Board of Directors

Alka Badshah
Bellevue, WA - District 6

Alka trained as an architect and went on to pursue a career in IT, building and managing User Interface Design.  She worked with various high tech companies for over 20 years, most recently as a Group Manager of a User Experience team at Microsoft.  She has a deep interest in using the knowledge of human behavior in improving our spaces – whether they be virtual spaces on a computer screen or physical environments in our cities and neighborhoods.

Since Microsoft, Alka has been involved in various endeavors, including angel and other investing, being active in philanthropy serving on the board of directors of Tateuchi Center, A.K. Guy Award Committee and Advisory Board of the South Asia Center at UW.  As a Director of Tateuchi Center, Alka initiated a campaign to raise a million dollars from the South Asian Indian community in support of the Center.  Alka has also been involved with furthering education in the field of math, science and business by coaching and judging for organizations like DECA & FPS (Future Problem Solving.)  She is a graduate of MIT’s media lab and has an undergraduate degree in Architecture.   

Alka and her husband Akhtar live in Bellevue.  They have 3 amazing sons, youngest of them being in high school.  She enjoys interacting with artists and talking to them about their thinking process.

Kevin Carl
Seattle, WA - District 4
Kevin is a real estate developer, architect and urban designer with a deep interest in community enhancement and sustainability. He is principal of Urban Innovations Group LLC and UIG Applied Energetics, a strategic planning and development firm, focused on green energy systems infrastructure, policy development and planning.

Among his signature projects is the Sleeping Lady Retreat and Conference Center in Leavenworth, WA, for which he served as architectural designer and project manager. A more recent project was the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue, WA, which brings children ages 9-12 hands-on experiences of fresh water ecologies, biology and sustainable living systems.

He is a former Board Chair of the Pioneer Square Community Association’s Public Spaces Committee; Vice-Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission; and Chair of the SAC Public Art Committee.

He brings urban planning and real estate development experience as well as public art expertise to the 4Culture Board and is a liaison to the Public Art Advisory Committee.

Patricia Cosgrove
Enumclaw, WA - District 9

Patricia is the Director of the White River Valley Museum and the historic Mary Olson Farm, a position she has held since 1990.  She has raised $3 million dollars to rebuild and professionalize the Museum and restore the 1880’s farm, which will be used as a living history park and environmental learning center for regional audiences.

Prior to joining the Museum, she worked as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the University of Puget Sound.  She managed the state centennial exhibit celebrating and honoring Washington’s Native heritage, “A Time of Gathering.”

Alan Cornell
Kent, WA - District 7

Alan is Senior Vice President at Nitze-Stagen, providing guidance, oversight and decision making for the firms investment, property management and development activities.  He is a Real Estate Developer and his background includes corporate strategic planning, market research, business development and consulting. He has over 30 years of commercial and industrial real estate experience, has developed several suburban business parks as well as urban centers such as the Union Station Campus.  Alan has a Masters Degree from the University of Nebraska in Economics and holds a Washington State Real Estate License. 

He has been active in Pioneer Square and International District Communities for over two decades and is interested in community revitalization and urban spaces.  Currently a member of the Seattle Goodwill Board of Directors, he serves on several of their committees including the Executive, Nominating, Compensation and Site Development Committee.  He is also Chairman of the Seattle Chinatown International District Public Development Authority (SCIDpda) Real Estate Committee and, in past years, has served on several other area Boards and Committees.

Bill Finkbeiner
Kirkland, WA - District 6
Former Senator Bill Finkbeiner held a Republican seat in the 45th Legislative District and is a property manager and small business owner. He has received recognition and awards including, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission Friends of Housing Award for dedication and commitment to affordable housing, 2004; Governor Gary Locke's Digital Education Task Force, 2003; The "Kristine" Award for embracing the mission of the KDK Guild with outstanding dedication & achievement, 2001; Food Allergy Network Marial C. Furlong Award for Making a Difference, 2000; Smart Tools Academy, 1999-2000.

