current board
Typically there are 5 members of the Board: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Leschi Representative to the Seattle Community Council Federation. We have not elected a representative to the Seattle Community Council Federation for this term (2016-2018) as the Federation has not met in over a year.
The Federation is an organization made up of the various community councils within the city. The members of the Federation keep a watchful eye on city plans and bring speakers to their meetings to ensure neighborhood leaders are well informed. Members are prepared to send letters and attend City Council hearings to ask for changes in legislation.
president
Janice Merrill Brown, email
Janice is a licensed Managing Broker at Keller Williams Downtown Seattle and has a team that specializes in marketing and selling luxury homes. She has been a real estate broker for over 30 years working in every area of the real estate industry. She is a native of Washington, having grown up in a family pharmacy in Edmonds. After spending many years in Santa Barbara, she returned to Seattle to care for an aging mother. Janice spent over 13 years with Williams Marketing, a condominium marketing brokerage company and rediscovered Leschi when she was the Community Sales Manager for The Pier at Leschi.
She fell in love with Leschi, sold her home in Bellevue and bought a condo here. Janice’s passion is for our unique jewel. Janice wants to continue stewarding our diverse, lively, evolving and fun community.
“I encourage all residents to become involved. Our monthly meetings on the first Wednesday of the month begin again in September at 7pm. Please come and get involved. Embrace your opportunity to meet neighbors and engage in our little village.”
vice-president
Trevor Lalish-Menagh, email
Hello, Leschi! My name is Trevor Lalish-Menagh and I am your vice president on the Leschi Community Council. We moved our family to Seattle from Philadelphia, PA to be close to our families, who are almost entirely in the western Washington area. When we landed here, we stayed with my brother-in-law’s family here in Leschi and while looking for a home to settle into, being close to them was of great importance to us.
Fortunately, we lucked out and a marvelous home appeared for sale a little over three years ago about three blocks away from my brother-in-law’s house, with Frink Park as a backyard. We survived the bidding war and have been happy Leschi residents ever since.
secretary
Lawrence Pitre
Lawrence was born and still lives in the Central Area of Seattle. Just as other children growing up, he was looking for an identity and visual art became that mystical vehicle. After receiving his AA Degree, Lawrence transferred to the University of Washington into the School of Art where he began to cultivate his artistic talents under the direction of the renowned artist Jacob Lawrence. Upon completion of his BA in Fine Arts, Lawrence quickly learned that self-expression was a key to creative cultivation. So, in the fall of 2015 he enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts Leadership Program which he graduated from in June 2017 at Seattle University. Currently Lawrence works as a commissioned artist, President of the Central Area Chamber and is actively involved in community service.
treasurer
Matthias Linnenkamp, email
Matthias grew up in Germany and came to the US in the late nineties, initially living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He enjoys spending time in nature, on a sailboat, on his bike, going on trips near and far, and meeting up with friends. He also likes to nerd out about politics, economics, data, and philosophy. For work, he’s been helping companies large and small build better processes and management practices. He will not say which school he went to and which degrees he holds as his personal, small contribution to combatting credentialism.
When he and his fiancée looked for a place to rent or purchase in Seattle in 2013, they stumbled upon a house in Leschi. Getting to know their neighborhood and neighbors they quickly realized what a special place they had found. Leschi felt like a village where people know each other and care about the community. Add to that its privileged location, the parks, and the best small grocery store in Seattle, and it’s hard to see why you would ever want to move! However, a community is ultimately what you make it. Being involved with the Leschi Community Council, Matthias hopes to be able to work with his neighbors to keep Leschi a vibrant and beautiful place to live.
Leschi business associate
Yousef Shulman
Updated bio to come.
SCCF representative
vacant
We have not elected a representative to the Seattle Community Council Federation for this term as the Federation has not met in over a year.
committees
Committee chairs are appointed by the President(s) and are considered members of the Board. Anyone who holds two positions is entitled to only one vote in Board decisions.
editor, leschi news
Diane Snell, email
Diane is a retired medical social worker who has lived in Leschi since 1989. She has served on the Council as Secretary several times, served as Representative to and Secretary for the Federation of Community Councils, secretary to the Central Area Neighborhood District Council and has been Leschi News editor for the past 10 years. Most recently, she served as Co-president of Leschi CC. She is very committed to community and looks out for Leschi when she sees changes coming at the city or county level; she feels her legacy to this community was bringing back bus #27. She has adopted Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world” as her mantra.
parks and greenspace, committee chairman
John Barber, email
John Barber is the chair of the Parks and Greenspace committee. He determines dates of work parties at the String of Pearls, Leschi Park and other areas that need attention. He has led some of Leschi CC's major projects such as the renovation of Flo Ware Park and installation of modern playground equipment at Peppi's Park. John also led Leschi's participation in the renovation at Powell Barnett Park.
public health and safety, committee chairman
Tracy Bier, email
Tracy Bier is the Chair of the Public Health & Safety Committee. Concerns about safety or health issues should be directed to her. She works with Block Watches and passes on safety tips from the Seattle Police Department. Tracy has lived in the Madrona and Leschi neighborhoods since 1988. She is currently the Executive Director of nonprofit Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility and Block Watch Captain of 30th Ave. Neighbors since 2006. She has a Bachelor's degree in English, University of Montana, and a Master's in Marketing for Nonprofits, University of Vermont. She is an avid outdoor person: skiing and snowshoeing, kayaking and walking AND she paints landscapes.
communications, committee chairman
Ashley Martin, email
Ashley Martin first moved to Seattle to attend college and after time on the East Coast, in Spain and in Las Vegas she was drawn back to the Pacific Northwest. She feels especially lucky to have landed in Leschi. As Communications Chair she hopes to build more awareness of the Leschi News (great stories!) and get more folks involved with the Leschi Community Council.