Board of Directors

Ken is a CPA and owns a CPA firm. He has been involved with Bellevue LifeSpring since 2004. He has served on the Audit Committee and as Chair of the Bellevue Downtown Circle. He is currently the Bellevue LifeSpring President and Chair of the Board and is a member of the Governance and Board Development Committee, Budget and Finance Committee, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and the Endowment Committee.

Leslie is the Senior Finance Leader responsible for managing budgets of $6B annual operating costs and $6B annual capital investment for Engineering and IT. Operations include a nationwide cellular network covering 300+M pops and IT organization covering a complex, high tech/high growth industry. She acts as a financial advisor to C-Level leadership and partners with key budget owners to provide analytics and recommendations on how to drive down costs/achieve targets. She oversees a staff of 40, supporting a dynamic resource base including 8,000 technology employees. Prior to joining T-Mobile in 2001, Leslie served as the Director of Small Business Programs for the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

Ricardo first moved to the Pacific Northwest after graduating from Rice University in 2011 and has been in Seattle ever since.

During his time in Seattle, Ricardo has worked on: 

• the Big Data team at Microsoft as a Technical Program Manager, 
• improving Healthcare at Accolade Inc. as their first Data Scientist, 
• real estate construction, a real estate investor and entrepreneur, 
• delivering personalized Travel experiences and quality customer service, currently as a Director of Product Management at Expedia 

Though his career has spanned various industries, his work often focuses on using data and technology to better people’s lives. 

Michelle Bomberger is the CEO and Managing Attorney at Equinox Business Law Group. Michelle has background and experience as a businesswoman, entrepreneur and business lawyer. Her desire to work with small businesses and entrepreneurs began while she attended Northwestern University. Michelle was a founding member and served as President of the Small Business Opportunity Clinic at Northwestern University School of Law, where she provided both legal and business advice to nonprofit and for-profit small businesses.

Julie Cheng Bui is a philanthropist and freelance writer, currently working on copywriting projects with Serena Williams’ retail team. In a previous life, she worked in product management and site merchandising on the Amazon Kindle, after a role as a senior project manager in local government energy efficiency. Julie holds an MBA, with a specialty in hospitality management, and began her career in event planning and management in the Bay Area. From volunteering with the American Red Cross in high school to currently serving on the board of Bellevue LifeSpring, she has always had a passion for community involvement and serving others. She lives in Bellevue with her husband and two young children.

Darin Chestnut was a senior executive in PCL Construction’s Seattle office, responsible for leading major project pursuits and client development in the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Chestnut has been supporting Bellevue LifeSpring through PCL Construction and on a personal level since the 2014 Uncork the Night auction. Mr. Chestnut and PCL Construction give generously to several charities every year including the United Way, the Red Cross, Food Lifeline and Habitat for Humanity.

Sabrina has been a member and volunteer with Bellevue LifeSpring since 2005 with a particular emphasis on fundraising events. A founding member of the Bellevue Downtown Circle, she was Circle Chair for two years and served as liaison with Bellevue Rotary for their 2011 auction. She has been a Board Member of the Windermere Foundation since 2006 and has access to a network of working professionals to increase awareness and assist in the development and expansion of Bellevue LifeSpring.

One of Keri’s core beliefs is that a child’s success is greatly influenced by relationships with caring adults and access to good education. Over the years, Keri has mentored youth groups and volunteered with various organizations that share this core belief, from Books for Kids (now Page Ahead), Delancey Street Foundation, Amara, and now Bellevue LifeSpring. Keri began her professional career as an Estate Planning attorney at Lane Powell and later become involved in a trio of family businesses, serving as an advisor and strategist before being promoted to the top leadership position. Keri led a corporate restructuring of the companies, growing their value by 75% which ultimately led to a purchase offer and successful sale. Keri and her husband, Rob, have two daughters and a new son-in-law. One of their favorite hobbies is skate skiing in Mazama, WA.

Beth Halvorsen is a Commercial Real Estate executive with over 30 years in the industry, holding leadership roles on the east and west coasts. Most recently, Beth was the Executive Managing Director for Colliers International, leading the Puget Sound brokerage division. Prior to joining Colliers, she was an independent business strategy consultant, sought-after public speaker, and featured writer for Seattle Business Magazine’s “Got A Minute?” career advice column. She held leadership roles as the Managing Director of Asset Services for CBRE, responsible for a portfolio of assets throughout the Pacific Northwest, was VP/Asset Manager at TA Associates in Boston, and Regional Director leading the team at EMCOR on the Fidelity Corporate Real Estates national portfolio. She has extensive experience leading large teams, managing complex P&Ls, budget, and finance, developing strategic plans and real estate portfolio strategies. Beth was named to the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2020 and 2021 Power 100, Washington’s Most Influential Leaders, and was featured in the 2019 Puget Sound Business Journal’s ‘Women Who Lead.’ She is a member of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) and lives in Clyde Hill with her husband and three teenagers.

