Washington Appleseed Board of Directors

David C. Tarshes, Board President
Davis Wright Tremaine

Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine. Dave Tarshes is a member of Davis Wright's Litigation Department, practicing in the Seattle office. His practice focuses on complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution. His civic involvement has included service on the boards of Leadership Tomorrow, the Municipal League of King County, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, Congregation Beth Shalom and the Duke Law School Alumni Association. He received his J.D., with distinction, from Duke University School of Law in 1981 and his B.S., with highest distinction, from Indiana University School of Business in 1978. He passed the Uniform CPA examination in 1978.

Alice Ostdiek, Board Vice President
Foster Pepper

Member, Foster Pepper PLLC. Alice Ostdiek is a partner in Foster Pepper's municipal law and public finance practice group, focusing on major infrastructure financings by governmental entities and by public-private partnerships, and advising local government entities on revenue sources and limitations. Before joining Foster Pepper in 2001, she served as a graduate research assistant with the Cascade Center for Public Service at the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs (1999-2001) and as a legal extern in the Office of Program Research in the Washington State House of Representatives (1998-99). Prior to that, she was the volunteer manager and a crisis counselor for Eastside Domestic Violence Program. Alice has served on the advisory board of the Immigrant Families Advocacy Project and has on multiple occasions authored amicus curiae briefs in coordination with the Northwest Women's Law Center. Alice received her J.D. and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington in 2001, and holds a B.A. from Grinnell College (1994).

Louie Wu, Board Treasurer
FTI Consulting

Louie Wu is a managing director in the forensic and litigation consulting practice of FTI Consulting. Mr. Wu has more than 14 years of professional experience performing forensic accounting assignments, fraud investigations, financial analyses and quantification of damages in commercial litigation settings. Mr. Wu has specific experience serving companies in the construction, insurance, software, wireless communications, healthcare, pharmaceutical and retail industries, as well as local and federal government agencies. He is also a member of FTI's Construction Solutions group and has extensive experience performing construction contract audits, cost analyses, claim analyses, project monitoring and project control reviews. Mr. Wu has a B.A. from the University of Washington (1994), is a certified public accountant, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is also actively involved in the finance ministry of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship and is a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow.

Michael Allen
Microsoft

Michael Allen is a Senior Attorney at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA.  He is part of Microsoft’s Regulatory Affairs team where he primarily works on environmental, corporate social responsibility, and supply chain issues.  Prior to Microsoft, Michael worked as the senior environmental, product safety, and OSHA lawyer for Sprint Nextel, a wireless telecommunications carrier. Michael was a government lawyer in the Clinton administration, where he worked in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Department of Justice, as well as the International Law Office of the Environmental Protection Agency. Michael also worked in the Washington, DC office of the law firms of K&L Gates and Anderson Kill & Olick.  Michael currently serves as Microsoft’s liaison to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. He is a member of the Legal Department’s Diversity Outreach Committee and the Diversity Awareness Committee.  Michael is Treasurer and Board Member of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, a non-profit legal advocacy organization for the poor. Michael received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the Executive Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal for Legal Ethics.  Michael received his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA., majoring in Political Science.

Fred P. Corbit
Northwest Justice Project

Mr. Corbit has practiced in the Pacific Northwest since 1980. He is presently practicing law in the Seattle office of the Northwest Justice Project (NJP). NJP provides civil legal services to persons of limited financial means. Prior to joining NJP in 2007, he was a shareholder in the national law firm of Heller Ehrman LLP and represented many companies and individuals in connection with issues related to the acquisitions and sales of businesses, creditor/debtor matters and business litigation. He is a frequent lecturer on legal matters and has published numerous articles in legal journals. Mr. Corbit received his undergraduate degree from University of Washington (B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1977) and his law degree from UCLA School of Law (J.D., 1980). He was a law clerk to the Honorable Kenneth S. Treadwell, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Washington and an extern to the Honorable Robert F. Utter, Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court.

Bart Freedman
K&L Gates

Partner, K&L Gates. Mr. Freedman's practice encompasses a broad range of environmental and business litigation in federal and state courts, as well as alternative dispute resolution. In the area of environmental law, his experience includes Endangered Species Act, natural resource damages, hazardous waste matters, cost recovery litigation under CERCLA, criminal defense of Clean Water Act enforcement, civil tort claims and regulatory matters. He has represented the Port of Seattle on issues including natural resource damage claims in the Duwamish Estuary and the impact of treaty fishing rights on the issuance of federal Section 404 permits for a major dock expansion project. His environmental practice includes natural resource damage litigation brought about by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Community leadership and professional honors include Super Lawyer 2000 and 2001, Washington Law & Politics; past chair, Seattle Metro YMCA Board of Management; graduate of Leadership Tomorrow. Mr. Freedman is a graduate of Carleton College (1977) and earned his J.D. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1982).

