Joan Hemphill
Board President
Joan grew up on Bainbridge Island, and is a fourth generation islander. She graduated from Bainbridge High School and interned at the Bainbridge Review and ABC News during college. Joan graduated from the University of Washington School of Law and clerked for an appellate court judge before entering private practice. Joan moved back to Bainbridge in 2017, where she lives with her husband and beloved spaniel.
Annie Hodges
Vice President
Annie moved to Bainbridge Island from the Midwest 7 years ago and is continuously inspired by the community's compassion and generosity. Annie has spent much of her
professional career in education and has almost two decades of experience with philanthropic fundraising and development. She focuses her philanthropic energies on education, food insecurities, and women's health causes. Annie is excited to join Helpline House's board and further serve her community. In her spare time, Annie enjoys hiking, gardening, running, and spending time with her husband, Ben, and daughter, Olivia.
Richard Gawlowski
Treasurer
Richard was born on an air force base in Texas and spent his early years in Pittsburgh, his parents' home town. Rich graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Juris Doctor degree from ASU College of Law. He and his wife moved to Bainbridge Island in the late 1970s and started a family here. He coached little league for 7 years and served on the Bainbridge Island Little League Board of Directors. Since 1990, he has practiced litigation law with Wilson, Smith, Cochran, and Dickerson.
Linda Stranahan
Board Secretary
Linda has lived on Bainbridge Island since 1996. She began a Psychotherapy practice on the Island
17 years ago, after interning at Jumping Mouse Children’s Center in Port Townsend and
working for The Suquamish Tribe. She strongly connects to nonprofits and has been participating since her 20s. Her area of interest lies in accessible mental health, family support, and the sustainability of shared resources. When she first arrived in Bainbridge, she joined the Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Board, then the Bainbridge Psychotherapy Board, and Alliance for Healthy Youth, she is delighted to join Helpline House. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 15-year-old son out on the water: Boating, kayaking, fishing, or just splashing around.
Wandee Pryor
Board Member
Wandee grew up on Bainbridge Island, left when she graduated high school, and returned with her husband and her two daughters in 2015. She has been a practicing clinical psychologist for over a decade working with children, adolescents, and adults in community health clinics, hospitals and currently in private practice. She loves reading, running and being in the water and during the pandemic served as a child psychology consultant for artist Wendy MacNaughton’s online kid’s show Draw Together.
Wandee feels particularly grateful to have the opportunity to support Helpline House. She has sweet memories of personally benefiting from Helpline’s services when she and her mother moved to the island in the early 80s.
Tom Croker
Board Member
Tom is a fifth-generation islander. He holds a BS and MS in fisheries science from UW. He and his wife raised two boys and have five grandkids. In 1978, he cofounded and co-managed NET Systems on Day Road, which designed and manufactured trawl gear for the North Pacific fishing fleet. He later started another company in 1995, which marketed and manufactured a linear mooring system and offshore sea cages for fin fish farming. His previous board experience includes the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and the Bainbridge Community Foundation, serving in officer positions on boards. He is currently involved in a project to create affordable homes on the Island and enjoys spending time on his sailboat and other travels.
Julie Matthews
Board Member
Julie has lived in Kitsap County since 1987 and on Bainbridge since 1998. Prior to retiring in December 2018, Julie worked for more than 30 years as an attorney for the US Environmental Protection Agency helping to implement and enforce the federal environmental laws. After retiring, Julie began regular volunteering at Helpline House in the foodbank and in other roles as needed. She is excited to join the Board, inspired by the staff’s dedication and compassion, and by the community’s generosity. Julie currently serves on the Bainbridge Island Climate Change Advisory Committee appointed by the City Council in 2019. She is a former Board member and current volunteer for the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and for Keta Legacy Foundation, a Kitsap County based conservation-related nonprofit organization. Julie enjoys spending time with her husband and their two adult children, long distance hiking, walking, skiing, travel, gardening, and other outdoor activities.
Mev Hoberg
Board Member
Mev was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, where her family has lived for generations. After graduating from Stanford, she and her husband, Paul, lived in the Bay Area for 12 years before moving to Bainbridge in 1999. Their two children are proud products of the Bainbridge Island school system, where Mev served as a member of the board of directors for almost 8 years. Mev loves a good craft project or home repair project and walking with her dog. She is excited to serve on the Helpline House board as she considers the services they offer to be vital to ensuring the diverse and caring community that makes Bainbridge so special.
Bruce Eremic
Board Member
Bruce has been a banker on Bainbridge Island since 2006 and is the current manager of Kitsap Bank’s Bainbridge Island branch. He has been a resident of Bainbridge Island since 1990 and has lived and worked there almost all his life. Bruce is deeply committed to community stewardship.
Since 2016 he has served as the treasurer of Housing Resources Bainbridge and volunteered his knowledge and skills to expand access to affordable housing. To support a vibrant local economy, he is currently serving as a board member of the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce and to fight food insecurity he has managed an annual fundraiser for Helpline House since 2020.
Stacy Marchesano
Board Member
Stacy, together with her husband and their two young daughters, moved to Bainbridge Island in mid-2020 with wonder and gratitude. She practices commercial real estate and finance law as a partner at a Seattle law firm.
Stacy finds the most enjoyment in her work when she is able to help clients with transactions that both improve the built environment for local neighborhoods and bolster the economy. Giving back to the community through board service and volunteering has been a life-long priority for Stacy. She is thrilled to give back to her island neighbors in this magical community by serving as an ambassador of Helpline House.
Charlie Foushee
Board Member
Charlie Foushee leads the Seattle region of Skanska USA Commercial Development, which delivers customer-focused, highly sustainable office, mixed-use, and multi-family properties across the United States.
Charlie received his bachelor’s degree from Seattle University. He currently serves on the advisory board for Bainbridge Island Little League and has previously served as a board member for Rebuilding Together Seattle.
Michael Reeder
Board Member
Michael is the Founder of the Bainbridge Island based, brand constituency, Smiling Lions, where he is focused on crafting empathetic and effective marketing strategies for global brands such as ADT, Amazon and Starbucks.
Rachel Hofer
Board Member
Rachel moved to Bainbridge Island seven years ago from the East Coast with her husband and two children. She has worked in marketing for over 25 years and is also a photographer. She is originally from a small mid-western town and has traveled extensively and lived all over the US and overseas. It was during these travels that she became involved with the World Food Program and began actively supporting their mission to eliminate global hunger. A spark was ignited, and she hasn’t stopped since. It’s an honor for her to be on the board and she looks forward to contributing locally with Helpline House.
Sylvia Pizzini
Board Member
Sylvia was born in British Columbia; raised in Berkley, California; and over the years has lived in California, New York, and in 2022 moved to Washington. She has two children and two grandchildren, one of whom was raised in Bainbridge Island and is now married and lives in Poulsbo.
For the past 60 years, Sylvia has worked in the field of child and family services for public agencies and nonprofit organizations. She started out as a social worker, and most of her career was in management and policy positions. She currently is an expert witness consultant and a member of the local Rotary where she serves as Youth Protection Officer.
Alix Strickland
Board Member
Alix was born and raised on Bainbridge Island. After living in Denver, NYC and Seattle for school and work, Alix returned to Bainbridge Island with her family in 2020 where she currently lives with her husband, two young daughters and Australian Cattle Dog. Alix holds a Masters Degree in Nutrition and spent nearly a decade working as a clinical pediatric dietitian on the Cancer and Blood Disorders team at Seattle Children’s Hospital.