The Board of Trustees is a self-perpetuating body composed of past and current parents, alumnae, and members of the larger community who, as a collective body, holds the mission of Lake Washington Girls Middle School, and bears particular responsibility for the school’s fiduciary policies.
Douglas Greene P'17
President
Doug Greene is the father of Sophie, ’17, and husband of Barb Manning. While considering middle schools along with Sophie, Barb and Doug became true believers in the social and academic advantages of all-girls middle schools. L-Dub, in particular, felt just right for Sophie and the whole family. And were they ever right: Sophie codes. She acts. She writes poetry. She breaks boards in karate. She’s truly becoming strong in mind, body, and voice.
Outside of his family life, Doug is a partner at Lane Powell, a Seattle law firm, where he defends securities litigation matters around the country for public companies and individual directors and officers.
Valerie Kampe
Treasurer
Valerie Kampe co-founded Kaufman Kampe Advisors in 2007. A Chartered Financial Analyst since 1992, Valerie brings more than 20 years of expertise to Kaufman Kampe Advisors. Her experience ranges from pension consulting to money management to corporate finance. She is an active member of the CFA Society of Seattle and the Financial Planning Association.
Before co-founding Kaufman Kampe Advisors, Valerie was a Principal and Senior Portfolio Manager at several Seattle “buy side” firms, including Sirach Capital Management, Badgley Phelps, and The Harris. She has managed equity and balanced portfolios for private and corporate clients and mutual funds. Valerie also has developed quantitative models to support tax management strategies, multi-generation trust distribution policies, and to evaluate portfolio performance.
Prior to these portfolio management roles, Valerie spent seven years at Russell Investments, researching investment managers, consulting to large public and corporate pension plans, and rebuilding and enhancing quantitative tools. From 2000 to 2002, she left the investment industry to become the Chief Financial Officer of Rhodes Architectural Stone, an international manufacturing company based in Seattle.
Valerie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, with a specialization in Finance. Valerie is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Seattle Symphony Foundation, and the past Treasurer of the Seattle Academy Parent Association, the Board of Trustees of Spruce Street School, and the Board of Trustees of Green Tree Early Childhood Center. A fifth-generation Seattleite, Valerie practices yoga daily, and she studies and teaches martial arts. She also enjoys traveling and skiing with her husband and two sons.
Sumathi Raghavan P'16
Secretary
Sumathi Raghavan is the mother of Mena '16. By training, she is a librarian and writer/editor, with past positions at the Stanford University Press and the University of Texas at Dallas. She attended Wellesley College and her passion for girls' education is an outgrowth of that experience. Sumathi and her family have lived in Seattle for three years, and after ten years in Texas, are enjoying getting to know this new, beautiful part of the country.
Jennifer Bucher P'12
Jennifer Bucher has participated on several nonprofit boards serving local youth, including Teens in Public Service and SMARTgirls. She is an employment lawyer with a JD from the University of Washington ( a double Husky, actually, with a BA in Communications from the UW as well), and is currently the Director of Operations for Personnel Management Systems, Inc. Her prior work life included a 9 year in-house stint as Employment Counsel with Nordstrom, and as a partner with the law firm Garvey Schubert Barer. She is the mother of a LWGMS Class of 2012 graduate and is passionate about LWGMS’ mission.
Brenda Cram P'12
Brenda Cram has over 20 years of experience in primary education at independent schools. She is currently the head of the lower school at The Evergreen School in Shoreline, Washington. In this role, she oversees all curriculum, professional development, and teaching practices for preschool through grade three, a student body of 250, and 40 faculty and staff. She is a member of the school safety, diversity, technology, global citizenry, and mindfulness committees, and is responsible for the upkeep of all certification and Department of Early Learning licensure standards. Brenda has also served as assistant head, diversity coordinator, and teacher at Bertschi School and has been an instructional coach/math specialist at the Giddens School. She has taught kindergarten through fifth grades, and physical education. Outside of school, Brenda enjoys running, hiking, canoeing, biking, and spending time in the outdoors with her family. She believes that LWGMS provides the type of well rounded education necessary for girls to begin to see their individual potentials and to explore the kinds of studies that will engage their minds, bodies, and spirits for a lifetime ahead.
