Donata Brenner, Board Secretary

Donata started at Hopelink as a volunteer in 2009-2010 helping at the Bellevue food market and the front desk. Since day one, she felt that this is what she loves and enjoys doing, helping and supporting people is her passion and mission! In 2011 she was hired as an Emergency Services Specialist and was helping families to apply for the food market, financial assistance, get connected to community resources and just support them with anything they needed. Many seniors and other families would stop by to check in which she absolutely loves. This led to her next incredible journey with Hopelink. Donata joined the case management team in 2014. She enjoys working with families on an ongoing basis, supporting them during difficult times and celebrating when things work out. We are together in this!

Donata was born in Baku, Azerbaijan and immigrated to Israel when she was nine years old due to the war in Azerbaijan. She witnessed a lot of violence, discrimination, people being forced to abandon their homes and much more. She went to school in Tel-Aviv and served in the Israeli army in the education unit where she obtained a teaching certificate and taught Hebrew at an elementary school where most students were refugees from Ethiopia, Russia, Ukraine and other countries. After discharging from the army Donata pursued an engineering career and graduated from Tel-Aviv university with a BS in software engineering. Shortly after graduation she moved to the US, to our beautiful Evergreen state and have been living in Bellevue for the past 20 years with my husband and our two boys ages 17 and 15 who attend Bellevue High.

Scott Wallin, Chief Executive

Scott attended the University of Oregon, playing Varsity Soccer, and graduated with a B.S. in Fine Arts at Portland State University. He did his graduate studies at the Rhode Island School of Design.

He is the proud father of three sons who are all grown adults now , and always keep him on his toes He served his community as a three sport coach, soccer, basketball and baseball for over 25 years in the Kirkland WA area youth sports programs,
Scott has been an executive and innovator in the high tech game and entertainment industry since 1985. On the leading edge of technology and innovation, Scott has led many great teams through successful launch of ground breaking products, inventions and technologies.

From working as a Director at Paul Allen’s Starwave , to creating one of the first dedicated mobile device game companies in 2002 Scott continues to be on the cutting edge of creating what is “new” and loves to shift paradigms..
He was an active Board Member at Hopelink in Redmond, WA for 8 years and served on their Finance Committee. He also maintained multiple service roles as a youth leader in his home church.

Scott has also been involved in the Keiretsu Forum NW, an active group of angel investors in Seattle and on the Eastside. He is an accomplished artist exhibiting his paintings internationally and through multiple social media outlets.

Aaron Roney

Aaron currently works at Cruise, a self-driving car company, as a Software Engineering Manager. Previously, Aaron has worked as a Director of Software Development at Oracle, and a Software Engineer at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Aaron holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University and an MS in Computer Science from University of Washington. In his free time, Aaron plays saxophone, swims, snowboards, and spends time with his wife, Chelsey, his kids, Kate and Jack, and his animals, Annie, Callie, and Brownie.

Laura Delmendo

Laura is a Human Services Administrator with Bellevue LifeSpring. She has a lifetime of experience feeding her immediate community (and community at large) through Bellevue LifeSpring, personal community outreach and understanding the need of emotional and physical nourishment.

As a mom of three, Laura understands the importance of well-nourished minds and bodies. Her grandmother taught her at a very young age that food was the best way to care for someone and it was a resource that was always available and never scarce- you just had to know where to get it.

Laura’s willingness to stay informed and to inform people of adequate and attainable food resources drives her to ensure that she helps Nourishing Networks “nourish networks”.  here

Toby Nixon, Board Chair

Toby Nixon grew up in a family led by a single-parent disabled Korean War veteran. His father and two younger brothers survived on public assistance including welfare, Medicaid, housing subsidies, food stamps, free school lunch, and surplus food commodities; his personal experience with these programs informs his work on human services and his desire to give back to the community.

Toby served as a member of the Kirkland City Council from 2012 through 2023, and previously served as a member of the state House of Representatives and as a fire commissioner. He’s passionate about public engagement, government accountability, transparency, and ethics. He served as president of Washington Coalition for Open Government for 13 years, and chaired the task force that developed the codes of ethics and conduct for Kirkland city council and members of city boards and commissions.

In addition to serving on the board of Nourishing Networks, Toby is Vice President of Kirkland-based Attain Housing, which helps keep people housed through eviction prevention and transitional housing programs, a member of the steering committee of the Kirkland Nourishing Network School Break Food Box project and a former member of the board of Youth Eastside Services. He’s board secretary of Kirkland Interfaith Network, promoting cooperation between faith communities in serving the poor and needy among us. He’s a member of the Leadership Eastside class of 2013.

Toby has worked in the computer industry for over 46 years, including 30 years at Microsoft, where he worked to build consensus on technology initiatives with other companies. He represented Microsoft in several industry standards organizations, including serving on the boards of directors of USB Implementers Forum and Kirkland-based Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG); where he was chair of the board for over 8 years. He and his wife Irene have been married over 41 years and have five grown children and two grandchildren.

