Our Staff
Washington Women’s Foundation is supported by a small, professional staff who work closely with the Board of Directors, member committees, and our wider collective community.
Kim came to the Washington Women’s Foundation with over 2 decades of experience in resource development and communications. Her specialty lies in individual giving and grants management in which she has an established and sustained track record of increasing and diversifying revenue sources and expanding the capacity of development departments.
Kim spent the last decade working for culturally based community organizations. A common thread and expertise in her work is building culturally relevant systems in partnership with program staff and board. This was especially evident during her tenure as a development director with the National Indian Child Welfare Association and Instituto del Progreso Latino where she played an important role in addressing philanthropic equity.
Kim earned a master’s degree in international public service management from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and global studies from Pacific Lutheran University. While she grew up in the Northwest, Kim’s family is from Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. In her free time, she spends time with her large extended family, learning to weave, and doting on her three pups.
206-844-2177
Jeri is the Development Coordinator at WA Women’s Foundation. Jeri is a lifelong Washingtonian, with deep roots in Pierce County where they grew up and attended community college. They have been calling Seattle home for nearly a decade. Before joining the WaWF team in 2024, Jeri spent 13 years in logistics, with 7 years in a leadership role as the only Administrator/ Regional Delivery Coordinator at Staples. They were affectionately known as “the glue”, for the pivotal role they had in keeping multiple teams connected and compliant. In their free time, Jeri loves attending local drag shows, hiking & camping, biking with friends, snuggling with their cat, caring for their many plants and sharing meals with chosen family.
206-407-2173
Katherine is the Senior Manager, Community Experience and Culture at the Washington Women’s Foundation. She grew up in Portland, OR and lives full time on Lopez Island. Before joining the WaWF in 2022, Katherine was the Director of the Lopez Food Share, a locally sourced and community-led food bank on Lopez Island. She has a B.A. in Speech Communication from Whitworth University, a M.A. in Theology & Culture from Fuller Theological Seminary and recently completed a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Washington. Katherine is active in the Lopez Island community, sitting on several boards, including as President of the Catherine Washburn Medical Association. In her free time, she enjoys boating around the islands with her husband and Mini Aussie, running long miles with friends, practicing hospitality, and is always trying to improve her pickleball game.
206-407-2171
As President & CEO, Maria Kolby-Wolfe leads the Washington Women’s Foundation, an intentional community of women of all backgrounds united in building a just, equitable, and thriving Washington through community-informed philanthropy. She sits on the board of OneWorld Now, an accredited and accessible international language and leadership program for high school students, and Rachel’s Network, a national community of women engaged in environmental leadership and advocacy.
A former instructor in Nonprofit Management at the University of Washington, Maria has developed extensive executive and fundraising experience through roles at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Seattle Symphony, Path with Art, ACT Theatre, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Swedish Medical Center Foundation. Her past board service includes TeamChild, Rainier Valley Food Bank, Allied Arts Foundation, and the Global Leadership Forum.
Raised in Bellingham, she is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound and achieved doctoral candidacy in American History at Northwestern University. Her leadership is grounded in a commitment to equity and driven by her enduring values: Food, Art, and Justice.
Deborah began her nonprofit career, fresh out of college, as Director of Jubilee Crafts, a women led organization that assisted women artisans throughout the world to market indigenous crafts. Often this was the only revenue stream for their families and communities. Central to Jubilee’s mission was sharing the stories of the artists to heighten awareness regarding the impact of US foreign policy on perpetuating their political and social struggles. Decades, and several nonprofit organizations later, Deborah is thrilled to be working with a women led organization once again, having joined the Washington Women’s Foundation staff as CFO in 2021. In addition to her career in nonprofit management, Deborah is licensed as a Counselor and East Asian Medicine Practitioner with a practice on Bainbridge Island.
Her past employment includes CFO of the Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine from its inception until 2006, Finance Manager of the Children’s Alliance, and Finance Director of Conservation Northwest. She has danced among her dual passions of healing individuals through private practice and healing the world through nonprofit work through the decades. Deborah first learned accounting in the manufacturing business that her father founded, benefiting from the tutelage of the company accountant. She holds a Bachelor degree with Honors from Bryn Mawr College and a Masters in Acupuncture from the Northwest Institute of Oriental Medicine, and she studied Organizational Development at the Leadership Institute of Seattle.