Photo/©Todd Harwell

Trustees AND STAFF

Sonya and Tom Campion, Founders and Trustees

Sonya and Tom Campion created the Campion Foundation to organize and expand the scale of their giving and philanthropic leadership. Through the foundation, they focus on promoting social and environmental change in three key areas: 1) wilderness protection, 2) homelessness and 3) strengthening nonprofits.

Tom Campion co-founded Zumiez in 1978. The company sells action-sports apparel and equipment to 12- to 24-year-old men and women in more than 25 states. Zumiez's success is based on several strategies, such as encouraging store managers to take on responsibility and ownership, investing in its employees, taking risks, listening to trends, staying authentic and being nimble.

In 2005, after Zumiez's successful public offering, the Campions started the Campion Foundation to leverage the success of Zumiez for social and environmental change. Tom still serves as chairman of Zumiez and is actively involved in building the culture of the company for further growth and expansion.

In addition to Zumiez, Tom dedicates his time and energy to wilderness preservation. More than 30 years ago, he joined the fight to save old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, which provide critical habitat for the spotted owl and other threatened species. This pivotal experience triggered a keen interest in leveraging resources for greater impact in other wild places, including Alaska's vast wilderness areas.

Tom serves as the Alaska Wilderness League board chairman and is a member of the board of directors of Conservation Northwest.

Sonya and Tom Campion

Sonya Campion is a certified fundraising expert (CFRE) with more than 25 years of experience working with more than 200 nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest. She recently concluded 19 years as a principal of The Collins Group, a regional fundraising consulting firm specializing in fundraising strategies and capital campaigns.

As the foundation's co-founder, Sonya focuses on advocacy and the support needed to end homelessness in Washington state. In addition, she brings her nonprofit expertise to the goal of expanding the field of funders investing in capacity building.

Through engagement and a spirit of partnership, she believes the foundation can challenge leaders in the nonprofit community to build stronger organizations with effective fundraising, informed contributors, enhanced leadership and passionate advocacy that will increase their capacity to achieve their mission.

Lisa Jaguzny, Executive Director
lisa@campionfoundation.org

Lisa has extensive experience in managing nonprofit organizations, including 11 years at People for Puget Sound, where she was Deputy Director. During this time, she directed the organization's successful strategic growth through long-range planning, program development, financial management and fund development. She was also responsible for leading a 10-year partnership with The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land, a collaboration that resulted in the protection of more than 1,000 miles of Puget Sound shoreline.

Leading the growth of an environmental advocacy organization has given Lisa a keen sense of the challenges grassroots organizations face. As executive director, she guides the development of the foundation's strategy, promoting learning internally and externally to build strong and effective organizations. In addition, Lisa leads the foundation's Arctic program.

Lisa is an active member of the Vashon Island community, where she has served on the Board of Directors of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, provided pro-bono counsel for a number of local projects, and is currently a founding Board Member of the Vashon Island Schools Foundation.

Don André, Associate Director
don@campionfoundation.org

Don brings over twenty years of experience to his role as lead staff for our homelessness program, developing and implementing strategies consistent with our mission to make homelessness a rare and temporary hardship in Washington.

Don comes to the Campion Foundation after serving for three years as executive director of Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED), a nonprofit organization advancing community-based energy efficiency and renewable energy across the Northwest. Before that, he worked for more than 20 years with the Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs (SNAP), where he designed, implemented and administered a wide range of low-income housing and energy programs. While at SNAP, Don developed skills in nonprofit finances, human resources and operations, while advocating for affordable housing and clean energy. Don's work for social justice and the environment gives him a unique background, well suited to the mission of our foundation.

John Daly, Wilderness Program Officer
john@campionfoundation.org

John Daly John brings great on-the-ground conservation experience, a keen sense of how to forge partnerships, and a wry sense of humor to the role of Wilderness Program Officer.

John most recently served as the first Program Director for the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines, a collaboration of The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land and People For Puget Sound. He worked with leadership and staff at these three member organizations to organize and implement a program to acquire new waterfront parks and natural areas, restore habitat, enhance policy protection, and engage the public in recovering Puget Sound. Before joining the Alliance, John worked for The Trust for Public Land where he oversaw a portfolio of acquisition projects and planning programs across Washington to conserve wildlife habitat, shorelines, farms and forestland.

John has a masters degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a B.A. from Colby College.

Melanie Matthews, Operations Director
melanie@campionfoundation.org

Melanie has been a leader in the nonprofit community for more than ten years in both her native England and in the United States. Her blend of business skills and non-profit leadership experience are a valuable asset to the Foundation where she is responsible for all operations, including grants management, and ensures that the foundation's programs and activities are supported through the organization's infrastructure and operational plans. Melanie is also the lead staff for our capacity building program.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Melanie served as managing director of The Empty Space Theatre in Seattle, and managed Kneehigh Theatre—one of the UK's top theatre companies—and Malvern Theatres, a three-venue arts center in the UK, transforming it through a multi-million dollar redevelopment program.

Melanie holds an MBA from Colorado State University and BA (Hons) from Bristol University in the UK. She is an active member of Grants Managers Network, serving as Co-Chair of the Pacific Northwest Chapter, and is a proud board member of Shunpike, a nonprofit support organization which helps all kinds of small and mid-sized arts groups better manage the business aspects of art.

Brit Sojka, Office Manager
brit@campionfoundation.org

A new face at the Campion Foundation, Brit’s administrative talents are dedicated to maximizing trustee and staff focus on the strategic goals of the Foundation and our partner grantees.

As part of the local nonprofit management community, Brit has served as a grantwriter, development researcher and has organized successful efforts to win public funding for organizations through budget hearing testimony and advocacy. She has led business and systems development projects for an international corporate services team at Artech and has worked locally to raise the caliber of elected officials in King County as the Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Program Coordinator.

In her spare time - when she isn’t hunting nudibranchs or taking community college science classes - Brit works as a policy intern with People for Puget Sound and serves as a beach naturalist and volunteer scuba diver with Seattle Aquarium and Highline’s Marine Science Teaching Center. She has a Masters in Arts Administration & NPO Management from the University of Oregon.