Dr. Heena Lakhani

Heena is a research scientist with the Brotherhood Initiative at the University of Washington.  Her research focuses on the design of equitable and rigorous science learning environments for K-16 learners. 

She is also interested in investigating ways to design learning pathways that coordinate students’ interests, identities, and expertise in the higher education space. She has over 10 years of experience working in STEM education and research in K-12 and higher education settings. 

Heena holds a PhD in Learning Sciences & Human Development. She also has advanced degrees in Chemistry, Mathematics for Teaching, and Psychological and Brain Sciences.  She has also been very active in supporting various Nourishing Networks activities and with the ICERV communities in Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland areas.

Tammy Waddell, Ambassador Guardian Tammy believes in local communities working together, cultivating relationships, sharing ideas and resources to help each other. She also believes in the power of communities working cooperatively. No one entity can do it all, but together we can!

Tammy has been a community organizer and an elementary school educator in the public schools for the past 20 years. She understands that children and their families need their basic needs met before they are able to critically think and learn. She holds a BS in Elementary/Special Education from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a MA in Education from Lesley University. She and her husband John live in Redmond and are the proud parents of three grown daughters and a son, and a granddaughter.

Nickhath (Nicky) Sheriff

Nicky brings a wealth of community service experiences with her.  She is the founding CEO of the Muslim Community Resource Center (MCRC) for the past 11 years. MCRC provides social and humanitarian services in the Greater Seattle area through community engagement and partnership with other faith-based organizations, non-profit organizations, and civic services. MCRC focusses on addressing issues of hunger, homelessness, and refugee assimilation through a comprehensive interconnected set of humanitarian services. 

Nicky was the founder and CEO of Kits for Peace, which is now Essentials First, where she works with Linda Benson.  She is a current member of the Board of Directors of Hopelink.  She holds a BA, History from University of Madras, as well as a Master of Arts in Public Affairs from the same university.  She has been a lead volunteer for The Sophia Way, Days for Girls International, and Habitat for Humanity.

Dr. Greg Prang

Greg is an anthropologist who specializes in global provisioning systems and sustainability. He has explored a wide range of localities, social groups and subject matter in his career. He has immersed himself into the lives a variety of folks to understand how people make sense of and experience community and economic insecurity.

For more than 15 years, he was involved with artisanal fishermen in the Brazilian Amazon, serving as co-coordinator of a sustainable development projects to assist fishermen sustainably harvest and market aquarium fish.

His assessment of the needs and perceptions of different stakeholders in the efforts to end hunger were later used to inform the foundation of Nourishing Networks.

Randy Howard, Board Treasurer

Randy leads his accounting firm’s tax practice and is a shareholder in it as well. He brings almost 20 years of experience in federal and state tax planning, compliance and consulting with closely held businesses and their high net worth owners. His passion is developing and maintaining a group of professional staff whose core values and technical expertise provide a superior level of service. Randy has been the Board Treasurer of Nourishing Networks Consortium for 10 years.

Randy enjoys time with his family - his wife, Leslie, and their two children. He also enjoys time with friends, reading, and outdoor activities.

Na'eemah Webb

Na’eemah is one of Lake Washington School Districts Family Engagement and Community Outreach Coordinators. Na’eemah is a social justice advocate dedicated to racial reconciliation, equity and eliminating societal factors that prevent diversity and inclusion. She began her career working as an After School dance club leader in South Central, Los Angeles. As she noticed the difference that she made in the lives of youth and their communal environment, her passion for engaging youth and fostering community engagement was sparked.

Since, Na’eemah has spent 14 years working in positions that have allowed her to work with and advocate for underrepresented communities. She received a B.A in English and Master’s in American Studies. As a doctoral student, she has dedicated her graduate work to advocating for equity and social justice in marginalized communities. Prior to her current role, she spent 2 years serving as a Family and Community Engagement Liaison at Muir Elementary.

"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." - Audre Lorde

Linda Benson

Linda has more than 35 years of community leadership, change management and fund development experience in the non-profit sector. Among her proudest accomplishments was the creation of an innovative engagement model, Nourishing Networks, which convenes and teaches people how to work together across sectoral, organizational, and social boundaries to find and fill gaps in basic needs within our community’s safety net. 

She has worked with dozens of organizations and is known for her ability to guide them through difficult transitions while helping build organizational capacity to expand services and impact.  Her primary focus is in supporting organizations serving marginalized and underserved communities and the growing population just trying to survive in a society with growing income disparity and social and racial inequities.

In addition to her former leadership roles at Hopelink, Nourishing Networks, and The Sophia Way, Linda serves as an Interim Executive helping struggling non-profits build stability. She also keeps busy serving on several non-profit boards and committees.

Linda’s passion for the infinite capacity of human potential and an unwavering belief that we can imagine and elicit a different kind of community is what grounds her work.  She is the proud mother of three beautiful daughters and resides with her husband, Bob, in Duvall Washington.