About

Welcome to the Seattle Chapter of SIM!

The Chapter strives to strengthen professional communications among members who direct the application of information technology in private and pubic organizations. Chapter activities include:
  • Meeting to share innovative ideas and real world experiences which address enterprise information needs. We have excellent speakers both from our membership, and bring in industry executives and subject matter experts from many sources.
  • Providing presentations by leading national information-management professionals and executives who benefit from management-information systems.
  • Challenging our comfort levels by exchanging ideas with peers and business counterparts.
  • Tours of member facilities to observe, first hand, excellent uses of Technology in the metro Seattle area
  • Being a resource for each other, and personal networking.

Contact Us

2023 Seattle SIM Chapter Officers

Amanda Gress new
President

Amanda Gress
(Pathward Financial)

president@seasim.org

Amanda is currently the SVP, IT Infrastructure & Operations for Pathward Financial (formerly Metabank), where she blends her depth and breadth of technical savvy with her extensive background in business and finance to drive digital business initiatives. Prior to that, she spent 6 years with Carrix, the parent company of the largest port terminal operator in the Western Hemisphere. She joined them as the Director of IT Governance before being promoted in 2018 to the Vice President of IT overseeing technology solutions Carrix-wide. Before Carrix, Amanda was part of Ancestry.com during a period of explosive technical growth. She started in IT finance before being asked to assume a leadership role within IT after she demonstrated an aptitude for understanding the practical application of technology and how to inspire teams to use it for business advantage. With more than 15-years of experience in business and finance and her more recent experience leading technical change, Amanda is an inspiring leader who adapts to any challenge she faces. She attended the SIM RLF program in 2016 and currently holds the position of President of the board for the Seattle SIM chapter.

Past President
Ed Acee
(BECU)
pastpresident@seasim.org

Ed is a dynamic technology leader with 20+ years of experience providing critical input to drive a strategic direction by bridging business objectives with solid technical guidance. He is a performance driven problem solver and is capable of quickly transitioning between a macro and micro view of complex problems for the most effective delivery.

Ed is currently serving in the role of Director of Digital Infrastructure Services as a strategic leader at BECU in Seattle, WA. Prior to BECU, he was a highly accomplished consultant, Microsoft Trainer and Certified Systems Engineer with deep experience across multiple disciplines over enterprise-level IT projects

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VP- Sponsorships
Mia Windom
(Stratacore)

vpsponsorships@seasim.org

Mia Windom is a born and raised Seattleite, and completed her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Washington. Post-Grad School, she worked in real estate investment, and then made the transition over to the IT industry. She is now in her 5th year as a Client Advocate at a Seattle-based IT agency named StrataCore. StrataCore is an unbiased advocate that helps companies source best-in-class IT solutions, with customers such as Getty Images, Tableau Software, and Symantec. Additionally, StrataCore has been a long-time member and sponsor of Seattle SIM.
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VP - Admin
Beth Galliher-Ponce
(Oberto Snacks)
vpadmin@seasim.org 

Beth has been an information technology executive for over 20 years for companies such as Behr Paint, Milgard Windows, and currently at Oberto Snacks Inc., where she has been responsible for delivering enhanced company results through the strategic implementation of technology, organization and process transformation. She provides leadership to the IT community as a long-standing member and board member of multiple chapters of SIM, and as advisor and speaker at various organizations and industry events. Beth holds a B. S., Information Systems from University of Redlands in California. 


VP - Marketing
Lindsay Klein

vpmarketing@seasim.org

Lindsay works and thrives at the nexus of business, brand marketing, creativity, and the humans that make it all possible. 21 years of experience building trusted relationships, brand storytelling, creative strategies, and business growth for agencies large and small, including time spent client-side with Starbucks in the Global Creative Studio building brand storytelling and managing complex global campaigns at scale.



VP - Membership

Kevin Rolnick
(Critical Insight)

vpmembership@seasim.org

Kevin has been providing Technology Solutions to a wide range of businesses in the Puget Sound area as well as nationally for the past 25 years. He is currently  VP of Sales at Critical Insight in Seattle Washington. Critical Insight provides Cyber Security as a Service to a broad range of vertical markets with a particular focus on helping Healthcare companies and the Public Sector protect critical infrastructure by helping them prepare for, detect and respond to threats and breaches.


VP - Outreach
Jason Wilcox
(Nintendo)
vpoutreach@seasim.org

Jason has been serving in IT for three decades in many capacities; sales, engineering, and leadership. Hi is currently leading the Infrastructure group at Nintendo of America.

Jason aims to give back through volunteer, mentoring, and giving opportunities. His role as VP of Outreach for SIM Seattle is an extension of that aim. Please reach out to him to chat about opportunities.

Jason's goal at SIM Seattle is to expand relationships between SIM and other individuals and organizations providing support for the IT Practitioner community in order to create connections that meaningfully impact the lives and careers of participants.




Secretary 
Keola Ohumukini
(King County Information Technology)
secretary@seasim.org

Keola has 20+ years of experience working in Information Technology. He currently is working as a Senior IT Manager for King County Information Technology in their operations division. Before his time as a public servant, he spent 10 years working for Silicon Valley Bank in many different technical and leadership roles.

Keola attended the Regional Leadership Forum (RLF) training program in 2019 and quickly became involved in SIM after the program’s completion. He has been the Board Secretary since 2020 and participated as a speaker in the SIM National Diversity training. He has a strong desire to give back and to help create a thriving SIM community of likeminded professionals and leaders. 



VP - Treasurer 
Adam Grupp
(Woodhaven Advisors)
treasurer@seasim.org

Adam Grupp is the founder of Woodhaven Advisors, a firm that helps business and technology leaders achieve breakthrough impact for their businesses, teams and careers. His practice blends coaching, training and consulting to address client challenges spanning business strategy, organizational effectiveness and leadership development. Before founding Woodhaven Advisors, Grupp worked in consulting and technology product management, including over a decade at Microsoft, where he led product and growth marketing teams, oversaw global loyalty, and drove business model innovation across consumer verticals.

Grupp teaches and coaches at the University of Washington in Seattle, serving as a consultant in residence with the Foster School of Business and leading business and product strategy programs for Continuum College. He is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and holds advanced degrees in business and law, as well as coaching credentials with the International Coaching Federation and the Co-Active Training Institute.

In his off-hours, Adam serves on the boards of the Society for Information Management (Seattle Chapter) and the PNW Analytics Leadership Board, and he supports several Seattle-based organizations whose work advances diversity, equity and inclusion in workforce development.

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VP - Programs
John Nelson
(Centric Consulting)
vpprograms@seasim.org 

Dynamic technology executive with 15 years of highly impactful Business Development experience in the Seattle market.  Currently working for Centric Consulting focused on Business Consulting, Tech, People and change and Project management.  Agile Transformation, Cloud Migration, and Machine Learning are the most common problems my clients are working on.

Past Presidents Council

Ed Acee, BECU
Daniel Spurling, Slalom
Lowell Millard, Rock Bridge Executive Advisory
Paul Farrall, Big Fish Games
Tony Berger
Steve Brilling, Seattle University
Frank Coker, Information Systems Management, Inc.
Susan Goss, AT&T Wireless
Sally Hass
John Howland, How Solutions, Inc.
Jon Hulen, retired
Paul Kraabel, Kraabel and Company
Larry Miller
Paula Paravecchio, Microsoft
Ingvar Petursson, Nintendo
Chuck Porter, CIO at Seattle University
Jim Ratchford
Dick Shay, retired from PEMCO Insurance
Jim Stark
Price Taylor, Concur Technologies