Aaron Toso is a corporate communications manager at Amazon in Seattle. Throughout his professional career he has been engaged on all sides of public policy debates from working on political campaigns and as a consultant to serving on the Executive Management Team at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources under Commissioner Peter Goldmark. Aaron also served as press secretary for Washington Governor Chris Gregoire.

In his community Aaron volunteers as a youth wrestling coach and gardens with his kids at the Bethany Presbyterian Church Community Garden. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Minnesota State University, Moorhead and lives in Tacoma with his wife, two young sons and their tireless cattle dog. He serves as the Chair of the Forterra’s South Sound Regional Leadership Council.

A commitment to community is at the heart of nearly everything Allan Steinman does. In fact, it’s pretty much a family value for the Steinmans. Together, Allan and his wife serve on six boards and donate their time and financial resources to numerous charities.

Allan is a principal in Bader Martin’s tax practice. His work emphasis includes tax planning and business consulting for closely held and family-owned companies, as well as high net worth families. He also assists clients in developing their own strategies for giving back to their communities.

Allan serves business clients in a range of sectors, including professional services, retail, wholesale distribution, real estate, technology, and manufacturing.

Andrea Delgadillo Ostrovsky is a partner at Calfo Eakes & Ostrovsky PLLC, a highly-regarded Seattle litigation firm focused on complex civil litigation and criminal defense. Andrea received her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and her B.A. in environmental studies from the University of Chicago. Andrea clerked for the Honorable Marsha J. Pechman, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, and Justice Robert L. Eastaugh, Alaska Supreme Court.

In addition to her law practice, Andrea is actively engaged in local restoration efforts. Andrea has been a Forest Steward in the Forterra and City of Seattle-sponsored Green Seattle Partnership for over ten years. Andrea is the co-founder and co-chair of the Friends of Cheasty Greenspace at Mountainview, a volunteer community group dedicated to restoring Cheasty Greenspace, a 43-acre greenspace in the Rainier Valley. In 2013, Andrea received a Denny Award for Conservation and Environmental Stewardship.

When not at work or pulling ivy, you can find Andrea with her husband and two daughters skiing or biking or camping somewhere special in the Pacific Northwest.

Barbara Dingfield has been an active community volunteer since she moved to Seattle in the 1970’s. Her professional life has spanned the public, private and non-profit sectors. Prior to retiring she was a senior consultant with The Giving Practice, a consulting group serving private and public foundations in the Pacific Northwest. From 1994 – 1999, Barbara was Director of Community Affairs at Microsoft, developing Microsoft’s national and international philanthropic programs. Earlier in her career, Barbara spent 7 years with the City of Seattle and 14 years as executive vice president of Wright Runstad & Co., a real estate development company. She has served on the boards of many nonprofit organizations, serving in leadership roles with United Way, Seattle Housing Resources Group (now Bellwether), Pacific Medical Centers and others. She is currently on the Board of the Foundation for the Seattle Colleges and an adviser to the Chancellor and the trustees of the Seattle Colleges. Barbara has a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a Masters in Economics from Columbia University.

Beth Birnbaum is Chief Operating Officer at PlayFab, the backend as a service platform for gaming. PlayFab’s real-time tools and analytics help stimulate player engagement and monetization. Prior to PlayFab, Beth served as Senior Vice President of Product at GrubHub and Vice President of Product and Connectivity at Expedia.

Beth holds a BA in economics and international studies from Yale and an MBA from INSEAD. She is an advisor to a number of early stage companies and is a mentor at TechStars Seattle. She serves on the Board of Directors of Playworks Illinois. Beth lives in Seattle with her husband and two young children.

Chris is the Managing Partner of Hey Advertising in Seattle. His company develops digitally-focused marketing programs for local clients like Car Toys and The Everett Clinic; for regional clients like Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance and the University of Utah; and for global client Keysight Technologies. Started in 2009, the 25 person company has offices in downtown Seattle.

Prior to starting Hey, Chris was the President of the Seattle office of global agency DDB. With more than 200 people, DDB was one of the largest agencies in the region with advertising clients like Holland America Line, Microsoft, McDonald’s and The North Face. DDB’s cause-marketing practice provided marketing services to organizations like the Kaiser Family Foundation, ONE.org and the Robert Wood Family Foundation.

When he’s not working, Chris tries to spend as much time as he’s allowed to with his 15 year old daughter (which is not much) and with his wife (which is also not much) who’s now a full time student in an apparel design program. His oldest is in college in Oregon so he has lots of time to spend being amazed by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Dan Nordstrom is the owner and CEO of Outdoor Research Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of technical clothing and accessories for human-powered adventure. Prior to that, he spent 17 years at Nordstrom Inc., working through all levels of the company: from the stockroom to shoe buyer, store manager and finally Co-President from 1996-1999. He led the spin-out of Nordstrom.com into a stand-alone company.

Dan earned a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Washington. He’s also served as past President of the Board of Directors of the Access Fund, which represents rock climbers in the United States.  Dan currently sits on the board of Evo.com and is Board Chair of Nuun Inc. Outside of work he spends as much time as he can climbing and skiing and playing the occasional round of golf as a reminder that life is supposed to be hard.

