work multiple jobs to pay for school like she did. Phan re-energizes by snowboarding, surfing, CrossFitting, swimming, cycling, eating Omakase with friends, and loves watching political thrillers.
36. Carey Serfontein
Partner & General Manager of Digital Win Room, Microsoft
Carey Serfontein serves as a Partner and General Manager of the Digital Win Room (DWN) for Microsoft. She first joined the company in 2011 as a director for enterprise commerce solution management. In her current role, Serfontein leads a global team of strategists who develop solutions possible for Microsoft's most important customers. DWR unlocks the value of Microsoft to empower customers, digitally transform their business, and maximize investments.
Before DWR, Serfontein was GM and site leader, leading a global team of over 450 enabling fulfillment and revenue processing for the largest commercial, OEM, public sector, and advertising markets. Her teams worked with account teams to manage revenue from opportunities to invoice, supported product launches, and maintained programs and processes, ensuring Microsoft could transact using the technology of tomorrow. She also carried leadership for the Reno office community investments aligning with core values and partnered with local government nonprofit organizations, and businesses to bring technology, opportunity, and careers to Nevada. Serfontein also worked in Redmond, WA leading the Central Services organization and served as Chief of Staff and trusted advisor to the MBO leadership team. Prior to MBO, Serfontein spent four years in enterprise commerce, where she led complex launches for commercial enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, and public sector offers and programs.
Serfontein has also owned her own successful management consulting practice focused on strategy, change leadership, and consumer business transformation. Serfontein holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington.
37. Jackie Payne
Founder & Executive Director, Galvanize Action
Jackie Payne is the Founder and Executive Director of Galvanize Action, where she is connecting with moderate women to promote civic engagement, combat disinformation, and advance progress on key issues. In a recent year, Galvanize Action reached over two million women with programming proven to defuse the culture wars and grievance-based narratives being used to divide us. Their year-round approach supports women to play a role in building a thriving, multiracial democracy.
Payne has over two decades of experience leading organizations and working to advance gender, racial, and economic justice. She began her career in South Africa working on issues related to gender equity, women's health, and economic justice, followed by the role of a staff attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago. Driven by a desire for systemic change, Payne joined the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund in Washington DC, where she partnered with community-based organizations to address the gendered roots of poverty in America. She was Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s director of government relations, leading their federal and state policy work, and then went on to design and run an $80 million initiative with the NoVo Foundation to strengthen the movement to end violence against girls and women in the US.
Following the 2016 election, Payne felt called to engage women voters as a powerful force for positive change. She launched this effort with 18 months of deep listening to women across the country and then founded Galvanize USA and Galvanize Action to help create an America in, which everyone can thrive. Payne received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and her JD from the University of Michigan Law School. She is a trustee of the Patsy Takemoto Mink Foundation and on the board of the Women and Justice Project.
38. Tamara Chang
Medical Director of Provider Wellness, MultiCare Health System
Tammie Chang is an author, speaker, and fierce national advocate for cultural change in healthcare. She is a practicing board-certified pediatric hematology/oncology physician at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Washington, the Medical Director of Provider Wellness for MultiCare Health System, the Co-Founder of Pink Coat, MD, a platform dedicated to helping women physicians to thrive in their lives and careers, and the founder and program director of ELEVATE, the American Medical Womens Association’s (AMWA) National Leadership Development Program for Women Physician Attendings.
Chang is the author of the bestselling Boundaries for Women Physicians, the co-author of the bestselling How to Thrive as a Woman Physician, together with her Pink Coat, MD co-founder, Luisa Duran, and the founder and host of the LeadHER Podcast for Women Physicians.
Chang earned an undergraduate degree and MD from Brown University, completed a combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of Massachusetts, and completed her pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She is a certified leadership coach and received her coaching certifications from the Co-Active Training Institute and the International Coaching Federation. She has additional training and certifications from John Maxwell Leadership, Gallup CliftonStrengths, and Crucial Conversations, and is a Playing Big Facilitator.
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39. Erin Norberg
Director of National Sales, Instacart Business
Erin Norberg is a Seattle native and has had great success building and leading national sales teams. Today, she is the Director of National Sales for Instacart Business. Instacart Business is a service to help businesses get the supplies and goods they need, delivered to them same-day. The mission at Instacart Business is to be the best way for businesses to save time and money and reinvest in serving their customers.
