Austin Foundation: About Us

President
Mazvita Maraire - Mazvita is currently the Director of the Garfield Community Center and has spent over 15 years with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department working at various community centers throughout the city. He is also a print and broadcast journalist in addition to his youth development tasks. Mazvita is married to Delia Maraire.

Co-Founder
Willie Austin - Willie is an internationally recognized strength coach and trainer to both professional and amateur athletes. His clients range from professional football and basketball, to universities, high schools, sports teams, amateur athletes and individuals. He is a former UW Husky Football player and the 1990 World Drug Free Powerlifting Champion. He was manager for the West Seattle YMCA, and a founder of Gateway Athletic Club. As a volunteer he has been a guest speaker and lecturer on physical fitness and anti-drug usage, instructor & coach for Washington State Special Olympics, consultant to Seattle Public Schools PE department. Youth & Fitness and the Austin Foundation were created out of Willie's deep commitment to working with adolescents to assist them in making positive and productive choices with their lives. Because of his extensive "life of service in the fitness industry" the Seattle Times (1998) listed Willie as one of "20 Northwest people who have made a difference."

Secretary
Anne Calico - Anne is a Seattle native with a deep commitment to the health and fitness of the youth of our community. She joined the board in 2005 as the recording secretary. Shortly after Anne joined the board, she jumped in and assisted with our 2005 annual fundraising breakfast. Anne is a paralegal with over 25 years experience in the Seattle legal community and brings the organizational and project management skills developed over the years with her to the board. She has also taught school and coached 7th and 8th grade girls basketball for 4 years.

Treasurer
William Marshall - Bill Marshall is a 24 year financial services veteran. He has worked in private and commercial banking for 12 years and is currently a Vice President and Commercial Relationship Manager for Umpqua Bank. Bill is a past co-chair and finance chair of the University of Washington Business and Economic Development Center; past president and current member of the University of Washington "Big W" Alumni Letterman's Club; a past resource development committee member for Habitat for Humanity; and, a member of Seattle Rotary #4. He holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington.

Nancy Gratton - Nancy was born in Ellensburg, Washington. Her family moved to Seattle during her teen years where she graduated from Garfield High School. Nancy relocated to the Bay Area and worked for Bay Area Rapid Transit as an Engineering Aide. In 1995 she relocated back to Seattle and worked for United Airlines and has been employed with the Seattle Police Department in Audits, Accreditation & Policy for the past 8 years. She is the founder and Executive Director of "Lifting Our Adolescents". This program has found effective ways to impact and transform the lives of young people by preventing onset of gang membership, drug use and other problem behaviors. Working with these young people helps to create a foundation for building character, addressing academic challenges and developing emotional intelligence. Nancy has been a member of the FireArm Crime Enforcement (FACE) Program for the past 5 years where she goes to McNeil Island Corrections Center and explains to inmates being released within 3-4 months the consequences of being caught with a gun or parts of a gun. She also has a gift-filled basket business – Fabubaskets – where she has been selected by one of Oprah Winfrey’s best friends to design Oprah’s birthday basket for the past 4 years. She was chosen as most inspirational employee with Seattle Police Department in 2004 and presented an award for Daring to Love-Daring to Lead for Dedication to Youth by Dr. Brenda Caldwell (Dr. B) on April 10, 2008. She has a 14 year old foster son who has made her house a home.

Paula Houston - Paula is currently the Executive Director of the Meredith Mathews East Madison YMCA located in central Seattle. Her professional background is in public and community health administration and fitness. She was formerly the Clinic Manager at Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center in Seattle, a Division Manager and District Administrator with Public Health, Seattle & King County and owned her own fitness and wellness center. She holds a masters degree in Health Administration and is a certified personal trainer. Paula has been a board member of the Austin Foundation since 2004, but has served as a volunteer since its inception. In addition to this volunteer work, she is also a 9 year volunteer with Washington State Special Olympics. Paula is also a seven time national and three time world champion powerlifter.

Terrence Proctor - A native of Seattle, Terrence Proctor attended Franklin High School and the University of Washington, where he majored in political science. He married Arizona Johnson in 1995, and is the proud father of three children, Tavar, Erin and Jordyn. After receiving the call of Christ to enter the ministry, he became a licensed minister at Mt. Baker Baptist Church in Seattle where he served faithfully for almost ten years before becoming the youth pastor at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church. As student care Coordinator at Seattle Urban Academy for the past nine years, Terrence Proctor's passion is reconciling and restoring families to Christ through a ministry of contact and impact. Through workshops, seminars, symposiums, and camps on developing healthy "Life Skills," Rev. Proctor has been effective at reaching youth at risk, restoring dysfunctional families, and training young people to become contributing members of their communities. Rev. Proctor has worked diligently throughout the Seattle area to advance the cause of social and racial reconciliation. He has served on several boards including serving as Chairman of the King County Juvenile Detentions Advisory Board and he currently is working in conjunction with the Church Council of Seattle on a city wide "Youth Late Night" workshop on racial reconciliation.

