Board of Trustees 2009-2010
Aileen McEntee Carrell, President
Aileen Carrell is a native to the Pacific Northwest. She grew up in Tacoma, WA and graduated in 1990 from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Speech Communication. Aileen has worked for Starbucks Coffee Company since the fall of 1990 and is currently the Manager of Green Coffee Sustainability in the company’s coffee buying division. In addition to a long tenure with Starbucks, Aileen and her husband are founders of Phoenix Ventures, LLC, a small venture capital firm dedicated to providing high quality, in-demand services to communities throughout the Puget Sound. They focus on their chain of Laundromats in Lakewood, Olympia, Lacey and Spanaway, WA while continuing to look for other investment opportunities. Aileen makes time to serve as President of the NW Infant Survival and SIDS Alliance Foundation, Vice-President of the Washington State March for Life and is chair of the Respect Life committee at St. Charles Borromeo parish. Aileen’s favorite achievement and greatest source of happiness is being "Mom" to her 3 children and best friends with her loving husband.
Melissa Allen, Past President
Melissa Allen has made her home in Olympia, Washington for over 40 years. She graduated from UCLA (Sociology) in 1965 and knowing the Northwest would better suit her lifestyle, values, and pace, earned a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington in 1971. Melissa is the mother of Jessica (School Psychologist in Pierce County) and Kyle (aeronautical engineer in the Air Force). She is the proud Grammy and part-time child care provider for 3 year old Quentin. Her years of social work in hospital-based Maternal and Child Health, where she was called upon to provide support to families who had lost an infant to SIDS, helped her better understand the additional pain of unexplained deaths of children. Melissa later met the dedicated staff and volunteers at NISSA (then the SIDS Foundation of Washington) through her work as manager of the State Department of Health Child Death Review program. The mission of Child Death Review, to prevent future tragedies by better understanding the circumstances of unexpected deaths of children, matched that of NISSA. Although Melissa's work at the Department of Health changed, she continued her commitment to NISSA's mission by joining the Board. She recently retired from the world of "paid" work but continues her advocacy for NISSA and the families it serves.
Stephanie Hoel Gebhardt, Treasurer
Stephanie is a Certified Public Accountant and Vice President/Controller for MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, a large mechanical contractor based in Seattle, Washington. After graduating in 1991 from DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona with a bachelor's degree in Accounting, Stephanie worked as an accountant for several different industries in California, Montana and Washington. These positions have provided her with twenty years of accounting experience and exposure to many different industries and their accounting practices. Cash management, financial reporting and accounting have become her areas of expertise. In 2005, Stephanie had the honor of acting as the president for Construction Financial Managers Association's Puget Sound Chapter. She remains a member of CFMA today and is also affiliated with the Washington State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Stephanie is the mother of two active little boys, Nels and Kellan. When she can find time to play she enjoys snowboarding, scuba diving, and travel.
Andrea Berndt, Regional Representative
Andrea is a stay-at-home mom, active in her community as a volunteer. She lost her daughter, Ashley Rose, in 1989. To help heal the loss of her daughter she has volunteered with several SIDS organizations over the years in Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington. For the past 13 years Andrea has been volunteering with the Northwest Infant Survival & SIDS Alliance (formerly SIDS Foundation of Washington) by speaking at high schools and other groups that request a speaker on SIDS. She is also a peer companion and serves as facilitator of the NISSA parent support group that meets in Spokane. Educating and supporting SIDS parents and helping with NISSA's special events is how Andrea honors Ashley Rose's memory, even while she waits and hopes for an end to SIDS. Andrea enjoys time with her husband, David, and children Stephanie, Victoria, and Tristen.
Other Trustees
Aileen McEntee Carrell, PresidentAileen Carrell is a native to the Pacific Northwest. She grew up in Tacoma, WA and graduated in 1990 from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Speech Communication. Aileen has worked for Starbucks Coffee Company since the fall of 1990 and is currently the Manager of Green Coffee Sustainability in the company’s coffee buying division. In addition to a long tenure with Starbucks, Aileen and her husband are founders of Phoenix Ventures, LLC, a small venture capital firm dedicated to providing high quality, in-demand services to communities throughout the Puget Sound. They focus on their chain of Laundromats in Lakewood, Olympia, Lacey and Spanaway, WA while continuing to look for other investment opportunities. Aileen makes time to serve as President of the NW Infant Survival and SIDS Alliance Foundation, Vice-President of the Washington State March for Life and is chair of the Respect Life committee at St. Charles Borromeo parish. Aileen’s favorite achievement and greatest source of happiness is being "Mom" to her 3 children and best friends with her loving husband.
Melissa Allen, Past President
Melissa Allen has made her home in Olympia, Washington for over 40 years. She graduated from UCLA (Sociology) in 1965 and knowing the Northwest would better suit her lifestyle, values, and pace, earned a Masters in Social Work from the University of Washington in 1971. Melissa is the mother of Jessica (School Psychologist in Pierce County) and Kyle (aeronautical engineer in the Air Force). She is the proud Grammy and part-time child care provider for 3 year old Quentin. Her years of social work in hospital-based Maternal and Child Health, where she was called upon to provide support to families who had lost an infant to SIDS, helped her better understand the additional pain of unexplained deaths of children. Melissa later met the dedicated staff and volunteers at NISSA (then the SIDS Foundation of Washington) through her work as manager of the State Department of Health Child Death Review program. The mission of Child Death Review, to prevent future tragedies by better understanding the circumstances of unexpected deaths of children, matched that of NISSA. Although Melissa's work at the Department of Health changed, she continued her commitment to NISSA's mission by joining the Board. She recently retired from the world of "paid" work but continues her advocacy for NISSA and the families it serves.
Stephanie Hoel Gebhardt, Treasurer
Stephanie is a Certified Public Accountant and Vice President/Controller for MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, a large mechanical contractor based in Seattle, Washington. After graduating in 1991 from DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona with a bachelor's degree in Accounting, Stephanie worked as an accountant for several different industries in California, Montana and Washington. These positions have provided her with twenty years of accounting experience and exposure to many different industries and their accounting practices. Cash management, financial reporting and accounting have become her areas of expertise. In 2005, Stephanie had the honor of acting as the president for Construction Financial Managers Association's Puget Sound Chapter. She remains a member of CFMA today and is also affiliated with the Washington State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Stephanie is the mother of two active little boys, Nels and Kellan. When she can find time to play she enjoys snowboarding, scuba diving, and travel.
Andrea Berndt, Regional Representative
Andrea is a stay-at-home mom, active in her community as a volunteer. She lost her daughter, Ashley Rose, in 1989. To help heal the loss of her daughter she has volunteered with several SIDS organizations over the years in Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington. For the past 13 years Andrea has been volunteering with the Northwest Infant Survival & SIDS Alliance (formerly SIDS Foundation of Washington) by speaking at high schools and other groups that request a speaker on SIDS. She is also a peer companion and serves as facilitator of the NISSA parent support group that meets in Spokane. Educating and supporting SIDS parents and helping with NISSA's special events is how Andrea honors Ashley Rose's memory, even while she waits and hopes for an end to SIDS. Andrea enjoys time with her husband, David, and children Stephanie, Victoria, and Tristen.
Other Trustees
- Stacey Branom
- Nora Davis, Medical Advisor
- Penny Gay
- David Jardine
- Caroline Law
- Laura Martini
- Jeff Norman
- Kandy Paulson
- Rocky Treppiedi, Legal Advisor
