Our Board of Directors

We are fortunate to have an experienced and diverse board of directors, many of whom are of Native American descent. Their knowledgeable governance, fundraising assistance and personal donations enable the club to serve the needs of our members, and ensure the security of the club’s future.

Denise Stiffarm (Gros Ventre) – Board President

An enrolled member of the Gros Ventre Tribe, Denise has been involved with the Chief Seattle Club since 2002. Denise and her husband Marc Taylor (Lummi) are active members of Seattle’s Urban Indian community. In addition to volunteering at the Chief Seattle Club, Denise serves on the board of the Seward Park Environmental and Audubon Center and formerly served on the boards of YouthCare, Washington Audubon, the Pioneer Square Preservation Board, and the King County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Denise has also volunteered at First Place School, served on the Seattle Indian Health Board’s SpiritWalk Committee, and is a Law Alumni Ambassador for the University of Washington, conducting outreach to college, high school, and junior high school students of color. Denise is a graduate of Washington State University and received her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. Denise is a partner at K&L Gates LLP and focuses her practice on education, public policy, and land use law.

Steve Trainer – Board Secretary

Steve was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has been married to Tricia Simpson Trainer since 1971.  They have two children, Sarah and Christina.  He is the founder and principal of the Seneca Real Estate Group, specializing in development management work, including educational medical, commercial and residential work.  On the board of DSA, and formerly a board member of Housing Resource Group, Central Area Public Development Authority, Holy Names Academy, CARE and Elderhealth Northwest.  Steve has given much time, talent and treasure to the CSC and is currently Board Secretary.

Brad Kirschner – Board Treasurer

Brad was born in San Jose, CA, although he has roots in Seattle going back three generations.  Brad graduated from Chico State College, where he met Jo, his wife and partner of 40 years.  Brad and Jo enjoy M&M’s, their two children Mark and Meredith.  Mark is married to Maurie, and Meredith is married to Matthew.   The M&M trend was broken with the birth of their Grandson, Connor, in 2004.  Brad is a self-employed CPA, and is also a Charted Accountant in British Columbia.  Brad washes dishes at the Club every Friday, and following the “accountant’s curse”, was invited in 2005 to join the CSC Board as its Treasurer.  When not tending to his wife, grandson, clients and dishes, Brad enjoys travel, cooking and photography.  His photograph of the 2006 Canoe Journey leaving the Locks hangs in the Club’s office.  Brad is also active in the Episcopal Church, and is a member of the First Nations Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia.

Laurie Sharp Ahern

Laurie was born and raised in Seattle, Washington.  Graduating from University of Washington in 1971, and then working in Washington, D. C. and Chicago, she returned to Seattle with her husband Paul Ahern in 1979 to start a family.  She and Paul have three grown children and one daughter in law.  An avid community volunteer, she has been involved with her children’s schools, church activities, garden clubs, Elder Health Northwest and KUOW public radio. Laurie joined the CSC board in 2005.

Ken Gordon

Ken Gordon moved to Seattle in 2005 following a career in philanthropy, teaching and public service in New Zealand.  Prior to moving to Seattle, he was the Chief Executive of Trust Waikato, a large philanthropic trust with a $9 million annual grant budget. Organizations of all sizes both in the for-profit and not-for-profit world have benefited from his leadership in strategic planning, organizational refocusing, fundraising and community development.  In 2006 Ken was appointed Executive Director of Potlatch Fund, a Native American Foundation and Leadership Development organization based in Seattle.  Ken is also a Board Member of the Chief Seattle Club and Duwamish Tribal Services Inc.  In his spare time he is a passionate jogger, completing the 2009 Seattle Marathon in a time of 3:56.  Ken has degrees in Social Science, Business Studies and Public Policy.  He has also been fortunate to attend Executive Education programs at both the Harvard and Stanford Graduate Schools of Business.  In 2009 Ken was also honored by being named as Philanthropy Northwest’s volunteer of the year.

