Braided River Board

Kate Roosevelt, Chair

Kate Roosevelt is vice president of The Collins Group, a fundraising consulting firm based in Seattle. Kate has worked for and consulted with nonprofit and public agencies for more than fifteen years. Since joining The Collins Group in 2000, she has helped her clients raise more than $125 million for a variety of capital and endowment projects. Ms. Roosevelt is an instructor in the University of Washington’s new Advanced Fundraising Management Certificate Program.

Prior to joining The Collins Group, Kate served as executive director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition and as associate director of the Cascade Center for Public Service at the University of Washington. Her current volunteer service includes the Colby College Alumni Council, the Southeast Seattle Senior Foundation Board of Directors, and the AFP Washington Education and Program Committee. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and holds a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in nonprofit management from the University of Washington. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College. Ms. Roosevelt joined the Braided River board in August 2008.

Elizabeth Lunney, Vice Chair

Elizabeth Lunney has worked for environmental organizations for 20 years, most recently as executive director for Washington Trails Association. Before moving to Washington state, she worked on capacity building for grassroots environmental groups at the Environmental Support Center in Washington, DC, helped implement a major gifts program at the Appalachian Trail Conference (Harpers Ferry, WV), and received a Master in Fine Arts from American University.

William Borden (M.S.), Secretary

William Borden is executive director of Earth Share of Washington (ESW). A founding board member and past president of Earth Share of Illinois, he has led many boards and task forces for nonprofits such as EarthShare of North America, Illinois Environmental Council, and the Seattle-based Coalition for Charitable Choice. His nonprofit management experience spans twenty-two years. Mr. Borden is a founding member of the Braided River board.

Lisa Berntsen

Lisa has had a life-long interest in outdoor activities and cannot remember a time in her life that did not include skiing, hiking and camping. Her passion for nature is what led her to her lifelong work. Lisa is an Environmental Scientist at GeoEngineers out of Tacoma, Washington. Her work primarily includes permitting and preparing resource reports for utility clients. Currently she is participating in the strategic planning process for her company as they are preparing for the future. Prior to joining GeoEngineers Lisa owned her own consulting company for 10 years. Lisa obtained her B.S. in Biology, her MS in Fisheries from the University of Washington, and recently earned an MBA in Sustainability from Bainbridge Graduate Institute. Lisa is Vice President of Publishing for The Mountaineers, and has been a member of the Mountaineers Books Governance Board for two years.

Paul Balle

Paul Balle is a Major Gifts Officer at Woodland Park Zoo, and has been working in the Northwest environmental movement for over 11 years. He began his conservation career soliciting $1 million in gifts for the extremely successful Cascades Conservation Partnership, as a Development Officer for Conservation Northwest. His prior work experience also includes working in sales, technical sales, and marketing for Microsoft (10 years) and even a stint in the exciting world of accounting for 5 years (which included passing the CPA exam). In his spare time, Paul likes to fly fish, volunteer for wildlife surveys, hike, cross country ski and play guitar. His favorite Northwest animal is the wolverine.