Debbi is well versed in governance matters having completed Northwestern University’s Women Director Development Program and through non-profit board officer roles in the Seattle area. She has been as a Trustee for the University of Pittsburgh (including serving as Chair of the Institutional Advancement Committee and Chair of the Nursing School Board of Visitors) since 2013, a mentor for the University of Washington MBA program since 1998, a mentor for the Pitt Forward program, and is actively engaged with the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute. In addition to her current role as Chief Operating Officer at nVoq, a provider of SaaS-based speech recognition services, she also serves as an advisor to Lumis Corporation (Pittsburgh), a medical simulation software startup, and has sponsored several fellowship programs for aspiring leaders at Pitt. Debbi served as an advisor and mentor to the Women in the Cloud Accelerator program in 2019. She is also an active community volunteer including current Board service in a number of Seattle-area non-profits.

Frank, and his wife Anne, both grew up on Mercer Island attending MI schools from Sunnybeam up to MIHS. Together they have five adult children living in Los Angeles, London, Seattle and New Zealand.

Frank graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Accounting. For a time, Frank was a Certified Public Accountant before entering the tech sector in various Finance, Operations and product group leadership positions. From 2004 to 2020, Frank led field program work in Africa, Latin America and Asia for NetHope, a nonprofit consortium of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations.

Frank has been a youth soccer and basketball coach and is the former President of Bellevue Youth Soccer Club.

Steffenie grew up in the Pacific Northwest and moved to Mercer Island in 2014. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Rice University and an MBA from the University of Washington. She and her husband, Fletcher Evans (a Mercer Island native) have three small kids and one very large dog. Steffenie has worked in the commercial real estate and development industry for over 15 years. She is currently Vice President of Development at Washington Holdings, a locally based real estate development and investment firm, where she oversees large mixed-use development projects from land acquisition through completion of construction. Steffenie has served in a number of leadership committees within the Urban Land Institute, an international thought leader for creating and sustaining thriving communities and has mentored students at the University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Commercial Real Estate.She served for three years on the Lakeside Alumni Board. When she has free time, Steffenie enjoys reading, trying new restaurants and travelling.

Jocelyn has been a resident of Mercer Island for ten years. She moved here from London, and prior to that lived in Philadelphia. Jocelyn grew up in South Africa in the beautiful seaside town of Port Elizabeth (now known as Gqeberha). She is married to James and they have 2 girls, Josie and Caitlyn, both of whom went through the Mercer Island schools.

Jocelyn has a LLB from the University of Cape Town and a Masters in Law from the University of Washington. Her earlier years were spent working in the legal profession in South Africa and in the hedge fund industry in Philadelphia. She then took on a teaching position in London where she taught law to A-level students. She currently works at Starbucks in Law and Corporate Affairs. Jocelyn has been an enthusiastic volunteer, both here on Mercer Island and in London. She was the co-chair of the Friends of Rowan (PTA) in Surrey, as well as the Chair and Editor-in-Chief at the National Childbirth Trust (Esher branch) in the U.K. She was also the VP of Enrichment at Islander Middle School, and the President of the National Charity League (Evergreen Chapter) where she was awarded the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. She also co-chaired the National PTA Reflections Art competition on Mercer Island for a couple of years and was awarded Outstanding Program Award by Mercer Island PTA Council.

Jocelyn’s greatest joy in her philanthropy efforts is collaborating with others to bring about a sense of purpose, community and fulfilment, and to help others reach their potential.

Narita Ghumman leads communications and outreach for the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. In this role, she oversees marketing and public relations for Fresh Bucks, a healthy food program for Seattle residents that works with local retail partners ranging from farmers markets to large grocers.

With more than 8 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector and 6 years of crafting communications and marketing strategies, Narita knows how to create messaging that resonates with target audiences.

Narita is a Bellingham native and graduated from Western Washington University. After living in Seattle for a decade, she moved to Boston for her graduate program and attended Tufts School of Medicine studying Health Communications. Narita and her partner, Avneet Atwal, moved to Mercer Island in 2020. Avneet - a Mercer Island native - is helping his family discover the parks and trails on the Island. Narita and Avneet have a 6-month-old son and a 4-year-old dog.

