Board of Trustees

The Board is comprised of parents of alumni and current students and current and former faculty.

Stephen Starling, Chair

Stephen serves as Chair of the Board and has lead the Board Steering Committee and the Facilities Committee. He is the parent of two Billings alumnae (Ranleigh, class of 2005 and Abbey, class of 2011). With a degree in architecture from Montana State University, Stephen has been an architect for more than 20 years. He currently is a principal at Schreiber Starling and Lane Architects, a design firm with a primary focus on public sector architecture and a particular emphasis on higher education facilities. Stephen has served on the board of the Spruce Street School, where he chaired the Facilities Committee. Both of his daughters are Spruce Street alums. An avid baseball fan, Stephen says he sees design excellence in a well-thrown curve ball. He has been described as being able to "find his nirvana from his seats on the first base line, with a sausage in hand, and his beloved M’s on the field."

Nina Crocker, Vice Chair

Nina Crocker is past Advancement Vice-Chair, and previously served as co-chair of the Billings Parent Association. Nina and her husband Stephan Gillett two daughters, including Billings alumna Maya (2009). Nina has helped bring a new level of enthusiasm and structure to the organization. Under her leadership, many new social events and parent education evenings have been initiated. Nina is well acquainted with PNAIS schools. Her husband Stephen Gillett teaches at The Little School in Bellevue, where both of their daughters attended elementary school. Originally from California, Nina has a culinary background and is well-known for her felt-hat making. Nina and Stephen have graciously hosted Billings events at their home in Ravenna.

Patti Pearce, Treasurer

Patti Pearce serves as Treasurer, chairs the Finance Committee, and serves on the Advancement Committee. She is the parent of Billings alum Colin, class of 2008. Patti is a CPA with 20+ years of accounting experience in both for-profit and non-profit environments. She currently holds the position of Associate Director of Finance, Accounting Services for PATH. In this capacity, she leads PATH’s Domestic Accounting Services, International Accounting Services and Reporting & Analysis teams. Over her career, she has worked for several other non-profit organizations including Chief Financial Officer for the Northwest AIDS Foundation and Executive Director of Financial and Administrative Services for Cornish College of the Arts. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a B.A. in Accounting. Patti also volunteers for Page Ahead, a children’s literacy program that places new books into the hands of at-risk children.

Dee Dee Dahlen, Secretary

Dee Dee Dahlen followed in the footsteps of her parents and began her Career as a physician. She specialized in internal medecine, with a sub-specialty in hematology, after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and serving her residency at the UW School of Medicine. She has published more than half a dozen articles in medical journals such as Movement dicorders, Biological Chemistry, Leukemia Research andRaditation Research. 

Most recently Dee Dee has focused her energy on non-profit organiztion management. She serves on the board of the Northwest Children's Fund and is a task force member for the Sand Point Housing Capital Campaign. She is board chair of The Perkins School (early K through 5th grade) and previously served as their interim Admissions Director. Dee Dee and her husband Bob Fries have three children including a Billings alumna (Annaliese Fries, Class of 2010). At Billings, Dee Dee has been a consummate volunteer - serving in a variety of roles including Parent Association parent rep, Live Auction Presentation Chair for the 2008 and 2009 auctions, one of three Auction Co-Chairs for 2010 and 2011, Advancement Committee member, and frequent Handy Helping Hands volunteer.

Art Vertner, Immediate Past Chair

Welcome to New Board Members (2012-2015 term)

Christina Chang

Mark Foote

Mark serves on the Finance Committee and Advancement Committee. He is the parent of Billings alumna Mika, class of 2008, and Rowan, class of 2012. Since graduating with a Master of International Management degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Mark has accumulated 25 years of financial management, financial planning, and MIS project experience in both the public and private sectors, stateside and overseas. Mark also spent several years as a stay-at-home dad, performing work he describes as "specializing in diaper changes under extreme conditions." Currently he does budgeting, data modeling, and some IT project management for King County Department of Transportation. Mark has an interest in education with an international perspective that encompasses foreign language study, travel abroad, and awareness of current events beyond domestic borders.

