Staff

Nick MacPhee, Managing Director

nmacphee at lairdnorton dot org or 206.501.4514

Background: ten years in the non-profit sector, following twenty years in business.  In my last private sector job I led an organization with 1,500 people and operations around the world, which proved to be great training for a large, extended family foundation where the family are volunteer staff!

Where you direct your passion and spend your time outside of work: family first (wife and 2 boys - one at Pomona College and one at the University of Colorado - Boulder), then cycling.  Besides bike commuting to work almost every day, I do a lot of long distance riding.  My big 3 events are: STP (Seattle to Portland) - 204 miles in 11 hours;  RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier) - 150 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing in 9 hours; and High Pass Challenge (Mt. St. Helens) 124 miles and 8,000 feet of climbing in 6 1/2 hours.

What you did on your last vacation: it's all about Ultimate Frisbee - we spend most of our vacation time these days traveling to my two son's tournaments.

Birth order and number of siblings: oldest of 6 kids - 2 boys at bookends - all girls in between. 

Favorite destination: our place at Decatur Island in the San Juan Islands.

Favorite thing(s): Strong coffee and a newspaper (Financial Times) or magazine (The Economist) with the dogs curled up at my feet.  Meeting the boys at the airport. 

Katie Briggs, Program Officer and Operations Manager

kbriggs at lairdnorton dot org or 206.501.4510

Where you direct your passion and spend your time outside of work:  Cooking, gardening, spending time with my husband and crazy dog, reading, being outside - biking, kayaking, backpacking, picking berries or mushrooms, digging clams, fishing, spending time at the coast...I'm so glad I live in Washington!

What you did on your last vacation: My last real vacation was honeymooning in La Paz, Mexico in 2008 - eating tacos, fishing, snorkeling, and enjoying the sunshine with my new husband.  It's a lot warmer in Mexico in April than it is in Seattle!  My last mini-vacation was backpacking on the Washington coast with friends.

Birth order and number of siblings: Oldest (and bossiest) of three.  

Favorite destination: Really hard to choose.  The places I've loved the most have been the places with the best food and the best markets.  And I love the ocean, particularly the Pacific Coast.  

Favorite thing(s): Sunshine.

Thank you to the Meyer Memorial Trust for inspiring us to approach our staff bios with humor and humanity.