A Bellevue native, Mark Nudelman graduated with a business degree from WSU's Hotel & Restaurant Administration Program. After a successful Hospitality career, Mark made a leap to the healthcare industry, which is what eventually led to his current position as CEO of The Hope Heart Institute.  Mark resides in Sammamish, WA with his wife, Laura, & three daughters. 

In April 2002, Mark was initially responsible for the marketing of the Hope’s Wellspring Employee Assistance Program (EAP).  His responsibilities quickly expanded into managing operations & he then started taking a more active role as Chief Operating Officer.  In this role, he developed a clinical program in conjunction with private practice cardiologists, & fostered relationships with the publishing arm of Hope Health Publications & numerous community partners.  Mark developed & implemented education programs for school-aged students & dramatically expanded Hope community outreach & prevention programs. 

In 2008, Mark assumed his current role as President & CEO. He oversees all divisions of The Hope. He has streamlined the infrastructure, increasing the amount dedicated to programs from 58% to over 78%. He also revamped the development structure to pursue new donor bases for events, & implemented a strategic plan aimed at reaching underserved populations while amplifying heart health outreach to women & communities at risk.

Hope is something Mark is very familiar with.  In 1997, Mark’s father suffered a heart attack & underwent quadruple bypass surgery.  He has also lost his grandmother to heart disease.  These incidences have fueled his passion for his work with The Hope.  Mark says the best part about his job is getting to work with other education & research professionals who are passionate about The Hope’s impact. 

Mark believes The Hope serves a crucial function in working to prevent heart disease from being the #1 killer of all Americans.  As CEO, he would like to see The Hope Heart Institute’s education & outreach programs become regionally & nationally recognized for excellence in delivery & impact.  Thanks to dedicated staff, generous donors, countless supporters, & numerous volunteers, Mark hopes to continue to expand The Hope’s impact to the tens of thousands who we can reach with the prevention message.  The overall goal of The Hope Heart Institute is to keep people out of the operating room; to keep them from becoming patients in the first place.  Heart disease is beatable, treatable & preventable so join us in our fight against the #1 killer of all Americans!

The Hope Heart Institute is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, which guides the overall strategic direction and approves The Hope's major financial commitments.

 

Brian Pierson, Treasurer
Brian is an Associate Director with Convergent Wealth Advisors. He has a rich background in building community service initiatives and mobilizing volunteers. Brian is dedicated to fostering community philanthropy and volunteerism. He joined The Hope's board in 2008.

 

 

 

Buddy Ratner, Ph.D.
Buddy is head of the bio-engineering department at the University of Washington. He is an active partner in the Youth Take Heart education program.

 

 

Craig W. Philips, Chair
Craig joined The Hope in 2008. He is the President of Quayle Associates and formerly President and COO of a biopharmaceutical company, Cell Therapeutics Inc. Prior to that he was vice president and general manager of Bayer Healthcare Oncology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dee Reiff
Dee joined the board in 2011. She co-chaired the On Wings of Hope Benefit in 2010 and is one of the Tri-Chairs for the same event in 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald W. Wyatt
Mr. Wyatt has over 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including research and legal representation. He has worked in research in large pharmaceutical companies, as an attorney in a law firm, and as in-house patent and general legal counsel. His most recent position in the pharmaceutical industry was as Vice-President of Legal Affairs at Cell Therapeutics, Inc. Presently, Mr. Wyatt is founder of The Wyatt Group, LLC, a consulting firm serving companies worldwide in intellectual property strategies and intellectual property information management.

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Hiatt

Eric Hiatt is the principal and founder of Reciprocal Solutions LLC which specializes in identifying services and solutions that reduce costs for non-profit organizations so more of their resources can be dedicated to the causes, cures and communities they serve.  Previously he has held roles in sales and business development with Fortune 500 firms such as Marsh USA (MMC), Automatic Data Processing and IBM and advised early-stage companies and corporate spin-outs during his tenure with TriNet Group, Inc.

 

  Jeremy Kiefer

Jeremy is Co-Founder, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Columbia Pacific Capital Management. Jeremy has over 14 years of investment experience and is responsible for directing all aspects of CPCM’s investment process. Prior to founding CPCM, Jeremy served as Director of Investments for a $1.6 billion Seattle-based Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and sat on advisory boards for Venture Capital and Global Private Real Estate funds. Jeremy grew up in Bellevue and graduated from Lakeside High School and the University of Washington. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® (CAIA) designations, and is a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Seattle and the CAIA Association. Jeremy is also a Seattle Magazine 5-Star Wealth Manager award winner. Outside the office, Jeremy enjoys tennis, golf, fishing, skiing, and spending time with his wife and two children. He can often be found on a field coaching teams for his son and daughter.

 

 

 

Jim Leggett, M.D., Medical Director
Dr. Leggett is the Medical Director of The Hope. He is a cardiologist in private practice in Bellevue, and part of The Hope's clinical research program.

 

 

 

 

 

Kristin Black
Kristin joined the board in 2005. She is passionate about supporting the Hope's research and education programs. Formerly with AstraZeneca, Kristin currently resides in Manhattan and is a Regional Director for a facial plastic surgery company.