Bill Finkbeiner is a current Board member of Hopelink Multi-Service Center and a former board member of the Cascade Land Conservancy. His Legislative leadership includes: Republican Leader, 2005; Majority Leader, 2004; Deputy Majority Leader, 2003; Assistant Republican Floor Leader, 1999-00. Elective Office experience includes: Senate, 1994, 1998, 2002; House of Representatives, 1992. He is involved in the following Standing and Legislative Committees: Transportation; Financial Institutions, Housing & Consumer Protections; Rules, 2005 NCSL Host Committee; Arts Commission; Council of State Governments - Executive Committee; Department Of Revenue Advisory Group On Simplified Sales And Use Tax Administration; Committee on Energy Supply; Horse Racing Commission; Member, Life Sciences Discovery Fund Board of Trustees.

Brian Flaherty
Member-At-Large - Mercer Island, WA - District 6

Brian Flaherty is the General Manager of Bellevue Club & Hotel Bellevue.  Flaherty has almost 30 years of hospitality management and leadership experience including prestigious assignments such as his recent role as opening General Manager of the highly regarded Hotel 1000 in downtown Seattle while VP of Operations for MTM Luxury Lodging.  Flaherty also held senior roles with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Maui, Toronto and The Olympic in Seattle. Prior to joining Hotel 1000, Flaherty was COO of ERA CARE Communities (now ERA Living), a Seattle-based owner and operator of senior living communities in the Pacific Northwest. Flaherty began his career in Hospitality in assorted food and beverage director and restaurant management roles with Marquis Hotels & Resorts in Fort Myers, Fla. in the early 80's.

While residing in the Puget Sound area, Flaherty has been involved in raising funds for several Seattle-area not-for-profit organizations, including PONCHO, The Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center (helping to coordinate the Terry Fox/shore Run for Cancer Research), and other philanthropies. He has also been a board member for the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Seattle Sports Commission and the Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club. Flaherty currently resides in Mercer Island, Wash. with his wife Kitty and their two daughters, Meghan and Clara.

Ricardo Frazer
Tukwila, WA- District 5

Ricardo Frazer is VP Business Development/Artist Development at hardroad.com as well as President and Owner of MeMusic, both in Seattle.  Ricardo has served as Manager and President of RCR Records and Subgroup LLC, working with artists Sir Mix-A-Lot and The Presidents of the United States of America, has worked with major recording companies such as Warner Brothers, Sony/Epic, Capitol Records, RCA and others and also founded a computer software consulting company. He has served as Chair and board member of the Seattle Arts Commission and Seattle Theater Group and is a dedicated volunteer, patron and arts advocate.  Ricardo holds an MBA in management and marketing from City University and a BA in communications from Evergreen College.

Kirstin Haugen
Bothell, WA - District 1

Kirstin Haugen is a resident of Bothell where she chairs the Cascadia Community College Board of Trustees.  She is a past member of the Northshore Performing Arts Center Foundation Board and the King County Charter Review Commission. 

Kirstin was formerly the account executive at the public affairs firm The Mercury Group, and Chief of Staff to King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson.

Ted Kutscher
Vashon Island, WA- District 8

As both a financial planner and attorney, Ted draws from various disciplines of investment, tax and law.  He is a founder and principal of the financial planning and wealth counsel firm, Frederic T. Kutscher Associates, Inc. and the law firm Kutscher Hereford Johnson PLLC, both located in the Hoge Building in downtown Seattle.

Ted is an oil and watercolor painter in the realist and impressionist style and is represented by the Silverwood Gallery on Vashon Island.

Jennifer Meisner
Seattle, WA- District 4

Jennifer is Executive Director of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, a statewide, non-profit preservation advocacy organization dedicated to revitalizing communities and saving the places that matter to all Washingtonians.  She is also an Affiliate Assistant Professor of Urban Design and Planning in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, where she earned a Master of Architecture and Certificate in Preservation Planning and Design. 

