We always welcome new board members with various skills we need! Elections are generally held every October. In the fall of 2021, the NW Dance Board of Directors elected its new slate of officers.
Pam Tufts, President
Pam retired in 2017 from the UW Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business. She is now 1) re-learning Spanish, 2) taking piano lessons, 3) dancing (of course!), 4) volunteering for environmental and social justice organizations.Prior to that, Pam worked in the UW Retail Management & External Program and has owned and operated retail stores in the Seattle area. She has worked with boards in the non-profit sector including as Development Director for Gilda’s Club Seattle, and Executive Director of Northwest Soccer Camps. She has served as a board member for the Environmental Education Association of Washington (E3); Salish Sea Cooperative Finance, and the Girl Scouts of America. In addition, she has worked with volunteers, including PTA’s, Capitol Hill Youth Soccer, etc.
Pam has 3 grown kids, 6 granddaughters, loves to ski, hike, spend time at the family property on Dabob Bay, travel, read and garden. Fun fact: in 1971 she worked in D.C. for the Youth Citizenship Fund (Common Cause) as an ‘under 21’ lobbyist for the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. “If you’re old enough to fight for your country, you’re old enough to vote.”
Cheryl Davidson, Vice President
Cheryl joined the board in December 2012. Her interest in dance has been lifelong, beginning by teaching herself basic swing by watching American Bandstand. In college and later years she took lessons in modern, jazz, and various other dance forms, but more recently she has became more dedicated to partner dancing. “Moving my body through space with music while connected to my partner releases endorphins of joy, an experience of positive addiction,” says Cheryl, who is expanding her dance repertoire by learning zydeco and balboa. Retired from a profession in criminal justice, Cheryl continues to be active in social justice issues.
Bob van Winkle, Treasurer
Bob started dancing in the summer of 2018 after attending a Gator Boy Productions Zydeco dance and learning of NW Dance Network. He attended a dance the following week and this started his real enthusiasm for dancing with NW Dance Network. He has taken numerous classes in Swing, Waltz, Foxtrot, Zydeco, and various workshops. He has found the instructors very competent and has enjoyed the positive social environment at the classes and the dances. As he has become more experienced (thanks to the great classes and encouragement by instructors and partners), he finds he really enjoys the many dances offered in Seattle.
He recently retired from a career in the accounting/finance field, having worked in both manufacturing and non-profit organizations. He is pleased to have time to offer his professional skills as Treasurer and to be part of an organization of positive, enthusiastic dancers. He also looks forward to improving his skills and enjoying much more dancing as well as helping the organization grow.
Pat Breen, Secretary
Pat took up partner dancing in the 90s under the sweet tutelage of Nancyanna and Walter Dill, the founders of Living Traditions Dance, which later became NW Dance Network. She had never danced but soon caught the bug, made many friends, and learned how wonderful it feels to share the music with a partner. Walter and Nancyanna’s dedication to social dancing, and to teaching non-dancers to feel comfortable and joyful on the dance floor, spawned the amazing and unique dance scene we now enjoy in Seattle. She is so happy to help carry on this tradition.
Pat has been a nurse for over 40 years. In addition to dancing, she also enjoys singing in an a cappella group and garage band. In this CovidTime, she’s taken up birding. She has 3 grandchildren. Life is full.
David (Koz) Kositsky
Board director since June 2011, Koz found that the dance community in Seattle was special and he wanted to get involved to give back to it. Returning to dance after many years’ absence, Koz and a friend started taking lessons with several instructors at NW Dance Network: Dean Paton, Susan Balshor, Guy Caridi, Nancy Fry, and Sean Donovan. They inspired him to become a more accomplished dancer. When he’s not dancing, you can find Koz cooking at the grill. He loves to cook and used to own and operate a café and restaurant. Now, he indulges his cooking urges by offering, at auction, elaborate internationally-themed grilled dinners for non-profits around Seattle. He hopes to continue to make new friends on the dance floor and have fun learning more dance steps and techniques.
Harold Federow
Harold is excited to be a member of the NW Dance Network Board. He has been involved with the NW Dance Network community since 2014. He started with ballroom dancing then became more active in other forms of social dance, especially through the Dancing ’til Dusk summer dance series. He has really enjoyed expanding his dancing skills through NW Dance Network and through other dance opportunities. He brings the experiences he’s gained doing legal work on other non-profit boards and through his work as an attorney to serve the needs of the NW Dance Network community so it can continue to thrive.
Karen Ludwig
Karen appreciates the opportunity to support the dance community and has served on the Board for NW Dance Network since 2012. Formerly, she was Dance Chair for the Seattle Singles Mountaineers (2005 – 2010) and won the Mountaineer Volunteer of the Year Award in 2006 for running their Rock and Roll dances. Karen was the 2019 New Year’s Eve Dance Coordinator for NW Dance Network and a frequent photographer for NW Dance Network dances and Seabeck Dance Camp. Karen has been dancing in a broad range of styles since age five, including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern Improvisational Dance, Swing, Lindy Hop, Hustle, and Latin Dance. She performed for three years with USA Dance-Seattle and was in shows that toured around Washington state: “A Chance to Dance” and “Take The Floor And Dance.” She choreographed and performed dances for Dare to Dance Seattle at The Broadway Performance Hall in 2013 and 2014 and in a virtual show in 2021. Karen holds degrees in Broadcasting/Visual Design and Psychology, and she also has experience in dance photography and videography. She has been a photographer for Camp Jitterbug for three years. Recently she has been hiking and doing more nature and landscape photography and her photos have been published in calendars.
Beverly Sanders
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Bev served as an NW Dance Network Board member from 2011 through 2018, including four years as President. She served as a consultant to the Board during 2019 and returned as a Board member in 2020. Bev started dancing in 1998, as a Lindy Hopper. Since then she has enjoyed learning a number of other dances and has built a community of friends around dance. She brings to the Board over 20 years of professional experience in volunteer and board management, group development and outreach, grant writing, strategic planning, and consensus-building.
Gayle McKool, Compliance Officer
A transplant to the Pacific Northwest from Texas, Gayle McKool has been social dancing since 2005. She enjoys many forms of partner dance, particularly East Coast Swing, Cajun, Zydeco, Waltz, Night Club Two Step, and Country Two Step.
Gayle has many years’ of experience as a volunteer and board member in nonprofit organizations. She serves as the Dancing for the Ages Coordinator and Compliance Officer for NW Dance Network.