Staff
Heyward Watson
Chief Executive Officer
Heyward Watson joined Impact Capital in August 2006. He is the former Director of the Fannie Mae Washington State Partnership Office, where he was responsible for customer relations, community lending/community relations, and government relations under the company’s Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Mr. Watson was the Director of Homeownership Programs for the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. He was responsible for policy and program development, as well as mortgage revenue bond issuance and program administration. Mr. Watson has over 26 years in the mortgage banking industry, including positions from loan officer to Vice President in charge of construction lending. Mr. Watson is a graduate of the University of Washington with a B.A. in Sociology, and received his Masters of Science in Business Management from Antioch University. He has participated in several executive management courses over the years including an Executive Management course held at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Tess Colby
Chief Program Officer
Ms. Colby came to Impact Capital in October, 2006. Prior to that she was the Development Director at the Tacoma Housing Authority, where she was responsible for the oversight of the Authority's modernization grants and contracts, the development of new affordable housing, and the $35 million HOPE VI grant awarded to THA for the redevelopment of the 180 acre Salishan community. Prior to joining the Authority, Ms. Colby managed the affordable housing lending activities for Bank of America in Southern California, where she oversaw the production of more than $125 million in real estate loans. In that capacity, Ms. Colby managed lending to residential projects that used a variety of federal and state funds, including federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Tax Exempt Bonds. Before taking the position at the bank, she worked as a legislative analyst for a member of the San Diego City Council, preparing briefs on land use policy, housing policy and the City's budget. Ms Colby's first job out of graduate school was as a land use planner for the County of San Diego. In that capacity, she reviewed proposed land use projects for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the County's General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance. Ms Colby has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master's Degree in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Andrea John-Smith
Fund Development & Communications Officer
Ms. John-Smith came to Impact Capital in 2007. Prior to that, she ran Andrea John-Smith Consulting, providing fundraising, marketing and strategic business counsel to nonprofit organizations in Seattle. Her clients included seven Seattle-based community development corporations. Prior to this, she served as the Director of Community Campaigns at the United Way of King County where she was responsible for workplace campaigns which generated more than $65 million in designated and unrestricted contributions annually. At the Salvation Army’s Northwest Divisional Headquarters, she served as Capital Campaign Manager and Director of Volunteers. Ms John-Smith’s first fundraising position in Washington State was with the Cascade Center for Public Service, at the University of Washington’s Graduate School of Public Affairs where she served as the project manager for a major public policy and management on-line curriculum service. A strong community development advocate, Ms. John-Smith was the revitalization consultant to Columbia City Revitalization Committee in Seattle's Rainier Valley where she remains an active volunteer. A graduate of University of California at Berkeley, she majored in Humanities with an emphasis in music and rhetoric. After graduation, she spent most of her twenties as a working jazz vocalist until moving with her husband to Seattle in 1992.
Yolande Hargraves
Program Assistant - Contracts
Yolande came to Impact Capital in 1991, from the Planning Department of the Seattle Housing Authority, where she worked in grants administration. Prior to that, she worked as a system's analyst in the operations department at SeaFirst (now Bank of America), and with the Erwin Dow Insurance Brokerage in ratings and claims. Yo grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and attended Whitworth College, where she majored in psychology.
Jonathan Clarke
Program Officer - Lending
Jon joined Impact Capital in January of 2007. Prior to joining Impact Capital, Jon was a housing developer for Beacon Development Group and an analyst for the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. He has a BA in Economics from Holy Cross and a MS in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin.
Ingrid Martin
Senior Finance Officer
Ingrid is responsible for accounting functions including processing accounts receivable and payable and general ledger maintenance. Prior to joining Impact Capital she held financial positions with two Japan related membership based nonprofits and an international bank. Ingrid also served as a caseworker aide with the Department of Family and Children’s Services and has held various positions on boards and committees concerned with education and child development. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Art Education.
Tracy Reich
Program Officer - Capacity
Tracy works with organizations receiving operating support from the Statewide Capacity Building Initiative. Prior to joining Impact Capital, Tracy had been executive director of two downtown revitalization programs in Washington state and city staff for a downtown historic district in Arizona. She is a Certified Main Street Manager through the National Main Street Center, part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Tracy is actively involved with the University of Montana and is a Emeriti Member of the University Alumni Association. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Montana in Missoula and her Master’s in Public Administration from Eastern Washington University in Cheney/Spokane.
Terri Symbol
Program Officer - Lending
Terri has been with Impact Capital for over six years and provides loan underwriting and assists with capacity building activities for the nonprofit developers in Eastern Washington. Born and raised in Eastern Washington, Terri is familiar with the unique challenges that rural communities face in bringing affordable housing and economic development to their communities. Before coming to Impact Capital, Terri worked for a special needs housing development organization providing affordable, long-term housing solutions for the developmentally disabled. As fiscal director and assistant to the development director, she helped the agency
develop multifamily rental projects and a single family homeownership program. Prior to joining the community development field, Terri worked for an accounting firm. She received her Business Degree from the University of Washington and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Julie Alexander
Bookkeeper
Julie is responsible for day to day bookkeeping activity. She monitors the receivables and payables. Julie has over a decade of experience in non-profit bookkeeping including Community Coalition for Environmental Justice and Artist Trust. She is an artist who paints large grids in oil on canvas whenever possible. Two of her paintings can be seen at the Seattle office. She has two young daughters, Sophie and Jemma, who keep her as busy as they can.
Keith Freudenberger
Office Manager
Jennifer LaBrecque
Program Officer - Capacity
Laurie Olson
Program Officer
Michelle Yu
Accounting Clerk
Elsa Natal
Associate Program Officer