2015 New GSBA Board Members

EDITED 12/11/2014.

At the December 10 annual meeting, the membership accepted the 2015 Board slate as approved by the Board of Directors of the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) at their December Board meeting. The members new to the Board in 2015 will be:

Marci Flanery (CPA, Flanery CPA)

Marci Flanery is a CPA specializing in the taxation of individuals and their related small business entities. Marci’s tax practice is centrally located close to the Westlake, Denny, SLU, and Capitol Hill neighborhoods of Seattle.  In the off-season Marci currently splits her time between Seattle and Lopez Island.

Marci became a CPA in 1984 and worked in the Kansas City and Seattle Offices of Arthur Andersen & Co.  After teaching accounting for 8 years at the University of Kansas, Marci moved to Nashville, TN to earn her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Vanderbilt University. After graduate school, Marci completed her post-doctoral work in the Neuroimaging of Memory and Cognition at Johns Hopkins University before moving to California and returning to the practice of public accounting.
Before starting her own tax practice, Marci worked in the San Francisco office of one of the city's premier tax firms specializing in the taxation of registered domestic partners (RDPs). During this time, Marci was responsible for tax planning and tax return preparation for hundreds of California RDP and Same-Sex Married couples. Marci has written a Guide to RDP Taxation and teaches for the Washington and California State Society of CPAs on this topic.


Marci is a licensed CPA in Missouri, California, and Washington with 30 years of experience as a tax consultant specializing in individual and small business tax preparation and planning. Marci is currently accepting new clients to her Seattle practice.

Freya Johnson (Architect, Stephen Sullivan Designs)

Freya is an Architect with Stephen Sullivan Designs.   Stephen and Freya have worked together for nearly nine years, specializing in high-end residences, many of which have been built in Seattle but others as far away as the Shetland Islands of Scotland.  Her career fulfills her passion for people by allowing her to delve into people’s lives, learn their habits and ultimately design around their specific needs and uniquely individual personalities.  Each person is a treasure, each project a learning opportunity and almost every day showing up for work equals personal growth and fulfillment. 

She became involved with GSBA through volunteering to review scholarship applications.  She had come out to herself as a transgender woman two years prior, and had only recently begun presenting as herself in public.  Still she had been struggling with self-acceptance as well as an overwhelming fear of losing her career, stability and relationships.  The scholarship applications told stories of bravery; stories of light on the other side of bold and brave decisions; stories of commitment to change and fights against oppression.  Through the review process she found the self-acceptance, pride and bravery she needed to move forward through transition.  She was also inspired to effect change where she feels it is needed most, in the workplace, and/or prospective workplaces, of transgender individuals. 

She adds, "It is an honor to be given the incredible opportunity to serve on the GSBA Board, which I see as a platform to be a voice for the trans community."

John Rubino (President, GreenRubino)

John is President of GreenRubino—a Brandidextrous™ agency where advertising, branding, media, digital, social and PR go hand-in-hand. More than 30 years of experience, growth and results have established GreenRubino as one of the Northwest’s most successful and respected agencies. 

As recognized marketing leaders, John and his agency serve top regional, national and international clients. Those clients include Delta Dental, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Microsoft, Snoqualmie Casino, Washington State Wine, Seattle Children’s and Columbia Bank—just to name a few.

GreenRubino is the only marketing agency in the Puget Sound Business Journal to appear in 4 industry lists for the top 25 companies (Advertising, Graphic Design, Public Relations and Web Development)—and has repeatedly been included in various publication’s Best Places to Work lists such as Seattle Business, Puget Sound Business Journal and Advertising Age.

John is very active in the community and currently serves on the Board of Governors for the World Trade Center Seattle and was the immediate past President of the Board of PAWS. He has been recognized as a PSBJ Top 40 Under 40 and was a 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist.

John lives with his husband, Doug, and chocolate lab, Copper, in Leschi.

Alisha Valavanis (President, Seattle Storm)

Alisha Valavanis was hired as Chief Operating Officer of the Seattle Storm on June 18, 2014, and elevated to President on Oct. 1, 2014. In this role, Valavanis oversees all business-related and basketball operations. Valavanis comes to the Storm with a strong involvement in women’s basketball, both as a former player and coach, uniquely blending with her experience in athletics business operations.Valavanis, 37, joined the Storm from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was an Assistant Athletics Director of Development.

Valavanis’ impressive coaching resume spans over two decades. She got her start in 2002 as the women’s basketball head assistant coach at California State University, Chico. In her four years as an assistant coach, the program made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted with a 2006 Final Four appearance. She then moved on to the University of the Pacific in 2006, joining the women’s basketball program as an assistant coach. She was elevated to associate head coach prior to the 2008 season.

A native of Valparaiso, Ind., Valavanis graduated from California State University, Chico, in 2000 with a B.A. in communications, focusing on public relations. She then earned her M.A. in physical education with an emphasis on athletic administration in 2004.

Lettering in women’s basketball at Chico from 1995-99, Valavanis graduated as Chico’s all-time three-point leading scorer. A two-year captain from 1997-99, Valavanis ended her playing career in 1999 with numerous conference and NCAA recognitions.

Valavanis is recently married to Kai Felton, a women’s basketball assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Barbara Wilson (Government Affairs Officer, Vulcan Inc)

Barb Wilson has spent over two decades developing and managing policy and public affairs efforts for nonprofits and public agencies in the Seattle area. She currently oversees government affairs and community relations efforts at Vulcan Inc., the investment and project management firm founded by Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen. In this role, she works with Vulcan teams on a broad range of projects, including the company’s South Lake Union redevelopment project, the innovative Stratolaunch air-launch system, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science. 

 

Before joining Vulcan, Barb worked for 10 years as the Executive Director of the Seattle Planning Commission, where she was responsible for overall operations and advised city officials on urban planning and development issues. Prior to that, she was a program manager for National Wildlife Foundation, worked on regional outreach and advocacy initiatives for the Northwest Energy Coalition and Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, and developed field strategies for Hands Off Washington.

Barb holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Washington, and a bachelor’s in political science from University of California, San Diego. She serves on numerous boards and committees including the Mayor Ed Murray’s Advisory Committee, Transportation Choice Coalition, Downtown Seattle Association’s Policy Committee, Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s Policy Leadership Group, the Executive Committee of Civil Alliance for Sustainable Economy, the Chinatown International District Business Improvement Association, and South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce.

She lives in West Seattle with her wife and son, and in her free time enjoys doing CrossFit, exploring Seattle’s food scene, and spending time with friends and family.