GenPride Staff

Elisa Barnett

They/She Pronouns

Programs Director


Elisa is inspired by and

dedicated to LGBT+ older adults. Originally from San Diego, born and raised, their career spans over fifteen years in the San Diego nonprofit sector, with a focus on her areas of passion: older adults, the LGBT+ community, and

behavioral health.

 

They were the Program Manager for the Senior Services program at the San Diego LGBT Community Center, providing support, resources, and social activities to hundreds of LGBT+ seniors every year. Elisa developed new community programs to reach

underserved communities, and guided the Senior Services through the roughest years of the Covid19 pandemic while maintaining vital programs like food distributions and resource connections.

 

Elisa is bi-cultural, nonbinary, and a peer. They have been a Peer Support Specialist (PSS), facilitated training to develop other PSS, and provided training to those who supervise and work alongside PSS. She is a consummate trainer and

community builder, with experience providing training on cultural competency, person-first language, recovery-oriented environments, and trauma informed care. Most recently, she worked with the Alzheimer’s Association to advocate for, and educate the community about Alzheimer’s and related neurocognitive diseases.

 

Elisa has been with their wife for nearly twenty years and likes to say she got married twice: their domestic partnership and their marriage share the same date, four years apart. Elisa is an avid knitter, crafter, and spoiler of all dogs, especially their own.



Jaime Husmillo

He/Him Pronouns

Engagement & Development Director

Jaime is a life time Seattle resident and is passionate about supporting our Queer community and ensuring all are able to thrive, here and everywhere. Jaime has volunteered at local LGBTQIA+ organizations including Seattle's LGBTQ Center - Gay City - and is always keeping his eyes open for the next opportunity to show up for community. Jaime is a skilled program/project manager and comes to GenPride after being in the private Tech sector and, previously, a global board member for Expedia Group where he worked to implement and discover systems that allowed employees to bring their true selves to the workplace and to create intention around equity and justice for all who hold marginalized identities.


Jaime has a passion for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the workplace and brings this into both his work and his personal life through a relationship and community building approach. Jaime is driven by an innate desire to connect with people from all backgrounds in order to work towards shared goals and the vision to ensure Queer community can thrive through support, resources, and community belonging. Jaime approaches both life and work through a framework of seeking to build and cultivate relationships and is excited to bring his passion for this approach to GenPride as the Engagement and Development Director.


Jaime and his husband have been together for nearly 20 years and he loves being a father to his amazingly vibrant and empathic 3 year old daughter.



Judy Kinney, MSW

She / Her / They / Them Pronouns

Executive Director

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Judy comes to GenPride as an experienced non-profit leader and community builder who has devoted much of her career to protecting, supporting, and advancing the well-being of older adults, including promoting the equality, safety, and health of older LGBTQIA+ people.


Judy brings to GenPride a keen business acumen, skillful management of multimillion dollar budgets and a proven track record of increasing fiscal resources through fundraising, grant attainment and partnership donations.


Having worked in North Carolina, Arizona, and Washington, Judy’s professional journey and service have been grounded in a deep understanding of the multiple challenges faced by elders, in general and LGBTQIA+ elders, in particular. She is deeply committed to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and has multiple experiences leading and participating in anti-racism work. Judy has a Master of Social Work from Arizona State University with a focus on Community, Administration, & Program Development which has served her well in her many accomplishments and experiences.


“I am honored and excited to join GenPride as it steps into this next phase of expanding its reach and amplifying its impact,” Kinney said. “It is a significant moment for our region to have Pride Place, the first income-qualifying housing for LGBTQIA+ seniors, and a new and expanded GenPride Senior Center located on Pride Place’s ground floor anticipated to be open in the heart of Capitol Hill in Seattle this fall.”

Pyn Nongsiej

Pronouns

Title

More coming soon!

