denise attwood ( Board chair)

Denise, along with her husband, Ric Conner, and son Cameron Conner founded Conscious Connections Foundation in July of 2014. As co-founder and CEO of the Spokane, WA based, fair-trade import company, Ganesh Himal Trading, she has traveled back and forth to Nepal since 1984 working directly with Nepali producers.

Ganesh Himal Trading is a longstanding member of the Fair Trade Federation and Green America.

Denise and Sita Gurung co-founded the Baseri Health clinic in central Nepal in February of 2010, providing the first ever health care to a remote region of the country (CCF later became a clinic supporter). She has a passion for working collaboratively with local partners to bring opportunity to Nepali women. She strongly believes women are key to thriving communities and creating lasting change.

Denise graduated with a degree in Environmental Science from Huxley College in 1984 and holds a J.D. from the University of Washington Law School from 1988.

Kesang Yudron (CO-VICE CHAIR)

Kesang strongly believes that women’s empowerment through education, sustainable employment and trade is the way out of poverty. In 2008, while studying accounting and finance in college, she was inspired by Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace laureate to set up her own social enterprise. In 2009, her work started in partnership with Saathi, a local non-profit and USAID (United States Agency for International Development) to provide skill training in knitting for women rescued from trafficking in Surkhet and Nepalgunj, southern border towns in Nepal. With the goal of providing sustainable work for women, Padma Creations, a fair-trade knitwear business was born, currently employing 50-60 women in Nepal.

During the Covid pandemic, through CCF, she volunteered many hours disbursing funds to grassroots individuals and organizations who were working on distributing food relief to day laborer’s, single mothers and LGBTQI+ communities in Nepal. She has been instrumental in creating the Menstrual health and hygiene manual, Menstrual Hygiene Management trainings and Reusable Menstrual Pad kits that are key to reducing period poverty.

Kesang was born in Nepal to Tibetan parents. She spent her childhood in Northern India and graduated in Accounting and Finance from College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, Minnesota and is a U.K certified leadership coach. She also serves on the board of Human Development Community Services (HDCS) Nepal.

cameron conner (BOARD TREASURER)

As Board Treasurer and Co-Founder of the Conscious Connections Foundation, Cameron’s focus is on understanding and investing in the power of local communities to make change. He comes to this work with a background in community organizing and international development. He has worked under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees along the northern border of Greece and as the Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator for City of Walla Walla’s – an initiative helping neighborhoods organize to address pressures facing the community.

Cameron currently works as an Organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) based in Dallas, Texas. As an organizer with the IAF, the nation's oldest and largest network of community organizations, Cameron has worked with schools, faith based institutions, and neighborhoods to address predatory pay-day lending practices, immigration reform, behavioral health / substance abuse challenges, and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. He is a 2020 Watson Fellow, a 2019 Newman Civic Fellow, a Truman Scholarship Finalist and certified Emergency Medical Technician.

JAMES (RIC) CONNER

Ric and his wife, Denise Attwood, co-founded the Spokane based for-profit, fair-trade import company, Ganesh Himal Trading in 1984. Ganesh Himal deals in hand-crafted Nepali goods and is a longstanding member of the Fair Trade Federation and Green America. Ric recently retired from the company, handing the reins over to Austin Zimmerman. Ric has been Co-Vice Chair of CCF since its inception in 2014.

Ric now spends as much time as possible in his kayak and playing guitar while he continues to help others learn about budget travel and to educate the public on the places he has been. Ric graduated with a degree in Environmental Science from Huxley College in 1985.

AUSTIN ZIMMERMAN (BOARD SECRETARY)

Austin graduated from the University of Colorado in 2007 with a degree in Sociology. Following three years of professional volleyball in Europe, she returned to her native Spokane and enthusiastically committed herself to a career in Fair Trade.

After joining the Ganesh Himal Trading family in 2011, Austin traveled to Nepal in 2012 where she had a profound meeting with Heema & Heena Maharjan whose story inspired the Power of 5 campaign. Committed to girls’ education and the long-term success of the Power of 5, Austin helped to co-found the Conscious Connections Foundation with Denise Attwood and Cameron Conner in July 2014.

Returning to Nepal in March of 2015, Austin visited and was instrumental in documenting the progress in the Baseri Clinic Project, the Power of 5 Campaign, and in starting the Menstrual Pad Project. In 2019, Austin joined Denise Attwood as co-owner of Ganesh Himal Trading. She continues to live in Spokane with her husband and two young daughters.

KIMBERLY A. MAYNARD, PH.D. (BOARD MEMBER)

Kim dances in the interface between what exists and new possibilities. CCF’s investment “in the power of women and girls” is a commitment to what is possible. For nearly 30 years, Kim worked in the heart of disasters and wars in the world’s troubled hot spots. Nepal’s civil war brought Kim there to work with local communities as they rebuilt their social networks and cultural unity and attempted to envision an inclusive new political structure.

As a relatively new CCF board member, she returned to Nepal in 2019 with her husband and trekked to each of CCF’s project sites. CCF’s intimate Nepali friendships and trusted collaborative working relationships were evident. Kim has helped make CCF’s implicit ethical and relational practices explicit in its Principles, Criteria, and Methodology and its Mission Statement.

Kim’s most recent work is in evolving humanity’s larger capacities to create a livable world that embraces all life and cultivates our highest potential. She holds a doctorate in International Affairs and is the author of numerous publications including, Healing Communities in Conflict.

