Board of Trustees

Lee Kraft

Chair

Lee Kraft was appointed to the BCC Board of Trustees in September 1999 and was re-appointed in 2004. She is currently serving as Board Chair for the 2008-09 academic year.  She previously served as Chair in 2003-2004 and served as Vice Chair in 2007-08, 2002-03 and in 2001.

Career profile: Attorney in her firm, Lee Kraft & Associates. Former partner, law firm of Diamond and Sylvester; served as the Bellevue City Attorney, King County Superior Court Judge, and King County Council Administrator. Ms. Kraft chairs the Resolutions Committee of the Washington State Bar Association. Other experience includes: Bar Association's Interprofessional Committee; Bellevue Rotary; Mentor Health Northwest Board Secretary; Lockwood Foundation Board of Directors; Bellevue Downtown Association; and the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce.

Education profile: B.A., J.D., University of Colorado.

Steve Miller

Vice Chair

Steve Miller was appointed to the BCC Board of Trustees in 2005 and is serving as Vice Chair for 2008-09.

Career profile: Partner in the Seattle-based firm of Cowan & Miller, which specializes in immigration and naturalization law. Before joining Cowan & Miller in 1990, Steve served as a King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, a Fulbright Fellow Lecturer at the University of Indonesia, an associate for a major Seattle law firm, Deputy Director of the King County Department of Planning and Community Development, and Legal Counsel to the King County Council. An active volunteer in support of education, Steve has served three times as president of the Bellevue School Board and, in 2000, was co-chair of the successful state campaign for Initiative 728, the class size initiative.

Education profile: B.A., Stanford University , J.D., Harvard Law School .

Paul Chiles

Paul Chiles was appointed to the BCC Board of Trustees in November 2003.  He served as Chair in 2007-08 and Vice Chair in 2006-07.

Career profile: President, Chiles & Company, Inc., founded in 1990, as a commercial real estate services firm, specializing in non-profit organizations and some for profit companies in all phases of acquisition, disposition, leasing decisions and property management. Other experience includes: Vice President for Investments at CB Richard Ellis in Seattle, instructor in the BCC and the University of Washington real estate programs, Real Estate Commissioner since 1992, current or past member of the boards of United Way of King County, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Commercial Brokers Association, Seattle University Board of Regents, Puget Sound Blood Center, YMCA, Seattle Rotary #4, and the Washington State Commercial Association of Realtors

Education profile: B.A., Seattle University; MPA, University of Washington

Vicki Orrico

Vicki Orrico was appointed to the BCC Board of Trustees for a five-year term beginning October 1, 2007.

Career Profile: Political Director of The Connections Group, a political consulting firm. Ms. Orrico has practiced law for over 20 years and has a broad background in municipal law, general business, real estate and regulatory matters. She currently serves on the Overlake Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees and the City of Bellevue Planning Commission. She is also on the Board of the Center for Women and Democracy, and is chair of their speakers’ forum on women’s issues called “Food for Thought”. She previously served as a board member of the Washington State Bar Association Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board (1997-2003); the Pacific Northwest Citizen Advocacy Panel for Improving IRS Service, Vice-Chair and Chair, Small Business Subcommittee (1999-2001); Women Business Owners, Member, Board of Directors, Chair, Speakers Bureau (member, 1997-2004).

Education Profile: B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison; J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School.

Vijay Vashee

Vijay Vashee was appointed to the BCC Board of Trustees in January 2002 and was re-appointed in 2006.  He has previously served as Board Chair in 2005-06 and as Vice Chair in 2004-05.

Career profile: A 19-year veteran of Microsoft Corporation, where he made major contributions to the development of Microsoft Project, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Works, Flight Simulator and Mouse. Mr. Vashee is the founding president of TIE-Seattle, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster and support entrepreneurship. He is an active investor in many start-up companies and sits on several corporate boards. He also volunteers at Children's Hospital and is a strong supporter of community programs directed at children.

Education profile: Bachelor of Technology, Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay; Master of Engineering, Cornell University; M.B.A., University of Chicago.