Tony Krebs

He / Him Pronouns

Interim Programs Manager

Tony Krebs is an experienced facilitator, writer, technician, user experience designer (UX), technology strategist & longtime community organizer.


A Seattle resident since 1978, Tony is proud to have worked on multiple campaigns that preserved Seattle's pioneering sexual orientation anti-discrimination laws in housing and employment and secured similar legal protections statewide.


After a long stint in both the corporate software world and as a gay dad -- and now granddad -- Tony's excited to be a part of GenPride's talented team serving the needs of LGBTQA+ older adults, with a focus on online events and offerings.

Mariah Agyapong

She/Her Pronouns

Social Services Coordinator

Mariah is a dedicated advocate who has passions for racial and social justice, community care, and equity for all marginalized peoples and identities.

A graduate from Western Washington University, Mariah received a double major in Sociology (B.A.) and Women/ Gender/ Sexuality Studies (B.A.). Prior to joining the GenPride team, she worked as a Social Service Specialist for the WA State Department of Children, Youth, and Families where she maintained case records for investigations of child abuse and/or neglect cases. With a team of social workers, she worked to assess the needs of parents and youth and provided services/resources for them including monthly wellness checks and home visits for separated families.

Mariah brings skills in care coordination, diverse problem solving, conflict resolution, and community engagement. Furthermore, she has experience working with older adults through supporting a diverse population of parents, grandparents, and caregivers. With a background in customer service work along with volunteering for organizations such as the NAACP and American Red Cross Association, Mariah knows what it is like to work with people and the importance of collaboration and direct communication.

   

Born and raised in the Greater Seattle area, Mariah is passionate about helping her local communities specifically BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks. As a Black, mixed race, queer person she has the understanding and lived experiences that inform how she approaches community work with a high priority for cultural competence, openness, and empathy. Mariah holds a deep commitment to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) both in her work and personal life because of the ways her intersecting identities influence this work, and she hopes to cultivate bringing together diverse perspectives and thought.  

Mariah loves to travel with a few of her favorite trips being to Thailand and Ghana where she has family heritage, is an avid concert goer, and enjoys spending time cozy at home with friends or exploring new food spots around Seattle. She is excited for the opportunity to connect with Rainbow Elders and to bring her aspirations of building and empowering community to the GenPride team through her role as Social Services Coordinator.

Allison McGrath

She / Her Pronouns

Development Coordinator

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Allison joined GenPride as the Development Coordinator in March 2022. Allison received her master’s in public administration from UW, and she brings with her a background in fundraising and database administration. Through her volunteering and career work, she has supported nonprofits that fight for the environment and work to combat homelessness.


Prior to joining GenPride, she worked as an HR Manager for an in-home care agency, which gave her insight into the challenges that elders and caregivers face.


Allison grew up in the NW and is excited to be working for an organization that uplifts local communities. She strongly believes in a community-centric approach to fundraising - one that removes barriers, builds connections, and creates a space for people to tell their stories.


Claudine

She / Her Pronouns

Social Worker

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Claudine Wallace is the Social Worker at GenPride and joined the organization in May of 2021. Claudine has worked in social service, advocacy and social justice organizations for her entire career. Most recently, she spent seven years at Sound Generations (formerly Senior Services) where she developed and managed a new multicultural and multilingual senior center program in NE Seattle, Lake City Seniors.

Claudine received her master’s in social work from the UW. She has a strong passion for advocating for the unique and diverse needs of our LGBTQIA+ community as we age, particularly in navigating housing, healthcare, caregiving support, and the growing cost of living in our region. Claudine brings an anti-racist and anti-ageist lens to her practice. Her approach to social work is rooted in community building, empowerment, and trauma-informed support.

Claudine is always open to feedback and new ideas on how to best show up for our community – please reach out!

Sonia

She / Her Pronouns

Administrative and Volunteer Coordinator

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Sonia joins us as a transplant from the Olympic Peninsula, having lived in Port Townsend for nearly 20 years. With sailing and boating in her professional experience as a licensed Captain, she comes to GenPride with an education background -- teaching high school and adjudicated youth for over 10 years.

