Rebecca C. Dietz

President

Rebecca is an event producer and co-owner of Well Done Events. She has lived many professional lives as both a nurse and landscape designer. Rebecca has been an active NEST volunteer since March of 2020. She lives in the Wedgwood neighborhood with her husband Michael and has two grown, fabulous kids.

Leslie Phillips

Secretary

Leslie Phillips, Ph.D., is an epidemiologist who brings a health & safety lens to the NEST Board. She also serves as a Research Director at the SEIU 775 Benefits Group. Leslie received her Master’s in Health and Social Behavior from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and her doctorate from the University of Washington. Leslie is not new to NEST or the NEST Board, sitting on the Board back in 2011 as NEST transitions from an idea to a reality. She is delighted to return to a thriving NEST. After twenty years in Seattle, she feels she has seen it all, including the terror that comes from the Seattle Freeze, the Seattle Squeeze, and most recently the Seattle Sneeze.

Shirley Bishop

Shirley spent most of her career as staff to non-profit organizations, including as Executive Director of two. She then started and ran an association management company, providing management services to professional and trade organizations (state, national, international). After selling the company, she volunteered as a consultant to non-profits, assisting with strategic planning and governance. In retirement, she is a dedicated walker on the Burke-Gilman Trail, travels, and enjoys time with her grandchildren.

Jack Collins

Jack earned a degree in Political Science from Swarthmore College and a Master’s degree in Governmental Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Jack had a career in city management including an internship in Seward, AK; assistant city manager in Eugene, OR; city manager in Ontario, OR and Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA and culminating as Deputy Mayor for five years during the Royer administration in Seattle.

He then founded a private non-profit (Northwest Small Cities Services) and served for seventeen years as its sole employee. In very small cities, he provided management assistance and served as Interim City Manager in Snohomish and La Conner, WA. Jack later served for five years on the City of Seattle’s Board of Park Commissioners and for eight years on the Washington Park Arboretum and Botanical Garden Committee. In all of these jobs, in local government and in the non-profit sector, Jack wrote and consulted on a lot of government and foundation grants, an experience he hopes to rely on to benefit NEST.

After 58 years of marriage, his wife died of lung cancer in September, 2019. With hospice care, she was able to stay in the home in Northeast Seattle they had lived in for forty years. Jack saw firsthand the value of people staying in their homes and recognized this as a principal reason for NEST’s success. He joined the Board in 2021 and hopes to continue to serve as an active volunteer and to learn how to play pickleball.

Rebecca Crichton

Rebecca Crichton, Executive Director of Northwest Center for Creative Aging (NWCCA) presents programs and resources related to Creative Aging in the Seattle area. She worked for The Boeing Company for 21 years as a writer, curriculum designer and leadership development coach. She facilitated Wisdom Cafes for the King County Library System and writes a regular column for 3rd Act Magazine. She trained as a Hospice Volunteer and facilitated Greif Support Groups for more than 20 years. She has Masters’ degrees in Child Development and Organizational Development and is a Certified Coach.

Elise Ernst

Elise has worked as a schoolteacher, clinical social worker, and healthcare administrator for the past 50+ years. She recently retired after serving for 12 years as Vice President of Practice Management at The Polyclinic. During that time, she learned an immense amount about healthcare for seniors, namely what it takes from both patients and providers for the partnership to be successful. She also leads initiatives to improve efficiencies in healthcare, along with starting a Behavioral Health Department that is thriving today. Seniors made up a large number of patients referred by their providers for help coping with loneliness and depression.

In 2014, Elise’s mother died at age 97, after struggling with dementia and living in assisted living in Arizona for over 3 years. During that time she saw firsthand the toll that not being able to live at home takes on all involved, and she hopes to be able to bring that experience to NEST. She’s excited to be able to contribute to a nonprofit organization that is still growing and learning how to serve its community of senior citizens. She has served on several other boards in the past, including The Gage Art Academy.

Elise lives with her husband of 35 years, Mike Smith (a retired advocacy attorney for people with disabilities), in a houseboat on Lake Union. Their son, David Smith, grew up loving the water as well. He is a competitive rower and made the US Team 5 times, and he is currently starting a new career of being a full-time watercolor artist. Elise loves to row, cross-country ski, play piano, and quilt. She is learning how to play bridge, which is quite a challenge.

