Seattle Humane Board Member Darcy Roennfeldt’s career in wealth management may have her working on East Coast time, but her philanthropic work is focused here in the Pacific Northwest – a place she’s called home her entire life.
“I always say I’m OG Kirkland. I was here before Costco,” Darcy says. “We moved here in ‘69 so it’s very different from when I grew up.”
Darcy had wanted to be Harriet the Spy but ended up attending the University of Washington School of Law, where her focus was international tax law.
“It’s good to have a lawyer about when you want one,” she says. “Yes, I know all the jokes.”
Darcy wore many hats before taking on her role as Head of Wealth Strategy & Fiduciary Solutions at PNC Bank in Bellevue.
“It’s a big job. There are about 450 people in my business, which is who I oversee,” she says. “I’ve been working for wealth management companies for about 10 years but prior to that I practiced law for 15 years, and before that I was a stockbroker.”
It was a former coworker and Seattle Humane team member who got Darcy interested in joining the board of directors, and she now serves on both the Governance & Nomination and Donor Development committees.
Darcy’s biggest project on the Governance & Nomination Committee has been updating the board’s bylaws. The bylaws don’t concern how Seattle Humane operates, she says, but rather how the board works in service of the organization and our mission.
“As Seattle Humane has such a high profile, it’s such an important organization that I just feel like we have to be as buttoned down as we can be on the governance side and as thoughtful as we can be to protect the reputation of Seattle Humane,” Darcy says. “If I can do that, then it makes me happy.”
Darcy says the big focus on the Donor Development Committee, at the moment, is recruiting more board members, and particularly those with experience in animal welfare. She would also like to help build out Seattle Humane’s Planned Giving program with staff, and she feels her background aligns well with that goal.
When she does have free time, Darcy likes to read and attend Seattle Arts & Lectures events. She also writes short fiction. Darcy also began competing in the sport of dressage 20 years ago. While she no longer competes, she still enjoys riding horses.
As far as pets that can fit in her home, Darcy has two cats, Seattle Humane alums Redmond and Harriet, who was named after her childhood hero. She was introduced to them by their foster mom and fellow Seattle Humane Board Member Kelly Wittman, who also serves on the Donor Development Committee.
“I was minding my own business at a board meeting and Kelly leaned over and said, ‘I have kittens at my house. Do you want to come see them?’ And, of course, if you go see kittens, you come home with kittens.”
Besides having very cute and highly adoptable kittens, Darcy says Seattle Humane has a lot of strong qualities, and it starts with the people.
“I think the quality of people, both staff working at Seattle Humane, the quality and devotion they have to what they do, complemented by the professionalism of the board, there’s a lot of talent on the board that can help support and advocate for where the day-to-day mission of Seattle Humane is going,” Darcy says. “So, I think our mission as board members should be, and is, adding talent to the board that really helps the folks that work at Seattle Humane get the best guidance and support in any way we can to help support their mission.”