De’Sean Quinn serves on Tukwila City Council. He is a Water Quality Planner and Project Manager with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks where he works on community relations, directs public involvement consultants and represents the agency on various intergovernmental planning groups.

De’Sean graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Political Science. He and his wife Nichole have lived in Tukwila for 11 years and have two sons. His wide range of interests includes public policy, transportation, education and environmental sustainability. His hobbies include volunteering at environmental and restoration events, community organizing and advocacy, football, biking, traveling and walking the dog (Ramses−another family member!)

Dennis Madsen is the past CEO of REI, where he worked for nearly 40 years. Since retiring in 2005, Dennis has redirected his decades of business leadership and experience to assisting strong retail, business and nonprofit brands as a board member. Past and present board memberships include Alaska Airlines, Performance Bicycle, Evo.com, Western Washington University, Islandwood, Pivotlink Software and West Marine Inc. He earned a B.S. in Engineering from Seattle Pacific University and an M.B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University.

Eric Campbell is the Chief Executive Officer of MainStreet Property Group LLC and GenCap Construction Co., leading real estate development and construction-management firms dedicated to the vision, construction, and operation of landmark properties throughout Seattle.

In his myriad roles, Eric is widely recognized for his dynamic industry leadership. He has successfully overseen billions of dollars in real estate transactions, leading the helm in the purchase, development, and operations of award-winning, mixed-used communities.

Throughout the course of his decades long career, Eric has received significant accolades for his professional accomplishments. Eric was recognized as the 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year for Construction and Real Estate in the Pacific Northwest. He also received the King County Earth Hero Award in 2005 for his commitment to green practices in the development of Shamrock Heights, a 4-star, Built Green, Low Impact Demonstration Community in Renton Highlands.

During his tenure, Eric has implemented Lean practices, strategic planning programs, and key marketing initiatives that led to long-range initiatives for the Master Builders Association, Imagine Housing, and the University of Washington Runstad Center.

Eric lives on the eastside of Seattle and is a graduate of the University of Washington. He currently serves on the advisory board at UW’s Runstad Center and the Center for Real Estate Research.

Professionally, Gigi spent most of her career in the energy and telecommunications field. She served as the Director of Strategic Planning at the California Public Utilities Commission where she prepared policy papers and recommendations on utility rates and planning in that state. Before that she served as the Assistant Executive Director for Policy and Programs at the California Energy Commission and as an advisor to a Commissioner. She also worked for Governor Jerry Brown as Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Appropriate Technology and served as the Manager of Strategy for MCI’s Western Public Policy Group. She is the author of several books on energy conservation and renewable energy sources.

In the ten years following her professional retirement, Gigi co-founded The Bay School of San Francisco, and has continued to give back to her communities through service on many non-profit and advisory boards. Gigi and her husband have a ranch near Cle Elum, Washington which was originally Hidden Valley Guest Ranch, now Horse Canyon Ranch. She maintains a strong interest in land preservation, particularly as the area’s economy shifts from cattle and grazing to second home development.

Jim Greenfield has been a member of Forterra’s Board of Directors since 1997. He served as its chair from 2013-2014. Jim is a partner with the Seattle-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine and practices with its Real Estate and Land Use Group. For over 30 years, Jim has represented private, nonprofit and public clients on a wide variety of real estate transactions and land use proceedings. He has particular expertise and experience with large, complex public infrastructure projects and is a well-recognized authority in crafting creative natural resource conservation transactions.

As CHFC-President/CEO, Larry’s primary function is to serve as lead adviser to the firm’s high net worth individuals and families, foundation and endowments, and select retirement plan clients. Larry has 30 years of experience working with individual and fiduciary clients to develop financial and investment plans that best fit their goals, objectives, and risk tolerance. Larry has extensive experience in construction and oversight of global asset allocation strategies as well as portfolio construction utilizing appropriate managers. Larry works with the client service team to provide ongoing performance evaluation and advice. In addition, he serves as chairman of the firm’s Investment Committee, which guides the investment process for Pacific Portfolio and ensures the firm provides consistent, effective advice and counsel to clients.

Since founding the firm in 1992, Larry has served as President and CEO of Pacific Portfolio Consulting; he also currently serves as President and CEO of Pacific Portfolio Trust Company which was formed in 2006. He has over twenty years of experience providing leadership and management oversight to financial services companies. Barron’s acknowledged Larry as one of the top 100 independent financial advisers in the U.S. in 2016.

Larry holds degrees in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Puget Sound.

Linda Neunzig owns Ninety Farms, a 50-acre sustainable farm in Arlington where she raises all natural grass-fed SDA beef and Katahdin lamb for Seattle-area restaurants and local farmers markets. Linda has attended “Terra Madre” in Turin, Italy three times as a U.S. delegate for Slow Food USA. She was also one of five farmers chosen from across the United States to represent the American Farmer at the New York City Meals On Wheels benefit in July of 2008 and was featured in Gourmet Magazine as one of the producers. In 2008 Linda was awarded the “Women Who Inspire” award by the National Women’s Chef and Restaurateurs Association.

