Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County is pleased to announce the election of four new members to its board of directors. The new members include Effenus Henderson, President and CEO of HenderWorks, Inc. and President/Co-Founder of the Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion; Delano Palmer, Director of Capital Planning & Projects at Central Washington University; Susan Ralston, Senior Marketing Consultant for Derflan, Inc.; and Damon Tsai, Senior Engineer at Collins Aerospace.
Effenus Henderson is an internationally recognized diversity thought leader and has been invited by numerous companies and organizations to share his expertise. He has provided advisory support on diversity to the United Nations, US Federal Government’s EPA office, Office of Personnel Management, US Forest Service, State Department and the USDA. As President and Co-Founder of ISDI, he helps provide diversity and inclusion training sessions to Northwest Corporations including Nordstrom, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Port of Seattle, T-Mobile, Weyerhaeuser, Starbucks, Amazon, SAP-Concur, and others.
As Director of Capital Planning & Projects at Central Washington University, a division of its Office of Operations, Delano Palmer is responsible for directing the planning, coordination, and execution of major capital projects funded by the State. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Texas Tech University and a Master’s of Building Construction Management from Purdue University.
Susan Ralston is a senior marketing consultant working with Microsoft. She worked at Microsoft for 16 years, holding executive marketing positions focused in business development, product management, and enterprise marketing. Susan holds a Master of Communication – Digital Marketing from the University of Washington and an MBA from Georgia State University. She specializes in High-Tech & Digital Marketing, Cloud Business Development, Channel Management, Executive Communications, and General Management.
Originally from Taiwan, Damon Tsai spent over a decade in Thailand, where he volunteered for Habitat, and since 2007 has lived in Seattle. Once settled, Damon became active with Habitat SKC based on his experience and the value he knew Habitat provided to the community. Damon holds an Aeronautics and Astronautics degree from the University of Washington, and has been working in the aviation sector a design engineer for cabin interiors at Collins Aerospace. Damon also spent a year in Germany designing Airbus A350 oxygen systems.
Habitat’s board is responsible for establishing policy and guiding Habitat’s work to construct, rehabilitate, repair and improve housing throughout King County.
“I am excited to welcome these outstanding individuals to our board. Each one brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in areas that will support Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Delano and Susan’s work with Kittitas County Habitat for Humanity, with whom we just formed an important partnership, will also bring a diverse perspective to our expanding work in other areas of the state. We are grateful for their dedication and commitment to addressing affordable housing issues and we are honored to have their leadership.”
Brett D’Antonio, CEO of Habitat SKC