Board of Directors

Erick is a graduate of The Evergreen State College. For the past 20 years, her work in HIV led her to many different corners of volunteer, nonprofit and government settings: as a participant in HIV vaccine and prevention research studies, a leader of various research community advisory boards, a graduate of several leadership institutes, an outreach worker, a technical assistance and training provider, a grant writer and reviewer, a conference planner, and more. Erick served as the Executive Director of PCAF (Pierce County AIDS Foundation) and chaired the Pierce County Human Services Coalition. Currently Erick owns and operates The Liminal Mirror, a coaching and consulting business, and serves as the President of the Board of Washington Nonprofits. Outside of work, Erick is a poet and a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey of St. Joan.

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon

Jeananne Edwards is passionate about transportation and helping others with accessibility issues. She has a Project Management degree from Colorado Tech University. Prior to moving to the Pacific Northwest, Jeananne worked in the car rental sector for many years. She was able to take that knowledge and passion and channel it into her role as the Executive Director of Community in Motion, a non-profit whose mission is to connect people with access to reliable transportation options. She is Vice-Chair of Vancouver’s Transportation Mobility Commission and enjoys partnering and collaborating with other agencies to help solve transportation and other issues in the community. Jeananne and her fabulous husband moved to the Vancouver area because of their love of the outdoors. She loves bicycling, gardening, crafting, and reading – all perfect hobbies for an extroverted introvert.

Kelli Houston comes to us with over 17 years of DEI Leadership experience across the health and human sector with emphasis on health and racial equity and ensuring that culturally diverse communities live healthier lives and receive the care they need and deserve.

Her extensive background working with in health care systems includes work to reduce health disparities. Kelli has led and contributed to DEI efforts with Health Share of Oregon, Seattle Children’s Hospital, PeaceHealth and Kaiser Permanente. Under her leadership, she has successfully executed strategic planning and implementation diversity and health equity policy and program development that target a set of high-impact priorities, among them; designing long range plans for a patient centered health system improving the quality of care for culturally diverse patients.

Currently, she serves as Chief Equity Officer for Community Health Plan of WA, the leading health plan in WA State, where she is responsible for leading DEI strategic planning and execution across the organization. She is the chair of the statewide Equity Council and serves on several community-led committees overseeing key priorities in advancing organizations with an anti-racism approach.

Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, she considers Tacoma, WA her  home. Kelli holds an MBA, Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management, and professional certification in Women’s Studies from Cornell University. In her spare time, Kelli performed on stage as a standup comedian, auditioning for NBC’s Last Comic Standing. She is “fur mama” to an 11-year-old Japanese bobtail cat named Suzy.

“As a professional woman of color who identifies within the LGBTQIA+ Community, my life’s work in the field of DEI has been the perfect culmination of my work experience and my deep personal experience that leads me here today to sit on this distinguished panel.” … Kelli Houston

Katya Miltimore serves as Executive Director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Washington State Association, where she coordinates state government affairs and advocacy on behalf of 14 Boys & Girls Clubs organizations in WA. Under Katya’s leadership over the past 6 years the Association has increased its advocacy, grew the pass-through resources to local Clubs tenfold, and launched several pioneering programs supporting staff development, mental health for kids and teens and Club member academic success statewide. Katya is a former CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County.  She earned her Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Evergreen State College, and her Master of Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.

Katya is an avid traveler, reader, and an active community member, serving on various boards including Family Education and Support Services, and Expanding Your Horizons Thurston County.  She is the President Elect for West Olympia Rotary Club.  Katya has two daughters, ages 21 and 16, and Katya’s husband of 25 years, Michael, is a Project Manager in the construction field, supporting a variety of nonprofit projects in Thurston County and beyond.

Kim Pope took over the role of the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin, located in Moses Lake, 5 ½ years ago, after serving on the club’s Board of Directors for the two years prior. Looking back, the path toward a career in public service was evident. A long tenure with Child Protective Services and then a decade at the local hospital set the stage for supporting under-served children and families. The Boys & Girls Club was the perfect fit to continue that advocacy.

Kim has lived in the Moses Lake area for over 40 years. She and her husband of 32 years raised three sons in the small community and now enjoy 4 grandchildren, with a 5^th to be born within the next month. She is definitely a boy mom, so she attended many basketball, baseball, and football games over the years. Even though no family members play football now, that doesn’t stop her from cheering on her favorite teams, especially WSU.

After living in Moses Lake for a long time, Kim has watched the community grow. New industries are coming to town to take advantage of inexpensive power and abundant open land around the airport or the farmland. Building relationships with those businesses has been an important part of her current role.

If Kim isn’t at the Boys & Girls Club or a club function, she participates in Rotary Club events, serves on civic workgroups, and attends other non-profit community events. Her belief is that there is no competition among nonprofits; the organizations should work together to support each other. In a small community, this seems to be even more important.