Regional Director’s Message

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Northwest team at NPH USA! We’ve kicked off 2016 with a lot of momentum, and are looking forward to another great year ahead, with your support!

We were excited to welcome twelve NPH International employees to Seattle in early January for a month-long leadership development program, hosted by NPH partner organization iLEAP. It is exciting to see NPH investing in the development of its staff and emerging leaders, and we were thrilled to get to know them during their time in Seattle. Click here to read more about these amazing NPH colleagues and our partnership with iLEAP.

Our regional Board of Directors held its annual retreat in January to plan for 2016 and build our community of ambassadors. An added bonus was having our Associate Board leadership and the NPH staff/iLEAP participants joining us for the day. We were also excited to introduce Mary Jo Bruckner as our new Board Chair, and we are thrilled to welcome new members Joanna Mummert, Ann Connolly, and Pat and Debbie McCormick to our Board. All are dedicated NPH supporters who bring tremendous passion for our mission and we look forward to another productive and fun year with all of our Board members.

We welcomed Fr. David Boettner, Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Knoxville, TN to Seattle for an NPH Sponsorship Weekend in January at partner parish Mary, Queen of Peace in Sammamish, WA. Fr. David is a longtime NPH supporter and child sponsor who has visited many of our homes. He generously traveled to Seattle to celebrate the Masses at MQP and shared the NPH story with parishoners there. Twenty MQP families signed up to sponsor one of our children, and an additional $3,700 was raised for NPH. We are so grateful to Fr. David for his support and to Fr. Kevin and the staff and NPH ambassadors at MQP for welcoming us and supporting our children!

Meanwhile, our spring is filled with fun and meaningful opportunities to get more involved with NPH. In just another week we’ll be “partying for a purpose” with our Associate Board for young professionals, which will host their third annual Carnaval for a Cause on February 27th. In March, we are excited to welcome Kenson Kaas from NPH Haiti as the keynote speaker for our Faces of Hope lunch in Bellevue (March 22) and cocktail party in Seattle (March 23). Kenson grew up at our home and is the Director of the Father Wasson Angels of Light program, which provides a home and education for hundreds of children who were displaced by the 2010 earthquake. Our Seattle Institute leadership students will be hosting and speaking at these events as well. Meanwhile, mark your calendars now and register to play in our second annual NW Golf Classic at Newcastle Golf Club on May 19th!

Finally, I invite you to travel to NPH Nicaragua with me and NPH Family Services Director Donna Egge, July 7-15 – you will meet the children, staff and volunteers at our home there and I promise it will be a transformational experience for all of us.

With gratitude,

Katie Hultquist

Northwest Regional Director