Our Team

Rich joined Microsoft in 1990 as a Senior Architectural Consultant, making sure enterprise requirements were built into Microsoft products from the beginning. In 2023, he retired after 33 years leading many different teams and organizations, including CVP roles for Microsoft Security & Privacy, Customer Experience, and TechNet. Much of his work was about community and bringing people together to solve problems. As Board President, he continues focusing on community and aims encouraging alumni in their post-Microsoft pursuits in any way he can. Outside of these experiences, Rich and his wife, Karmann, are deeply involved with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s research.

Dawn Trudeau spent over 20 years in the software industry and 14 years at Microsoft, where she led divisions in database and development tools as well as consumer products. For the past 10+ years, she has leveraged her skills to work with emerging nonprofits and build organizational capacity and sustainability. Dawn is passionately involved in women’s basketball, acting as a chairperson of the Women’s Basketball Club of Seattle, Seattle Storm Foundation, and Force 10 Hoops LLC. She also chairs the Board of the Economic Opportunity Institute, is a member of the University of Washington Women's Center Advisory Board and serves on the Board of Social Venture Partners International.

Mike was born and raised in Colstrip, Montana to a son of a coal miner and a waitress. With a strong desire to learn and see the world, he set off for his first trip beyond the borders of Montana in 1991 after graduating from Montana State University. He started at Microsoft in 1992 in finance and worked through several different roles as he focused in on Microsoft’s digital transformation, selling direct consumption-based services from Live Meeting to O365. After 27 years, he left Microsoft in 2022 as the Partner GM of Operations where he focused on digital safety from content moderation to corruption and fraud detection.

Marylou’s experience and expertise includes leadership roles in marketing, event and project management, technology, and the nonprofit sector. She began her career in advertising, which was followed by 11 years in marketing at Microsoft. After taking a short break to “launch” two children and focus on nonprofit work, Marylou returned to the technology industry to lead the Microsoft Alumni Network and Foundation from 2010 – 2018. She then joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation working as a senior program officer on the Philanthropic Partnerships team. Currently, Marylou is consulting for events and, technology planning and implementation, and other projects that need wrangling.

Akhtar was Senior Director of Citizenship and Public Affairs for Microsoft, where he led its global philanthropic efforts, global community investment and employee programs. Akhtar also managed Microsoft YouthSpark and the Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program (CTSP). Prior to joining Microsoft, Akhtar was the CEO and President of Digital Partners Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to leverage the digital economy to benefit the poor. An active advocate for the global community, Akhtar now serves as a board member of Telecentre.org and, the Council on Foundations.

Rowland is CEO of The HMC Company. Prior to consulting, he was Vice President of Corporate Communications at Microsoft, where he created and executed the company's highly- acclaimed branding strategy, which included the market introduction of Microsoft's most popular product—a graphical interface that he named "Windows." Several books published on the history of Microsoft document the strategies executed that led to the success of the Microsoft and Windows brands. Rowland dedicates a portion of his time and talent to connect the Alumni Network with strategic partners that help drive business and philanthropy efforts.

Chuck Hirsch co-led the development and launch of Microsoft's Actimates® product line, which revolutionized the interactive toy and early learning markets. Chuck went on to co-found Dare to Dream Intertainment, which was acquired by Microsoft, before becoming the Founding Partner of MHz International Group. Chuck’s longstanding commitment to helping the community started when he served three years as Chief of Staff of the Port Authority in New York and New Jersey. As Executive VP of the Amelior Foundation, he promoted volunteerism and launched numerous foundations around the east coast, including Michael Jackson’s Heal the World Foundation.

Kathleen joined Microsoft in 2003, beginning a long and fulfilling journey with the company. Before transitioning to her current role as Chief People Officer & EVP, Human Resources, Kathleen was Corporate VP of Microsoft Services, a team dedicated to helping businesses and consumers maximize the value of their investment in Microsoft technologies. Kathleen has also served as Corporate VP of Customer Service and Support. Kathleen contributes her personal and business perspective to the board of directors for the Puget Sound affiliate of Susan B. Komen for the Cure and the Technology Services Industry Association.

Ankur has been a leader, product visionary and innovator in the enterprise software industry for more than 15 years. He started at Microsoft as a US and EMEA Architect for Exchange, and in 2008 moved to Redmond working Microsoft Office Division product management until 2014. As an entrepreneur and technologist, he went on to found Olive + Goose, a technology and consulting services firm, where he currently serves as President. His company offers services to Microsoft as well as to organizations of all sizes that wish to leverage Microsoft technology. Ankur has a passion for technology and a long history in technology expertise and business growth.

