Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1462648
APRIL / MAY / JUNE 2022 9 first take club improvements / New vice president e WAC's executive team added a new member this winter with the promotion of Suzana Sakay to Vice President, Business Excellence & Development. Suzana has held numerous jobs at the WAC since starting at the Club in 2011. "is is an exciting time for the WAC and for downtown Seattle," Suzana says. "As we emerge from the last two years of the pandemic, we have the opportunity to reinforce the Club's role in Seattle and in our members' lives." Aer managing several WAC departments, Suzana's new focus includes building business efficiencies across the Club as well as working with the membership team to help attract and retain new WAC members. "e WAC has proven its lasting power for more than 90 years, through times of prosperity and uncertainty alike," Suzana says. "We look forward to embracing our role as one of the keystones in the recovery of downtown Seattle." Suzana completed her MBA from the University of Washington in 2013 aer previously earning a global studies degree from UW Bothell. She continues to guest-lecture at the UW Bothell School of Business. Suzana started at the WAC as Spa Manager with more than a decade of experience in the spa and wellness industry. Under her guidance, the Spa at the WAC earned the North American Association of Club Athletic Directors Spa of the Year Award. She was subsequently promoted to Wellness Director, where she helped create the award-winning Wellness 360 program before recently joining the Club's executive team. "I can't think of a better person to lead our efforts to be an efficient and productive business," WAC President & CEO Chuck Nelson says. "Suzana has proven her value through more than a decade of leading WAC teams, and we're thrilled to welcome her to her now role." Suzana moved to Seattle in 1999 from her native Croatia, where she also spent two years as a translator and interpreter for the NATO peacekeeping mission aer the Balkan conflicts. She and her husband, Robert, met in Croatia while he was deployed there. One of Suzana's assignments was to work with local authorities and NATO generals as they drew borders between newly established states and counties in the wake of the Dayton Accords. At the time, she was 19 years old. "It was quite cathartic to be a part of history in the making as the region began to recover and rebuild aer much turmoil," she recalls. Suzana, Robert, and their two daughters, Madelynn and Ella, live in Bothell. ey enjoy travel and family activities, including keeping up strong connections with relatives in the states and Europe. N I C O L E PA S I A Welcoming new vice president Suzana Sakay Historic Landmark. e Foundation invests all donations into Clubhouse improvement projects, delivering funding that would otherwise need to come from the Club's operating budget. Foundation donors of $10,000 or more will be honored on the donor recognition wall in the lobby, also set for installation this year. Donations of all sizes are accepted and may be pledged or made in cash, securities, or other property. Legacy giving is also invited. Recognition levels include Bronze ($10,000-plus), Silver ($25,000- plus), and Platinum ($100,000-plus). As part of the library coffee shop project, Club Shop apparel and other retail sales will move into a vacant space near the lobby-level Member Services desk previously occupied by the Barbershop. —Make your tax-deductible donation to the WAC Foundation online at wac.net/foundation. $750,000 $1 MILLION $500,000 $250,000 WAC FOUNDATION PUSH TO $1 MILLION Help the WAC Foundation reach its first $1 million raised. Donate online at wac.net/how-to-donate. $698,000 raised as of press time