Sonia has served on various nonprofit boards and she is aware of the connective tissue and efficiency that an administrative assistant can provide.

"Paying attention to details and streamlining collective processes are things that I enjoy -- along with note-taking, information sharing, and connecting the dots in administrative puzzles."

As Volunteer Coordinator, Sonia hopes to connect folks in the GenPride community as volunteers to the needs of the wider LGBTQIA+ older community – whether it is as a Senior Companion, a volunteer class instructor/facilitator, or a festival booth host, there will be many opportunities to weave together as a Volunteer at GenPride.

Contact her for more information about the Volunteer Program.


GenPride Board of Directors

Linda Marchesani

She / Her Pronouns

Clerk

Linda Marchesani has been engaged throughout her career in professional and scholarly work focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education, governmental and non-profit sectors. Dr. Marchesani and was formerly the Director of Workplace Learning and Development at UMass Amherst. Since retiring from UMass Amherst, she maintains an independent consulting practice focused on professional and organizational development with an emphasis on DEI. She currently serves as a volunteer presenter for GenPride, an organization advocating for LGTQ Elders based in Seattle.

Jamie Ward, MPA, SPHR

He/Him Pronouns

Jamie is a spouse and parent living in Shoreline, WA in an multi-generational bilingual household with 4 adults and two children, two of the adults being 60 years of age, He is also a dad of two four legged kids in bulldog form that are constantly laying by his feet snoring away in his zoom calls!


He originates from North Carolina and received most of his higher education in North Carolina and Washington, DC. He's been a volunteer in several youth LGBTQ+ groups throughout college and grad school as well as been a part-time employee at PFLAG's national headquarters before he started his career in Human Resources. He is an alumni brother of Delta Lambda Phi, a progressive LGBTQ+ social fraternity.


He is an independent business owner managing his own human resources consulting firm that provides comprehensive services to organizations ranging from five to 5000 employees. He possesses over 20+ years of experience gained within real estate/property management, non-profit, technology, healthcare, telecommunication, retail, and manufacturing organizations—supporting both HQ and multi-state operations. He is passionate about developing top-tier leadership teams, partnering effectively with staff at all organizational levels and building the types of cultures/environments where people thrive and do their best work.


Jamie is a contributing member of GenPride's governance committee assisting with setting policy since early 2022.

Mary Rita Hurley, MPA, RN

She / Her Pronouns

Mary Rita Hurley is recognized nationally as a Speaker, Consultant, & Advocate in the post-acute care industry. Her current appointments in Oregon include the Governor’s Commission on Senior Services (Chair) and The Long-Term Care Administrators Board. She is cofounder of the LGBTQ Aging Coalition and nationally she most recently was a board member of the National Aids Housing Coalition.


She is the immediate Past President of the National Gerontological Nurses Association, was the Vice President of Government Affairs for a national nursing organization advocating for quality health care for seniors on Capitol Hill, was the Executive Director of the Oregon Center for Nursing and most recently was the Executive Director for Our House of Portland, a residential care facility for people living with HIV.

At present she accepted the position of Administrator for the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace at St Mary’s on the Lake in Bellevue, WA.

Mary Rita’s career has been dedicated to improving the health and health care of older adults through tireless advocacy and education. As a clinician she has extensive experience in chronic disease management. As a healthcare executive she has held a variety of progressive leadership positions in long term care and senior housing facilities in both urban and rural settings throughout the United States.


Maureen Linehan, MPA

She/Her Pronouns

Former Director of Aging

and Disability Services (ADS), the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle-King County. Maureen brings 25 years of service to older adults and individuals with disabilities, having worked for three Area Agencies on Aging in Washington state. She arrived at ADS in June 1999 and served as deputy director of its Case Management Program for nearly a dozen years, overseeing the rapidly-growing Renton case management office. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters in Public

Administration, Health Administration and Policy from San Francisco State University.

