Seattle Design Festival (SDF) is pleased to announce our incoming slate of accomplished design leaders who were elected to fill seats on our Board of Directors beginning September 1, 2022. Please join us in welcoming the incoming board members! They will be joining existing board members Carrie Anderson, Cory Hitzemann, Heather Pogue, Heather Skeehan, Michele Hill, Myer Harrell, and Vicki Ha.
Jake Woland— Director of Member Advancement
With over 20 years as a landscape architect and design leader, Jake approaches the conceptualization of the space between buildings with empathy and consideration of place. He leads teams creating stories of identity, interlacing ecological opportunities with the unique project possibilities and constraints. These choreographed solutions result in resilient projects that address the needs of the present and future city. By nature an educator, Jake regularly lectures at UW and is the author of a highly regarded textbook on sustainable site design. He has worked across a wide variety of urban conditions and scales, including waterfronts, civic open spaces, transit facilities, streetscapes and mixed use and commercial projects. Jake extends his excitement for sharing knowledge with clients and teams, whether exploring new construction materials or integrating layered benefits into urban design solutions. He is also a passionate and collaborative leader in seeking equitable and Anti-Racist approaches within the design community.
Jenny Jau— Director of Finance
Jenny has worked in product leadership roles for Redfin, Amazon, and Yahoo. Jenny was identified as being grounded in a common sense business approach, backed by her MBA. She has been a nonprofit board member in the arts space in the past, and joined the spring Ignite! event, which sparked her interest in getting involved in a leadership role in SDF.
Jeannette Gatlin— Director of Development
Jeanette is a UX designer with Google and has also worked for Microsoft. She has been interested in the Festival and had an interest in Core Team, but needed a different level of time commitment. She wants to support Google’s involvement in SDF and develop the relationship.
Mark Chubb— Director of Development
Mark is the former Director of Technical Services with Code Unlimited, LLC. He is an experienced emergency management and public safety executive with diverse professional, technical and academic experience in public, private and non-profit organizations.
Mark Smedley— Director of Finance
Mark is an Architect at Bassetti Architects, with over 38 years of experience in architecture and urban planning. His work ranges from cultural and institutional projects to a special interest in Senior Living communities and Public Housing neighborhoods. Mark has served on the AIA Seattle Finance Committee as a nonboard member for the past year, supporting efforts to increase transparency and improve financial processes.