Board of Directors
Trustees

Board of Directors

John Atcheson of Seattle (Board Chair) is CEO of SpinSpotter, a Web-based service dedicated to bringing transparency to news media. Prior to joining SpinSpotter, John spent over 20 years as an entrepreneur and advisor in the field of media and technology. John is former CEO of the new media company Ads.com and former vice president and general manager of Media Publishing at RealNetworks (RNWK), a role that involved the oversight of all media-related Web sites, the negotiation of strategic alliances with media partners such as NPR, Warner Bros, and Sony, and the acquisition of media properties such as Film.com. Prior to joining RealNetworks, John spent seven years as the founder and CEO of MusicNet, a pioneering interactive services company backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the Mayfield Fund, after earlier serving on the executive staffs of both Digidesign and Macromind (now Macromedia). John also serves as president of The National Charitable Network (NCN), a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on increasing charitable giving through the creation of a new electronic platform for giving called Individual Charitable Accounts, and as a section leader and occasional soloist with the Seattle Symphony Chorale. He received his BA from Brown University and his MBA from Stanford Business School.

Alan Thein Durning of Seattle serves on the board in his official capacity as Sightline's executive director. He founded Sightline Institute in 1993; prior, he was a senior researcher at Worldwatch Institute in Washington, DC, where he studied the human dimensions of sustainability. He has authored or coauthored numerous publications, including the award-winning This Place on Earth: Home and the Practice of Permanence, and How Much Is Enough? The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth. A sought-after speaker, he has lectured at the White House, major universities, and conferences on five continents. Go to Alan's full bio.

Mary Fellows has been a bookseller at Annie Bloom’s Books, an independent book store in Portland, for nearly 20 years. She is a grandmother, an avid bike commuter, a member of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and a board member of the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Mary has also been a SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) volunteer for the past 10 years. Her previous experiences include serving as President of the ACLU of Oregon and as staff to the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and to the Multnomah County Executive.

Jeff Hallberg of Bellevue, Washington, serves as Sightline's seceretary. He has worked at Microsoft since 1993, currently as chief of staff of the Operations Services IT group within the Microsoft IT Division, and holds a BA in Management from Seattle Pacific University.

Jeanette Henderson serves as Sightline's treasurer and chairs the board finance and audit committee. She is the Director of Real Estate at the University of Washington where she leads an office of real estate professionals and administrative support staff conducting real property transactions, asset management, project management, finance and accounting. She serves on subcommittees of the University’s Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee and is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. She is a member of Sightline’s Cascadia Stewards Council and served on the Finance Committee as a trustee before becoming a Sightline Director. Jeanette grew up in Oregon, and is a graduate of Washington State University and University of Washington School of Law.

Bill Kramer is an independent health care consultant, focusing on health care management, finance and public policy. Prior to developing his consulting practice, Mr. Kramer was a senior executive with Kaiser Permanente for over 20 years. Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Kaiser Permanente’s Northwest Region. Prior to his career at Kaiser, he was Chief of Budget and Program Analysis Services for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Bill is a member the Board of Governors and Treasurer of the City Club of Portland, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the International Sustainable Development Foundation. He has an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA from Harvard. He and his wife, Melissa Cadwallader, live in Portland, Oregon.

Michelle Long is the Executive Director of Sustainable Connections, a NW WA network of 600 local businesses and community leaders, committed to a healthy environment, meaningful employment, a strong community, and buying local first. Sustainable Connections is having a dramatic impact in NW Washington and creating model programs that are being replicated throughout North America. These programs, many of which have been profiled in documentaries, books and national media, include Food and Farming, Green Building, the Green Power Community Challenge, Sustainable Business Development, and Think Local First. Ms. Long is also a regular keynote speaker about sustainable economies and the co-chair of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, (BALLE), an alliance of 53 sustainable business networks. She lives with her husband and colleague, Derek Long, and three year old daughter Hadley Marie, (aka Lulu), in Bellingham, Washington.

