Our team
Join our team!
Safe Crossings Foundation is hiring a Development Director to help advance our mission of ensuring no child grieves alone. View the full job description and application details here.
Staff
Cheryl is honored to serve as Executive Director for Safe Crossings Foundation. Cheryl comes to us with over 30 years’ experience leading nonprofit organizations through growth and transformation. She has deep expertise in social enterprise, homelessness, cancer support services, and equity-centered leadership. Her past leadership roles include FareStart, Ventures, Jubilee Women’s Center, and Harmony Hill. She is widely recognized for building innovative, sustainable models that integrate economic vitality with human dignity, and long-term community impact. Cheryl looks forward to building on the foundation’s strong legacy while exploring new opportunities to grow resources, deepen connections, and ensure that every child facing loss has access to care, understanding, and hope.
As the Communications and Development Manager, Zoe Ottemiller widely supports Safe Crossings Foundation’s team by bringing experience and understanding of social disparities to every aspect of the work. From the beginning of her career, Zoe’s focus has been on social justice and advocacy for vulnerable communities. While working with communities facing food insecurities, refugees, and youth within the Washington state foster care system, she engaged stakeholders to decrease barriers impacting underserved populations. Zoe has a BA in Communications from Portland State University and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Denver.
Christine draws from a range of both working with, and lived experience in, refugee & immigrant, LGBTQIA+, low-income, grieving, and disabled communities. Christine works well across difference and a trauma-informed critical systems analysis guides their praxis in the pursuit of racial and social equity. Christine brings a Master’s degree in social work and a background in leading and implementing transformative changes in program design that significantly increase program quality and community outcomes. They have a proven track record of growing organizations by designing, implementing and managing systems, policies, and practices for service delivery and operational administration.
Board
Officers
Mike Turian, Sr. Executive Producer, Wizards of the Coast
President
Josephine Vestal, Retired Attorney, Williams Kastner
Secretary
Nathan Hoerschelmann, Attorney, Hoerschelmann Dietz PLLC
Vice President
Nick Davalle, Debt and Structured Finance Analyst, CBRE
Treasurer
Directors
Steve Brooks, PE, President, UMC, Inc.
Wesley Burns, Principal, Transformational Advisory Group
Lee Carswell, Senior Partner, West Monroe Partners
Stefan Hoerschelmann, Real Estate Managing Broker, Windermere
Michael Lightfoot, Program Manager, AWS
Kathy Lofy, Community Volunteer
Jessica Abramson Lott, Angel Investor and Community Volunteer
Nicole Mackenzie, Member Attorney, Williams Kastner
Beverly Reed, Director of Customer Service, Community Health Plan of Washington
Colleen Robertson, Fractional CMO, Independent Consultant
Sara Robertson, Community Volunteer
Daniel Shickich, Attorney, Ogden Murphy Wallace PLLC
UW Board Fellows (non-Voting)
We are proud to partner with the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.
Abigail Russell, FP&A Lead at Shift5
Mo Hessen
Directors Emeritus
Diane Aboulafia, Community Volunteer
Teresa Bigelow, Community Volunteer
Safe Crossings Foundation Founder
Donna Haggarty-Robbins, Community Volunteer
Thomas Hall, Retired CEO, People’s Injury Network NW
Bill Leedom, Community Volunteer
Flip Morse, Community Volunteer
Partners
Charis Fund
Deupree Family Foundation
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
Fales Foundation Trust
Florence Kilworth Foundation
Grousemont Foundation
Kawabe Memorial Fund
Marco J. Heidner Charitable Trust
Puyallup Tribe’s Charity Funds
Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund
Vatheuer Family Foundation
Windermere Foundation