2012 Board Members
Megan Le, Co-President Megan graduated from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, in April 2009 with an MBA focused on Strategy and Sustainability. She co-founded her school’s Net Impact chapter, helping to expand the European network and bridge the gap between chapter member interests and career services. During business school Megan interned with Fair Factories Clearinghouse and co-created a business plan related to transparency in the consumer goods supply chain at the point of sale. Before beginning work at PATH in August 2010, Megan spent her first Seattle year as an event coordinator for Fabric of Life Fair Trade Boutique, a strategy consultant for Seattle Goodwill Industries through the Taproot Foundation, and a Marketing consultant for Marigold Fair Trade Clothing Company. Most recently she was named a Prominent Alumni in Net Impact’s 2011 Business as UNUsual report and created a panel at the 2011 Net Impact Conference entitled Tackling Global Health Challenges Through Public-Private Partnerships.
Why Net Impact? Megan is convinced that with public-private collaboration, and brilliant and ethically minded leaders in positions of influence, business has the power to tackle the world’s most pressing economic, social, and environmental issues through sustainable practices.
About Megan: Megan is a native East-coaster who split her time between Long Island and North Carolina. She is happily married to her college sweetheart David, and they live together with their rescued hound mix Gracie. She enjoys her new laid-back West coast lifestyle and spends her free time running, reading, traveling, and getting to know the Seattle area. Find her on Linked-In and follow her on Twitter @meganle.
Lisa Nager, Co-President Lisa joined the Net Impact Seattle board in 2009 after completing her MBA at The Wharton School. She was a member of the 2008 Net Impact Conference Planning team at Wharton, leading the development of the CSR curriculum. Prior to business school, Lisa lived in New York City where she worked in marketing and brand management for Elizabeth Arden. She now works at Starbucks on the Global Consumer Products team.
Why Net Impact? Net Impact is a group where like-minded individuals can connect and strengthen the ability of businesses to make a positive impact.
About Lisa: Lisa is from New York, and is living on the west coast for the first time after moving to Seattle in August 2009. She enjoys running, cooking, skiing, and learning about gardening.
Melissa C. Blair, VP Marketing As a 16-year veteran of the financial industry, Melissa currently works for Umpqua Bank as a Vice President, Treasury Management Consultant. She is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) and a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP). Melissa graduated magna cum laude from DeVry University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing. With a lifelong desire to learn, she is currently pursuing an MBA in Sustainable Business from Green Mountain College. She’s looking forward to all of the free time she’ll have upon graduating in May 2012.
Why Net Impact? Net Impact provides a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded people in Seattle. Melissa hopes to impact the business community through developing a deeper understanding of its contributions toward building a more sustainable future.
About Melissa: Melissa is a native of Maryland, but considers Atlanta,Georgia home. She moved to Seattle in 2010 and loves exploring everything the west coast has to offer. Some of her interests include reading, heading back east to spend time with her nieces and nephews, writing, watching football, and hanging out in the downtown Bellevue park.
Jessica Geenen, VP Impact Programs
Jessica joned the Net Impact Seattle board in November 2011. She is the Market Manager for the Energy Efficient Communities Program for Puget Sound Energy, a local gas and electric utility. The program links communities in PSE’s service area to its energy efficiency and customer renewable programs. Prior to starting at PSE in 2008, Jessica was the Central Washington Community Engagement and Social Responsibility
Liaison for a Canadian natural gas exploration firm, Trident Resources Corp. During her time in Central Washington, Jessica started the Mid Columbia Sustainable Business Network to bring businesses together to learn about how to incorporate sustainability into their operations.
Jessica holds a Masters degree in Responsibility and Business Practice from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, with a thesis focused on responsible corporate community engagement. She holds a BA in International Studies with a Minor in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Why Net Impact? The organization is a great way for professionals to stay engaged with the multiple topics Net Impact members are interested in. It also helps bring together people with varied backgrounds, but similar passions to have a positive impact on the community and environment.