MARTHA NEWELL (BOARD MEMBER)

Martha has been a big fan of Fair Trade and Ganesh Himal Trading since managing the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center’s Fair Trade store in Missoula, MT from 1991-1997. She has traveled to Nepal twice to observe the fair trade practices and social programs of CCF.

As a donor she appreciates organizations that are nimble, effective, and making change in the world. The direct and long established connections of CCF with trusted Nepali partners made joining the board of CCF an easy decision for Martha.

Returning to Nepal in March of 2015, Martha was instrumental in documenting the progress of the Baseri Clinic Project, The Power of 5 Campaign, and in helping start the Menstrual Pad Project. She can vouch for the quality of the Nepali emergency medical response system, the international hospital in Kathmandu and the value of travel insurance!

COLLEEN CAHILL (BOARD MEMBER)

Colleen is an art director and has spent several years in the corporate, agency, and non-profit worlds working with businesses across a variety of industries. In her work, she focuses on crafting authentic stories that evoke emotion enabling clients to connect with their audiences in meaningful ways. She carries this forward to create awareness for and share the work of CCF. She’s traveled to Nepal twice, most recently in 2017 when she spent three weeks volunteering in a village and completed a trek to Everest Base Camp. The generous people and beautiful culture of this country have made a deep impact on her.

Lisa Bower (Board Member)

Lisa is a development and peace building professional with more than 15 years of experience designing and managing democracy and peace building programs that tackle complex problems in conflict and crisis-affected communities. In her work - from Africa to the Asia to Latin America - she partners with local leaders, citizens, and grassroots organizations to identify and fund culturally appropriate, community-driven initiatives. She is deeply committed to tackling gender inequality and gender-based violence through efforts to support and uplift women and girls.

Lisa’s love for the country and people of Nepal was ignited in the summer of 2009 when she had traveled to Kathmandu for a summer internship with a Nepali organization focused on environmental conservation and community development. She is thrilled to be on the board of the Conscious Connections Foundation and to have an opportunity to further support the people of Nepal. She looks forward to visiting Nepal again soon.

Golie Jansen
(BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS)

Golie is a retired professor of Social Work and Women’s and Gender Studies, and has worked with women in local and international places over her lifetime. She is a native of the Netherlands, where in the early 70’s she became involved with the “Third World Shop” movement. She trained staff and customers in the inequal trade relations between poor and rich countries by, for instance, exemplifying the story of sugar and coffee. These shops were the early forerunners of what we now know as ‘fair trade’ stores.

She worked in Papua New Guinea for the United Nations Development Program to train the first women in agricultural extension. She moved to the US in 1978 and became the refugee resettlement director for Church World Service in Spokane, resettling Hmong, Mien, Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees and after seeing the need, she established a refugee women’s program, working with volunteers to teach ESL in homes and connecting women to social services.

After receiving a Ph.D in Social Work, she worked for 20 years at Eastern Washington University in social work and women’s studies and taught courses such as Human Rights and Women’s Rights, and Women and Social Change. She is delighted to be part of CCF because of its respectful and empowerment focused approach to work with women and girls in Nepal.

SITA GURUNG (BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS / BASERI CLINIC COMMITTEE chair)

Sita was born and raised in Baseri, Nepal, and was the first woman in the village to get a high school education. Recognized for her abilities, Sita did research on Tamang families in remote areas of Dhading District for Michigan State University. She also was the first woman to run for district president. In 1991, she moved to Seattle, WA, and has been involved in community work and social activity there for many years. She was the first woman president of any Nepali Association in America and was a founding member and president of the Nepal Seattle Society. She is co-founder of the Baseri Health Clinic in her birth village in Nepal, and is President of the Northwest Tamu (Gurung) Society in Seattle. She is an accomplished lyricist, vocalist, and composer of Nepali Folk Music and has traveled around the world and throughout North America performing her songs. She is an ambassador of the Tamu Kalakar Sangh (association of Gurung Artists, Kathmandu). She owns a business working as a home healthcare assistant and as a Nepali English Interpreter. She frequently travels back to Nepal and is loved by the people there for all of her many years of fundraising and her commitment to improving the lives of those less fortunate.

FRED PECK (BOARD TREASURER EMERITUS)

Fred has been engaged in the management of for-cause 501(c)3 organizations and in corporate finance for the last 24 years. He is a graduate of Brown University and holds a master’s degree in Accounting and Finance from the Keller Graduate School of Management. He has been a Certified Public Accountant since 2006 and is a past-president of the Spokane Chapter of the Washington Society of CPAs. He is currently the founding shareholder of the CPA firm Kingfisher Financial Public Benefit Corporation. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Spokane Housing Ventures, the Treasurer of the Spokane Center for Justice, the Controller of Sterling Mining Company, the Accounting Manager of Heritage Place, and the principal of Fred Peck Consulting. In his spare time Fred likes to travel, enjoy the great outdoors, and create functional art in the pottery studio and the lapidary shop. Fred served as a founding board member of CCF from September 2014 through March of 2017 as the Board Treasurer. He continues to serve on CCF’s finance committee.

WAYNE ATTWOOD (BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS)

A retired physician, Wayne Attwood has practiced the specialty of Internal Medicine in Spokane, WA for 31 years. He has been a long time supporter of the concept of Fair Trade, and has had the privilege of seeing the growth and development of the Power of Five, and the life changing potential it has given to many Nepalese girls. Having visited Nepal numerous times and met with many Nepali artisans, Wayne is familiar with many of the issues most pressing to Nepal at this time. Wayne served as a board member from November of 2014 through October of 2016.