Farming is not Linda’s only profession; she is also the Agriculture Coordinator for Snohomish County. In that role she’s provided assistance to farmers; has led several projects, including the first ever Western Washington wine competition at the Evergreen State Fair; and helped create a year-round farmers market and food hub. She’s the Chair of Forterra’s North Sound Regional Leadership Council.

Michael is the General Manager for Microsoft’s global real estate and facilities. He is responsible for planning, delivery and operations of Microsoft’s worldwide real estate portfolio, and directing the full scope of the real estate life cycle activities. Michael joined Microsoft in 2005, as the Director of Shared Services and has since worked in various capacities at the company including Senior Director of Microsoft’s Internal Audit Group and as the Senior Controller for Microsoft’s Cloud & Enterprise business.

Prior to Microsoft, he accrued thirteen years of business and financial management experience and served as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Alabama A&M University, and a MBA with a concentration in Accounting and International Business. In his spare time, Michael enjoys coaching youth sports, cycling, photography, videography, traveling, and spending time with his wife and three children.

Michelle Connor has worked to save keystone land for community and environmental well-being throughout her 25-year career at Forterra. She has now played a part in more than 400 transactions worth $500M and provided executive leadership in all phases of public policy, community engagement, negotiations, fundraising, and innovative finance (notably the Forterra Strong Communities Fund). Highlights of her leadership include successful completion of the 4,000-acre Kitsap Forest and Bay Campaign, saving the Wayne Golf Course in Bothell so that it can become a large public park, protecting waterfront on Maury Island from being developed as a gravel pit, restoring the culturally important Duwamish Hill Preserve, adding the scenic Moolak Lakes to the Mt. Si Natural Area, negotiating a community stake in coming redevelopment at 23rd and Union in Seattle’s Central District, and laying the groundwork for Wadajir, a micro-enterprise hub in Tukwila together with the Abu Bakr Mosque. Michelle is a third-generation Washingtonian, with an M.S. from the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources and a B.A. from the Evergreen State College.

Dr. Orin Levine leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s efforts to accelerate the introduction of new vaccines and related technologies and to improve routine immunization systems. He is the Foundation’s focal point for engagement with the GAVI Alliance whose mission is saving children’s lives by increasing access to immunization in poor countries.

Before joining the foundation’s Global Development Program in 2012, Dr. Levine was a Professor of International Health, and Executive Director of the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has also served as a Steering Committee Member of the Decade of Vaccines Collaboration and Co-Chair of its Global Access Working Group, as well as President, Committee on Global Health, American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.

Dr. Levine graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College and received a PhD in epidemiology from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Native Seattleite Ruth True is a passionate advocate for visual arts and community activism. She is the founder of two companies that blend these pursuits: NuBe Green, Seattle’s mercantile for ecologically-responsible apparel and home goods; and Nube9, a social purpose company that puts recycled, U.S.-made uniforms on student athletes. In both, Ruth has created a consumer model that supports local artisans and reduces dependency on new materials and overseas manufacturing. Ruth and her husband Bill also founded Seattle’s Western Bridge, a nonprofit, public exhibition space dedicated to making contemporary art accessible. While the space was a ten year project, the art continues. Ruth is currently on the Board of Trustees for Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences where she has served for eight years. She has five busy children, many dogs and numerous grand-dogs.

Ryan Mullenix is a design partner at NBBJ, named one of the most innovative architecture firms in the world by Fast Company. In his role, Ryan is a strong advocate for data-driven design, a process that uses custom algorithms to link geometry with data to augment both human and building performance.

Ryan has led the design of numerous award-winning projects both nationally and internationally, including the design of Google’s new Bay View campus in Mountain View, CA. His work and expertise have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, the San Jose Mercury News, Newsweek, Quartz, Bloomberg News, CNBC, Re: Form on Medium and on National Public Radio.

Civic Leader

Terry Mutter is director of Strategy for The Boeing Company Shared Services Group. He is responsible for strategy integration with Business Units and Functions to ensure SSG alignment of their current and future business needs. Prior to his current role Mutter led the development and implementation of Boeing environmental strategy and policy to continuously improve the environmental performance of Boeing global operations. He joined Boeing in 1985 and has held management and executive positions in Finance, e-Commerce, Supplier Management, Facilities, Program Management and Strategy.

Mutter earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University and holds an MBA from Pacific Lutheran University. He has attended executive programs at Wharton and Kellogg Schools of Business, is a graduate of Columbia University’s Senior Executive Program and attended the Climate Leaders Program at the University of Cambridge.

Tulalip Tribes of Washington

Vice President at JTM Construction, Troy Bloedel has had a long career in the building industry including stints doing mechanical design-build and general contracting. Prior to joining JTM he spent eight years with Lease Crutcher Lewis. Projects he’s been involved in range from Seattle’s top concert halls, to high-rise residential, to the UW Bothell Science and Academic Building. In addition to service on the Forterra Finance committee, he is on the board of the Washington chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and has coached everything from middle school soccer to the US Disabled Ski Team.