Aerial view of a lush, green urban park surrounded by trees, buildings, and streets at sunset, with sunlight casting soft shadows across the landscape.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

We are a non-profit zoo dedicated to saving animals and habitat

MEET THE BOARD

Current Members

A group of seventeen adults stands outdoors in front of a wooden building, smiling at the camera. Trees and greenery surround them, and the weather appears sunny and pleasant.

Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO

Alejandro Grajal

Board Officers

Chair

Irwin Goverman
Community Member

Vice Chair

Mike Ronan
Principal Partner
Ernst & Young LLP (EY)

Treasurer

Dave Raney
EVP | Chief Banking Officer
Sound Community Bank

Secretary

Clare Pedersen
Management Consultant
A London Lady LLC

Board Members

Linda Allen
The Alleniana Foundation

Vikram Baskaran
VP of Technology
Alaska Airlines

Anders Brown
Operating Partner
GLP Capital Partners

Christi Beckley
Executive Director
Phinney Neighborhood Association

Andy Bench
President
Wright Runstad & Company

Dori Borjesson
Dean, WSU
College of Veterinary Medicine

Kristi Dansereau
Senior Vice President
US Bank

Karoline Dygas
CPO/VP Strategic Sourcing & Procurement
Nordstrom

Adjua Dupree
Senior Manager
Amazon

Jeni Elam
Vice President, Consulting
Columbia Hospitality

Ian Hagley
VP, Private Wealth Management
Merril Lynch

Rosemarie Havranek
Philanthropist

Marlon Dylan Herrera
Deputy Construction Manager
Sound Transit

Cathy Herzig
Wildlife Conservationist & Retired Zookeeper

Jonathan Kil
CEO
Sound Pharmaceuticals

Jeanne Kohl-Welles
Former King County Councilmember and Washington State Senator 

Jackie Kopson
Senior Commercial Relationship Manager
The Commerce Bank of Washington

Jennifer LeMaster
President & CEO
Seattle Convention Center

Jeff Leppo
Community Member

Lian Neeman
Director, Global Benefits
Amazon

Larry Phillips
Community Member

Robert Plotnick
Professor Emeritus
The Evans School, UW

Nate Porter
Director, Financial Services
West Monroe Partners

Andrea Russell
General Manager
Microsoft

Justin Umagat
Strategic Planning Manager
King County Metro

Jill Walker
Director, Enterprise Risk Management
Starbucks

Layne Washington
HR Business Advisor
NOAA

Alison Winfield
Operations Manager
UW Haring Center

Joe Woods
Managing Partner
Pacific Public Affairs

Ex-Officio Members

Jorge Barón
Councilmember
King County

Michele Finnegan
Interim Superintendent
Seattle Parks & Recreation

Alejandro Grajal
President & CEO
Woodland Park Zoo

Directors Emeriti

Rick Alvord
Maria Barrientos
Warren Brown
Kathie Claypool
Kenneth W. Eakes
David Goldberg
Joshua Green III
Jan Hendrickson
Holly Hirai
Deb Horvath
Carol Hosford
B. Gerald Johnson
Victoria Leslie
Bill Lewis
Robert Liddell, MD
Katie Matison
James McGraw
Charles Morse
Phil Nudelman
Mary Odermat
John Oppenheimer
Nancy Pellegrino
Cam Ragen
Kyle Rolfe
Matt Rosauer
Kevin Schofield
Rob Short
Diane Shrewsbury
Bryan Slinker
Dale Sperling
Sandy Stelling
Laurie Stewart
Ethan Stowell
R. Jay Tejera
Dave Towne
Janet True
Maggie Walker
Margie Wetherald
Kathy Williams
Stuart Williams
Sally Wright
Susie Wyckoff
Sheila Wyckoff-Dickey

MEETING DATES

VIEW THE PUBLIC AGENDA

2026 Meeting Schedule

January 20
March 24
May 26
August 25
December 15

All meetings are 4:00 – 6:30 p.m. and held in the Center for Wildlife Conservation (CWC) unless otherwise noted.

CONTACT

For all questions related to the Woodland Board Zoo Board of Directors, please email Sara Basque, Board Coordinator & Executive Assistant to the CEO, at sara.basque@zoo.org.

The Woodland Park Zoo Board is a large body and space in our board room is limited. In order that we may ensure we are able to accommodate space and any special needs, all individuals intending to attend a board meeting, whether to present public comment or not, must contact The Board Coordinator (Sara Basque a sara.basque@zoo.org) a minimum of 24 hours prior to the meeting. In addition, please be aware that meetings may not be recorded and meeting materials may not be copied or photographed. For this reason, we are unable to provide for virtual attendance by members of the public at board meetings.