Tracy Botsford
President
Tracy Botsford is a native of Seattle and attended WSU. After working for over 25 years in the tech industry, Tracy retired from Microsoft and completed the Environmental Horticulture program at Lake Washington Technical College. This spawned a second career as garden coach and landscape designer. Tracy joined the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society as a docent in 2017 and has lead the docent community the past two years. When not in the garden, you’ll find Tracy traveling with her husband, Chuck, and son, Charlie, spending time with family and friends, cooking, reading, walking, playing sports, and cheering on her favorite sports teams.
To Be Announced
Vice President
Sara Hutton
Treasurer
Sara Hutton was born and raised in Northwest Indiana, but decided to head out west to go to school. She got her B.B.A. in Accounting and M.S. in Taxation from Gonzaga University, and then went on to get her CPA license. She currently works at Moss Adams as a tax senior. She moved to Western Washington during the pandemic, and frequented the Garden a lot during her free time when everything else was closed.
Genevieve Macdonald
Secretary
Genevieve Macdonald is an avid houseplant parent with a love for jungle plants. Originally from the Midwest, Genevieve has been living in the Seattle area for over a decade. An accounting graduate from UW, Genevieve is currently working as a CPA at a local Bellevue firm preparing tax returns. She joined the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society in 2021 and is happy to be helping the gardens.
Kathryn Carlson
Kathryn Carlson is an omnichannel product leader with over 10 years’ experience at Amazon. She has a BA in Business Administration from Seattle Pacific University. She is a native of Kirkland, where she still lives today with her husband, Tim, and miniature goldendoodle, Mr. Darcy. She is an avid gardener and particularly loves growing dahlias and English roses, and is passionate about sharing her hobby with others. She also enjoys traveling, reading, and baking.
Charles Freedenberg
Charles Freedenberg has a marketing degree from the University of Illinois and a J.D. degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. For more than six years, he was an attorney in the IRS estate tax division, and went on to an 18-year career in commercial real estate. Charles retired in 1996 and taught himself how to program interactive financial calculators for the web. In 2006, Charles was recruited by Microsoft to write the algorithms for their financial calculators. In addition to his board work, Charles serves on the finance committee. In his free time, he enjoys reading, photography, and playing jazz guitar.
Robin Root James
Robin Root James is as local as it gets. She was born at Overlake Hospital, was schooled through the Bellevue School District, and graduated cum laude from Seattle University. She has worked full-time selling real estate here successfully since 1989. She has served the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society since 1995, first volunteering as a docent and later becoming one of our Co-Presidents, serving numerous terms. Robin also volunteers for the Village Theater where she has been an usher since 1996. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, the arts, water and snow skiing and flying with her husband Larry.
Yasmin Karimli
Yasmin is a technology and operations executive with T-Mobile USA. She has a history of delivering exceptional results, driving innovation and profitability, and spearheading transformation efforts in the cybersecurity, wireless, IT, and telecom industries. Yasmin excels at building effective partnerships worldwide and inspiring teams to produce industry solutions. Throughout her career, she has established a reputation for building positive cultures that emphasize teamwork, innovation, success, staff retention, and diversity. In addition to technology, Yasmin is passionate about the environment, advocacy for nature, conservation, education and community involvement.
Tere Kaulfus
Tere Kaulfus grew up in Houston, Texas. She has also lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts, before settling in the Pacific Northwest in 2014. A mother of three, Tere retired from her work as a physical therapist to devote more time to her kids, as well as assume leadership roles in various organizations. In 2020, she joined the Board of Directors of the Northwest Perennial Alliance, where she is currently serving as President. Tere loves volunteering at BBG, where she trained as a docent, leads the volunteer team at the NPA Perennial Border, and manages the NPA Plant Stand. Additionally, she enjoys working in her home garden, touring NPA Open Gardens and public gardens, creating delicious vegan food, and traveling & relaxing with friends and her husband, Daniel.
Sielen Namdar
Sielen Namdar is an Industry executive with 24 years of experience in infrastructure, digital transformation, and sustainability. She is currently Cisco’s Global Head of Sustainability for Industries, and prior to that she was the Smart Cities Co-founder at Jacobs. She brings extensive board experience and currently serves as a board director for Parametrix, and is also a board member for Seattle Leadership Tomorrow. She was a board member for Smart Water Networks Forum and received the Outstanding Leadership Award while there. Sielen and her family have been Bellevue residents for 17 years and have been enjoying the botanical garden as Wilburton neighbors.
Jane Ramsay
A Seattle native, Jane graduated from WSU and her first job was as a merchandising trainee at Frederick and Nelson. Her later career path was as a secretary at many organizations – lastly as Corporate Secretary to the president and board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle. After retiring, Jane began volunteering at the Trillium Store, which led to becoming a docent and now a member of the BBGS Board.
Kathleen Searcy
Kathleen Searcy was raised in the Yakima Valley, where her family operated a fruit production and brokerage business. She earned a BA in Political Science, an MA in Administration, and various Washington state credentials to become both an elementary and secondary school principal in Seattle. Kathleen served as director of human resources for the Renton School District where she was responsible for employment and employee issues, collective bargaining, and grievance management. Later, she became the vice president of Renton Technical College, a position she held until retiring. As an enthusiastic world traveler, Kathleen continued an interest in antiques and collectibles, opening a Bellevue store offering inventory collected locally and abroad.
Elaine Woo
Elaine grew up in Yakima, surrounded by those who loved the natural world. She taught elementary school in various places, including Seattle Public Schools. As Head Teacher, Principal, and District Program Manager, she collaborated with parents, and then with district staff, leading scientists, and university science educators. She secured national, regional, and local funding to bring systemic change to how K-5 teachers could access high quality professional development and materials to teach inquiry-based science. The 16-year program earned the KCTS Golden Apple Award in 2001. Elaine likes to snow ski, garden, hike, walk, and participate in the arts.
Carolyn Yuen
Carolyn Yuen is a finance professional, with a background in the arts, investment banking, and retail. She studied Economics and Art History at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and received an MBA in Corporate Finance and Sustainable Enterprise from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill, NC. Her current role at Amazon brought her to Bellevue after living and working in New York City for over 15 years, while her interests in the outdoors, floral design and sustainability led her to join the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society as a board member. She enjoys trying new recipes, reading, and traveling to art fairs around the world.
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