She leads and cultivates a high-performing sales team, specializing in delivering innovative and scalable solutions for enterprise customers. With over 10 years of experience in the cloud and software industry, Norberg has worked with renowned companies including Instacart, AWS, and VMware, earning multiple certifications, awards, and recognitions along the way.
In addition to her role at Instacart, Norberg is known through the PNW tech community as an enterprise sales enthusiast and holds numerous certifications. She brings great knowledge and sales acumen and has a history of proven success in increasing company profitability and execution on behalf of enterprise and global companies. Norberg was also invited to be a speaker at Worldwide Sales Kickoff during her time at AWS and VMware and received President's Club during her time at VMware.
40. Rashelle Tanner
Director, Culture Programs, Legal, Compliance & Ethics, Meta
Rashelle serves as the Director of Culture Programs at Meta, where she drives the strategic vision and execution of Meta's legal, compliance, and ethics learning and employee culture initiatives, leading a creative and innovative team of compliance and ethics learning professionals. In her role, Tanner is dedicated to cultivating a corporate culture that places compliance and ethics at its core, leading her team to deliver engaging and thought-provoking learning and engagement experiences to the delight of employees and contingent workforce support. These initiatives, feature contextual episodic storytelling, aiming to captivate and inspire, leaving employees eagerly seeking more.
Previously, Tanner held key positions at Microsoft, where she served as the director of integrity and compliance learning and assistant general counsel. While at Microsoft, her groundbreaking work was featured in the Wall Street Journal and locally on Seattle's King 5 News. Her impact at Microsoft included reimagining the delivery of Microsoft's annual Standards of Business Conduct (, which she renamed Trust Code), employing innovative storytelling techniques over six seasons. Her work transformed how Microsoft's global workforce prioritized trust and integrity in their roles.
Beyond her corporate accomplishments, Rashelle is an Adjunct Faculty member at Seattle University Law School and has also served as general counsel and chief compliance officer for CRISTA, an international nonprofit organization, after beginning her legal career as a litigator specializing in labor and employment defense at the Seattle-based law firm, Williams Kasner. Tanner holds degrees from Leadership Tomorrow, Seattle University Law School, and Howard University.
41. Kacie Vivo
Director of Accounting & Assistant Controller, Savers
Kacie Vivo has her MBA from Suffolk University and her undergraduate degree in business administration from Florida International University. She currently serves as the Director of Accounting and Assistant Controller for Savers.
Prior to joining Savors, Vivo served as a senior associate in the Audit Practice at KPMG providing financial statement audits, IPO preparation, and filing services to companies in the Bay Area. While serving the Bay Area clients, Vivo provided professional audit services to several multinational technology companies in accordance with PCAOB requirements, SEC guidelines, and US GAAP. Her experience ranges from standard SEC filings, and SEC acquisitions, to private company audits. She has extensive experience in software-as-a-service and the technology industry.
Vivo also has experience working with clients in industries, including financial services, government, and universities. She is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) and helped launch an ALPFA chapter at Suffolk University while pursuing her MBA. Vivo is bilingual in English and Spanish.
42. Megan Lawrence
Senior Director of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, Nike
Dr. Megan Lawrence is the Global Sr. Director of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion and runs Nike’s Accessibility Center of Excellence (CoE). She has worked with the disability community for over 15 years. Her deep commitment to “nothing without us” is a central theme to her work. Disabled people must be part of the solutions. Core to accessibility is disability intersectionality and celebrating and telling authentic stories about the nested identities of the disabled community.
Since Megan’s disability is invisible, it requires her to be more deliberate in how she shares her disability status. Speaking openly about her mental health disability is important to her in reducing stigma and disability bias. Her voice is not the only disabled voice at Nike however, and she is focused on elevating the community in its entirety. She leverages her team and works cross functionally to ensure the accessibility and disability inclusion is a business priority including disability hiring programs, accessible innovation, inclusive storytelling and how to reach directly to disabled consumers.
Dr. Lawrence has a PhD in geography from the University of Oregon. She believes that when we enable people to move freely and independently in their environment, we provide the disability community access to education, employment and a pathway to community and social engagement. Before joining Nike, she was the Director of Accessibility Evangelism. As an evangelist, she worked with customers, the disability community, and employees to build a culture of digital inclusion that resulted in new disability user research programs and co-innovation projects to improve societal inclusion. She ran the Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC) to improve the quality and quantity of feedback from the disability community.
