Our Board of Directors

Alex is a Senior Program Officer in the Global Policy and Advocacy program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where she manages relationships with large strategic advocacy partners.  Previously, she led the malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected infectious diseases advocacy portfolios to increase political commitment to, and funding for these diseases.

Prior to joining the foundation in 2007, Alexandra worked at a communications firm in New York and the International Herald Tribune in Paris. She has also spent time at the U.S. Embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and with Save the Children in Mali. Alexandra holds a Master of Health Science from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an MA in international development from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a BA in politics from Princeton University.  She is fluent in French.  Alexandra enjoys running (for exercise) and to keep up with her two daughters.

Erin is a licensed attorney with experience representing and advocating for children and youth in Washington’s foster care system, as well as children and youth experiencing homelessness. She started her legal career at Columbia Legal Services, where she spent five years working on a class action foster care reform settlement agreement and advocating for the due process rights of foster children. A year after the birth of her first child, Erin joined the Office of Family & Children’s Ombuds, a state agency that investigates complaints against Child Protective Services and Child Welfare Services. She later joined The Mockingbird Society where, as the Director of Public Policy & Communications, Erin led the agency’s strategic advocacy and policy agenda at the local, state, and national level—in collaboration with young people who experienced foster care and homelessness—to improve foster care and end youth homelessness.

Most recently, Erin started her own consulting firm, E.S. McCann, LLC, and is working on a multi-year project to increase the number of high quality licensed foster homes in Washington state. Erin graduated from the University of Washington and received her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law. Erin has two children who were born with the support and love of her partner and an incredible doula.

Alyson is currently an independent global health consultant. Prior to consulting, Alyson most recently worked at the University of Washington’s I-TECH, where she led headquarters based teams to implement large health systems strengthening programs in Tanzania, Namibia, and China. Before moving to Seattle, Ms. Shumays worked at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies on the Board on Global Health. She also has several years experience working as a grant manager at non-profit organizations. Ms. Shumays completed her Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Her passion for maternal and child health began during her Peace Corps service in West Africa, and has continued throughout her career and in her personal life. Alyson is the mother of two busy, busy boys.

Amanda is the finance lead for the Global Supply Operations for Expedia. She has over 15 years of experience in financial planning and analysis and strategic planning for global organizations. Her areas of expertise include budgeting, forecasting, ROI analysis and long-term growth planning. Amanda received her BS in Biology with a pre-med focus from Wake Forest University and her MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jen brings more than 15 years of professional experience in business strategy and finance.  She started her career in the private equity asset management industry, then worked as a management consultant with Bain & Company, advising executives of Fortune 500 companies on some of their most challenging strategic and operational issues. She most recently served as Director of Strategy at Nordstrom, where she supported strategic growth initiatives for the full price business.  Her areas of expertise include customer strategy, financial modeling, customer analytics and service operations.  Outside of work, Jen is an aspiring gardener and mother to 2 little ones (3 if you count the forever-young yellow lab).  Jen holds a BA in economics from Colorado College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Lay is currently a Senior Director of Sales at RhythmOne. She has 11 years of experience in online advertising and operations including 10 years managing teams across local and remote offices. She is also a founding member of Milli, a social media advertising company.

She has previously volunteered for the Community Relations Team at Planned Parenthood, served as a Mentor for Seattle Girls’ School and helped coordinate social media outreach for the Rowing Health & Wellness Symposium.

Lay received her BA in Communications with an emphasis in New Media Concepts at the University of Washington. She believes that Open Arms can be a vital resource for families in need of support in our communities.

Lynn has spent her professional career as a public school educator. She holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education from the University of Washington and was employed for many years as a high school Special Education Teacher in the Renton School District. After formal retirement, Lynn trained to become a certified birth doula and has practiced for seven years. She particularly enjoys her service to Open Arms clients. To her first Board experience, Lynn brings an interest in learning about Board functions and a desire to build community support and increase the network of local donors and supporters. Lynn believes in the positivity of Open Arms’ mission and work. Seeing, firsthand, the positive effect that having a doula brings to a laboring woman and her family inspired Lynn to join the Board where she could offer the doula perspective.

Katie Meyer is a Management Consultant with Point B Consulting where she helps healthcare organizations achieve their strategic goals.  With a passion for operations and process improvement, she delivers exceptional business outcomes for her clients rooted in evidence and an unwavering focus on the comfort and safety of patients.  Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington and a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from Ohio University.

A Seattle local, Katie is also a Board-Certified Ayurvedic Health Coach & Yoga Teacher who enjoys cooking and keeping up with her Rottweiler, Josie.

Nan is a leadership and organizational consultant who has worked with local and global nonprofits and businesses since 1999. She has previously volunteered in hospice care, helping with individuals living with HIV, and with youth in South Africa while on sabbatical in 2010. Nan believes support during intense life transitions is critical to the health of individuals and communities. The work Open Arms does to support mothers and families is what first inspired Nan’s interest in being on the board.

