Board of Directors

Dr. Michael Washington, President

Was an original member of the “Save Our Valley” organization that worked with Sound Transit and the City of Seattle to establish the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund. He is currently retired from ownership of Washington Dental Clinic located in Rainier Valley. Dr. Washington and his wife, Carol Washington were the owners of the clinic from 1978-2010, now owned by their daughter, Dr. Kelly Washington-Hooe. Michael served as Dental Director for Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, Seattle from 1974-1982 and was a captain in the U.S. Army from 1970-1973, prior to locating in Seattle. Dr. Washington maintains a strong commitment to bringing resources to Rainier Valley through continued support for this community development fund and other organizations working for the benefit of Rainier Valley residents.

Jenna Egusa Walden - Vice President

Currently is a product manager for a video game developer and works on business management, development and marketing. Her professional experience includes real estate finance, small business counseling and assistance, and planning. During the recession, she analyzed and facilitated work out problems between lenders and creditors, and advised clients on strategies for business growth, financing, core operations and marketing. She worked as an analyst for Vulcan, Inc. and has supervised development of condominium projects in Manhattan, NY and retirement facilities in Atlanta, GA. Her passion is understanding how businesses and real estate can work together to create great spaces and facilitate a community lifestyle. Originally from Portland, Oregon Jenna grew up with an effective and transformative light rail system and advocates similar strategies for Rainier Valley. Since moving to the Rainier Valley in 2005, she has been involved with the Othello neighborhood, leading neighborhood organizations through neighborhood planning and interfacing with City policy and projects.

Lynda Collie- Secretary

Has a career in commercial real estate leasing and management spanning over twenty years.  Ms. Collie has a Bachelor's degree from the University of California in Santa Barbara and an MBA from the University of Washington.  Previous positions include Director of Asset Operations, Schnitzer West in Seattle and Senior Real Estate Manager with CBRE in Southern California.  She is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), Commercial Real Estate for Women (CREW) and holds the CPM and CCIM designations.  Lynda has lived in the Northwest since 2003 and enjoys living in the Rainier Valley.

Robert Haynes

Has resided in Southeast Seattle since 1972. He is retired from thirty plus years in banking with duties of: South District Manager of Retail Private Banking, Regional Manager, Manager of Medical Segment, Special Credits Officer, Branch Manager and Assistant Credit Supervisor. Bob’s community involvement includes being a former board member of the South Seattle Senior Foundation, former board member of Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Past President of the Pacific Northwest Bankers Association, and member of the Southern University Alumni Association. His degrees include a BS in Mathematics from Southern University, an MBA in Finance from Seattle University and a Certificate of Banking from Pacific Coast Banking School, University of Washington.

Doug Cargill

Has been a resident of Columbia City since he arrived in Seattle in 1995. A former Naval Officer, he has been working in the Rainier Valley business community since 1999. As an active neighborhood participant, Doug was involved in the Columbia City/Hillman City/ Genessee Neighborhood Plan, the City Neighborhood Council and the Southeast Crime Prevention Council. He currently works as a sales representative for Noble Wines Ltd (located in the Rainier Valley) and works on a variety of revitalization efforts in the Rainier Valley.

Abdirizak Jama

Is a Social Services Coordinator at the East African Community Services in Seattle. He was a lecturer in the Department of Biology, at the Somali National University, in Mogadishu, and worked in refugee resettlement for International Rescue Service in Seattle and as an Employment Opportunity Counselor in Columbus, Ohio. His areas of expertise include social and community development, social justice advocacy, community revitalization, educational curriculum development, and case management and counseling. Abdirizak has a Master’s in Social Work.

John Charles

Is a life-long resident of Southeast Seattle. Now retired from his immediate past position of Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S Department of Commerce; he served eight years as director of Washington’s Department of Retirement Systems and chair of the Washington State Investment Board. His career includes over twenty years in leadership positions in Seattle civil rights organizations, a King County department directorship, and positions in private industry. He earned his BA in psychology at the UW and has a Master’s Degree in human resource management.

Patricia Paschal

Is a retired independent computer systems consultant and a 32-year resident of Rainier Valley. Ms. Paschal was a member of Save Our Valley since shortly after its founding and worked on organizational issues as well as researching materials, identifying inconsistencies and informing the community of adverse impacts of at-grade light rail. She was elected by the community as a community member of the 15-person steering committee that defined the uses of the $50 million required by the federal government as mitigation for at-grade light rail. She was elected by the steering committee to the board of RVCDF (Rainier Valley Community Development Fund) where she helped establish the organization in 2002 including policies and procedures for distributing mitigation money to impacted businesses along MLK with the objective of preventing a 4.6 mile swath of empty storefronts and boarded-up buildings due to the intrusive light rail construction. Ms. Paschal participated in the definition and implementation of the community development business line at RVCDF, prepared reports for the board on aspects of RVCDF operations, recruited board members and participated in hiring the current RVCDF executive director. Ms. Paschal’s work experience includes increasing responsible assignments in a wide variety of situations as a sole practitioner, team leader or team member. As a project director, Ms. Paschal prepared and monitored budgets as well as recruited, directed and mentored staff. She performed business analyses, designed and implemented automated systems, and developed policies and procedures for clients who are responsible for financial processing, management and/or controls in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Paschal lives within walking distance of the Othello light rail platform and is a member of ONA (Othello Neighborhood Association).

Jim Erlewine

A Seattle native has more than 20 years of financial services expertise. Erlewine and his family live in Mill Creek. He is Chair of the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund’s loan committee. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington and an MBA from Seattle University. In addition, he is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School.