James Whitfield
President of LE

Staff

Our President

Whitfield has served on a number of non-profit boards, including the YMCA Eastside District, Seattle CityClub and Seattle Works, as well as being a founding board member of LE and co-chairing Children’s Institute for Learning Differences’ capital campaign feasibility study.   He was appointed by the White House in 2005 to be the Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and later as Deputy Directory for the agency’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.  Whitfield also was a Senior Officer for Community Relations with the Washington Health Foundation, technology consultant for Fox Industries, and licensed life and health insurance consultant for Kibble & Prentice.   

 

Whitfield is an honors graduate in communication from the University of Iowa and a 2003 graduate of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Leadership Tomorrow program, where he also served on the curriculum committee.

 

Whitfield succeeds Stephanie Mapelli, who served as LE’s president for four years.

Managing Director

Karin

Karin Duval to be the first Managing Director of the Eastside's premier leadership development program. Announcing the selection, LE President James Whitfield said, "Karin's history as a class member of LE, her experience working with non-profits and community groups, her executive management experience, and the synchronicity of our working styles were exactly what I was looking for to build out our staff infrastructure. I am very excited to have Karin with us."

 

Duval says her new position with Leadership Eastside is a natural fit, "Leadership Eastside's vision of a diverse, vibrant, healthy and mutually supportive Eastside community, is expertly served by LE's Adaptive Leadership approach to leader development. The challenges we face in our communities demand leaders who are informed, equipped and connected. I am thrilled and honored to be a part of the organization that develops these leaders."

Executive Assistant

 

JMarie Johnson-Kola is a highly capable leader whose varied professional experiences have prepared her to be a member of the Leadership Eastside Team. She has served as a United States Marine, a Public Affairs Professional with the City of Colorado Springs and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, a Coordinator of Communications for a Colorado School District, and a Regional Outreach Chair for the Washington State PTA. She’s also been a writer for a College News Bureau, a radio announcer and a television camera person.

Johnson-Kola holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership. “I am honored to serve our region’s next generation of leaders as Leadership Eastside’s Executive Assistant. The only thing better than working for East King County’s Premier Regional Leadership Enrichment Program is being a leader in the current LE class!”