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Board Biographies

Teresa Bigelow, Founder: Teresa co-founded the Safe Crossings Foundation after her husband, Bill Robertson, passed away in 1989 leaving her with three small children. (She was joined in this effort by Carol McMullin Flannigan, the widow of Ken McMullin.) Teresa recently retired from the law firm of Bennett, Bigelow & Leedom P.S. after a twenty-five-year legal practice during which she specialized in health care law and primarily represented not-for-profit corporations. She served as President and Executive Director of The Safe Crossings Foundation for seventeen years.

Kevin Brown, Immediate Past-President: Kevin Brown is a Vice President of Swedish Health Services and serves as the director of the Swedish Physician Division. Kevin has worked as an executive in the health care arena for a number of years and is particular adept at complex problem solving, finance and technology. As the father of three small children, he is dedicated to helping children in his community who are faced with the loss of a parent or loved one.

Kimberly Burton: Until recently, Kimberly Burton conducted research in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Washington as a Research Associate Professor. She took a leave of absence from the university to spend time with her two children and to help care for a close friend battling stage IV melanoma. The loss of her own mother to cancer at an early age and her friend (with two surviving children) to melanoma has led her to want to help children who experience the pain of losing a family member. The Safe Crossings Foundation uniquely addresses this need in the community. Kimberly joined The Safe Crossings Foundation Board of Directors in 2008.

Annette Clark: Annette Clark is Vice Dean and Associate Professor at Seattle University School of Law. She is both a physician and a lawyer, and has a life-long interest in bioethics issues that operate at the interface of law and medicine, particularly those related to end-of-life care. Annette is the mother of two college-aged children, and as her own children are launched, she feels privileged to devote her community service efforts to the Safe Crossings Foundation board and its mission of assisting children who are dealing with the death of a loved one.

Casey Jorgensen: Casey is a Member at Williams, Kastner & Gibbs law firm in Seattle. Casey has personally experienced the loss of a parent. After attending a Safe Crossings luncheon, he became very passionate about the Safe Crossings cause. As a father of a young son, he genuinely sees the parent’s importance to a child. Casey’s legal practice focuses on business and real estate transactions, and his “prior life” involved officiating professional hockey.

Patti Joyce: Patti Joyce worked as a medical administrator for a number of years before becoming a full-time mother of three. Patti brings a sensitivity to the issues involved in death and dying and a commitment to help children and families facing these difficult issues.

William Leedom: Bill Leedom was one of the founders of The Safe Crossings Foundation. He was a close friend and legal partner of Ken McMullin and Bill Robertson. Mr. Leedom has over thirty years of experience as a practicing trial attorney. Bill is actively involved with many organizations in the Seattle community; he currently practices with the firm of Bennett, Bigelow & Leedom.

Mary McWilliams: Mary McWilliams is Executive Director of the Puget Sound Health Alliance, a regional partnership of purchasers, providers and plans who are collaborating on public reporting on the variation in the cost and quality of health care. This follows a 25-year career of leading health plans in the northwest. Mary had 2 children, 14 and 18, when her husband died in a ski accident in 2000, and appreciates the value of helping children work through such loss.

Philip ("Flip") Morse, President: Flip Morse is the Senior Vice President, Administration, at Nintendo of America Inc.  He previously practiced law with Perkins Coie and has been a professional guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for his entire adult life.  Flip's wife Wendy died when their children were 2 and 3 years old, and he brings a strong dedication to helping kids who are dealing with the death of a parent or other loved one.

Emily Neilson: Emmy Neilson devotes most of her time as a mother to caring for her three growing children. Previously a widow, she dedicates her extra time to supporting programs like Safe Crossings and has a strong belief in the critical importance of Safe Crossings Program services and a dedication to making the Safe Crossings Foundation strong.

Kris Travaglini: Kris Travaglini has a broad nursing background in oncology and infertility. She has two teenage children, conceived using IVF techniques, after her husband’s cancer therapy. She feels that  her experiences with cancer in her extended family have helped her board efforts in other voluntary organizations in the past and strengthens her  commitment to helping make Safe Crossings programs be effective and practical.

Mariann Zylstra: Mariann Zylstra is a Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Team Leader for KeyBank in Bellevue. She is a career banker and currently manages a team of Relationship Managers serving middle market corporations in the greater Seattle-Cascades area. Mariann lost both parents to cancer at a very young age and understands the needs of children facing the death of a parent or loved one. She is married with two college-age children.