Marilyn co-founded the Bureau of Education & Research along with her husband, Richard, in 1976. Celebrating 45 years, BER is the leading provider of professional development and PD training resources for teachers and educators in North America.

Marilyn has served on the Bellevue LifeSpring Board since 2005. She has held positions of Programs Director, Parliamentarian, and chaired the Holiday Adopt-A-Family program for 5 years. Marilyn has served for three years as an Annual Fundraising Luncheon Chair. She has been an active member of Hunts Point Circle since 2003, serving as Chair for 7 years and Treasurer for the past 8 years.

Marilyn has been active on YMCA Boards for many years and served as Community Campaign Chair for the Coal Creek Family Y.

Krishnan P. Iyer is a customer-focused social entrepreneur and technical product leader with 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, as well as 15 years at Microsoft, shipping enterprise products in cloud and AI, Windows Core Operating Systems, and Microsoft.com divisions. He has consistently solved hard problems at scale, within limited budgets, and compressed time periods, partnering with ‘C’ suite executives, customers, divisional leadership, and individuals. Krishnan is a patent owner, book publisher, and recipient of the Microsoft Alumni Hero Award for founding Humanize Homelessness, a 501c3 nonprofit serving people experiencing homelessness.

Lisa has lived and worked in the Bellevue community for over 20 years. She is the Principal of LJ Design, Interior Design. Her introduction to Bellevue LifeSpring was via the Yarrow Point Circle, where she was an active member for nearly 10 years. Currently, she is Chairing the Circle Round Table Committee and hopes to foster collaboration and unity within the Circles and increased communication between the Board and Circle Members. She has also volunteered in a number of capacities (Thrift Shop, Holiday Adopt-A-Family, the Annual Luncheon and Uncork the Night wine tasting and auction fundraising committees). Lisa is passionate about Bellevue LifeSpring’s mission and is interested in increasing awareness of Bellevue LifeSpring through the creation of mutually beneficial partnerships within our community.

Beth is the founding funder of Threshold Philanthropy, LLC, which has a vision of building and maintaining a liberated future by partnering with Black and Indigenous folx to disrupt current philanthropic strategies and co-create new ones based in acknowledgment, healing, reparations, and reconciliation. Beth began her career as an estate-planning attorney and after retiring from Stokes Lawrence, P.S. in 2011, she served as President & CEO of Washington Women’s Foundation for more than 6 years. Beth is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors of YWCA USA, chairs the Board of Directors of the Northwest Wine Benefit Foundation, and has served on the Boards of numerous local organizations, including Overlake Medical Center and YWCA of Seattle-King County-Snohomish County.

Debbie has extensive leadership, recruiting, and employee development experience. Before starting her talent and coaching companies, she was on the executive team of an emerging technology services firm.

She is currently on the Bellevue LifeSpring Board and is Coaching in Organizations SIG Co-Chair and a Past Board Member of the Seattle Society of Human Resources Association (SHRM). She has held Board Leadership Roles in Workforce Readiness, Membership and Partnerships. Previously she has served on the board of Washington Women Education and Employment where she held Secretary, Compensation, and Community Liaison roles. She has also assisted in developing and delivering job skills training with Washington Veterans Administration, YWCA and the Seattle Jobs Initiative.

A longtime community resident and volunteer, Maggie served as the full-time volunteer manager of Bellevue LifeSpring’s Thrift Shop for over ten years. In 2015, she was awarded the Trish Carpenter Volunteer of the Year Award for her dedication to the thrift shop and the organization. She continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to the community and Bellevue LifeSpring and has cultivated strong relationships with an extensive number of Bellevue LifeSpring members and friends who provide their volunteer support to the thrift shop, Adopt-A-Family and other programs and projects throughout the year. Maggie takes great pride in being a longtime member of Fairweather Circle and has co-chaired a number of their fundraisers.

Maggie and her husband, Scott, are graduates of Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania. Maggie also completed a summer study of French in Neuchatel, Switzerland. In addition to teaching, Maggie worked for Bank of Hawaii for nearly 4 years. Prior to returning from Hawaii (second move to Hawaii) in 1996, Maggie taught part-time at Trinity Christian School in Kailua and was their fundraising chair from 1987 – 1996.

Tracy Wort is responsible for Symetra’s community relations programs including corporate and employee giving, Symetra’s signature Symetra Heroes in the Classroom® program, sponsorships and events. Wort also encourages community involvement through employee volunteer programs, such as working with Bellevue LifeSpring’s Holiday Adopt-A-Family™ program and the Symetra Week of Service, which engages employees across the country with local nonprofits. Wort has also served as an executive board member for Atlantic Street Center and as an advisory board member for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, with the American Cancer Society.