Board of Directors & Staff

Executive Committee

Kelly Keith, President

Kelly Keith was born and raised in Wisconsin but moved to Seattle about five years ago and fell in love with the city. Unable to stay away from the great South Lake Union neighborhood, Kelly has recently taken on a new adventure as the Director of Sales and Marketing at the SpringHill Suites Seattle. With over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Kelly just recently joined the South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in 2015 and has actively participated on the Events Committee. Kelly is excited to bring her event planning and sales and marketing experience to the Board of Directors and to continue to build relationships in the wonderful South Lake Union Neighborhood.

Kelly Keith
President

Director of Sales, SpringHill Suites Seattle

Amy Besunder, Treasurer

Amy Besunder is an experienced philanthropy and communications professional. She started her career at the Washington Community Reinvestment Association over twenty years ago and was immediately bit by the affordable housing and community development bug. She has served in leadership roles at Phinney Neighborhood Association, Compass Housing Alliance, North Helpline Food Bank and Emergency Service Center and the Family & Adult Service Center and is currently the Director of Development & Communications for Bellwether Housing.

Amy holds an executive masters of not-for-profit leadership from Seattle University, serves on the marketing committee for the South Lake Union Chamber and co-owns Populuxe Brewing in Ballard with her husband Pete.

Amy Besunder
Treasurer

Fund Development Director, Bellwether Housing

Curt Archambault, Immediate Past President

Curt Archambault, Vice-President of People and Performance Strategies, brings a real world perspective that connects with clients and participants in a way that motivates them to take the steps necessary to improve performance. Curt has spent over 30 years in the training and hospitality industry where his career started in operations. He has fulfilled every role from entry level employee to corporate training and development manager playing a key role in developing and implementing performance-improvement projects. Along with his wife Carla, he became a resident of the South Lake Union neighborhood in April of 2007 and has watched as the neighborhood has grown over the past 5 years. As a resident and small business owner in the neighborhood, he knows it is important to take an active role in the community.He is the chairperson for the Neighbors of South Lake Union Park group working to promote the value of the park to the surrounding neighborhoods.

Curt Archambault
Immediate Past President

Vice President, People & Performance Strategies

Directors

Eric Berlinberg

Eric is a Senior Program Manager at Amazon working on the Prime Air team developing drones for package delivery. He also is the

Founder & Global Chair of Connect@Amazon, a grassroots organization at Amazon that creates community and professional networking opportunities for Amazon employees. Connect@Amazon is comprised of around 35,000 Amazon employees across 27 chapters globally, and continues to grow.

Outside of Amazon, Eric has served as a member of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network (YPN) Board of Advisors since 2014, and on the Seattle Chamber Board of Directors in 2017. Eric serves on the Board of the Seattle Symphony Young Patrons Council and lives in Eastlake.

Eric Berlinberg
Director

Senior Program Manager, Prime Air, Amazon

Allison Leep

Allison Leep is the Social Impact Manager for PEMCO Insurance, a local insurer dedicated to helping our communities worry less and live more. At PEMCO, Allison oversees the social good strategy that ensures they're a force for good in the Northwest by building safer, stronger, and better educated communities.

Prior to joining PEMCO in 2010, Allison was a Development Director at Easter Washington University Foundation. She also spent 7 years in broadcasting where she paved the way for women serving as the first-ever female sports anchor in Spokane.

Whether at a local nonprofit organizations, her neighborhood schools, or on a board, Allison believes in living a service-filled life. Before joining the SLU Chamber Board, Allison was the Vice President and Fund Development Committee Chair for the Foundation for Edmonds School District Board. During her tenure, the organization's revenue quadrupled allowing them to powerfully increase their impact for at-risk students.

Allison works and play in South Lake Union and is committed to helping create a vibrant community we can all be proud of.

Allison Leep
Director

Social Impact Manager, PEMCO Insurance

Susan Bell

Susan Bell, Corporate Engagement Officer for Woodland Park Zoo, brings more than 20 years of business experience, joining the SLU Board in November 2019. Susan holds a BA in Economics from Northwestern University. Following five years as an environmental litigation consultant, Susan earned a Masters of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management. She pursued a career in brand management and marketing, ultimately launching an environmentally sustainable brand working with artisans in Mongolia. Susan’s passion for wildlife and wild places led her to Woodland Park Zoo in 2014, where she works in Development.