 

 

Lester R. Sauvage, MD, Founder
Dr. Sauvage is founder of The Hope Heart Institute and an ex-officio member of the Board. You can read more about Dr. Sauvage's work here.

 

 

 

Nina Morrison was named Vice President of Community and Customer Relations in October of 2012. In her new role, she is responsible in creating positive good-will within the communities where TalkingRain operates. In 1992 Nina started her career in the Beverage Industry as the TalkingRain Event Manager. From there she became the Marketing Director, followed by VP of Marketing. Prior to joining TalkingRain she was the CEO/President of Emerald City Marketing, a Food Brokerage she opened in 1984. After graduation with a BA in Education and Child Psychology from Washington State University, she taught in the Beaverton Oregon School District. Her volunteer experience includes: Seattle Children's Corporate Leadership Council, Current Member Transplant House, Communications Committee, Current Member Susan G Komen Puget Sound Affiliate, Board of Director, Six Years Mercer Island Boy and Girls Club, Board of Directors, Board President for Two Years King County Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors, Two Years Special Olympics Washington, Board of Directors Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Board of Directors Mercer Island HS Girls Lacrosse, Board Member Overlake Hospital Business Development, Committee Member

 

 

 

Sara Osborne
Sara Osborne is the Public and Government Affairs Director for the Seattle Division of Safeway Inc. The Seattle Division encompasses all of Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. The responsibilities of Sara’s position are to lead the Division’s efforts in corporate fundraising and philanthropy, government relations, public relations and internal communications. Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in Political Science and a Juris Doctorate degree from Howard University. She practiced law at corporate law firms and with the Washington State Attorney General until she decided a legal career was not a suitable direction for her life. Sara was fortunate to transition from practicing real estate law to then become a real estate dealmaker and developer for Safeway in the Seattle Division. After 7 years developing mixed use projects, she was promoted to her current position.

 

 

 

 

Scarlett Foster-Moss
Scarlett joined the board in 2012. She is the Director of Public Affairs and Communications at Coca-Cola Refreshments. She has worked in public relations and public affairs with global firms APCO Worldwide and Edelman. Scarlett was the first government relations director for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and prior to that she worked on political campaigns across the country. A Native Texan, Scarlett now makes her home on Vashon Island and is the immediate past president of the board for Vashon Allied Arts

 

 

 

Scott Missad
Scott Missad is the President & CEO of Gene Juarez Salons & Spas.  He has been in the beauty industry for over 30 years in roles such as Vice President of Sales for L'Oreal, Founder of Strictly Business, a nationally acclaimed beauty industry business program, and currently a Board Member for the Summit Salon Business Center as well as Gene Juarez Salons & Spas.

 

 

 

Scott Rabinowitz
Scott joined the Board in 2007. He is a Managing Director at Herd Freed Hartz. Scott is the Immediate-Past Chair of the Board of Directors.

 

 

Stephen Hollomon, Secretary
Steve is the Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, Hollomon Daniel & Chavez. He also chairs the Hope Heart Classic Golf Tournament. Steve sits on the Board Personnel Committee.

 

 

 

 

Tom Amidon, M.D.
Dr. Amidon formally served as Medical Director of The Hope. He is a cardiologist in Kalispell, Montana. Previously he was part of Overlake Internal Medicine Associates in Bellevue, Washington.

 

 

 

Van Katzman
Van Katzman is a co-founder and principal at Beacon Law Advisors, PLLC, a Seattle-based boutique corporate law firm that specializes in working with entrepreneurs and counseling emerging technology companies. Van has spent the past 18 years working in legal, strategic, and operating roles for both Fortune 500 and start-up companies, serving as a trusted sounding board to many CEOs. Van’s legal career began with Perkins Coie in Seattle. In 1996, he transitioned to the business sector, co-owning and managing Communicore, a healthcare consulting firm in Seattle focused on accelerating the adoption of innovative products and technologies to enhance the quality of care. From 1998-2001, Van served as assistant general counsel for Waste Management, the largest solid waste collection and recycling company in North America, where he helped manage all legal affairs for the Western United States. In 2001, Van joined Fishmonger.com (later WorldCatch) as vice president of business development and general counsel, and helped guide the company in its transition from B2B marketplace to a bricks-and-mortar-operating seafood company. In late 2003, he co-founded Beacon Law, based on his desire to work with entrepreneurs and to leverage his operating experience in working with dynamic technology, environmental, and healthcare companies. Van received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, holds a master’s degree in environmental policy from George Washington University, and received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he was associate editor of the Virginia Law Review and Order of the Coif. Van serves on the board of Parent Trust for Washington Children and is a co-founder of the Northwest Chapter of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). He lives in Seattle along with his wife and two kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vanessa Strickland
After spending 10 years in the Information Technology Services sector, Vanessa Strickland "retired" to a busy marriage and family. After losing their son, Shawn, to heart disease she began working to find the right charitable organization to lend her time and efforts in honor of him. She is proud to support The Hope Heart Institute not only as a 3 time chair of the Rock N Roll Benefit, but also as an active member of The Hope's Board of Directors.