Board Biographies

Marilyn Spotswood - President

Marilyn and her family have been residents of the Ravenna neighborhood for over 20 years. Marilyn spent her professional career researching community-based health care programs and as a project manager for various software companies in Seattle and Bellevue. She has been an active volunteer in her community for the last ten years. Marilyn served on several committees and led major fundraising activities for Bryant Elementary and Billings Middle School. She has served on the Board of Directors for Northeast Seattle Together (NEST) for the last 3 years, serving as President since 2016.

John Stewart- Vice President

John is a Seattle native and has lived in the Ravenna Bryant neighborhood for over 40 years and studied art and architecture at the University of Washington. He has contributed to this community on the board of the Happy Medium School (an alternative preschool), coaching baseball for the NE Little League and youth soccer programs and volunteer support for the jazz bands at Eckstein Middle School and Roosevelt High School. He is currently the president of the local Ravenna Emergency Preparedness committee. He has been a Seattle Art Museum volunteer since 2013 working exclusively for the Gardener Center for Asian Art and Ideas and its Saturday University Lecture Series. John’s professional career spans 35 years as a business consultant and project manager in custom architectural residential and commercial construction and 15 years as a real estate broker licensed under Coldwell Banker Bain. He participates in a number of trade organizations.

Dana Standish – Secretary

Dana is a retired freelance writer and editor. In addition to writing for numerous newspapers and magazines, she worked for many years in non-profits: as administrative assistant for the Hazel Wolf High School (now the Seattle Waldorf High School); editor and publications coordinator for Richard Hugo House; and as a grant writer for Northwest Film Forum.

Judy Bendich – Treasurer

Judith (Judy) Bendich and her husband (Arnie) came to Seattle at the end of 1965. After a one-year stint in Michigan in 1970, they returned with their then 1-1/2-year old son and lived for 20 years just on the east side of Ravenna Park. They then moved all of five blocks to the west side of Ravenna Park, where they now live - for the past 27 years. Judy’s first engagement with the City of Seattle came in the early 70s when the City wanted to crisscross the City with freeways that would destroy Seattle neighborhoods and the Arboretum. She joined Citizens Against the RH Thompson and became Vice President of the Ravenna Bryant Community Association. That indirectly led her to law school at the University of Washington. After graduation in 1975, Judy started up her law firm, Bendich, Stobaugh & Strong, P.C., with two other UW law School grads. She retired from the firm, about nine years ago, but she is an active member of the Washington Bar. Over the years Judy has served on several non-profit organization boards.

Larry E Johnson, AIA – Member at Large

Larry is a Seattle native and is committed preserving this region's cultural heritage. He has a diverse background in community and regional planning, residential and commercial architecture, and historic preservation, as well as a continuing interest in architectural and maritime history. He established The Johnson Partnership in 1979, and in addition to providing professional architectural services, Larry has consulted on historic evaluation and preservation projects ranging from local to national importance. He has provided a wide variety of historical services for both public and private clients, including preparing Section 106 analyses, numerous landmark nominations, National Historic Register nominations, as well as documentation for historic structures. He is active in various national, regional, and local preservation organizations. Larry has previously served as past Chair for the Seattle Chapter AIA Historic Resources Committee, past Chair of the Ballard Avenue Historic District, Council Member for Historic Seattle, Trustee for The Northwest School, and as Board member for the Virginia V Foundation and Swedish Cultural Center.

Lani Johnson - Member at Large

Lani Johnson strives for responsible interaction with our natural and cultural environment in everything from major projects to details of daily life. She grew up in Hawaii, moved to Seattle in 1968, and earned her Master’s in Architecture from the University of Washington. Lani began providing environmental planning consulting services in 1974, managed The Johnson Partnership's planning projects and SEPA/NEPA environmental evaluations between 1982 and 2007, and continued as The Johnson Partnership’s business manager through 2018. In addition to her professional work and other volunteer activities, Lani provided many years of volunteer service for Roosevelt neighborhood land use activities, including serving as a past Land Use Chair and a past Vice President of the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association. She also served on the School Design Team (Design Review), Site Council, and Land Use Departure Committee for Roosevelt High School. She lives in the Ravenna-Cowen North National Historic District and is proud to have contributed her time to its successful nomination.

V. J. Sood - Member at Large

After graduating from Delhi Polytechnic, Delhi India in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) in 1964, I was accepted by Columbia University, New York City in their Masters program (MSME). From 1965 to 1990, I worked in the turbo machinery industry in various marketing and engineering management positions for Dresser Industries, Olean, N.Y. and Elliott Company, a division of Carrier Corporation / United Technologies. Our desire to venture into business brought my wife Maryanne and I to Seattle in 1990. We purchased a custom cabinetry business, which was sold in 1994. We purchased an industrial distribution company in 1995. After growing this business, we sold the company to a West Coast industrial corporation in 2008. I continued to work for the corporation and retired in 2014. Since 1990, Maryanne and I have been living in the Cowen Park neighborhood. We have a daughter, a son and three wonderful granddaughters. They all reside in the Seattle area.

Lori Cohen - Member at Large

Lori and her husband have lived in the Ravenna neighborhood for 33 years. They selected this neighborhood because of the proximity to Ravenna Park, the lovely historic homes and the sense of community. Lori supported the efforts to achieve the historic landmark designation and wishes to see the neighborhood’s attributes preserved. Her professional career was with the US Environmental Protection Agency where she worked over a 37-year period to protect and clean up the environment throughout the Northwest.