Actively Strengthening Lives in Eastside Communities
Our Leadership Team
Name
Executive Director, They/She
Caitlin is an impact-oriented, mission-driven leader and change agent with over a decade of experience serving the nonprofit and public sector.
Prior to joining the Eastside Forum, Caitlin focused on expanding equity and access to wellness, arts, and environmental programming, as well as increasing funding and partner relationships, on behalf of local institutions including Kirkland Arts Center, Shorelake Arts, and Parkour Visions. She also was a leader in building the national governing body for parkour, the United States Parkour Association, which brought together organizations and communities from 35+ states in advocacy and development.
During this time, she has guided teams through all organizational life cycle stages including startup, rapid growth, crisis, leadership transition, and transformation. She prioritizes disrupting and altering practices, structures, and politics that prevent inclusion and belonging, and has helped historically cis, het, white-led organizations move from performative cultural awareness and affirmations to operationalization of their values with day-to-day action.
Caitlin’s life work centers around a desire for all people to live into the fullest measure of humanity, which drives her professional and volunteer work in human services, urban arts, recreation, and parks. She lives with her partner in Seattle.
Al Smith
Chair
Al Smith is a partner in Perkins Coie, a large multi-office international law firm based in Seattle.
He has been active in the Puget Sound human services and nonprofit communities for many years, serving on the boards of, among others, Eastside Human Services Forum (now as Board President), Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Northwest Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, IslandWood (including as Finance Chair), United Way of King County (including as Chair of the Community Building Committee), and Page Ahead (including as Board Chair). In addition, he has combined his passion for service with his day job by assisting on a pro bono basis numerous nonprofits who have had governance and/or financial problems.
Al lives on Mercer Island with his wife of over 40 years, Barbara Potashnick. They have four amazing sons, scattered around the country but all successful and all employed, as well as two even more amazing grandchildren. Al is a graduate of Princeton University, summa cum laude, and University of Chicago Law School (where he met Barb), cum laude and Law Review.
Amy Falcone
Vice Chair
Board Vice Chair, Kirkland Councilmember Amy Falcone, lives in the Finn Hill neighborhood of Kirkland with her husband and three young children.
She and her husband fell in love with Kirkland when they moved to the Pacific Northwest, particularly enamored by the City’s lush park system, vibrant downtown core and vital sense of community. Since deciding on Kirkland as her family’s hometown, Amy has devoted herself to serving the community in a variety of ways.
Amy is the current PTO Co-President at the Environmental and Adventure School in Lake Washington School District. She is also former PTA President at Thoreau Elementary School, in addition to serving as the school’s Legislative Advocacy Chair, Fundraising Chair, Spring Carnival Chair and other board roles. Her extensive volunteerism at the school earned her the 2017 Golden Acorn Award, a prestigious Washington State PTA award given for exemplary and outstanding volunteerism. Elected to the Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance (FHNA) Board of Directors in 2016, Amy represented Finn Hill on the Kirkland Neighborhood Safety Panel for four years, helping to secure city funding for safety improvements to facilitate better walk and bike routes. She additionally served as events committee chair and treasurer on the FHNA. Before her election to Kirkland City Council, Amy served as Co-Chair of the Kirkland Human Services Commission.
Councilmember Falcone holds a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Temple University where she also taught undergraduate statistics. Amy spent over a decade in social science research, focused on career advancement of women in the U.S. Military, removing the ground combat exclusion policy for women in the military, sexual harassment and assault in the military, repealing the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” military policy and much more.
In addition to serving as Vice Chair of the Eastside Human Services Forum (EHSF) Board, Councilmember Falcone serves on the Sound Cities Association Equity and Inclusion Cabinet, as Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Transit Oriented Development (TOD) alternate, and is a member of the Kirkland-Lake Washington School District Coordinating Committee. Councilmember Falcone received a Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) in March, 2021.
Paul Lwali
Secretary & Treasure
As the President and CEO of Friends of Youth, Paul provides leadership to one of the oldest human service organizations in East King County.
His role includes positively impacting over 3,200 children, youth, and their families each year, at 23 sites and programs in 18 cities across the Puget Sound region, including operating the only overnight youth shelters on the Eastside.
Prior to joining Friends of Youth, Paul spent 22 years in the not-for-profit sector with the YMCA movement. This included stints as Senior Executive Director of the YMCA of Greater Seattle, a branch Executive at the Bellevue YMCA, a center Director with the Indianapolis YMCA’ and a
branch Executive with Albuquerque YMCA’.
Working in spaces that offer youth development initiatives, family supports for parents and guardians of youth and young adults, providing critical social services to communities large and small are a small part of his life’ story. Understanding everyone has a story to tell, and each one of us has a unique starting point, has shaped his personal and professional life.
Paul has a long track record of involvement and engagement with community serving agencies, civic organizations, and local not for profit boards. Paul earned his BS degree in Political Science at the University of Washington in St Louis, and a Master’s in Public Administration degree from the University of Washington, Evans School of Public Administration.
Dr. Harlan Gallinger
Board Member
Issaquah School District
Harlan Gallinger is a product of the Washington State public school system. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Puget Sound and then graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2007. He practices Emergency Medicine in the Multicare Health System, including Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. He believes strongly in serving the community, advocacy, and equity. His desire is that every student in the District has equal opportunity to rigorous curriculum and the necessary supports to be successful.
Dr. Gallinger’s interests include Early Learning, STEM, Highly Capable services, and expanding community partnerships. He lives in Sammamish and has two children, one at Discovery Elementary and another at Pine Lake Middle School.
Key Staff Support & Contributors
Leslie Miller
Human Services Coordinator
City of Kirkland
Brooke Buckingham
Senior Human Services Planner
City of Redmond