Tyler Besecker - Tyler is a Seattle Area native and has actively participated in the Austin Foundation and Youth and Fitness programs for 3 years. He holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University where he was also a four-year letter winner on the basketball team. In each of his four years at Stanford, Tyler volunteered as a counselor at the Special Olympics Camp in Palo Alto, CA where he developed a passion for helping others in their pursuit of health and fitness. Tyler is currently the Vice-President of a local seafood company and specializes in export sales.

Bruce Bivins - Bruce Bivins works currently as the Assistant Principal with Franklin High School. He comes from an educational past that includes Transformation Coordinator with the Interagency Academy, Site Coordinator with King County Juvenile Detention Center, and Special Education Teacher with Garfield High School. Last year Bruce helped establish seven educational learning centers throughout the community in an effort to partner student needs with community interests and educational standards. Bruce firmly believes that significant change depends upon a foundation of building relationships one student at a time. Bruce also reinforces that there is a direct correlation between a healthy lifestyle and academic/social success. Bruce is married to Nadine and has a daughter named Asha.

Legal Counsel
Noah Davis - A Seattle attorney with an active business law practice, Noah assists the Austin Foundation in meeting many of its evolving legal obligations. And, in addition to his Board related duties, Noah is active with the Austin Foundation on the grass roots level through his commitment to at-risk youth, particularly, in helping youth develop goals while focusing their energy on positive activities. Having competed in college athletics on the Division II level, Noah is a sport and outdoor enthusiast, and active in a number of community organizations, including the Washington State Bar Association and Aid Cambodia (an international non-profit based from Seattle). Noah earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Arkansas (1998) and an LL.M. from the University of Melbourne (AUS) (2001).

Co-Founder & Past President
Rosamund Ghan - Born and raised in Seattle, Ros attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington and then worked in the corporate health and fitness industry in San Francisco for fifteen years. In 1988, Ros returned to Seattle where she put her energies into raising her two daughters and involvement in child advocacy, educational reform and community service. She has served on numerous boards including the Greater Seattle Service League, (a fundraising guild for Childhaven) and was the recipient of the prestigious Golden Acorn award for outstanding service to Washington State education. In 1994, with a desire to help Willie Austin expand his efforts to improve the health and well-being of Seattle area youth, she and Willie Co-Founded the Austin Foundation. She spent the next ten years helping build the organization to what it is today, and remains dedicated to its mission. Ros currently lives in Bellevue with her husband and daughters, and is Operations Manager for Mockingbird Society, a Seattle based non-profit dedicated to foster care reform and improving the lives of our most marginalized children, youth and families.

Faith Ireland - Faith Ireland, Washington State Supreme Court Justice, (Ret.) served in the judiciary for 21 years retiring in January 2005 to return to private practice. She was a King County Superior Court Judge from 1983-1998. In these positions, she gained insight into issues of families and children, crime and delinquency, and the needs of the community. She has previously served on the Board of the Wing Luke Museum, Puget Sound Big Sisters and Seattle #4 Rotary.

Lori Markowitz - Lori is the International Program Manager for the non-profit organization, Bridges to Understanding. She earned her B.A. in International Business Administration from the American University of Paris and is a graduate of the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs. Lori is a founding member of the Middle East Peace Camp, an organization committed to building bridges between the Jewish and Arab communities in Seattle. She is also a founding member of Find Common Ground, an interfaith coalition whose mission is to educate the public on peaceful solutions to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through events, presentations and discussion. Lori serves on the Washington Middle School board of directors and on the Board of Directors for the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust. The Amy Biehl Foundation is dedicated to fostering education programs to disadvantaged youth in the townships surrounding Cape Town, South Africa. Lori has served as a volunteer for 10 years for the Austin Foundation as a group exercise instructor. She is married to Dr. Stephen Markowitz and has two children, Joshua and Jessica.

Jan Sundberg Whitsitt - Jan launched her career in marketing and public relations as the first woman Staff Director at the Yale Alumni Fund in 1974. After graduating from law school in 1978, she began as a lawyer with the Wall Street firm Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts. She then moved on to the Business and Legal Affairs Department at ABC Sports, where she negotiated the network contracts for both the 1984 Summer and Winter Olympics. She is the co-founder of Whitsitt Enterprises, a consulting firm. She was also co-founder of the gift manufacturing company Lavender Heart Botanicals, and has served on the advisory board for the Hart Marx Corporation, maker of Bobby Jones golf apparel for women. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Seattle Foundation and an Advisor to the Austin Foundation's Youth & Fitness Programs. In 2005, she was awarded the Community Champion Award by the Austin Foundation. Jan graduated from Yale University Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She received her law degree from the University of Virginia.