About Jessica: Being born and raised internationally and living in 7 different countries, prompted Jessica’s passion for community development and responsible corporate citizenship. In her free time Jessica enjoys cooking, outdoor activities, reading and travel.
Julia Hughes, VP Member Acquisitions Julia graduated from The George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Jazz Musicianship. Upon graduation, finding her fields of study to be only mildly applicable in the “real,” world, she redirected her pursuits towards sustainable business. She joined the Environmental Business Council of New England in Boston where she worked for four years as the Director of Business Operations, helping emerging and established environmental and energy companies grow their businesses. She recently joined People For Puget Sound as their Membership Manager, where she works to improve the value proposition of individual donors, working with local businesses to develop membership benefits and create exciting events. Her dream is to own a sustainable laundromat bar.
Why Net Impact? Net Impact Members are a self-selecting group of intelligent, approachable and compassionate people. Julia is looking forward to the opportunity to form professional and personal relationships with them at some of Net Impacts great events.
About Julia: Julia is a native of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. She is the co-boss of Nerd Nite Seattle, a monthly lecture series that takes place in a bar. She used to be in a Star Wars-themed band. She has a cat named Sofa.
Alex Michalko, Marketing Alex Michalko recently joined the Corporate Social Responsibility team at REI, where she is working to integrate environmental sustainability across the organization and align the company’s environmental indicators with financial reporting. Before joining REI, Alex worked in the Corporate Citizenship Insights & Integration team for The Walt Disney Company, where she focused on stakeholder mapping, issues management, consumer research, and sustainability reporting. She began her career in the non-profit sector as a land acquisition specialist at the Peninsula Open Space Trust, protecting land from development in the Bay Area. She received her MBA and Master of Environmental Management degrees from Duke University and her BA in International Relations from Stanford University.
Why Net Impact? Alex is a long-timer supporter of Net Impact’s work to enable business and community leaders to improve their organizations and the world. She was drawn to Net Impact’s mission to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world for the same reasons she was drawn to REI, whose mission is to inspire, educate, and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. In both cases, we succeed when we do well by doing good.
About Alex: Alex is originally from Palo Alto, California. In her spare time, she is a traveler, blogger, sailor, aspiring cook, and treat provider for her hound mutt Jasper.
Lily Osborne, VP Member Retention Lily joined the Net Impact Seattle board in 2011. After graduating from Gonzaga University in 2008 with a B.A. in Political Science, Lily worked in the nonprofit sector pursuing her interest in development and community engagement. Her nonprofit experience included a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Taproot Foundation. Lily currently works for Coinstar, Inc. in the Corporate Social Responsibility and public relations teams.
Why Net Impact? Engaging with Net Impact members offers both a learning experience and opportunity to connect with like-minded people.
About Lily: A Seattle native, Lily likes to spend time being active outdoors, catching up with friends, exploring her Capitol Hill neighborhood and enjoying live music; winter is dedicated to Gonzaga basketball.
Tom Potier, VP Strategic Partnerships Tom’s skills are derived from an extensive experience in the aerospace industry. After a MS in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford, Tom became designer for the Rafale’s next generation high pressure turbine blades and module expert for military aircraft engines. Later, as a process engineer at Firth Rixson, he managed the relationship with European customer accounts. At Mecachrome, he was responsible for the financial evaluation of current and future sourcing projects. During his MBA at the University of Washington, Tom aligned his passion for the environment and his engineering mindset by becoming a Climate Corp Fellow – an Environment Defense Fund program, and identified $10M worth of saving in five years. He is now working as a Manager for Arryve.
Why Net Impact? Sustainability imposed itself naturally to Tom along his educational and professional path. Similarly to supply chains which do not behave well under great variability, human organizations are less efficient if tuned to amass wealth in a hurry to later disperse it to a fraction of the unhappy stakeholders. Net Impact showed that, indeed, efficient companies are managing the environment and the people besides their cash.