Barbara Frost
Seattle University School of Law

Ms. Frost is an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at the Seattle University School of Law and an Arbitrator for the King County Superior Court and American Arbitration Association. Her experience also includes settlement, mediation, arbitration or trial of civil cases including torts, workers compensation, land use and employment issues, and supervising other attorneys, paralegals, interns and legal assistants. Ms. Frost has served on numerous State and Local Bar Association committees including chairing the Judicial Evaluation Committee and has served on the board of the Seward Park Art Studio and Puget Sound Blood Center.

Ron Knox
Garvey, Schubert & Barer

Partner, Garvey Schubert Barer. Mr. Knox is a partner and practices labor and employment law with Garvery Schubert Barer. Previously, he served as attorney to the National Labor Relations Board (1983-1985) and was a partner at Williams, Kastner & Gibbs LLP (1994-1996). He has been a trustee of the King County Bar Association, a member of the Loren Miller Bar Association and serves as an advocate in the King County Superior Court's Special Advocate Program. He has been active in the community, serving on the boards of the Epilepsy Association of Western Washington, Habitat for Humanity and Provail (aka United Cerebral Palsy of King and Snohomish Counties). He received his J.D. from Willamette University in 1981.

Bob Mahler
Dorsey & Whitney

Bob Mahler is a partner in the Trial Department of Dorsey & Whitney.  Bob's practice emphasizes white-collar criminal defense, corporate internal investigations, regulatory defense, and complex civil litigation.  He is a past recipient of the Human Rights Award presented by the Seattle Chapter of the United Nations Association.  Before moving to Seattle, Bob was the founding Executive Director of the North Carolina Death Penalty Resource Center, an organization created to provide legal representation for inmates on North Carolina’s death row, and in that capacity participated as counsel in a case before the Supreme Court of the United States that resulted in reversing the death sentences of over 90 individuals in North Carolina. His civic activities have included membership on the Board of Trustees of the Seattle Girls School and the Advisory Board of the Washington Death Penalty Assistance Center.

Michael Pierson
Riddell Williams

Principal, Riddell Williams P.S. Mike's practice focuses on commercial and complex litigation. He has handled a wide variety of litigation matters, including contract, partnership, securities, unfair competition, environmental and land use, healthcare, fisheries, antitrust, real estate, personal injury, bankruptcy and construction disputes. He is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), and has been a NITA faculty member. Mike has also provided pro bono legal representation to a variety of individuals and nonprofit organizations, including handling a successful Growth Management Act case before the Washington Supreme Court in 2005. Prior to joining Riddell Williams in 1985, Mike was a law clerk for the Honorable James A. Redden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Mike has been actively involved with a number of community groups. He is currently on the board of trustees of the Alpine Lakes Protection Society. He holds a B.A. from the University of Oregon and was a Fulbright Scholar to West Germany in 1978-79. He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude.

Sumeer Singla
Seattle City Attorney's Office

Originally from India, Sumeer moved to a small immigrant town in Eastern Washington when he was 12 years old. He received his undergraduate degree from Washington State University and is a 2002 University of Washington School of Law graduate. He is currently the policy director for the Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus.  Sumeer has also served as a senior consultant of Washington State Government Relations for Verizon Communications. After law school, Sumeer clerked for the Honorable Judge Elaine Houghton, Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II and worked as a deputy prosecutor for King County for three years.

Bob Wagner
MRW Advisory

Bob Wagner is a Founding Member of MRW Advisory, LLC, a Seattle litigation support and management advisory firm. For the past 17 years, Bob has assisted clients in complex commercial litigation assignments, as well as numerous forensic accounting investigations. Bob has served clients related to many industries, including real estate, financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications. Formerly, Bob was an auditor for an international public accounting firm, as well as controller and financial officer for two privately held companies. Bob is a 1983 high honors graduate from Seattle University with a Business Administration and Accounting degree. He is an inactive Certified Public Accountant in Washington.

Board Alumni

Deborah Eddy, elected official

Judy Endejan, Graham & Dunn

Mari Horita, Major, Lindsey & Africa

Robert Kaplan, Dorsey & Whitney

Paula Littlewood, Washington State Bar Association

Sharon Nelson, Retired Attorney

Vanessa Soriano Power, Stoel Rives

Suzanne Skinner, Center for Environmental Law and Policy

Dana Rasmussen, Retired Attorney