Tiffany has 20 years of experience in both agency and client side Digital Marketing Leadership roles with a track-record of defining innovative, multi-channel campaign strategies with proven results for companies including T-Mobile, Nordstrom, Volkswagen and Microsoft. In 2019, she recently co-founded a new digital media agency, Brinny Media, to help start-ups like Two Blind Brothers, TUSOL Smoothies and Sound Excursions build meaningful experiences and accelerate growth.

Tiffany and her husband, Jim, met at the U. of Washington, married in 2007, and have been Mercer Island residents since 2009. They have two daughters who attend Islander Middle School and Northwood Elementary and a beagle who “serenades" the neighbors every morning.

Tiffany has been an active volunteer and donor for the United Way, Boys & Girls Club and New Beginnings organizations over the past 15 years. She is currently a basketball coach and Treasurer/Cookie Manager for her daughter’s local Girl Scout Troops.

After living in Washington, DC for 26 years, Jody moved with her husband Adams and two sons to Mercer Island in 2016. Her sons are currently in 8th grade at IMS and a senior at MIHS. Jody received her B.A. from Rutgers University in Political Science and French, and a M.A. from American University in Cross Cultural Communication and Conflict Resolution. She started at the U.S. Department of State as a Presidential Managment Fellow, and after a stint as a Congressional staffer, she continued at the State Department as the Conflict Resolution Specialist, responsible for the internal and inter-agency mediation program. She taught mediation and conflict resolution at the Foreign Service Institute for over 20 years. In addition to being on the board of the MIYFS Foundation, Jody has volunteered extensively in many capacitites, including the PTSA of her sons' schools, the Mercer Island Football Club, and other community and educational positions.

Robin moved to Mercer Island in 2005 with her husband, Ron, and their two kids, just as her eldest was starting kindergarten. Fifteen years later, her daughter now is a junior at Claremont McKenna College and her son a senior at MIHS. Robin received a BA in Psychology from the University of California - San Diego and worked in Human Resources for 8 years before going on to receive an MBA from the University of California - Davis. Having concentrated in Environmental Resource Management, she then spent a number of years helping the City of San Jose Environmental Services Division achieve their mandate of 50% less waste by 2000. She likes to think her many years of nurturing - first people and then Mother Earth - have prepared her well for the MIYFS Board!

She has volunteered on Mercer Island in numerous capacities, most notably on the Mercer Island Girls Lacrosse Board for 12 years. She is on the National League of Young Men (NLYM) Board, has co-chaired many Island Books fundraisers and Staff Appreciation events, was an Art Docent, a Girl Scout leader, many times a Room Parent and Team Parent, and manages a part-time fine art photography business. Finally, she was very involved in the planning of this year's MIYFS Breakfast, and after discovering on a deeper level than ever before just how critical MIYFS' services are to the Mercer Island community, was thrilled to be asked to join the Board.

After living in West Berlin, Germany for ten years, Terry, her late husband Buddy, and two young sons moved to Mercer Island in 1978.

With a degree in History and Political Science from UC Berkley, her first job was as a stewardess with Pan American World Airways. After about ten years of serial volunteering, she returned to work as the development director for a domestic violence organization. She was the Executive Director of the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce for 27 years, working closely with MIYFS and other community organizations. She was instrumental in inaugurating and producing Summer Celebration, the Farmers Market, Town Center trick-or-treating and Art UnCorked. She was part of the MIYFS Breakfast organizing committee for many years and has perfect attendance at the event. She retired from the Chamber in 2017.

Terry’s volunteer work began with the Pre-School Assn., the PTA and Boy Scouts. She has served on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club, the Schools Foundation, the Community Fund, the Mercer Island Rotary Club, and the Mercer Island Sister City Association. She also volunteered as a Guardian ad Litem in the Seattle court system. She currently serves as co-president of the Mercer Island Historical Society.

Paramita and her husband Sharat, moved to Mercer Island in 2014 with their son, Sidh, now a sophomore at MIHS and daughter Esha now at Islander Middle School. After medical school, she received her PhD in Immunology at Wayne State University in Michigan and did her post- doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston. She then moved to the Seattle to complete her residency and fellowship in Internal Medicine and Nephrology at the University of Washington. She currently is a nephrologist (kidney specialist) at Valley Medical Center in Renton. Paramita also serves as a medical director and member of the medical executive committee at Northwest Kidney Center, a non-profit dialysis organization in Western Washington. In her spare time, she loves to travel while learning about new cultures, cooking and creating new recipes.