Andrea Logue Nicolaisen

I recently retired after 30 years as an Elder Law attorney here in Seattle. As such I assisted in guardianships trusts, probates, and estate planning. 6 years ago when my father died, my mother (with Alzheimer’s) moved in with us, which has been a gift full of lessons. I have always been interested in serving the needs of seniors and understand how limited community services are for so many. When I first learned of NEST I thought, “what a great idea!” and looked forward to the time when I could volunteer. That time is now. I look forward to meeting you.

Abby Rosenthal

Abby Rosenthal recently moved to Seattle along with her husband. She joined the NEST Board in the spring of 2023.

She has experience as a consultant, written several documents when at Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and managed and written grants for an assortment of non-profit and community agencies. She has experience working with older adults, and agencies serving this population. Her background includes working in Tobacco Control, Blood Pressure Management, AIDS, and Cardiovascular Health. Abby has served on several boards and advisory groups and enjoys photography, being outdoors, and working in the community to coordinate initiatives.

Andrea Sadlier Holman

Andrea is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) and deeply committed to contributing back to her local community. She moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where she met her husband, and fell in love with the area. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Andrea pursued a Master’s in Counseling, further honing her skills in communication and empathy.

Her early career primarily focused on continuing education, helping adults achieve their academic goals—whether it was earning a specialized certificate or pursuing a graduate degree. Andrea’s passion for community service led her to volunteer with NEST before joining the board in 2024. In addition to her work with NEST, she actively volunteers in the local schools, contributing her time to enhance the educational experiences for students. When she’s not working, you’ll find her playing indoor soccer, paddle boarding, solving crossword puzzles, or enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest beaches. Andrea resides in the View Ridge area with her husband, two school-age children, and their beloved “foster fail” cat.

Alex Strazzanti

After receiving his MSW from Washington University in St. Louis, Alex moved to Northeast Seattle in 1998. Throughout his social work career he has worked primarily in mental health research, vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities, special event planning, and fundraising. He re-discovered his passion for photography in 2003 and has been self-employed as a professional photographer for over two decades.

As a strong advocate of community building, he has also organized and managed a variety of projects in Seattle, including opening an art gallery in Wallingford, creating a wellness workshop series, designing a card game for foodies and co-directing the Wedgwood Art Festival. When not working, he enjoys kayaking, cooking and planning trips. He is really looking forward to the ways he can help NEST grow in the coming years.

Our Wonderful Staff

Chris Alin

Director of Operations

chris@nestseattle.org



Born and raised in the Emerald City, Chris is a true Seattleite – a rarity these days. A graduate of the University of Washington, Chris has a wealth of experience in coordinating, planning, and managing people and programs throughout diverse fields, most recently her passion working with older adults in the senior living industry. In her spare time, you will find Chris being a busy mom to two active boys and a crazy sweet dog. She enjoys health and fitness, cooking, and spending quality time with her family in Wallingford.

Emily Jones

Executive Director

emily@nestseattle.org



Emily grew up in Ohio, the youngest of five siblings. She attended Stanford University, majoring in Ancient Greek, with the original goal of becoming a classical archaeologist. After working in a public library, she knew she had to be a librarian and moved to Seattle in 2000 to attend the University of Washington for her MLIS from the Information School. For over a decade, Emily worked as a children’s and teen services librarian, as well as a medical school librarian in Texas. As we all know, life has a way of throwing us curve balls, so about seven years ago, Emily found herself in nonprofit management.



She was a volunteer and outreach manager for an animal nonprofit, then became the assistant director of the Washington Library Association. In 2017, she joined the association management department at the Washington State Medical Association and served as the executive director of five medical specialty societies in the state. However, her first love of building communities and connecting people with resources (and with each other!) was strong. She joined NEST in November 2021 and is excited by what can be accomplished when her passion dovetails with her work.

Ellen Royal-Ward

Volunteer Volunteer Coordinator



Ellen has been a part of NEST since 2015 when she began volunteering driving members to appointments, visiting, going for walks, playing games, and helping with housework. She quickly became interested in the process of training new volunteers and has headed up that part of NEST for the last six years. Ellen volunteers part-time in the office to assist with onboarding new volunteers and maintaining our database. Ellen loves NEST and its vital and fun role in the communities of North Seattle.