Ethan Meginnes is active in many sectors of Washington's volunteer, philanthropic, and nonprofit communities. He has served as President of the Marymoor Velodrome Association, Chair of the Major Donor Fundraising Committee for the Cascades Conservation Partnership, and is an active partner of Social Venture Partners.

Gordon Price of Vancouver, BC, is Director of the City Program for Simon Fraser University and adjunct professor on urban planning at the University of British Columbia. He served as City Councillor from 1986 to 2002. He also sat on the boards of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and of TransLink, the regional transportation authority. Prior to that, he worked as an urban-planning consultant, as a writer and editor, and as information and education coordinator for AIDS Vancouver. Gordon lectures and writes widely on urban development, design, and transportation issues in Canada and the US. He also publishes an e-mail newsletter, Price Tags, which are archived on the Sightline website. If you'd like to subscribe, e-mail him at pricetags@shaw.ca.

Valerie Tarico, Ph.D., is board chair of the Washington Progress Alliance, a state-level donor alliance that seeks to improve strategic coordination and planning, build infrastructure, and foster the development of effective, data-driven policies in Washington State. She is a psychologist, author, and public speaker on the topic of Evangelicalism, and is involved in local and national dialogue about the influence of Christian fundamentalism on U.S. politics and social priorities. Her book, The Dark Side: How Evangelical Teachings Corrupt Love and Truth, examines the core dogmas that drive the Religious Right. Contact: valerietarico@hotmail.com. Website: www.spaces.live.com/awaypoint.

David Yaden of Lake Oswego, Oregon, is former energy director for the state of Oregon and serves as chair of Sightline's board governance committee. He is semi-retired from 30 years varied experience in the public and private sectors but does occasional consulting on large-scale strategies for complex problems, such as reforming school finance and the tax structure in Oregon. As an independent consultant for the last decade, Dave developed strategic plans for the Oregon State System of Higher Education and for Tri-Met. In 1991, he left his position as Director of Oregon's Department of Energy, which he had held since 1987, to spend a year advising newly-free Czech and Slovak national and local governments on management of environmental problems. Other experience includes work as manager of corporate planning for a Fortune-500 company, special assistant to a US Secretary of Transportation, chief of staff to a US Congressman, and manager of his own public opinion analysis firm.

Trustees

Mary-lynn Ballew of Seattle, serves on the Sighline Development Committee. She grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from The Evergreen State College. She has worked as a volunteer fundraiser and served on the board of directors for PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) and The Spruce Street School.

Mark Cliggett is an 18-year veteran of Microsoft with roles including development in early versions of Windows, driving transparency in the Developer Division, and currently product unit manager for Embedded Windows. He is an aspiring lacrosse player, occasional climber, and longtime member of Sightline. During a break from his time at Microsoft, Mark co-founded Bright Water School, a K-8 elementary school in Seattle. Mark also co-founded Angels With Attitude, a hybrid angel network and venture fund focused on sustainability. Mark lives with his wife and two sons in Seattle.

Dr. Diana Gale is a member of the Leadership Council of the Puget Sound Partnership and has recently completed a term as Chair of the Washington State Board of Public Works, both appointments from Governor Christine Gregoire. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs where she organized and ran Executive Education for 5 years. Diana owns her own consulting company, Hillis Gale Associates, which specializes in strategic planning on water and waste issues. She is the former Director of Seattle Public Utilities and the City of Seattle Office of Management and Budget. She has also served as the superintendent of the Seattle Water Department, director of the Solid Waste Utility and executive director of the Legislative Department. In her early career, she worked in the United States Senate and was a teacher in Panama and Taipei. Diana also has extensive community involvement work in the arts and the environment, serving on numerous boards and committees.

