Family Law CASA Board
Family Law CASA is guided by an involved, dedicated and passionate Board of Directors, all of whom support the organization with generous contributions. This group of community and business leaders is responsible for financial oversight, goal setting, policy development, and fundraising. We are most grateful to our volunteer directors for their work in leading, strengthening and supporting CASA services for vulnerable children.
2023 Board of Directors:
President: Verónica Quiñónez, Veronica Quinonez Law PLLC

Verónica Quiñónez is the owner of Veronica Quinonez Law, PLLC. She joined the board in 2021. Her practice focuses on providing legal representation and mediation services in the area of family law, including civil protection orders and cases involving issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Seattle University School of Law, and her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at El Paso. Verónica is a 2017 graduate of the University of Washington Law School Washington Leadership Institute, a 2021 graduate of the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Latina Leadership Academy, and a current Ladder Down fellow. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law in 2018. Veronica was the President of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington from 2018-2019, previously served as LBAW’s Immediate Past-President, President-Elect, and the Director of Clinics, and she has also served as Region XVI Deputy President of the Hispanic National Bar Association and Representative of the HNBA Young Lawyer’s Division. Verónica enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, traveling, and cooking.
Vice-President: Bryan Digel, Pathstone

Secretary: Mei Shih, DuBois Levias Law Group PLLC

After graduating from the University of California Davis, with an B.A. in International Relations and East Asian Studies, Mei moved to Beijing China to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese. When she returned to the United States, she began working at a law firm in downtown San Francisco and soon realized that the legal field was the path for her. She earned a law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California in 2010.
Little did Mei know, she had been preparing to be a lawyer from a young age. As a first generation Chinese-American, she helped her non-English speaking parents navigate cultural barriers that affected many aspects of their lives in the United States. From an early age, she translated legal documents, explained technical terminology, and experienced first-hand the challenges that my parents faced as new immigrants. Now she has a translational skill that makes her legal practice unique.
Mei is dedicated to educating people and arming them with resources to make the best choices in their situation. Throughout her legal career, she has been involved with many non-profit legal clinics providing legal advice to low income and indigent communities. She has served on various boards for children’s daycares and schools, and volunteers with ABAW and JAJEC. Today, Mei is a board member of the International Families Justice Coalition, a non-profit organization that provides legal assistance and representation to immigrants and foreign nationals that do not speak English who are involved in issues that require a family law attorney. Mei also served as a member of the board of her local Parent Teacher Student Association.
Mei grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area with her large extended family. Mei and her husband love exploring the Pacific Northwest – hiking, kayaking, and discovering all the many parks in the area with their two boys. They love traveling as a family and learning about different cultures. Some of the amazing places they have explored include Indonesia, Turkey, Czech Republic and Cuba. Mei’s other passion is baking delicious desserts for her friends and family.
Treasurer: Megan Charles, PwC

Board Members:
Jacqueline Balinbin, USI Insurance Services

Brianna Brown, Moss Adams

Brianna joined the board in 2023. She is a senior manager at Moss Adams LLP’s assurance practice. She serves a variety of financial services clients with a focus in public and private financial institutions, along with considerable experience with employee benefit plan audits. She received her Master’s of Professional Accountancy from Central Washington University and her undergraduate degree in accounting from Arizona State University where she became a member of Omega Phi Chi multicultural sorority. Brianna lives in West Seattle where she enjoys cooking, staying active outdoors, and traveling.
Hillary Collyer, Lasher, Holzapfel, Sperry and Ebberson

Katherine De Bruyn, Community Representative

Brad Elias, Amazon

Brad Elias is a corporate counsel at Amazon.com, where he manages a large portfolio of commercial litigation and advises on a variety of complex legal issues. He works closely with many of Seattle’s largest law firms, including Perkins Coie, which introduced him to Family Law CASA. Prior to joining Amazon, Brad spent thirteen years as a litigator at O’Melveny & Myers in New York, where he specialized in securities, financial services, and technology disputes. He also maintained an active pro bono practice, with a focus on education and family law, and was honored by the Legal Aid Society on two occasions for his outstanding pro bono service. He is a graduate of New York University School of Law and Georgetown University, where he earned a bachelor of science in finance. He lives in Queen Anne with his wife and two daughters and enjoys a variety of outdoor activities.
Dr. Melanie English
Abdul Kallon, Perkins Coie

Abdul Kallon joined the board in 2023. He represents clients in sensitive, high-stakes litigation, including regulatory and First Amendment matters. His practice is informed by nearly 30 years of experience gained in private practice and as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
For over 12 years, Abdul presided over a broad range of civil and criminal cases, including commercial litigation and constitutional rights matters. Abdul was nominated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2009.
Prior to his judicial service, Abdul was a partner in private practice. His broad and significant trial practice included cases before arbitrators and state and federal courts; he tried multiple cases to a jury verdict in federal court as a first chair. Abdul began his legal career as a clerk for Judge U.W. Clemon of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Julie Maloney, Puget Sound Energy