Mari Offenbecher spent her professional career as a non-profit leader including nearly three decades as the CEO of School’s Out Washington (SOWA).  Mari  served as the leader for SOWA, advancing quality, equity and innovation in building the field of after-school and youth development across Washington State. Mari has spent her career dedicated to bringing quality educational opportunities and supports to children and youth.

Mari has extensive experience building local, statewide and national coalitions and initiatives that impact systems change for children and youth.  She has especially focused these efforts on children of color and children from low-income backgrounds, understanding the critical role that early learning and expanded learning programs play in developing life-long skills and forming meaningful relationships.

Mari holds a Bachelors degree in Child Development from California State University Sacramento and has conducted research on advanced child development systems at the University of California Berkeley and Edinburgh University.  Mari is excited to support Open Arms in furthering their mission to provide vital supports to families during pregnancy, birth and early parenting.

Kevin Proctor works in medical administration for Sea Mar Community Health Centers, where he manages the primary medical and specialty care clinics in White Center. He both lives and works in communities where the services of Open Arms are both needed and utilized. Kevin is excited to connect clients of Open Arms with services provided by Sea Mar and vice versa because of the similar target population, geographic locations, and inter-reliant service needs. Kevin has also served on the board of the Boys and Girls Club Southwest Clubhouse for the last 2 years and serves on the leadership council for the Coalition for a Drug-Free Youth in White Center. He has a BA from Yale University and an MPH in health policy and management from the University of Pittsburgh. Outside of work Kevin enjoys travel (44 countries and 45 states, and counting), spending time with family, and participating in a variety of sports and athletic endeavors.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Doug is a retired business executive who spent his career in commercial bank marketing and aluminum manufacturing. He is excited about contributing to the future success of Open Arms. He is the Board Chairman of Axio Research Inc, a Seattle based company involved in all phases of pharmaceutical research. He is also the Board Chairman of Pacific Northwest Diabetic Research Inc, a nonprofit company involved in primary scientific research to improve the treatment of diabetes. Years ago, Doug was Board President of Big Brothers of Seattle. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.

Kendra C. Smith is a native Texan, born and raised in Dallas. Professionally she is a Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) Contracts Procurement Agent in the Avionics & Electrical Systems Supplier Management Group. Kendra transferred to the Pacific Northwest from Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) in August of 2014 from the Washington D.C. area.

In 2017, Kendra graduated from the United Way of King County’s Project LEAD Program, which is a leadership training program that prepares highly qualified people of color to serve effectively on nonprofit boards.  Before completing the program, she was voted onto the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle board. She was introduced to Open Arms Perinatal Services at the Project LEAD Program graduation and joined the board of directors in August 2017.

Kendra is a proud member of Junior League of Seattle, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Young Professionals and Guild. In April 2017, she was elected President of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Guild.

Kendra earned a dual degree in International Business and Japanese Studies from Dillard University and a Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

Christine Stansfield is a devoted public servant, committed to improving quality of life for women and children in the Puget Sound Region. Christine has significant experience in the nonprofit world, and her greatest passion lies in strategy and capacity building. She is currently the Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinator for the Sno-Isle Library System, responsible for management of a two county, 750+ person volunteer program, as well as supporting strategic relations for the district around early learning, civic engagement, and workforce development. Previously, Christine served as a Program Officer at Seattle Foundation, leading collective giving grant programs, as well as managing the Foundation’s Health and Wellness investment and knowledge strategy. Christine received a BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Seattle University. She is also an alum of JustServe AmeriCorps. Christine lives in Edmonds with her husband and young daughter.

Christine was first introduced to Open Arms through a grant proposal in 2011, and it was love at first sight.

Tisha Frank spent her professional career in nonprofit leadership, including service as the Executive Director of Puget Sound Big Sisters and Director of the Children’s Hospital Guild Association. Most recently her experience includes a decade as an internal consultant for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, providing analysis and guidance to more than 80 local agencies across the West on business and strategic planning, organizational development and capacity building, board and fund development, legislative advocacy, mergers and consolidations, and the use of metrics for program performance management.

Tisha currently serves as both a community volunteer and a part-time consultant to nonprofit organizations. She has volunteered as a board member of the Children’s Alliance, Washington Special Olympics, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, and the Leadership Tomorrow Alumni Committee. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Washington. Tisha believes that leadership of a nonprofit organization, either professional or volunteer, is some of the most challenging and important work in our society. Her commitment is to provide as much support as possible to those willing to take it on.

Dr. West is a physician at Swedish practicing Musculoskeletal Medicine. His work involves helping patients improve their performance and function through Osteopathic manual techniques. He works to maximize the body’s amazing healing potential to recover from illness and injury. He helps adults through a rehabilitation process and sees newborns with latching difficulties. Dr. West believes that people who educate themselves about exercise and nutrition can alter their lifestyle to improve health. They can set powerful examples for children, family, and friends. His interest in working with Open Arms comes from his passion for improving health. Open Arms aligns with his goal to help new parents and families. He believes that doulas can provide education and support that can relieve stress for families facing different challenges during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.