Our dedicated volunteers propel our mission forward.
Kristin Barsness
Fundraising Advisor
Kristin (she/her) has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has been defined by the conviction that when staff and volunteers are coached to bravery, they can accomplish anything. Barsness has led more than 30 major capital and comprehensive campaigns, 40 campaign feasibility studies, many community and project readiness assessments, as well as worked in-house to lead library, healthcare, university, and K-12 education shops to fundraising success. Her work with Pacific Northwest clients and organizations has helped raise more than $250 million to change the world.
After serving as Vice President of Collins Group, Kristin helped launch Seattle University’s $300 million campaign, then led the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital Foundation to triple unrestricted giving in three years. In 2018 she founded her consulting firm to help mid-size nonprofits prepare and manage significant campaigns and raise more money.
She and her husband, Ed Crossan, a high school teacher, have been lifelong advocates for the transformational power of education. They live in Tacoma and devote their free time to keeping up with a busy family of teenagers and dogs.
Lucia Blackwell
Blog Coordinator
Lucia (she/her) is a Baby Scoop-era domestic adopted person in reunion with some members of her first family, but not others. Being in community with other adopted people in groups like Adoptee Voices has been transformative. She moved to Seattle almost 10 years ago and works as an editor in the Advertising department of The Seattle Times. She is writing a hybrid memoir about adoption and the geology of Western Washington, and one of her favorite things to do is sit in a cabin on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, watching crashing waves, soaring eagles, and the flames in the fireplace.
Sam McEvans
Operations Specialist
Sam McEvans (he/him) volunteers in Operations for AMS. Sam is a listener of adoptee voices and is a queer adoptive parent in an adoption constellation that is deeply committed to openness.Sam recently acted as volunteer Publicist for the groundbreaking new book Adoption Unfiltered, which for the first time brings together the perspectives of adoptee, birth parent, and adoptive parent authors in one title. He formerly held marketing positions at Slack and Twilio.
“Aunt” Pat Stephens
Stewardship Support
Pat Stephens (she/her) is retired after years working at The Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Washington. She grew up in Wenatchee, Washington, two doors down the street from Angela’s adoptive mother, so her ties to adoption are through friends. Life in retirement includes family and friends, a black cat named Eddy, and volunteering with a number of small non-profits and her church. The creativity of sewing and quilting for personal enjoyment, as well as special projects for other people, keeps her sewing area filled with color and texture. She enjoys the beauty of the outdoors in good weather, a cup of coffee or tea with friends, reading good novels, and road trips. Volunteering with AMS fulfills a niche of helping those who long to discover and share their stories.