Our Board & Volunteers

Lindsey became a board member with All Kids Win in 2022. She grew up and spent most of her life in Thurston County. She has worked for TwinStar Credit Union for over 8 years and spends much time volunteering in the community. She loves spending time with friends and family and is always the go to for a helping hand.

More details coming soon.

Deanna East has worked for North Thurston Public Schools for the last 18 years. After working in a few different schools, she joined the McKinney Vento team that works one-on-one with our district’s homeless students and their families to educate, mentor, and navigate them through programs that can assist with their needs. Through her work, Deanna began advocating for the homeless in the community and talking to groups on how people can help. She was an executive board member of the nonprofit BOOST Scholarships, a Site Coordinator for Homeless Backpack Inc. for 10 years, currently a member of the Committee on Homelessness for the City of Lacey, and an active volunteer for many nonprofits that serve our local homeless population. She has been a keynote speaker for nonprofit entity North Thurston Education Foundation and All Kids Win for many years.

Deanna has her bachelor’s degree from The Evergreen State College, which she researched best practices in supporting our homeless and low-income students to be more successful in school and beyond.

More details coming soon!

I am a married father of two amazing children. I am the youngest of 8 kids with 4 brothers and 3 sisters. I was raised in restaurants from dishwasher to General Manager before transitioning into banking in 2004. My wife, daughter, son and I moved to Thurston County, from West Seattle, in August of 2008. I am a Leadership Thurston County graduate class of 2015, past Olympia Downtown Association Board Member and past Hawks Prairie Rotarian Board Member. I was drawn to HBP organization after witnessing, first hand, students benefiting from program. Hearing their stories of appreciation and the effect on their lives this organization has had made me aware of HBP far reaching impact in Thurston County. Learning the actual numbers of students being served through this volunteer effort made me engage and I joined the HBP Board in 2019.

I am a married mother of four grown (and amazing) children. I have lived in Thurston County most of my life. I spent many years in the day spa industry and am now semi-retired. Homeless Backpacks was born out of a conversation among truly fabulous girlfriends.  Making a difference and lifting up children in our community became our passion.  It has been nothing short of glorious to discover that we live in a community that shares that passion.  I am proud and blessed to be on the Homeless Backpacks board. Being surrounded by so much love and generosity is good for the soul (I think that it is good for your skin too).

Terryl is a nearly lifetime resident of Washington State and one of the founding board members of Homeless Backpacks.  Through the board participation in the Dream the Dream Forum, a gathering to look at the homeless population of Washington State and initiate plans to eliminate homelessness in 10 years, Terryl attended a break out group on families with children.  It was here that HBP became aware of the staggering numbers of homeless students within our county and state.  These students had an average age of 5th grade, not couch surfing high school students as many would have thought.  HBP began brainstorming on what we could do to help these students have an equal chance at success through and beyond their school years.  Through that brainstorming is where our weekend food for homeless students program was born.  We started with 2 schools as a testing ground and have grown to providing over 500 students with weekend food every week of the school year.  We have also helped similar groups start up in 3 adjoining counties.  Terryl is dedicated to our Mission Statement to End Homelessness one Student at a Time.

Away from HBP Terryl is Financial Manager at the Lacey South Sound Chamber of Commerce.  She spends her off time doing all forms of remodeling to her home, building her woman cave and is a crazed sports fan – loving her Mariners, Sounders, NASCAR and GO HAWKS!

Gary recently became a board member but started volunteering with Homeless Backpacks in 2014, delivering to the schools in Rainier.  He is married and together he and his wife have raised two boys.  Gary is a native of southern California and has made this area home since 1977.  Since 2007, Gary has served as the elected Thurston County Coroner. He attended public schools in Lacey and graduated from North Thurston High School in 1982.  Following high school, Gary enlisted in the US Navy and served honorably until his discharge in 1992. The opportunity of providing service to others was offered to Gary by a local funeral home in 1993 where he became a funeral director/embalmer.  He held this position until 2001 when he left to join the Thurston County Coroner’s Office.  Today, Gary shares his profession and work experience at our local schools, speaking to the students about the dangers our children face.  He closes each of his presentations by sharing a very important fact with the students………. “You represent 33% of our population but you are 100% of our FUTURE”.

In addition to work and volunteering, Gary enjoys doing yard work, spending with family and friends and camping.

Scott has been volunteering with Homeless Backpacks since 2015 and is committed to helping children be successful at life.  Scott is the Deputy Director at the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office and has spent is career working for state government in roles that help to protect and conserve the natural environment.

Scott has served on the City of Lacey Planning Commission, various positions within Boy Scouts of America and is currently the Chair of the Lacey Library Board. Scott has been married to his wife Meridith since 1994 and has a son in his 20s and a teen-aged daughter that make him very proud.