The role of our Washington State Advisory Board and our National Boards of Directors is to provide organizational guidance and leadership. Our Washington State Advisory Board includes the following members:
- Dawn Chirwa, Senior Advisor, The Giving Practice, Philanthropy N.W. She has served as legal advisor for some of the most influential organizations in the world across government, private and philanthropic sectors; including Associate Counsel to the President of the United States.
- Bill Kiolbasa, CEO and Co-Founder of Joule Growth Partners, a professional services firm launched to address social sector challenges. Previously he served as the portfolio manager at Ballmer Group Philanthropy, helping launch their national philanthropic efforts by building a portfolio of leading national K-12 nonprofits. Bill has also served as the financial lead for a number of other organizations and work across Chicago, New York, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. He lives in South Seattle with his wife and son.
- Garrison Kurtz, public policy and management consultant, former Washington State Preschool Director, and former program director at Thrive by Five Washington and the Foundation for Early Learning.
- Jennifer Vranek, founding partner of consulting firm Education First. Former Executive Director of the Partnership for Learning and former vice-chair of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington.
- Cindi Williams, parent, Principal, HCM Strategists. Formerly worked for the US Leadership Team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, prior to that Cindi served as a Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of Education.
