Our Board of Directors

Lily Ann “Pinky” Herrera

Inaugural Board Member · April 2026 – April 2029

Retired Sr. Program Manager, Community Health Investment & Community Benefit, Providence Swedish

Pinky Herrera most recently served as Program Manager of Community Health Investment and Community Benefit at Providence Swedish, where she dedicated years of leadership to advancing health equity and strengthening community partnerships. In that role, she cultivated meaningful relationships, elevated community voices, and helped drive initiatives addressing some of the most pressing health and social needs in our region.

As she reflects on her next chapter, Pinky remains committed to amplifying and elevating the work of nonprofits that respond to immediate community needs, a commitment that now extends to helping launch CareMakers Collective and advance its mission. Her board service with COMPANIS reflects her deep belief in service, volunteerism, inclusivity, and the power of connection. She is also an active member of Rotary International, where she continues to support community-centered initiatives and meaningful impact.

Service and joy go hand in hand for Pinky. She enjoys all forms of fitness, from Zumba and dance to yoga, as well as wine, travel, and gathering with friends and family. She embraces life with energy, curiosity, and her signature philosophy: SparkOn! ✨

Rachel Tausend

Inaugural Board Member · May 2026 – May 2029

Litigation & investigations attorney

Rachel Tausend is an experienced litigation and investigations attorney with over twenty years in private practice. She spent nine of those years as a partner in the Seattle office of K&L Gates (formerly Preston Thorgrimsen Gates & Ellis), and before that was a partner, co-founder, and leader of the e-discovery team at a regional law firm in the Washington, D.C. area. Rachel believes in the power of information, education, and collaboration, and she is passionate about travel and sustainable community development. Since serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Solomon Islands before attending law and business school, she has provided guidance and support to community projects there, including early rural childhood education, small business enterprise, community health, women’s sewing, and cultural ecotourism.

Affiliations: Board Member (third and final term), Summer Search Seattle, which provides mentorship and transformative experiential learning to high school students from under-resourced communities.

John Chen, CSP

CEO, Engaging Meetings · Author & Certified Speaking Professional

John Chen is the CEO of Engaging Meetings, the company he has led since 1997, and one of only about 700 Certified Speaking Professionals (CSP) designated by the National Speakers Association. Over nearly three decades he has designed and produced more than 4,000 meetings, conferences, and masterclasses, including an eight-language webinar, a 300-person hybrid conference for The Gottman Institute, and a fully live virtual conference for 1,200 attendees. He is the author of two books published by Wiley, Engaging Virtual Meetings (a #1 Amazon Hot New Release) and 50 Digital Team-Building Games.

John served as 2024 President of NSA Northwest, which named him its 2023 Member of the Year, and was a 2023 PCMA Digital Event Strategist of the Year finalist. His other honors include Northwest Asian Weekly’s 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year, the Ted Yamamura Leadership Excellence Award, Training Magazine’s Top Young Trainer Award, and the Puget Sound Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.” A computer science graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, John brings CareMakers Collective a gift for connecting people across languages, cultures, and screens, making sure every voice in the room is heard.