Gordon Nygard

Assistant Vice President for University Advancement

Seattle Pacific University 

Vice President and Treasurer

Seattle Pacific Foundation 
206-281-2308
gnygard@spu.edu
Gordon serves as vice president, treasurer, and chief investment officer of the Seattle Pacific Foundation, which he joined in 1988 after a successful administrative career in banking. He has earned both a B.A. in business administration and economics (1973) and an M.B.A. (2005) from Seattle Pacific. In addition, Gordon serves as president of the Seattle Pacific Gift Fund, assistant vice president for endowment and gift planning for SPU, and he sits on the executive advisory committee of SPU’s School of Business and Economics where he is an adjunct instructor in finance.

Ashley Barrett
Administrative Assistant
206-281-2131
barrea1@spu.edu
Ashley earned her B.A. in English the Spring of 2006 and joined the University Advancement team permanently in January of 2007. During her time as a student, Ashley supported both the Office of Annual Giving and the Office of Advancement Services which has made the transition into the Administrative Assistant role seamless. 

Doug Bickerstaff
Senior Gift Officer
206-281-2250
dbickerstaff@spu.edu
Doug graduated from Cascade College in Portland, OR with a B.A. in Social Science and from Multnomah Bible College in Portland, OR with a B.A. in Biblical Literature. For three of his college years, he worked as a radio announcer and remained in the field for the next fifteen years, progressing from Assistant Manager in Spokane, WA to Manager of WCRF FM in Cleveland, OH, all with the Moody Broadcasting Network.  His career has also included sales and account management. This diversity of experience equipped him well to serve at SPU in the Office of University Advancement for the last seven years with a recent promotion to the Office of Corporate, Foundation and Major Gifts.

Katie Binz
University Fund Manager
206-281-2690
binzk1@spu.edu
Katie has been working in higher education since 2003. She came to Seattle Pacific University in 2008 after serving five years as California Lutheran University’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator. Now serving as SPU’s University Fund Manager, Katie has the responsibility of managing The Falcon Investment Team (SPU’s student calling team) and assisting in the implementation of direct mail and email campaigns. She earned her B.A. in Marketing Communication from California Lutheran University in 2002 and in 2005 she became a certified specialist in Marketing and Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations. Prior to starting her career in higher education she worked at a small advertising agency in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Dean Carrell
Director of Development - Major Gifts
206-281-2083
carrell@spu.edu
Dean joined the Gift Planning team in September 2006 as a gift planning specialist. Prior to that he served Seattle Pacific University for 7 years as their Annual Giving Director. He is a 1987 SPU alumnus, earning his B.A. in political science, and he brings 16 years of fundraising experience from previous positions with The Bush School, Oregon Episcopal School, United Way of King County, and United Way of Pierce County.

Melissa Eller
Administrative Assistant
206-281-2993
ellerm@spu.edu
Melissa joined the gift planning team in May of 2008 as an administrative assistant. She earned her B.A. in communications from the University of Washington and came to SPU from World Concern, where she served as the child sponsorship coordinator. Melissa supports our gift planning specialists in their work related to endowments, charitable remainder trusts, and gift annuities.

Laura Lundahl
Assistant Director - Grants
206-281-2589
lundahl@spu.edu
Laura has been working in the nonprofit industry since 1997. She has experience writing winning grant proposals, teaching the fund development process, and reviewing and scoring applications for private and federal funding, both an employee and as a consultant in Washington, Iowa, California, and DC.  Currently, Laura serves as the lead academic and advancement grant writer at Seattle Pacific University.  Laura is active in her local church, and volunteers as a grant-writing coach for a local nonprofit.

Kathryn Mier
Administrative Assistant
206-281-2711
mierk@spu.edu
Kathryn earned her B.A. from Northwest Nazarene University and joined the Corporate, Foundation and Major Gifts team in April 2002. After graduating from college, Kathryn spent over two years traveling the world ministering with a music organization that grew out of Youth for Christ. During this time she led teams into six countries and across the US. While settling back in the Seattle area, Kathryn worked with Interdev (an international ministry) in the financial development department for two years. She has also done consulting work for various local non-profits. Currently, Kathryn is actively serving on two boards, Seattle First Church of the Nazarene, and Mosaic Community Coffeehouse.   

Mark Miles
Director Annual Giving and Advancement Services
206-281-2631
mmiles@spu.edu
Mark joined SPU in 2000 after spending eleven years with World Vision in Planning and Budget, and Domestic Programs.  He received a B.S. in Business from Biola and an M.B.A. from California State University, Long Beach.

Kristi Nelson
Senior Gift Officer
206-281-2313
knelson@spu.edu
Kristi joined the gift planning team in July of 2008 as a gift planning specialist. She has been with Seattle Pacific University since 2002, having served as the University Fund manager for Annual Giving, and as an undergraduate admissions counselor and representative for the University for five years prior to that. Kristi has earned a B.A. in Christian theology (2002) and an M.B.A. (2008) from Seattle Pacific.

Nancy Rock
Computer Services Manager II
206-281-2951
nrock@spu.edu
Nancy is a California transplant who joined the University Advancement team when she moved to Washington in 1980.  She's currently the Computer Services Manager within Advancement Services.  She has also served in various other positions in University Advancement.

Marlon Sandlin
Director of Development - Gift Planning
206-281-2257
msandlin@spu.edu
Marlon earned his B.A. from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975 and M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1979, and is a licensed as a certified financial planner.  He has served Seattle Pacific University since 2001. He has over 28 years of gift planning and development experience, including previous years of service at World Vision, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Compassion International, and Fuller Seminary.

 

Doug Taylor ‘87
Senior Gift Officer
206-281-2448
dtaylor@spu.edu
Doug earned his B.A. from Seattle Pacific in 1987 and has been the Alumni Director at Seattle Pacific University since 1996. Prior to being at SPU, Doug worked for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, ran a small manufacturing plant with 50 employees and sold medical/surgical supplies. Doug and his wife Jean have been married since 1992 and have three young children.