Board of Directors

Cynthia Wang is the Board President of Neighborhood House. She has been on the Neighborhood House board for the past 3 years. In addition, she also volunteers at the Downtown Urban Rest Stop and with 501Commons. Ms. Wang works at IBM, where she serves as the Senior State Executive in Washington. She is a birdwatcher, and lives in Seattle with her husband and their beloved cat.

Maile connects all of her work to equity of access to high-quality educational opportunities for minoritized youth, families, and communities. After working to scale the impact of Equal Opportunity Schools, Maile returned her focus on the communities of Washington state and to her passion for science, technology, engineering, and especially math (STEM). Maile has launched new initiatives with Technology Alliance to promote computer science through student-created apps in Washington, with a strong focus on rural and underrepresented communities. She has also worked as Program Officer with Washington STEM. She joined Zeno in August of 2016 as the Programs + Operations Director to expand and codify the emerging early learning program and to build a staff culture that connected with the community.  In October 2020 she became Zeno’s Executive Director. As Executive Director Maile strives to ensure the voices of the communities Zeno reaches are heard and amplified while also ensuring that racial justice is included in all that Zeno does. Maile has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington and coursework towards a master’s in Pastoral Studies from Seattle University.

Mike Mead has been on the Neighborhood House board since 2017 and currently serves as Treasurer. He is a principal at CliftonLarsonAllen, an audit, tax, and wealth advisory firm.

Azmach Bekelle is from Ethiopia where he graduated with an Accounting bachelor degree in 2011. Azmach worked at the Ethiopian Postal Service Enterprise as a Financial Business Manager for more than 14 years. He came to the United States of America in 2019, and he works as independent contractor with different delivery companies here.

Stella Chao has partnered with Neighborhood House in community engagement, social services, and advocacy for immigrants and refugees since 1998 while Executive Director for another housing services agency, Director of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, and Deputy Director for Environmental Health at King County Public Health. Though Stella is now retired, serving on the NH board keeps her engaged in the community and social justice issues that matter to her most. She is proud to be on the board of such a great agency since 2016. When relaxing, Stella enjoys hiking, birdwatching, and cats!

Barney Herrera is the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at Seattle Credit Union, a non-profit financial cooperative. He has been with the board since February 2019.

Mojdeh Hoorbakht has served on the board since 2020 and came to Neighborhood House initially as a client. She has law degrees from the University of Washington and the University of Pune, and works at JND Legal Administration as a project manager.

Joanne Kalas is an attorney at Amazon Web Services, where she works in the realm of environmental compliance. She is a resident of the Rainier Vista neighborhood of Seattle and has been with the board since 2017.

Hannah Locke grew up in Seattle and loves spending time with her family enjoying all aspects of the PNW. Hannah has had the privilege of working alongside young children and families in our community in a variety of ways from direct service to systems level work. She is dedicated to the work of advancing equity and social justice, and currently supports community based organizations piloting new and innovative programs and projects focused on children prenatal to five and their families.

As someone who survived months of unsheltered living in Seattle, Mike feels morally compelled to advocate for those still vulnerable in the community. Mike understands the psychological, historical, political, and socioeconomic factors attributing to homelessness, and their constraints. His personal and professional experiences combine with that knowledge to provide a systems view he is able to approach the issue from. This unique perspective has allowed him to make impactful contributions to new and existing community projects aimed at eliminating barriers to housing, addressing the complexities that contribute to chronic homelessness, and improving the quality of care for individuals and families affected by the traumatization of living unsheltered.

Linda Mills serves as the Vice President of Communications for Blue Origin, a private space company developing vehicles and technologies that dramatically improve access to space. Linda joined Blue Origin in February 2020 and she leads all internal, external, digital and creative communications for the company. Linda has more than 20 years of experience in integrated communications, leading teams and driving brand awareness and reputation for diverse industries, including aerospace, retail, and technology brands. Linda has also served in senior leadership roles at Boeing and Starbucks. Linda has served on the Neighborhood House board of directors since December 2018 and currently leads the Resource Development Committee.

Teresa Olympio is the Senior Director of One Boeing Production System for the 737 Program. In her 15 years at Boeing, she has held leadership roles in Supply Chain, Field Operations, Fabrication, Manufacturing. As a founding member of the Racial Equity Task Force, she focuses on driving actions that will lead to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. Teresa has 3 children and enjoys the outdoors, dancing, cooking and cheering her kids in any sport.

Norlaila is a daughter of immigrant parents, a former client of Neighborhood House, and a mother of three children who graduated from Neighborhood House’s early childhood education programs. She served on the Policy Council while her children attended classes at Neighborhood House in New Holly before joining the board. She has now served on the board for over four years and is proud to give back to the organization that has helped her and her family. She currently lives in her hometown and neighborhood of south Seattle with her three children and cat.