OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jean Garber (President)
Jean was born and raised in the Washington, DC area. When her husband wanted to return to the Northwest she moved to “the other Washington.” Now a true Northwesterner, Jean spent almost 30 years working at the University of Washington. Before retiring, she was the Assistant Dean for Finance and Human Resources at the School of Dentistry. Jean had read about the village concept and was excited to learn about ENN and volunteer. Jean also volunteers at Hopelink, helping refugees and immigrants prepare for their job search – assisting them prepare resumes and practice for job interviews.
Stephanie Shea, Ph.D. (Secretary)
Stephanie Shea became intrigued by the idea of a “virtual village” after learning about this relatively novel approach to aging on a posting on Nextdoor and joined the Board of Eastside Neighbors Network in January, 2019. Stephanie was born in Boston, received her B.A. from Cornell University and, after moving to Bellevue with her husband, studied for her Masters and Ph.D. At the University of Washington. She very much enjoys reading, continuing with her artwork, meeting new people and having new experiences. Just lately Stephanie’s time has been taken up with the ever evolving triumphs and disasters of dealing with computers.
Bobbie Izuo (Advisor)
Bobbie was born in Hawaii, moved to the Northwest and attended Central Washington University receiving a degree in Education and a Masters Degree at Seattle University. After retiring from 27 years of teaching, she entered the senior industry as Director of Marketing at Bellewood Retirement Community. She volunteers and has served on the board for The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC) for the past 10 years. Bobbie studies Feng Shui and is a certified Feng Shui practitioner.
Manali Joshi, (Treasurer)
Manali is the newest member of the ENN Board. Information pending.
Joanne Gainen, Ph.D. (Director)
Joanne first learned about the “virtual village” approach to aging in community through a class at TELOS, Bellevue College’s Continuing Education Program for Retirees. Along with several other students in the class, she pursued the instructor’s suggestion to explore the feasibility of a “virtual village” for Bellevue. The group expanded and evolved to become the Eastside Neighbors Network. Joanne earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of Washington in 1976. She held several faculty and administrative positions, most recently at Santa Clara University; she then went on to establish her own survey research business, Gainen Surveys LLC. She has 2 daughters, 8 grandchildren, and at last count, 4 great-grandchildren.
Amy Ruggiero (Director)
Amy first learned about the virtual village approach to aging from Joanne Gainen, who was exploring establishing a virtual village in Bellevue. Amy and her husband Frank became founding members of Eastside Neighbors Network. Amy used her degree from the University of Washington to become a Communication Disorder Specialist for the Renton School District for 27 years. She and Frank have travelled extensively and now spend five months of the year in Indio, California. Since retiring she has been involved with the Fyera Foundation, which has UN ECOSOC consultative status of the United Nations. Her special interests are ending human trafficking and peacebuilding.
Frank Ruggiero (Director)
Frank and his wife Amy were interested in a way to age in place and attended the early ENN organizing meetings. The Virtual Village approach seemed a good place to start. As a founding ENN member, Frank has enjoyed making new friends and being part of ENN activities.
Frank taught high school sciences, for 5 years, in Sacramento, CA (1968). He earned his Ph.D., in Comparative Behavior, at Washington State University (1973). Following this he worked as a Primatologist, studying aging effects on primate cognitive function, and then joined the faculty at Augustana Collage as a Professor of Psychology. Frank moved to Seattle (1979) to work in the Boeing Airplane Company as a Research Psychologist. He retired from Boeing (2006) and enjoys being a metal artist and “wintering” with Amy in Indio, CA
Linda Paros (Director)
Information pending.
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Online: www.MyENN.org Email: [email protected] Phone: (425) 270-8408
Eastside Neighbors Network is an IRS-designated 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit (EIN #81-3081454) organized to serve
residents of the Eastside with initial focus on Bellevue,WA.
All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.