When not working on her passionate purpose, Megan enjoys time with her husband Joe and her two dogs -- retired seeing eye dog for the blind Vine, and 15-pound Bruno who knows everyone in the neighborhood.
43. Courtney Sullivan
Regional Director of Education and Engagement, National Wildlife Federation
Courtney Sullivan is the Regional Director of Education and Engagement for the National Wildlife Federation. She has been developing and managing programs that offer sustainable environmental education opportunities for communities for over 25 years.
Originally from Washington, Sullivan fell in love with nature on the shores of Puget Sound and then spent 10 years in Alaska exploring the abundant environmental, outdoor, and cultural education career opportunities. Returning to Washington in 2008, Sullivan joined the National Wildlife Federation, where she cultivates community stewards and education champions, advocates for conservation education policies, and works to build partnerships and coalitions to support sustainable environmental education in the Northern Rockies, Prairies, and Pacific region (WA, OR, HI, AK, ID, MT, ND, SD & CA too).
Sullivan is dedicated to developing and supporting limitless opportunities for connecting families with nature, environmental education, and community stewardship. She has a Master of Science in Human Services and Nonprofit Organizational Management from Capella University and a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Education from Alaska Pacific University.
44. Rebecca Uusitalo
Senior General Manager, Urban Renaissance Group
Rebecca Uusitalo brings 25 years of full-cycle real estate experience to her role as Senior General Manager at Urban Renaissance Group. In her role as GM, she is committed to providing successful client solutions, well-balanced perspectives on assets, and superior customer service. She leads a team of dedicated property management professionals to ensure optimum asset performance.
Uusitalo is a highly motivated, experienced professional with a diverse real estate background, including development, strategic repositioning, operations, and management of assets. At URG, she is responsible for the overall strategic direction for a diverse 750,000-square-foot portfolio in Seattle and Denver, including Class-A high rise and several historic assets.
Before joining URG, Uusitalo served as a GM at Cushman & Wakefield/Commerce, where she provided leadership and guidance for the Puget Sound region property management teams responsible for direct operations of approximately 800,000 square feet of office space. In addition to her roles with URG, she is a current member of BOMA International and serves as the Pacific Northwest Regional VP. Additionally, she serves as a member of the Metropolitan Improvement District Ratepayer Advisory Board. Uusitalo holds an undergraduate degree in human development from the University of California, Davis.
45. Joanne Bromwell
Strategic Partnerships Executive, Formant
Joanne Bromwell is a Strategic Partnerships Executive for Formant. Founded by a team of former Google, Savioke, and Redwood Robotics software engineers, roboticists, and product managers, Formant believes that more efficient cloud infrastructure can help unlock the shared potential of humans and robots.
She is a high-impact channel sales and business development leader with more than 20 years of proven expertise in developing, negotiating, and executing strategic partnerships and amplifying sales channels. She’s known for building scalable business solutions with high-tech organizations, such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Tableau Software, Salesforce, and Intellectual Ventures.
Bromwell is a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a world traveler, and a passionate supporter of empowering young women to achieve their full potential. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of Velatrio Consulting, a Seattle-based technology consulting firm, and is a supporter, mentor, and advisor for Your Path Forward, a nonprofit providing mentorship, college education, business training, and financial support to war-torn refugees. In her spare time, she focuses on her other passions, spending time outdoors cycling and hiking with her husband and dogs and seeking out the best taco trucks.
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46. Tija Danzig
Senior Director, US Programs, Americares
Tija Danzig is the Senior Director of US Programs for Americares, overseeing health programming that improves climate and disaster resilience, helps communities recover from emergencies, and provides critical COVID-19 educational resources for safety net healthcare providers serving low-income, uninsured, and under-insured patients.
Since 2021, Danzig has played a critical role in the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, spearheading a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded project to reinforce COVID-19 vaccine confidence among healthcare personnel in free and charitable clinics and federally qualified health centers across the United States, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Danzig also led recovery efforts in response to the December 2021 Midwest tornadoes that devastated Kentucky. Danzig has over 15 years of experience working with non-governmental organizations, as well as national and international governments, including more than a decade in the global health sector.
