Board of Directors
Maryel Duzan, At-Large Director
Maryel joined the Community Voice Mail National Board in May 2008. Maryel has expertise in strategic planning and marketing, has taught entrepreneurship at the University of WA’s Bothell campus and BGI. More information coming.
Debbie Faulkner, At-Large Director
Debbie Faulkner is Vice President of Human Resources for Onlineshoes.com. She also served as Vice President of Operations for Active Voice, LLC for several years. Debbie volunteered for the Science and Engineering Advisory Board at Seattle University as well as the Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS). She is also a past board member of the Washington Software Association. She has a BA in economics and political science from Willamette University and a MBA from Seattle University. Debbie has supported Community Voice Mail from its inception – fielding the initial inquiry in 1991, and encouraging Active Voice’s owner to donate a free voicemail system to CVM’s founders.
Gary Leaf, At-Large Director
Gary joined the Community Voice Mail National Board in May 2008. Gary is the Director of Information Technology at Lease Crutcher Lewis, a leader in high-quality construction services and a notable corporate citizen in the Puget Sound region. Gary brings a wealth of experience in information technology and business development. More information coming.
Debbi Lewang, Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer for the Pacific Northwest Ballet. She holds a Bachelors of Accounting Science from Calgary University and is a recent graduate with a Masters in Not-for-Profit Leadership from Seattle University. Debbi has worked for various not-for-profit organizations since moving to Seattle in 1999 including Planned Parenthood, the Seattle Art Museum and NPower, and is happy to bring her breadth of accounting experience to CVM.
Sarah Meyer, At-Large Director
Sarah is executive director of Global Washington, a new initiative focused on strengthening the global development sector in Washington State. She was the director of Microsoft’s Global Community Affairs from 1997 to 2006 where she developed philanthropic program strategies, managed a $25M grant portfolio and oversaw employee engagement programs. Previously, she served as managing director of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses in New York and as founding executive director of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund. Sarah has an abiding commitment to the local community and serves on the boards of Community Voice Mail, Washington Families Fund, Team Read and Penny Harvest; she is a past trustee of Plymouth Housing Group and Town Hall Seattle. In addition, Sarah tutors youngsters at Rainier Vista public housing in south Seattle. She holds an MFA in nonprofit arts management from Columbia University and a B.A. in art history from Brown University.
Jason Mitchell, Affiliate Director (Los Angeles CVM)
Jason Mitchell is the Program Manager for the Weingart Center Associations Access Center where he manages multiple programs including Community Voice Mail. He has been with CVM-LA for nearly 4 years and WCA for more than 5. Prior to working with WCA Jason was a teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District for three years.
Scot More, Affiliate Director (Houston CVM)
Community Resource Manager for the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, Inc., whose mission is to educate and advocate for the needs of persons who are homeless through support and coordination of services. Scot himself became homeless in 2003 and started using CVM to find employment, eventually gaining the position of Information and Referral Specialist as a direct result of using CVM. Shortly thereafter, he started managing the Houston CVM program. In 2006, he became instrumental in developing Houston's Homeless Court and continues to manage this program as the first officially sanctioned Homeless Court in Texas. Scot's passion
is to end homelessness; his work is to remove barriers.
Robert "Bard" L. Richmond, At-Large Director
Robert Richmond is the chairman of the Robert L. Richmond Foundation and on the boards of several software startups. Recently he was the chairman and chief executive officer of Active Voice Corporation, a leading manufacturer of PC-based voice processing systems purchased by Cisco in 2001. A pioneer in the voice processing industry, Richmond built Active Voice from a small, three-person operation into a 400 employee public company that won numerous industry awards.
In 1994, Richmond was named the "Northwest Software Entrepreneur of the Year" and in 1990, Teleconnect magazine named him the "Telecom Person of the Year". In 1999, he was awarded the Presidential Service Award by President Clinton for his work with Community Technology Institute (Community Voice Mail).
David Sieminski, President
David Sieminski is a consultant, currently working with the Medina Foundation to launch a credit union designed for people with low-incomes in King County, Washington. When it opens, this credit union will provide a full range of conventional credit union products along with retail financial services and social services in a combination that will help customers of the bank become more financially stable and secure.
Previously, David was Manager of Asset Development Programs for the United Way of King County Homelessness Initiative. His area of focus was in developing programs and policies that provide opportunities for low-income people to become more financially secure through education, income enhancement and wealth building. He also managed the United Way Individual Development Account Program and Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign and worked on United Way projects to promote financial education and consumer awareness.
Sieminski is a member of the National Community Tax Coalition Steering Committee. The Tax Coalition advocates for fair tax policies and provides technical assistance and resources to free tax preparation programs across the country. Including his 9 years of service at United Way of King County, David has over twenty years of project management experience in both the private and non profit sectors.
David has a Masters in Public Administration from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.
Larry Sykes, Affiliate Director (Dallas CVM)
Program manager for Dallas Community Voice Mail, a program of the Stewpot. Larry spent 32 years prior to his work with CVM in the commercial real estate business which included time spent in the brokerage, development, management and ownership aspects of the business. Along the way Larry was involved on the board of Planned Parenthood of North Texas, a member of Leadership Dallas.