Gerald Pollet, J.D., Executive Director & Attorney

Gerry is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Heart of America Northwest. He brings 25 years of organizing experience on Hanford, environmental and peace issues, and political campaigns in Washington, as well as tremendous institutional memory and technical expertise to the organization. Gerry is frequently called on by regional and national media, and for guest lectures at universities and Continuing Legal Education seminars. Gerry has lobbied, written major legislation at federal and state level, and testified to Congress.

Gerry chairs the Hanford Advisory Board’s committee overseeing USDOE’s Hanford budgets, management and contracts. He has testified by invitation to U.S. Senate and U.S. House Committees, is frequently quoted in national and regional media. He also serves as general counsel for Legal Advocates for Washington, which provides legal advice on non-profit, electoral and hazardous waste law.

Gerry also has been serving on the board of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, and the Washington Coalition for Open Government. His work on Hanford and prior work on economics of electric utility forecasting has led to frequent requests that he lecture about the lessons of Hanford and the role of nuclear power in fighting global warming.

In 2002, Gerry was honored as the “National Grassroots Activist of the Year” by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability for his leadership in the seven year effort to shutdown and dismantle the FFTF Nuclear Reactor. Gerry was also honored with the Paul Beeson Peace Award by Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility in 2005.

Contact Gerry: gerry@hoanw.org or 206-382-1014

 Kevin Carlson, Outreach Director

Kevin joined Heart of America Northwest two years ago as the Outreach Director because he wanted to use the tools of organizing to encourage citizens to resist further radioactive waste shipments to Hanford, already the most toxic site in the Western hemisphere.

Kevin has managed and directed grassroots fundraising campaigns for numerous organizations, including the National Environmental Law Center, Greenpeace, Washington Environmental Council and Washington Wilderness Coalition. He has an MA in Speech Communication from the University of Washington.

Fun fact: Kevin is an (extremely) amateur juggler.

Contact Kevin: kevin@hoanw.org or 206-382-1014

Mark Saporito, Database Manager

Mark joined Heart of America Northwest in January of 2009 as our Database Manager. Mark received a B.S. from Syracuse University and a M.S. from the University of Minnesota in Geology. Mark brings us his diverse background of experiences as a hydrologist for Minnesota Department of Health, Scientific Programmer for the University of Washington, Systems Analyst for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research, created a CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview) for the Hanford Thyroid Disease study which also calculated doses using Nevada Test Site data, Data coordinator for Washington State Democrats and Technical Support for Norwesco Computing.

Mark knows Gerry Pollet and his family as an Executive Board member of the 46th District Democrats. He has been an active member of the district for over 10 years.

For fun, Mark plays and coaches men's softball, which he has done for the past 15 years. The team is called the "Woodpeckers" and they play at Greenlake (Seattle) and Mountlake Terrace. Along with softball, Mark is an active homebrewer.

Contact Mark: mark@hoanw.org, 206-382-1014

Rennie came to Heart of America Northwest in December 2006, beginning as an Outreach Representative and expanding his role into also being the Phone Bank Manager. Rennie says, “The staff here are great and I learn something new everyday.”

Rennie is currently a student. He has worked in restaurants and warehouses along with his Outreach Representative position. He enjoys working for something real and being informative.

Fun fact: Rennie is on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)

Jim Kelley, J.D., Outreach Representative

Jim joined Heart of America Northwest in December of 2006 as an Outreach Representative. He was drawn to HOANW because of his desire to take direct action to protect Washington’s environment.

Jim has worked for the Washington State Legislature, the Office of the Governor, the King County Executive, and owned his own Public Affairs Consulting Firm. He has a Bachelors Degree in Communications and a degree in law from the University of Washington.

Fun fact: Jim is a poet and is currently working on this first novel.

Illira joined Heart of America Northwest this year as an Outreach Representative. She began working at Heart of America Northwest because she thinks, “Nukes are scary”.

Illira has 7 years of experience doing outreach with Washington Wilderness Coalition and Forests Forever to save forests in Washington and California.