Before joining Americares, she spent several years as an advisor to the Mayor of the City of Spokane, Washington supporting creative solutions to improve the homeless crisis response system, advancing community development and affordable housing initiatives, and improving health access and outcomes to meet the needs of the region’s most vulnerable. During this time, Danzig spoke at national conferences and shepherded transformative programs to end youth and young adult homelessness. Danzig has worked in the Middle East and Africa, including leading projects in disaster risk reduction, food security, drought relief, and health integration. Of great achievement was her work in the design of a shelter protocol that USAID’s then-named Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance called “a model for emergency shelter best practice”. She also served in the Peace Corps in Botswana, working on projects that focused on helping communities impacted by HIV/AIDS. Danzig earned a Master's degree in Public Administration from Eastern Washington University and an undergraduate degree in psychology and international studies from the University of Washington.
47. Faith Roland
Director of Real Property, Sound Transit
Faith A. Roland, Director of Real Property for Sound Transit, is a celebrated thought leader within the public infrastructure community. She has been involved in Right of Way since 1994, beginning as a project manager for King County, WA.
In 2010 Roland established a woman-owned, independent consulting firm, Roland Resources, Inc., bringing creative solutions to public infrastructure projects. In October 2016, Roland Resources merged with Contract Land Staff, LLC, where she served as an executive vice president over Nationwide Public Infrastructure for CLS. In June 2021, Roland joined Sound Transit as director of real property, currently leading a team of 100 staff and consultants, delivering transit infrastructure to the Puget Sound region.
Roland has served as international president of the International Right of Way Association, been a certified trainer for IRWA, and a mentor to future leaders. Locally, she served on the City of Bellevue, Parks, and Community Services board, and has taught flyfishing for Washington Outdoor Women for the past 25 years.
48. Jennifer Wong
Head of Sustainability, Convoy
Jennifer Wong is the Head of Sustainability of Convoy. She first joined the company in 2018 as its head of marketing. Convoy is a digital freight network solving problems in the $800 billion trucking industry. They partner with the best trucking companies and shippers to move millions of truckloads, rethink freight fundamentals, and design innovative solutions that address supply chain inefficiencies.
In addition to her roles with Convoy, Wong is the founder of the Seattle NFT Museum, designed to bring together artists, creators, collectors, and the broader blockchain community. She is also an adjunct professor for the University of Washington - Michael G. Foster School of Business, where she teaches entrepreneurial marketing and serves on the advisory board of the Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics program.
Wong graduated from the University of Washington with an undergraduate degree in communication. She has earned professional certificates from the NYU Stern School of Business, Yale School of Management, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and the University of Washington.
49. Jessica Rice
Director of Sales & Service, Express Employment
Jessica Rice is the Director of Sales and Service at Express Employment with over 10 years of experience helping professionals and businesses throughout the Greater Seattle Area with their staffing and recruiting needs. Rice specializes in top talent within accounting, finance, data analytics, project management, operations, marketing, executive administrative, HR, and C-suite executive talent.
By investing in business partnerships with clients and comprehensive culture alignment with candidates, Rice ends up in the winner’s circle annually, earning the number one recruiter award globally for two years in a row within Express Employment Professionals Specialized Recruiting Group, and placing in the top five President's Club year over year since 2018. She was also awarded The Emerald Achievement Award in 2021 and 40 under 40 in 2014.
Rice is passionate about helping others and giving back to her community. She brings an enthusiastic approach to connecting great people with wonderful organizations and finds joy in being a business partner to every client she serves. When she is not on the hunt for top talent or deepening her relationships with her clients, she enjoys writing and performing music as a recording artist. She also enjoys shoe shopping, wine tasting, kayaking, and traveling with her husband.
50. Cris Banahan
Senior Director of Global Sustainability & Citizenship, TransUnion
Cris Banahan is the Senior Director of Global Sustainability and Citizenship of TransUnion. She first joined the company in 2019. TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy.
Banahan is a results-driven, sustainability strategist with 10 years of experience and a demonstrated ability to combine sustainability, law, policy, and business to accomplish corporate objectives and industry ESG leadership. She specializes in climate change policy and sustainability management.
Previously, Banahan was a sustainability advisor, team lead at ISS Corporate Solutions. Before that, she was a climate change fellow at the United States/ International Council on Monuments and Sites. Earlier in her career, she worked with the Puerto Rico House of Representatives - committee on Education, cooperatives, and nonprofits as a legislative aide. Banahan earned a JD from Vermont Law and Graduate School and an MA in climate and society from Columbia University.
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