Since moving to Mercer Island, Paramita has been actively involved in the local community and has participated in local organization like Youth Theater Northwest as well Mercer Island Schools.

Over the last few years of living on the island, Paramita has grown to love and appreciate how the city and residents of Mercer Island function like one large community rather than multiple neighborhoods in a suburban city. She firmly believes that helping neighbors and having support services like mental health counseling, senior services and emergency assistance for families in need, are crucial for any community to thrive. She is very excited to join the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services Foundation board and is looking forward to giving back to the community that she loves living in.

Originally from Southern California, Laura attended the University of Virginia before starting her career at Microsoft in Washington, DC, landing in Seattle in 2003. She and her husband, Stephen, moved to Mercer Island in 2010 and have 2 elementary-aged children. After 15 years in various finance and marketing roles at Microsoft, Laura left the corporate world and has served various board roles within the Mercer Island Preschool Association, Island Park PTA and the MIYFS Foundation.

Born and raised in the suburbs of New York City, Michelle left her home state to attend Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She began her career in Southern California as a consultant with CGE&Y in strategy and business process definition. In 2001, Michelle moved up to Seattle where she and worked for Accenture doing both business and IT Program and Project Management. Michelle and her husband Scott moved to Mercer Island in 2007 and have been Island residents for 13 years now. Shortly after moving to the Island, Michelle left the business world to start a family and now has two girls ages ten and twelve.

Among various other philanthropic efforts, Michelle has been a longtime volunteer in many capacities for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and is currently serving in her 5th year as a Trustee on the Make-A-Wish Board of Directors. A passionate supporter of the Arts, Michelle has also been a board member of the Mercer Island Center for the Arts for the past 2.5 years. Michelle enjoys spending time volunteering at her girls’ schools and has chaired school events focused on both fundraising and community engagement.

Having seen the many positive impacts MIYFS has on the Island community through the various programs, Michelle joins the MIYFS board with excitement and enthusiasm for getting involved with the organization in a hands-on way. She truly values the community where she and Scott have chosen to live, and believes it is important to support things close to home that have a real, tangible, positive impact on the place where they are raising their family. Michelle looks forward to engaging with our community and getting them involved in new and exciting ways!!

John is very excited to join the MIYFS foundation board. As an (almost) lifelong Mercer Island resident, parent and business owner he feels uniquely blessed by MIYFS. Growing up on Mercer Island was idyllic and he couldn't wait to return after college (at THE University of Washington), medical school and residency to raise his family here. As a partner at Mercer Island Pediatrics for over 20 years, John has seen first hand how the services provided by MIYFS change lives for the better. He hopes to leverage his community role and connections to help continue the mission of MIYFS - so expect a call from him!

Ivy moved to Mercer Island in 2004 from Seattle with her husband Eric and their two kids, who went through the MISD system and graduated from MIHS in 2017 and 2021. She was previously part of the MIYFS Healthy Youth Initiative Committee and inspired by their dedication and positivity, she decided to join the MIYFS Foundation.

Among the many volunteer positions she held on the island, she is most proud of being the founder of Lakeridge Science Fair (originally All Island Science Fair) in 2008, serving on the original Diversity Advisory Committee for MISD, serving on the MI Schools Band Boosters for 4 years, and for serving two years as the PTSA President of MIHS.

Ivy is a retired academic Immunologist with a B.S. and M.S. in Microbiology and a Ph.D. in Immunology. After her son was born, she switched her focus to helping others and formed Tampopo Preschool Co-op in Phinney Ridge (Seattle) to create a Japanese-immersion preschool that also provided a cultural experience for young children. She also ran a holistic life-coaching practice on the island for 10 years mainly working with Japanese-speaking clients in their native language.

Mercer Island is a wonderful place to raise a family and MIYFS is a big factor in that. She is looking forward to serve the community going forward as a member of the MIYFS Foundation Board.

Rouslana moved to Mercer Island in 2018 with her husband, Leo, and two kids, both Mercer island High School students. Rouslana brings to the board over 15 years of non-profit leadership experience.
She graduated from Moscow State University as a history teacher and received a PhD from the Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Science. She received project management certificate from UC Berkeley and Executive Education from Stanford, CA. She enjoys strategic planning process as a tool in managing change in a systemic fashion.

When she has free time, Rouslana enjoys playing with her 2 dogs, reading, and traveling.