In January 2002, Susan moved to Seattle and fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. She has volunteered in various capacities for her children’s schools. Most recently, Susan served three years as co-president of the board for Friends of Music at Hamilton International Middle School. Outside of work, she enjoys time with her family and dogs, traveling, skiing, and hiking.

Susan Bell
Director

Corporate Engagement Officer, Woodland Park Zoo

Brittany Richey

Since starting at Seattle Children’s in 2004, Brittany worked in hospital administration, marketing communications, and engagement and recognition before joining the research institute in 2012. She oversees internal staff engagement and improvement projects and external community relations programs, including the Discovery Portal visitor center, events and tours.

Brittany was born in Seattle and grew up in Bothell. After attending college out of state, she returned to Washington and all the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. She resides in West Seattle with her husband Kyle and their daughters, Paige and Sloane.

Brittany Richey
Director

Manager | Research Institute Administration, Seattle Children's Research Institute

Justin Young

Justin is the founder and owner of Flow Fitness which is a fitness club that is changing how people experience fitness. Flow Fitness offers a variety of high quality fitness options including studio classes, training services and gym access so people can create a personalized fitness routine. Flow Fitness has locations in South Lake Union and Fremont.

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Justin was a partner at a Freestone Capital Management which is a Seattle based wealth management firm and helped oversee all of the firm’s alternative investments. Justin started his career as an accountant and was an auditor at Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

Justin is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii and got his BBA in Accountancy and Japanese from the University of Notre Dame. He previously held certifications as a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Justin Young
Director

Owner, Flow Fitness

Patty Vandenburgh is Associate Director, Seattle Operations and Engagement at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Prior to joining BMS in 2020, Patty was Associate Director, Engagement at ZymoGenetics. She in actively involved in community outreach, establishing partnerships with organizations such as American Cancer Society, Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Cancer Pathways, Mary’s Place, Fred Hutch, Children’s Hospital and Northwest Harvest. She believes that by doing well by your employees and your community, your business will do well.

Patty holds an BA in Human Services from Western Washington University.

Patricia (Patty) Vandenburgh
Director

Associate Director, Seattle Operations & Engagement, Bristol Myers Squibb

Lauren Baba has dedicated her career to improving the health of our community. She currently serves as UW Medicine's Deputy Director of Government Relations, where she leads state legislative relations and government advocacy. Lauren has also spent much of her work life at heal care organizations located in South Lake Union, including Group Health Cooperative, Kaiser Permanente Washington, and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

Lauren holds a Masters of Public Health from University of Washington and BA from Rice University. She also received a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.

Born and raised in the Seattle are, Lauren spends much of her free time enjoying outdoor activities with her family, including skiing, rock climbing, and mountaineering.

Lauren Baba
Director

Deputy Director, Government Relations, UW Medicine

Dayna Swanson
Director

Director of Government & Public Affairs, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

Staff

Danah Abarr, Executive Director

Danah has been an active member of the SLU Chamber since 2011 and served a 3 year term on its Board of Directors prior to becoming the Executive Director. She enjoys meeting new people and identifying mutually beneficial opportunities for companies and individuals looking to connect. Danah holds a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley, a Bachelors from Cornell University and is a passionate supporter of the SLU community and the great work being done by Chamber Supporters. Her interests outside of work include cheering for the Seahawks, outdoor adventures and playing with her family and doggos.

Danah Abarr
Executive Director

Natalie Dewey-Smith, Marketing & Engagement Manager

Natalie serves as the Marketing & Engagement Specialist for the SLU Chamber. She is passionate about the nonprofit world and is excited to be a part of such an established organization. An Alabama native, Natalie graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham receiving a Bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages with a concentration of French and a minor in Sociology. She enjoys exploring the PNW with her husband, Corwin, and dog, Bruno.

Natalie Dewey-Smith
Marketing & Engagement Manager

Professional headshots courtesy of Lifestring Photography

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