Olympia Edwards
Olympia Edwards has more than eight years of experience working youth-serving nonprofits, and has a background in community development and sustainability; marketing; student development; and event planning. She completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology with a concentration in Gender Studies from the University of North Florida. She has worked with several university research projects and community organizations in Florida. She has facilitated several leadership development programs, supervised service learning efforts, and learning community programs. In 2012, Olympia established her own mentoring organization for girls and young women of color in Snohomish & King County – Project Girl Mentoring Program – specializing in promoting self-esteem, developing life skills, and creating a positive environment for girls and young women to use their voice. Olympia is a member of the NAACP, Northwest Girls Coalition, and has been a recurring guest lecturer in the Student of Color Career Conference at Everett Community College. Her desire is to see all young women of color realize their full potential and overcome obstacles in their lives to prove how unstoppable they are.
Wendy Heipt P'17
Wendy Heipt is an attorney who has been working to advance justice for women and girls for the last twenty years. In Seattle, Wendy has worked for LegalVoice (pursuing legal justice for women and girls throughout the Northwest) and the Center for Children & Youth Justice (improving life for girls in Washington state’s juvenile justice and foster care systems). Wendy is the most recent director of the Justice for Girls Coalition, a statewide group working with girls along the juvenile justice continuum. Wendy is also a co-founder of the CAIR Project, the first independent abortion fund in the Pacific Northwest. Wendy was most recently published in the Seattle University Journal for Social Justice, Girls’ Court: A Gender Responsive Juvenile Court Alternative. An avid reader and dedicated volunteer, Wendy also takes philosophy classes at UW, runs monthly 5Ks, and is putting the final touches on an alternative approach to chronic IBD that she has been developing for the past six years. Wendy is the mother of Reese’17, and a local HS student.Meredith Li-Vollmer P'17
Meredith, mother of Audrey ‘17, is a risk communications specialist for Public Health - Seattle & King County with expertise in emergency preparedness, community engagement, and social media. She also is a clinical assistant professor in the UW School of Public Health and an active member of Comics Fever, a local group with an interest in the intersection of health and comics. Meredith was previously on the PTA board at Olympic View Elementary and a Girl Scout troop leader. Her favorite volunteer experience (so far) at LWGMS was as a judge at the STEAM Fair. Meredith received her doctorate in Communications from the University of Washington and a BA in International Studies from the University of Oregon.
Dave Pon P'18
Dave graduated with a B.A. in Economics with an Accounting Emphasis from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a J.D. from the University of Washington. He comes to the LWGMS Board with a very broad range of professional experience, having worked in accounting and finance for 17 years at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and for three years at the bio-pharmaceutical firm Immunex. He also worked briefly as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington. Outside of work, he enjoys spending relaxing time with his family and supporting his daughter in her numerous activities. He recently discovered CrossFit and looks forward to snowboarding each winter.
Danielle Tilden
Danielle is the Owner of Station 7, a small shop on Capitol Hill with a focus on locally made goods and art. She also serves as a Trustee of the Museum of Flight and is President of the Washington Aerospace Scholars Foundation through the Museum of Flight. Danielle’s career working in youth-serving organizations spans over 25 years and includes board or leadership positions with The Joshua P Williams Foundation, Issaquah Schools Foundation, Issaquah District PTSA, and Friends of Youth. She is specifically interested in educational opportunities for youth and programs benefitting underserved youth and families. Danielle is a proud graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and has a background in public accounting. She and her husband Brad have three grown daughters: Lauren, Jacquie, and Maria. She enjoys spending time with them traveling, hiking and urban exploring.
Ben Wilson P'11, '14
Ben is the father of Deepika '11 and Savita '14, and has been an enthusiastic L-Dub volunteer (tech support, chaperone, driver, prop maker, handyman, pizza cook) since 2008. He is a Seattle native, born just a block away from L-Dub. He works as a Senior Technical Program Manager at Amazon.com. He currently serves on the board of Seattle United soccer club and formerly has held board positions for the India Association of Western Washington. He is a former PTA president for South Shore K-8. Ben has a B.S. from Washington State University.
Jennifer (Jen) Winter
Jen Winter is the co-founder and Managing Partner at Lenati. She has 25 years of experience in delivering solutions to help clients leverage their most important asset –customers. Her expertise is focused on creating customer experiences that drive acquisition and retention. She has worked with leading technology brands including Cisco, Adobe, Hitachi, Cadence, webtrends, Oracle, and Microsoft as well as a large cross section of PNW based companies.
Outside of work, Jen and her partner Renee have four amazing daughters – Grace – 19, Margo – 7, Brooke – 7, and Charlotte – 7. As a family, they love to spend time hiking, biking and exploring the Pacific Northwest.