Team Members

Marissa Natkin
Webmaster/ Photographer
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Marissa Natkin, Historic Seattle's Webmaster and Photographer, began her relationship with Historic Seattle in 1995 as a volunteer. At that time, Historic Seattle's office was in Pioneer Square and there were just a few employees. Marissa's first assignment was to organize and identify several boxes of photos.

In the year that Historic Seattle launched it's first website, Marissa volunteered over 1000 hours to the task in addition to holding down her full-time job. Since that time, Marissa has worked with Historic Seattle to create four iterations of the site - the most recent with a shopping cart addition. In 2005, Marissa was proud to represent Historic Seattle as a speaker at Connecting for a Cause, an annual seminar for non-profit organizations.

"Volunteerism is a strong value for me and Historic Seattle is a wonderful place to volunteer. I have always felt so grateful for this organization and its leadership - the opportunites to engage and to grow here are numerous."

Marissa is a Seattle native with a real passion for her city's architecture and beauty. She graduated from Mills College in California where she majored in Fine Arts with Film/ Video emphasis.. Her post- graduate studies in drafting and computer technology led to a position as CAD drafter on large-scale construction projects - work which she very much enjoyed for sometime before returning to her first love of photography. Marissa is the owner of Marissa Natkin Photography & Design. She lives in Seattle with her family.

Alayne Porter
Graphic Designer/ Editor
Contact Alayne

Alayne's history with Historic Seattle stretches back to 1996 when she began volunteering for Historic Seattle and in 1998, she joined as a part-time staff member providing marketing and graphic design services. Now as a free-lance consultant, she provides writing, editing, and design services to a variety of clientele. Areas of specialty include architecture, urban planning, interior design and retail concerns. Current clientele include Historic Seattle for design and editing services, Cutter & Buck (2000-present), sportswear retailer for copywriting services, and the Book Club of Washington (2007-present), a non-profit organization promoting awareness of significant Washington books both current and historic for design and editing services.

Recent projects include designing, writing and editing publications including quarterly newsletters, annual reports, advertisements, tour brochures and other collateral materials; and providing graphic design, writing and editorial functions for web site content.

She has a bachelor's degree in Journalism with a concentration in advertising awarded from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Her previous experience includes copywriting for national retail organizations including Eddie Bauer, Seattle, WA; Nordstrom, Seattle, WA; Talbots, Boston, MA; I. Magnin, San Francisco, CA; and account administration at Janet Kafka & Associates, an international marketing firm, Dallas, TX.

Bruce Jones
35th Anniversary Chair

Bruce Jones and his wife Susan have been residents of the Queen Anne neighborhood since 2000, when they relocated to Seattle from Atlanta, Georgia. They love the older homes, the ability to walk to things, and Queen Anne's strong sense of neighborhood.

Bruce joined the Queen Anne Historical Society (QAHS) soon after they arrived, and plunged right in. He started a historic preservation committee, and in just two years the committee has grown into a vital part of the community, working handin- hand with Historic Seattle and other preservation groups to protect Queen Anne's built environment. He also manages the QAHS website, is a tireless historic photo researcher, and was part of the QAHS committee that created the neighborhood's Historical Marker Program to boost community awareness of the need to preserve older residences. He has served as the Society's president, and has worked hard to get the Society's archives in shape and accessible to researchers.

Bruce is from Southern California, and graduated from UCLA with a degree in mathematics. He was a pilot in the US Air Force for 7 years before working in sales for IBM, from which he retired in 2006.

Bruce has expanded his sphere of involvement by joining Historic Seattle, the National Trust, and the Washington State Historical Society. He's known as a skilled and exceptionally well organized project manager, widely recognized for his calm, level-headed ability to manage multiple priorities to a successful conclusion. It was these skills that made him the perfect match for becoming a Historic Seattle Project Lead Volunteer. He took on the oversight and organization of the Good Shepherd Center Centennial celebration that took place on Sunday, July 22nd.

We’ve now recruited Bruce Jones, recipient of the 2007 Outstanding Project Lead volunteer award, to be the Chairperson of Historic Seattle's 35th Anniversary planning committee. Bruce will work with a team of paid and volunteer staff to organize opportunities to celebrate our past successes and to plan for the next 35 years!

We're anticipating a great relationship with Bruce as a project lead volunteer. Hopefully this is just the beginning of good things to come with Bruce in charge. He leads with enthusiasm and the ability to motivate others.

Lynn Moore
Open to View (formerly Tea & Tour) Coordinator
Contact: (206) 365-9722

If you've ever been to a Historic Seattle Tea & Tour, attended the annual Bungalow Fair, or enjoyed a prepared lunch during our Landmarks Nomination Workshop; chances are you have met Lynn Moore. Lynn and his husband, Ron, have been members since 1994 and both began volunteering almost immediately. Lynn was recognized as the 2005 Volunteer of the Year and is our featured volunteer for this issue of Preservation News. She's one of those special volunteers who works quietly behind the scenes making sure all are well fed and feel comfortable.

In the spring of 2005 Lynn was approached to take on the task of Tea & Tour Coordinator for future Tea & Tour events. She graciously said yes and quickly began to take over the reins as if it was second nature. Her experience in the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority an international women's friendship network, and as a Tea & Tour docent provides her with the necessary skills and talent to know what's needed and how to get the tasks done to perfection. Lynn recruits the volunteer docents and brings all the "accoutrements" that are necessary to our noteworthy teas. She's the one in the kitchen with the apron and a smile. Her knowledge and organizational skills are very much appreciated.

Lynn has come to be known as 'Caterer Extraordinaire'. In addition to Tea & Tours, she has been the woman behind the food at many Historic Seattle events and gatherings. What you might not know about Lynn, and her husband Ron is that they are in the final stages of building their dream home on Camano Island.

Dan Lees
Chair, Arts & Crafts Guild
Contact: (425) 821-5321
dlees9@comcast.net