Thank you Paul and welcome Kim
Welcome, Kim Ngo!
In December, IATC was excited to bring on board our very first Program and Volunteer Coordinator, Kim Ngo. Kim brings a business and community partnership perspective to IATC with her experience as a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and active parent volunteer. Growing up in Hawaii and spending the majority of her early adult life in major cities around the globe, Kim has a relatively new yet ever-growing appreciation for the outdoors. Following a career in international finance, she moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2011 to raise her family and has since explored nearly every trail in the Issaquah Alps on foot, with two wheels, and even strapped to snowshoes. One can often find Kim biking solo somewhere along the Mountains to Sound Greenway or walking with her teens on Grand Ridge Trail, as she often encourages her two athletes to join her on the trails to reinvigorate their sense of adventure and purpose. Kim is excited to share her passion for the outdoors and to introduce the greater community to the importance of preserving public lands for future generations as the IATC Program & Volunteer Coordinator.
Kim started out with a bang as she helped organize the very successful Save Coal Creek March and Rally. Day-to-day, she is overseeing our hiking and restoration programs. We’re excited that she’s been able to ramp up so quickly, and look forward to seeing all the great work Kim will be doing for IATC and the Issaquah Alps.
Paul Winterstein Leaving IATC Executive Director Role
Over the past year, Paul Winterstein has been a huge asset to the IATC, helping us as we work to professionalize our organization. Crucially, he has helped with starting up our new advocacy committee, improving our backend systems, and developing a concrete and tangible work plan for 2023. Paul has also rolled up his sleeves and gotten involved in many of IATC’s advocacy projects; in particular, he has been a great asset to Sally Lawrence and the Save Coal Creek advocates, sharing his experience as a former Issaquah City Councilmember and providing guidance on the appropriate messaging and strategy for the campaign. Paul also took on the thankless work of improving IATC’s backend CRM systems with automations and integrations, which will help future executive directors be more effective.
“I especially appreciate all of Paul’s guidance in helping get the new advocacy committee set up, helping us develop processes, and helping us develop a detailed work plan. The work plan provides structure for our year, will help hold us accountable to achieving our goals, and will help us as we professionalize the club.
I look forward to seeing what you do next! We certainly need your civic leadership, deep knowledge and expertise, and passion in our community here in Issaquah and beyond. Regardless of what you end up doing next, I hope we can have you volunteer as an on-course race photographer for "Snake to Lake" later this year - same spot in the creek bed next to the West Access Trail on Squak.”
- Kelly Jiang, IATC Vice President and Advocacy Committee Chair
“I enjoyed working with Paul to create the 2022 Wildlife Forum and especially loved his messaging, my favorite being the Curious as a Racoon. Paul is leaving IATC in an even better place than he found us, and I’m very grateful to have worked with him for the past year. He is dedicated to seeing the Save Coal Creek project through, and we are very happy to have him continuing with advocacy for the Issaquah Alps in a volunteer role.”
- Anne Newcomb, IATC President
Anne Newcomb will be filling in as interim ED until a full-time Executive Director is hired.