Peggy Haslach, CFP®, CLU®

She / Her Pronouns

Treasurer

Ten years ago, Peggy decided to get the get the licenses needed to open her own financial advisory practice after she saw firsthand how many women and LGBT seniors needed help navigating life events and how few women and LGBT worked in the areas where they needed help. Three years ago Peggy moved to her office two blocks from Climate Pledge Arena and now works primarily with professional women and LGBT who own businesses and practices as part of The Finity Group. Peggy is a certified MBE through the NGLCC. In addition to advising her clients Peggy has been working to change the face of financial services and leads the DEI efforts for The Finity Group and sits on the Cambridge Investment Research DEI Advisory Council.


Peggy and her wife Desiree have four Border Collies and keep themselves active by competing in dog agility and hiking on the weekends

Richard Patterson, Ph.D.

He / Him Pronouns

President

For over 30 years, Richard remains committed to teaching, learning, and educational leadership and is passionate about developing people, systems, teams, and organizations.


Richard spent 20 years in the Aurora Public Schools in Aurora, CO, where he served in the roles of science and math teacher, technology manager, assistant principal, middle school principal, director of student achievement, and director of P-20 campus development.  

Before moving to Seattle to achieve a dream of living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, he served as a middle school principal and director of student achievement for 27J Schools in Brighton, CO. During this time, he also held positions as adjunct faculty at the University of Denver and affiliate faculty at Regis University in their respective Educational Leadership and Policy Studies masters programs to provide blended learning experiences for coursework in Instructional Leadership, Data Literacy, Policy and Organizational Leadership, and Equity Leadership.

Shane Fowler

He / Him Pronouns

Vice President

Shane is a Washington native, with over 15 years of experience in senior living and healthcare operations, Shane has held a range of positions from operations director to senior executive director, traveling to communities across the United States.


His love for senior living began at age 12 when he would mow his elderly neighbor Fern’s yard, for which she would pay him in cookies. In his spare time, Shane plays in a competitive LGBTQIA+ softball league and enjoys spending time with his family and his dogs, Janet and Jackson.

Ruben Rivera-Jackman, MNPL

He / Him Pronouns

Ruben Rivera-Jackman, MNPL, speaker, trainer and nonprofit leadership consultant has an accomplished a 30+ year career as a nonprofit leader with practical experience in, and solid understanding of, a diverse range of management, program development and service delivery applications.


Ruben has a passion for working with and advocating on behalf of older adults and has a natural ability of providing instruction and training for adult learners. Ruben currently serves as the Director of Supportive Services for Imagine Housing, a non-profit affordable housing provider in East King County which provides affordable housing options for older-adults, families and Veterans. www.imaginehousing.org


Mr. Rivera-Jackman is also a certified trainer with the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging and serves as an adjunct Professor at Seattle Central Community College where he teaches classes a variety of classes including Aging Gracefully, Patient Navigation for Older-Adults, Motivational Interviewing, Group Dynamics and Counseling, Crisis Intervention &Management, and HIV/AIDS Brief Risk Intervention for Healthcare Professionals.


Community Roots Housing Pride Place Application Phone Line

Monday - Friday | 7 am - 10 pm

(206) 347-1500

Dedicated Pride Place Application Phone Line - CALL NOW

Live agents are ready to take your call.

Dedicated Pride Place Application Phone Line Opens - CALL NOW

Live agents are ready to take your call.

The call center for Pride Place applications opened June 15, at 9 am. 

GenPride and Community Roots Housing know there was some confusion and difficulties as calls began to come in. Community Roots Housing has provided a statement: Please click HERE to see what you need to know.

If you need assistance during the process or with eligibility information, GenPride is available at: (206) 393-3400 or email prideplace@genprideseattle.org

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