Prior to joining the Washington Trust, Jennifer served the public as a Community Development Specialist in the City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods where she managed the design review process for the Pioneer Square Preservation District and Ballard Avenue Landmark District as professional staff to both District Boards.       

Jennifer currently participates on a number of national, state, and local committees, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Statewide and Local Partners Steering Committee; the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation’s Maritime Heritage Task Force and Sustainability and Historic Preservation Steering Committee; the Washington State Main Street Advisory Committee; the Pioneer Square Community Association’s Board of Advisors; and 4Culture’s Historic Preservation Advisory and Nominating Committees.    

Jennifer is an active volunteer at the public school her girls attend and loves being part of the Magnolia community where she lives with her husband, architect Thomas Isarankura, and three amazing daughters.

Kenneth Noreen has served as the Band Director of Shoreline Community College Band Director since 1994. Prior to Shoreline Community College, Noreen served as Director of Bands for the Shoreline School District and was a Music Specialist for the Shoreline School District. Business activities include: Music Director for the Seattle Supersonics; Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker Bain; Co-owner of Broad-View Travel and ACFEA Tour Consultants; President of NORHAWK, Inc. and Owner of Triad Properties.

Noreen’s volunteer activities include: Founding Member of Shoreline Arts Council; Charter Member of Shoreline Breakfast Rotary; Member of Shoreline Public School Foundation; past President of Washington Music Educators’ Association; Member of WMEA state board ; and past President of  University of Washington Husky Band Foundation. Noreen holds a BA in Music and a Masters in Secondary Education from the University of Washington. He and his wife, Pearl Noreen have two sons, Kevin and Kirk.

Skip Rowley
Bellevue, WA - District 3
George W. "Skip" Rowley is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rowley Properties, Inc. a third-generation, family-owned property management and development firm in Issaquah, founded in 1954. Skip's community involvement is unsurpassed. Skip is Chairman of the Board of Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE), Co-Chair of the Regional Transportation Leadership Group, and is a member of the Eastside YWCA Advisory Committee.

He is a Member of the Board of Directors of First Mutual Bank, Overlake Hospital, ArtsFund, and the Issaquah Historical Society. Previously Skip has served on the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation, was Chairman and Founding Member of the East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition, and was President of the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce. Skip's community service and corporate involvement awards include the 2005 Eastside Business Awards' Corporate Citizenship Award, 2004 Issaquah Schools Foundation Golden Apple Award, 2002 Environmental Excellence Award presented by the Association of Washington Businesses, 1996 Pacific Lutheran University "Best in the Northwest" Family Business Award, and Issaquah Citizen of the Year. Skip received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington.

Dale Smith
Vice President - Kent, WA - District 5

Dale Smith is a South King County resident and community activist on diversity, equity and social justice issues in education, civic and faith institutions and communities. His community activity is influenced by the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) theory of change developed by the institute of the same name at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.  Dale and his family have been part of the increasingly diverse Kent community since 1993, and have benefited greatly from the associated arts, cultural and heritage assets that have come with that diversity.

From 2000-2006, Dale was responsible for corporate community relationships and contributions for The Boeing Company in the greater Puget Sound region for Arts, Culture, Civic and Environment.  In that capacity, he was actively involved on a number of arts and cultural activities that encouraged community and philanthropic collaborations, including: ArtsFund in King and Pierce counties; ArtsUnited in Snohomish County; Standing Ovation in East King County; and the Cultural Council of Greater Tacoma Community Foundation among others.  He is currently an environmental political analyst for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Doug Thatcher
Treasurer - Normandy Park , WA - District 2

Doug Thatcher resides in Normandy Park and is VP, Commercial Portfolio Manager at First Citizens Bank in Kent.  Doug currently serves on the board at the Highline YMCA and has served as President and Board Chair for The Hi-Liners, a youth performance organization in Burien.  Doug has been involved in the arts since he was a child performing with the Hi-Liners and now as an amateur drummer in two bands and a season subscriber to several arts organizations.  He holds degrees from the University of Washington and California Polytechnic School of Management Banking.