Meet the Board

Representing District 1, Justin was born and raised in West Seattle. He graduated from Seattle University with a Mechanical Engineering degree and has found that over the years he has developed a deep passion for serving the community.
In his professional career, Justin is known for delivering public works and mega transit projects. He currently works at King County Metro as a Capital Project Manager managing bus projects that aim to get more people to more places in an equitable and sustainable fashion. 

In the community, Justin is a long time contributor to Seattle Parks and Recreation system. He participated in recreation programs throughout his own youth and eventually began coaching through his local community center in his college years. Justin spent over 15 years coaching the city's youth ranging from 6 - 18 years old before making his way into Board work.

Combining his experience in recreation programming with his professional experience navigating complex public facing projects, he is excited to bring his experience skillset to serve on the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. Accustomed to Board duties and having chaired many, he is a versed public servant and is passionate about making a difference.

Amy lives in the Greenwood / Phinney Ridge neighborhood, and on any given day might be found at Green Lake, Alice Ball, Carkeek, or another one of the many beautiful parks across Seattle.

Amy is Deputy Director at the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, where she works to convene a broad coalition of stakeholders to pursue land conservation, regional trail connections, historic preservation, environmental education, ecological restoration, and volunteer stewardship across the newly-designated Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area. Having learned under the wing of the Greenway Trust's founder, legendary Seattle civic leader Jim Ellis, Amy sees relationships and collaboration as the keys to caring for public treasures like parks. With 25 years at the Greenway Trust, Amy develops collaborative partnerships between land management agencies, businesses, and conservation groups who come together to ensure that lands in the Greenway remain ecologically healthy and resilient and the region's diverse communities benefit from nearby access to nature. While her role requires her to spend a lot of time in conference rooms and city halls, Amy is happiest outside, up a mountain, on a trail, or playing in a park. She and her family enjoy hiking, biking, skiing, snowshoeing, and Amy is always looking for her next chance to grab a backpack and explore.

Joshua comes to Seattle from a decade on the East Coast. Having previously called Philadelphia and New York City home, he and his family now reside in Ballard. Born and raised in Michigan, Joshua is a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania. A landscape architect by trade, Joshua has developed a reputation for delivering large, complex, and transformative public realm projects in both the US and abroad. When he is not at the office or volunteering with the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, you can find Joshua cycling through the Cascades foothills, rolling along the Burke-Gilman Trail, or taking in the breathtaking views from Golden Gardens Park.

Steve Lerer moved to the Bryant/Ravenna neighborhood in 2018 from Merced, California. He and his wife grew up in New Jersey where they met while attending college, and have been on a journey to Seattle where they hope to settle for the long term. Together they have three very active children who spend tons of time in the parks and pools across the city. Steve is also an avid triathlete and a member of the Seattle Triathlon Club. You can see him regularly running and biking the Burke-Gilman trail and swimming across Green Lake in the summers.

Steve received his B.A. in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and went on to receive an M.A in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University. In August 2021, he finished his Ph.D. in Education and Human Resources at Colorado State University. His dissertation was entitled “Exploring the Perceptions of First-Generation College Students with Strengths Based Development Experiences”.

Steve works for Kaiser Permanente as a Lead Consultant on the National Leadership Development team. In his work, he designs, delivers, and manages multiple leadership development programs across the organization. He also serves as a coach for leaders, where he leverages his deep commitment to a strengths-based development philosophy.

John lives on Capitol Hill with his husband and son, and their cattle dog Wally, whose favorite activity is chasing the squirrels and rabbits in Volunteer Park.  John serves as chair of the Volunteer Park Trust, a volunteer-led community group formed to help preserve and enhance the historic park and its Olmsted-designed landscape and features.  He can frequently be found in the park, swimming laps at Medgar Evers pool, or shopping the farmer's market at Cal Anderson Park.  Now retired, John spent his professional career as a content strategist, editor, and product manager at Amazon, MSNBC.com, and Microsoft.

As a longtime Seattleite who loves being active outdoors, Elise is proud to serve as a Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioner representing District 4. She and her family consider the Ravenna-Cowen Park corridor an extension of their backyard, and they regularly visit other parks, playfiends, swimming pools, and trail networks throughout NE Seattle and the broader City. Elise is committed to supporting efforts that will make our public spaces safer and more vibrant, and she believes this is achievable through open dialogue, an integrated approach, and a focus on measurable impact.

Elise brings relevant strategy, planning, and stakeholder engagement experience to the table as a marketing and communications leader with a passion for tech innovation and environmental sustainability. She’s currently the Head of Marketing at Collaboration.Ai, a software and services startup aimed at unleashing the full potential of human connections to solve the world’s hardest problems. Previously in her career, she held management roles at Starbucks, Uber, and Edelman.

Born and raised in southern Idaho, Elise earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Marquette University and Master’s in Communication Leadership from the University of Washington. She enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, drinking great coffee, dining at new restaurants, and exploring Seattle’s neighborhoods with family and friends.

Stafford worked at Microsoft for 20+ years. His responsibilities included managing PR efforts for Microsoft's Global Diversity & Inclusion Team. He was also responsible for External PR & Media and Online Print. In addition, he focused on External Relationships with Civil Rights and Human Service Organizations, as well as K-12 and Minority Colleges & Universities. Mays worked to create and implement programs that provided equal access to technology to underserved communities. These efforts delivered Microsoft technology infrastructure, teacher preparedness, training and access for minority students. 

Prior to joining Microsoft, Mays earned a scholarship and played football for the University of Washington.  Stafford was drafted as a defensive lineman for the St. Louis Cardinals/Minnesota Vikings (1980-89).
Stafford served on local boards of several non-profits and speaks to various K-12 schools about academics and technology. He is currently on the boards of Odea High School and Upower.org.