Erik Jansen and his wife, Gretchen, live on Mercer Island with their three young children. Having begun his career in technical design and marketing roles, he later changed his focus to business analysis and corporate finance, ultimately serving as a securities analyst and partner within several major investment banking firms. More recently, as an entrepreneur, he has founded and/or served in managerial or board roles in start-ups targeting automated manufacturing, networking, Voice-over-Internet (VoIP) components, online medical consultancies, and other technology product and service companies. He serves or has served on boards of universities and non-profit organizations, including several focused on sustainability of the Northwestern and Alaskan environments and preservation of their indigenous cultures. He holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and master’s degrees in business administration from Indiana University and computer science from the University of Washington.

Petra Lahaie is a co-founder and the managing director of Vault Capital and a general partner of Vault Capital II. Prior to Vault Capital, Ms. Lahaie worked with start-ups in a management or director capacity and came to that from the data networking and wireless communications field, including positions with US West Wireless, AT&T, MFS, UUNET, IBM, WorldCom, and as associate producer for CBS in New York City. Ms. Lahaie has also worked closely with artist Dale Chihuly, building his support organization for upwards of 11 years. Ms. Lahaie attended Harvard University and Bennington College, where she received her undergraduate degree. She also attended Stanford University and the University of Washington.

Wayne Lei is the Director of Research and Development at Portland General Electric - a function he has lead for over 10 years. In this role, he has issued Technical Basis Documents and other white papers on environmental, social and technical issues affecting the Company. Prior to this, Lei was Director of Environmental Policy at PGE and, before that he served in the nuclear industry for ten years. He is currently a Board member for the American Lung Association of Oregon, the Resource Innovation Group (University of Oregon), the Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board and he chairs the International Sustainable Foundation. Mr. Lei also serves on the Reactor Safety Committee for Reed College. Recently, he joined and chairs the Advisory Committee for ABET accreditation to the Renewable Energy Systems degree program at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Mr. Lei holds a doctorate in Environmental Health Sciences specializing in Radiation Hygiene from New York University, as well as degrees from Oregon State University and Oberlin College. Since 1986, he has been certified in the comprehensive practice of Health Physics by the American Board of Health Physics.

Matt Lerner is CTO of Front Seat Management, where he is responsible for design and development of new products that leverage technology to make the world a better place. From 2001-2007, Matt worked in product development at Microsoft, most recently as Lead Program Manager for Microsoft Windows Vista, where he had responsibility for designing the core user interface components of the world's most widely used software. Matt was the co-founder of EQuill, a Web development software company he sold to Microsoft in 2001. Matt was awarded a Fulbright fellowship and has a B.S. in Computer Science from Brown University, where he studied at Brown's famed graphics laboratory.

Born in Cascadia, Ann Martin has lived all but two years of her life here. With a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Washington State University, she spent thirty years as an environmental, land use and transportation planner in city, county and regional governments. Retiring in 2006, she now wants to dedicate herself to planting trees on her father's tree farms and to working on other issues critical to the survival of our community, Cascadia and the world. Acting as a trustee for Sightline seems a logical place to start!

Laura Retzler, a Seattle-based nonprofit consultant, came across The Car and the City in 1998, shortly after completing a cross-country bike trip. She has been a Sightline supporter ever since. With a career spanning 15 years in the nonprofit sector, Laura founded Nonprofit Recruitment Services in 2001 to help nonprofits find and keep talented people. A dedicated philanthropist, she serves on Sightline's fundraising committee, is a past member of Social Venture Partners and the Washington Women's Foundation, and a donor to more than a dozen organizations that promote strong communities and alternative transportation. She has an MA in public policy and a BA in political science from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Iowa, respectively.

John Savage is an Oregon public utility commissioner. Savage has worked in the energy and utility field more than 25 years, including eight years as the head of the Oregon Department of Energy under Oregon governors Roberts and Kitzhaber. Savage organizes the Bob Straub Environmental Lecture Series and the Amateur Naturalist adult education series for the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center in Salem, Oregon; leads wildflower hikes; and is spearheading the restoration of a 15-acre wet prairie, among other community activities. Savage has a masters degree in natural resource economics.

Christopher Troth is a Trustee of Sightline’s Finance Committee. A resident of Seattle since 1993, he is a private investor and occasional restorer of old houses. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.