About Tom: Tom was born in France and lived in the Loire valley for twenty years before taking the challenge to study abroad. While studying at Stanford he met his wife, Niti, and moved from California to find some seasons up in Seattle.
Shara Senior, Book Club Shara is the Business Manager for New Ventures for Philips, where she focuses on global strategic marketing for ultra-low cost ultrasound products. Prior to joining Philips, Shara was a consultant with a focus on social enterprise, Base of the Pyramid strategy, and development and commercialization of critical goods and services for the poor. She co-authored the chapter “Jaipur Rugs: Connecting Rural India to a Global Supply Chain”, in the 5th anniversary edition of C.K. Prahalad’s Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Shara holds an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
Prior to Ross, Shara worked as a Project Engineer for Nissan North America for 5 years and owned and operated a real estate and property management company. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA.
Why Net Impact? Shara has been involved with Net Impact for five years as both a student at Ross and as a professional in the Southeast Michigan and now Seattle Professional Chapters. Net Impact has been a great way to meet other people who are passionate about creating social change through market based solutions. The Net Impact book club has provided an opportunity to get to know other members more closely through discussion of innovative solutions to the most pressing issues facing our world today.
About Shara: Shara is originally from Jamaica and was raised in Southern California. She loves to travel, BBQ, and entertain guests in her home.
Suzanne Sullivan, VP of Events Suzanne is a Sustainability Consultant in the Seattle area specializing in sustainability strategy, marketing, supply chain, and reporting. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a MBA/MS Natural Resources from the Erb Institute and has helped Ford, PepsiCo, and Herman Miller with sustainability initiatives. Prior to her time in Michigan, she worked in the Socially Responsible Investment field in DC. Suzanne has organized round tables and speakers for the DC Professional Net Impact chapter as well as the Ross School of Business chapter. She looks forward to organizing fun and informative events for Seattle’s Professional Net Impact chapter.
Why Net Impact? Suzanne learned about Net Impact while an undergrad majoring in Natural Resources at Cornell University. She was immediately attracted to the organization because of the values it stands for and its mission to help leaders create a better world. She has stayed with the organization because of the amazing people she has met through the club!
About Suzanne: Suzanne grew up in NY and loves strolling through famers markets, mountains, and fields. She’s always happiest when close to water. As many new Seattleites do, she has recently taken up mountain biking and skiing.
Claudia Frere, Special Advisor to the Board Claudia serves as a Special Advisor to the Board. Returning for her fourth year, she previously held positions on the board as President in 2009-2010 and Membership & Technology Co-Chair in 2008-2009. She’s excited about contributing to Net Impact’s mission and collaborating with others whose purpose and values are inspired by creating positive social changes. Claudia started her career in the financial services industry prior to working in the nonprofit/social entrepreneurship sector in the San Francisco Bay Area. In these positions, she launched over forty corporate community programs for multinational companies and advised corporations with CSR implementations. Claudia graduated Cum Laude in Politics from the University of San Francisco with an emphasis in Political Development Theory. She has an MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility from Nottingham University Business School (UK), where she received a full scholarship from the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR). During her MBA, Claudia launched the business school’s first Net Impact chapter and led post-graduate members for environmental engagement programs, speaking events and community initiatives. Claudia is currently the Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Manager at the University of Washington.
Amy Winner, Special Advisor to the Board Amy returns to the Board for her fourth year, now as a Special Advisor. She was part of the group in 2008 that re-launched the Seattle Professional Chapter, and has been handling the website since. Since spending her childhood growing up on a farm, Amy’s always been interested in environmental and sustainability issues. Net Impact has been a perfect organization to meet like-minded professionals and learn more about the social responsibility movement in Seattle. She has 14+ years experience helping small businesses connect with their customers and build community through marketing, and currently is the General Manager at Pocock Racing Shells, a leading manufacturer of boats for the sport of rowing.