Who We Are

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.

Beginning in August 2025 Kevin serves as the Executive Director for the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL). In this role Kevin oversees a US Department of Energy research and development hub that makes strategic investments in regional water systems and water technologies. Since its inception in 2019 NAWI has invested over $100m in this mission across National Labs, academia, and industry.   

Kevin retired from NOAA in 2025 following a 26+ years career. Before retiring Kevin served briefly as NOAA’s first Employee Experience Director leading a nascent effort to improve NOAA’s employee experience and increase the agency’s effectiveness. Between 2017 and 2024 Kevin was the science and research director at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC). The NWFSC’s mission is to conduct the science necessary to conserve marine and anadromous species and their habitats off the Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts and in freshwater rivers of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Their research provides reliable, relevant, and credible information to help decision-makers and natural resource managers build sustainable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, maintain healthy ecosystems, and protect human health. The Center is also dedicated to enhancing public awareness, education, and stewardship of our marine resources.

In July 2023 Kevin took on an assignment as the Acting Assistant Administrator for FEMA’s newly formed Risk, Analysis, Planning, and Information Directorate (RAPID). RAPID’s mission is to develop, maintain, and apply a comprehensive risk picture for the nation in order to work with others to reduce risk. Kevin has led the effort to bring together RAPID’s organization to envision and realize its mission. 

Kevin has extensive experience working to connect science to application in water resources and climate in the western United States as well as policy and organizational development in the public sector. In 2016, Kevin led the creation of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Organizational Excellence (OOE). That new NWS office brought strategic thinking, enabling change, challenging the status quo, and creating connections with and for the NWS. Prior to that, Kevin’s work has ranged from water and climate forecasting and application to climate data and assessment work and its role in decision making. Kevin has successfully connected science and scientists in these areas to application and decision makers. Kevin has worked in various parts of NOAA including the NWS, the Satellite and Information Service (NESDIS), and the NOAA commissioned officer corps. Kevin also has experience infusing new science and technology into river forecast operational procedures and methodologies. Kevin holds degrees in atmospheric science, mathematics, public administration, and political science from the Universities of Washington and Utah. Kevin has also been active in his communities including service on the Board of Directors for the Senior Executives Association, co-chair for the Move Seattle Levy Oversight Committee during the 2020-2024 period, and president of the Salt Lake City Library Board in the mid 2010s. Kevin currently serves on the Seattle Parks and Recreation Commission. 

Tricia is proud to serve as a mayoral appointee to the Seattle Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioner. Along with her family, she regularly visits parks near her home in Ravenna. She is committed to supporting efforts which not only make our public spaces safer but encourage engagement reflecting the fabric of our community and the breadth of activities.

In the past, Tricia has served on the Seattle Human Rights Commission as well as the Mayor’s Council for African American Elders however she believes true engagement and demonstration of our values as Seattleites can be realized through Parks and Recreation.  She is a fractional project management office consultant, with over thirty years’ project and portfolio management experience in aerospace, information technology, education, and government administration.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California and New Orleans, Louisiana, Tricia left the United States in her teens to earn Bachelor’s Degrees in English and Aerospace Engineering, Masters in Mathematics and Educational Administration and Doctoral Studies in Aerospace Engineering. She returned to the United States in 2008, making Seattle her home. She enjoys dance, robotics, travel, UEFA football/soccer, cooking masterpieces, live music events, tennis and her three dogs – Blue Orleans, Missy Elliot, and Carmella. She is also multilingual (Dutch, Frisian, Afrikaans, Bubi and Hausa).

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.