Wood Graham

Wood Graham is a parent (Tennyson "Twig", Billings 2011, Seattle Prep 2015), serial entrepreneur, non-profit community volunteer, and an eighth generation Minnesotan of French Canadian pioneer stock. Wood is a participant in Seattle Investment Network, a food and beverage holding company owned by her husband Graham and his business partner Jon Alberts, and is also the director of strategic business development for Agave Oaxaca LLC, an import and distribution start up owned by her husband Graham and Seattle Investment Network. 

She is a 2010 graduate of the Fundraising Management and the Non Profit Management certificate programs at the University of Washington and a 2010 participant in the Business Development certificate program at the University of Washington. She is also a graduate of the Radcliffe Publishing Program at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts and the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minnesota, where she received a B.A. in English Literature and a minor in Business.

Her volunteer work includes: Board of Trustees, The Perkins School, 2005-06; PTO Board, The Perkins School 2005-06; Seattle Arts & Lectures, Administrative Volunteer 2009-10; Wing Luke Museum of Asian Art, Intern, 2010; Billings Middle School, Auction Co-Chair, 2010 & 2011; and Chair of Billings Advancement Committee, 2009 to present.

Howard Klein

Holly Marklyn

Melinda Moree

Peggy Pahl

In addition to being a parent of a Billings Alum Toby (Class of 2010), Peggy works as a senior deputy prosecuting attorney in the King County Civil Division, focusing on municipal finance, civil rights enforcement, real estate, and bankruptcy. Peggy has previously served on the boards of the Spruce Street School and Safeplace, a program in Olympia for battered women and rape victims.

Asked why she agreed to join the board, Peggy says: "I really love this school, and I felt that joining the Board would be one of the best ways I can help to support the school’s mission." She notes that middle school is often a time when students become more hesitant to try new things or things they don’t do well.

"Billings turns that idea on its head and tells students that middle school is the best time to explore and figure out what parts of life resonate with them," Peggy says. "Instead of narrowing the focus for students, Billings says: 'try lots of things."

Drawing from her previous board experiences, Peggy hopes to contribute to the Billings community and especially would like to help the school focus on diversity issues – a current focus for Billings and an area of expertise from her work for King County.

Adam Rauch

Carrie Rhodes

Brian Wong

Brian re-joined the Board after first serving as a trustee when his son Will, (Class of 2002), attended Billings.

In the interim, Brian focused on his business, The Bedside Trust, where he is the CEO. The Bedside Trust has developed Patient Driven Leadership for healthcare organizations, using Dr. Wong’s expertise and background as a Medical Doctor as well as his Master’s Degree in Public Health. Patient Driven Leadership creates the conditions whereby healthcare executives, staff, nurses and physicians are able to build trust and solve problems together. This enables them to connect what matters most to patients to how they practice as leaders. Brian notes that he sees many similarities between his work and the work of the Board. He hopes to bring to the Board his experiences in the medical community of collaboration and role clarity. Brian also plans to focus on the ideas of “relational answers to operational problems” and “thinking big while staying small."

Although his son graduated from Billings many years ago, Brian still enjoys reminiscing about Will's experiences at Billings. Brian explains that when Will was in 7th grade, he took a culinary arts class at Billings that proved pivotal in his life. Will is a graduate of the culinary program at Seattle Central Community College. He now works at Elliot’s Oyster House on Pier 56 and plans to be a chef. "It's these kinds of opportunities for students that truly make Billings the great and amazing school that it is," Brian says. "I really appreciate the Billings philosophy of encouraging exploration and growth while offering a stable base of support so that students can make whatever they want to do work out." Brian explains that this philosophy is one of the reasons that he is "ecstatic to be an integral part of the Billings community again."