Julie Maloney joined the board in 2023. She is the Manager of Human Resources at Puget Sound Energy where she leads a team of Human Resources Advisors that handles all employee relations and labor relations issues as well complex strategic projects. Julie has over 30 years of Human Resources Leadership experience in a variety of different industries such as Healthcare (Providence-Swedish), Shipyards (Vigor Marine), Glass Manufacturing (Hartung Glass), Wind Energy (Vestas), Transportation (Waste Management), and Distribution (International Paper) located both in the Pacific NW and California. Julie has supported and/or volunteered in various non-profit organizations such as Susan B. Komen Portland, OR; St. Joseph’s Center in Venice, CA; Women’s Shelter of Holy Rosary Church West Seattle, WA; Desert ARC Foundation Palm Desert, CA to name a few. Julie has a strong interest in CASA Family Law from both a parental perspective from being a Mom and divorced; and from a sibling perspective with a younger brother with Downs Syndrome. Julie is a passionate supporter of under-represented groups who struggle to obtain advocates for their custody cases. Julie is a graduate with her Masters in Counseling Psychology from California State University and her Bachelors in Psychology from University of California Santa Barbara. Julie lives in South Everett with her significant other. She enjoys weight-lifting, avid Seahawks & Cowboys fan, being on the water and spending time in the desert. Julie has an adult son who lives and works in Southwest Washington.
Page Perey, Issaquah School District
Page Perey joined the board in 2023. She is currently the Director of Elementary Special Programs for the Issaquah School District. In this role she oversees the district’s Dual Language, Highly Capable, and Early Learning programs. Her career in education began in 1998 in the Snoqualmie School District where she taught for 9 years. Prior to her current position, she spent 11 years in middle, elementary school and district leadership in the Issaquah and Kent School Districts. While she has 24 years in education it was not her first career. She spent several years in the hospitality industry at the Hyatt Regency and Club Med and in the non-profit world at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Seattle Works. She is a graduate of Miami University of Oxford, Ohio where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She also holds a Master of Global Management from The Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona. She volunteers on the King County Library Foundation’s annual gala planning committee and is active in P.E.O. a philanthropic women’s organization that provides scholarships and grants for women who are pursuing college and graduate education. She and her husband love to travel and have visited many beautiful destinations from Hawaii and Mexico to China and Taiwan but continue to return to France annually where they love to do self-guided walking and cycling tours. Page always loves returning home to her Peloton. They both grew up in Seattle, met in middle school and currently live in Renton.
Deena Rataezyk, Sound Community Bank
Deena Rataezyk joined the board in 2023. She is the Vice President – Marketing and Communications Director at Sound Community Bank. Her focus on outward communication, brand development, and campaign integrations has allowed her to create a holistic marketing team responsible for all aspects of social media, web performance, digital and print advertising, trigger campaigns, and company analytics. Deena works closely with all stakeholders to monitor marketing performance in relation to the bank’s strategic goals. Prior to joining Sound Community Bank, Deena spent time at Real Networks and Nightforce Optics, where she furthered her marketing career by learning the ins and outs of marketing SAAS and relationship-based programs. Deena graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Consumer Studies. Her first experience with the Spokane County Courts, in their Diversion Unit, changed her outlook on the needs of the court system and began her 25-plus years of volunteering. In 2015 she was recognized as an Outstanding Advocate for her local public school system. In her free time, Deena enjoys traveling with her husband and three kids.
Judge Jean Rietschel, Retired
Gary Sampson

Dr. Lorna Tumwebaze, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Mike Vila, Bellevue Asset Management
Mike Vila joined the board in 2023. He is the Managing Principal of Bellevue Asset Management, the firm which he founded in 2003. The boutique firm with assets of over $300 million focuses on all facets of wealth planning in service to helping high net-worth clients reach their life and financial goals. His educational background includes degrees in Finance and Math from Santa Clara University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Before grad school, Mike worked as financial analyst for Latin America at Chevron International Oil. Postgrad he worked at Deloitte Consulting, the Wall Street Journal, and in the corporate strategy group of PECO Energy. His other recent non-profit work has included serving as President of the Endowment for St. Joseph School, the Parent Leadership Council of Santa Clara University, and as a board member of Mt Baker Housing. He is a proud father of 3 college and post-college children. In his spare time, he enjoys sailing, golfing and, in particular, travelling having explored Europe, Asia, Caribbean, Central America and Mexico in the last several years.