The Nonprofit Center is a 501(c)(3) organization formed in 1999 with this mission:

• To strengthen nonprofit organizations for a better community.
• The Center is led by an eleven-member Board of Directors and the Executive Director, Elizabeth M. Heath. Heath is also the Founder of the Center.
• The Nonprofit Center is located in Tacoma, Washington, and serves the South Puget Sound area which includes Pierce, Kitsap, Mason, South King and Thurston Counties.

The Nonprofit Center is incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the State of Washington and is registered with the Charities Division of the Secretary of State's office. The Center has been determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be tax-exempt and not a private foundation. Funding sources include seminar, conference and consulting fees, corporate and foundation grants and individual contributions.

The Nonprofit Center greatly appreciates the work of our Board Members.

We will always be indebted to our Founding Board Members for their vision and commitment to strengthening nonprofits. They are:

• James Dawson, LPL Financial Services
• Phyllis Gill, Community Volunteer
• Charles Granoski, Jr., Esq., Betzendorfer & Granoski
• Wendy Gray, Community Volunteer
• James Walton, City of Tacoma (Retired)
• Scott Winship, Vandeberg, Johnson & Gandara

Our current Board of Directors is led by: Dick Pickett, Rainier Pacific Bank, President; John Doan, City of Sumner, Vice President; Dianne Stoehr, CPA, Secretary-Treasurer. Additional members of the board are:

• John Hickey, Executive Director of Community Engagements, University of Puget Sound
• Linda Ishem, Acting Asst. Professor, UW Tacoma
• Tracy Kahlo, Vice President, National Eating Disorders Association
• Joe Lawless, Executive Director, Center for Leadership & Social Responsibility, Milgard School of Business, UW Tacoma
• David Petrich, Attorney, Eisenhower Carlson
• Aaron Rodriguez, Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch
• Barbara Serry, City of Sumner

The Nonprofit Center staff can be contacted at:

• Elizabeth Heath, Executive Director:
• Christine Garst, Financial Services Director:
• Megan Abbott, Administrative Manager:
• Tai Mamea, Financial Services Associate:

The Executive Director of The Nonprofit Center, Elizabeth M. Heath has been involved in nonprofit work for more than thirty years as an agency executive, a fund development professional, a consultant, a facilitator and a seminar leader. She has also taught nonprofit management and fund development as a university adjunct instructor. She has worked in the fields of human services, volunteer management, education, aging, health care, services to children and youth, and with cultural organizations. She has extensive experience in marketing and public relations and has produced award-winning marketing materials for a variety of nonprofit organizations.

Heath holds a Bachelor's degree in English from Lawrence University of Appleton, Wisconsin, and has participated in a number of continuing professional education programs. She is a member of BoardSource and has been trained in the implementation of two effective nonprofit assessment processes: BoardSource's Self-Assessment and The Drucker Foundation Self-Assessment Tool. She is also a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Throughout her career, Heath has served her community as a volunteer in a variety of organizations, both at the leadership and hands-on levels. She was co-founder of a neighborhood association in Eugene, Oregon, a Founding Member of the University of Washington Tacoma Citizens' Advisory Committee, and she is currently a board member for the Grand Cinema, the South Sound Chapter of AFP, Associated Ministries and the Municipal League of Tacoma-Pierce County. She volunteers as a lay arbitrator for the Washington State Bar Association and is active in the Puget Sound Welsh Association.

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