Tameka McNair was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her journey as the “first” of her family for many milestones and so often the “only” African American woman engineer in a corporate setting has had an indelible effect on her life philosophy, career aspirations, and personal mission – to empower every person to find their purpose and be their best self. Tameka is anHR Director for the VivaHR Employee Experiences at Microsoft. She draws from her professional experience in a variety of industries, such as energy, retail, and manufacturing. She is passionate about helping youth, and mentors those in unrepresented communities on how to pursue STEM careers.

RJ Naugle has spent his entire career, after his military services as a post 9/11 Army paratrooper, being an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and corporate executive in roles ranging from the Microsoft governance risk & compliance officer and Microsoft military recruiting lead, KPMG information protection manager, Starbucks foundation program lead, and co-founder of REVTech, a national professional IT services firm. Throughout RJ’s career roles, the theme of being purpose-driven is prominent and is most evident in his passion for serving underserved communities through technology enablement such as military veterans, and people experiencing homelessness.

Eddie Pate has more than 23 years of experience working across all industries, transforming communities and business in the realm of inclusion and diversity. Among the companies that Eddie has helped are Amazon, Avanade, Starbucks, and Microsoft, where he was a diversity manager for the Enterprise and Partner Group before becoming a director in the Global Diversity & Inclusion team, responsible for implementing Microsoft’s global diversity initiatives. Today, Eddie is founder and chief inclusion, diversity & equity officer at Eddie Pate Speaking & Consulting where he continues to help leadership in organizations be intentional in their approach to ID&E.

David Pryor was born into an Arkansas political family and has a lifetime of political and campaign experience, which has shaped his life and career. He was at Microsoft for 13 years as the director of Federal Government Affairs, initially managing relationships with Senate Democrats and later managing Microsoft’s third-party advocacy entity, Voices for Innovation. Previously, David was director of federal government affairs with FedEd Corp., deputy chief of protocol with the U.S. Department of State, worked on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign advance staff and in various public relations roles political campaigns, conventions, and inaugural activities.

Paul Sausville currently runs a management consulting practice focused on helping clients expand their business by developing new strategies and business plans. From his experience at Microsoft, AT&T, NCR and other companies, Paul has a strong focus on understanding customer needs, coupled with a demonstrated track record of developing strategic plans and delivering results. Paul worked with the Microsoft Alumni Network as a consultant in 2014 and has also helped with adding and updating pricing for Alumni Network benefits including Office 365 and Passport.

Brad Smith joined Microsoft in 1993 in Paris, heading up the European Legal and Corporate Affairs Group. He moved to Redmond in 1996, taking on international responsibility for the Legal and Corporate Affairs Group. Today, Brad is Microsoft’s Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer. Brad has championed Microsoft’s global philanthropic activities, establishing them worldwide. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the board for Washington STEM, on the board of directors for Washington Roundtable and also serves on several other committees. In 2010, Brad and his wife, Kathy co-chaired the annual campaign for the United Way of King County.

As the senior director and chief of staff of HR Services & Digital Employee Experiences at Microsoft, Amy orchestrates a team that is committed to creating and delivering exceptional employee experiences that empower our people to achieve more. With more than 30 years of experience in the computer software industry, Amy has developed a deep expertise in employee, customer, and user experience, as well as a variety of other areas including education, business management, strategic planning, operations, customer support, and marketing strategy. Her mission is to make moments matter for employees, and to foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and growth.

Chaitra is an influential business leader with a passion to enable digital equity and access to achieve economic prosperity in our communities Following her time at Microsoft as a leader in global sales and marketing, she co-founded Meylah, focused on helping customers to modernize their business with cloud solutions, as well as co-founded Women in Cloud. In addition, Chaitra sits on many boards and drives global conversations with the United Nations and top corporations throughout the U.S. Using the power of AI, Cloud, and IoT, Chaitra Is fiercely committed to empowering business owners to access the digital economy.

While at Microsoft from 1985-2012, Dee Dee was a leader in business development and developer marketing. For the decade following, she was VP of marketing and business development at Mobilize.Net, a Bellevue, WA-based automated migration technology company. In February 2023, Dee Dee and her cohort sold the company to Snowflake and its Application Migration Unit to Growth Acceleration Partners, where she is now the head of business development and developer marketing. Dee Dee has spent her career in technology and has a long list of businesses and products that she launched including Microsoft Store, and many versions of Microsoft developer tools including Visual Studio.