Brian Huntoon (Abenaki)

Brian was born in Somerville, Ma. and is of Abenaki descent on his father’s side.  He has a still photography business photographing architecture, interior design and events.   Brian also leases and sells stock photographs of natural subjects.  He is an active member of the Kateri Tekakwitha Circle.  Other interests include environmental issues, the arts and documenting Native American culture with his camera lens.

Michael Marshand (Colville)

Biography coming soon!

Pamela Masterman- Stearns (Tlingit)

Pamela is committed to social justice and change.  Pamela is the President of CANOES (the City of Seattle Native American Employees association) which she founded in 2007 to promote Native American culture, career advancement, and a forum for the issues that the Native American community faces with respect to race and social justice.  CANOES is a member of the Minority Executive Directors Coalition of King County and Pamela serves on its Police Accountability Task Force.  Pamela serves as a Personnel Specialist for Human Resources with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) where she provides policy guidance and facilitates SPU’s hiring process.  In 2007, Pamela was also chosen by her peers to serve a two-year term on the Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative’s Core Team, a 40 member body whose mission is to work with all City Departments to end institutional racism.  Pamela is a member of the 2010 Class of Leadership Tomorrow and a member of the 2008/2009 Potlatch Fund’s Leadership & Entrepreneurial Apprentice Development (LEAD) Cohort Program.  During her career, Pamela has also worked for NANACOA (Native American Children of Alcoholics), the Puget Sound Regional Council, and the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.   She also serves on the Tlingit and Haida Washington Chapter’s Communications Committee.  Pamela is an enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.

Heather Nason (Comanche)

Heather Nason is an attorney, who formerly practiced in the intellectual property group at K&L Gates and as corporate counsel for Expedia, Inc.  While at K&L Gates, Heather focused her pro bono involvement on providing legal advice to northwest area Native American tribes, including the U of Wa. Libraries group in developing a digital museum for Olympic Peninsula Native tribes.  Heather is a member of the Comanche Nation.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the U of Wa., with a degree in history, and received her J.D. from Stanford, where she was president of the Native American Law Students Association.

David Northover (Yakama)

Born in Toppenish, Washington on the Yakama Nation Reservation and now residing in Seattle since August of 2003 and has been a Chief Seattle Club member since the following November. currently sits on two board positions. Chief Seattle Club (1 yr) and the Statewide Poverty Action Network (5 yr’s) and also is a member of the Native American Task Force (4 yr’s). Two grown daughters, Mary Northover and Keith Tahkeal with five kids, Frances Northover and Diego with two, and a step daughter who is a daughter in heart Athena Sargeant and David Spoonhunter with three kids.

Annie Phare (Lummi)

Annie is a member of the Lummi Nation and grew up on the Tribe’s Reservation in Northwest Washington.  She is a Program Manager at Public Health – Seattle & King County in the Violence and Injury Prevention Unit.  Annie gained interest in public health as a career while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles.  She returned to the Northwest for graduate school and received her Master of Public Health from the University of Washington through the Community-Oriented Public Health Practice program.  Annie’s interests include social and environmental justice work and in her free time, she enjoys cooking, volunteering for various organizations in the Seattle area, and travel.

David Spicer

David practiced law for 26 years in general civil and trial practice.  He left the practice of law to work in global development around water, land and micro enterprise efforts to help address extreme poverty in the developing world.  Since July, 2006, he as been working in Fund Development with Agros International, a local non profit, working in Central America and Mexico.  Agros focuses on land acquisition, water projects, housing, small loans and training.  Dave has been married to Marti for 29 years; they have two children Chris (25) and Casey (20).

Tricia Trainer

Tricia is an MDiv and works in spiritual direction, often leading retreats.  She has been active in many different forms of ministry and social justice work while raising her family.  With two grown daughters, Tricia and Steve have invited her mother to make her home with them believing in the benefits of different generations living together.  Tricia has been an enthusiastic volunteer and board member of the CSC for many years.