Foundation Staff
Kristen Bush - Executive Director 
Kristen Bush, Executive Director since 2002, has a passion and a gift for making active parks happen. She has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington and uses these learned skills in fulfilling the mission of facilitating healthy lives through active recreation parks.
When appointed to the Active Sports and Youth Recreation Commission for King County, Kris strongly advocated utilizing advanced technology for playfield improvements, and effecting change to government policies that limit access to public facilities. Kris provides great energy, ideas and experience to Northwest Parks Foundation’s projects, capital campaigns and Park Safety Net Partners.
Phone: (425) 284-0420
Fax: (425) 284-3437
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Suzette Hart - Operations / Campaign Director 
Suzette joined the Northwest Parks Foundation team in November 2007 as Campaign Director. She currently manages the Parks Safety Net program and the Woodinville Fields Capital Campaign. Suzette holds a BA in Recreation Management, with emphasis in both fitness and aquatics, from Eastern Washington University. She has worked for the City of Colville (in NE WA), the City of Burien, and most recently as Parks and Recreation Director for South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District. She is active in Washington Recreation Parks & Recreation Association (WRPA) and brings several professional contacts to the Foundation.
In her spare time, Suzette enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys - visiting and exploring area parks and natural spaces. She also enjoys swimming, kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking.
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Jan Burnette - Executive Assistant
Jan joined Northwest Parks Foundation in July 2006. In addition to serving as Executive Assistant to Kristen Bush, Jan also serves as Office Manager. She has a solid background in bookkeeping, non-profit procedures, sales, grant writing and a variety of other abilities - all of which she applies with NWParks to help keep the office humming along.
For the last thirty years Jan has worked and volunteered for Pacific Marine Research and the Marine Science AfloatTM program and currently works as the Executive Director. One of her long time goals is to write grants to provide opportunities for underpriviledged children to participate in the Marine Science AfloatTM program. In her spare time Jan likes to read, work in the garden, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Peter and family.
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Becky Venable - Accountant 
Northwest Parks Foundation added Becky Venable to the team in May 2007. She brings with her many years of experience in management accounting with a large, local asphalt contractor and is able to wear a number of hats to keep the Foundation's overhead lean and efficient. As Accountant, she handles all of the record keeping, from daily transactions to top level taxes and financial reports. Her extensive background in legal contracts, real estate dealings, computer networking and communications, and construction job costing make her a great go-to gal for us.
Becky and her husband are avid supporters of recreational sports and their local schools, giving countless hours of volunteer time from coaching to administration tasks, and from helping out in the classroom to producing and directing school stage productions. "We believe supporting strong families and making sure kids get the best opportunities is the best way to build communities and provide for the future. Supporting active parks is a great way to do all of those things!"
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Geni Venable - Research and Office Intern 
Geni became a member of the Northwest Parks Foundation team in June 2008. As the resident Research and Office Intern, Geni researches various aspects of Northwest Park's projects to help with proposals for grants and permits. Her tasks have also included construction of the new website and copying of legal documents among other office tasks.
Geni graduated Salutatorian with full diploma I.B. from Inglemoor High School in June 2008. She is currently a member of the Class of 2012 at Whitman College.
Geni loves reading, writing stories and poetry, and photography. As a musician, she also enjoys playing the clarinet, occasionally the guitar, and singing. During her junior and senior years she was a leader of her high school's chapter of Save Darfur and spearheaded various awareness and fundraising efforts.
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Foundation Board
Windermere Real Estate
Friends of Bridle Trails Park
Arena Sports, Inc.
Matson & DeYoung LLC
Emeritus
R.J. Smith & Associates
Door to Door Storage
Giuliani Capital Advisors, LLC
Talmadge & Stockmeyer PLLC
RH2 Engineers, Planners, Scientists