Originally published Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Obituary
Social-service agency loses a key leader
Leah McCollough, was "a remarkable leader" who guided Hopelink through several significant events, according to a recent posting on local social-service agency's Web site.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Leah McCollough, was "a remarkable leader" who guided Hopelink through several significant events, according to a recent posting on local social-service agency's Web site.
"In everything Leah touched, she brought intelligence, eloquence and compassion," said Linda Benson, Hopelink's development director.
Her unexpected death is a blow to the agency and to the area's nonprofit community, Benson said.
According to associates, Ms. McCollough suffered a coronary embolism and died last Thursday at her Bellevue home. She was 43.
Ms. McCollough's association with Hopelink, the Redmond-based nonprofit that serves people in need in North and East King County, was the result of the agency's merger with the Eastside Literacy Council. She was ELC's board chairwoman and a principal in the transition with Hopelink's board in 2000.
She chaired Hopelink's board for a two-year term, from 2005, and held other leadership positions with the agency, Benson said. She also was current board president of the Women's Funding Alliance of Seattle.
"I know I speak for the entire board in saying Hopelink has lost an extraordinary champion and we have lost a dear friend," said Julia Walters-Burns, chairwoman of its board of directors.
In recent years, Ms. McCollough had run her own business, LCM Consulting, as an executive development coach. Earlier, she was director of corporate and foundation relations for Bellevue's Overlake Hospital Medical Center, and had professional associations with Ashesi University of Ghana, and Passages Northwest and Powerful Voices, local programs for adolescent girls.
She also was associated with the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and the Northwest Development Officers Association, and was lauded for her wealth of experience in fundraising.
"She knew how to connect people," said longtime friend Robin Lorenzini, of Mercer Island.
Born in the Detroit area, she had moved to the Northwest in 1996 after undergraduate work at Duke University and earning a law degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, specializing in nonprofit organizational management.
She is survived by her parents, Drs. John and Carole McCollough of Southfield, Mich., and brothers John S. McCollough and Douglas McCollough, also in the Michigan area.
![]()
A funeral is set for Saturday in Southfield, with private burial. A memorial gathering will be at 11 a.m. Jan. 24 at Seattle Culture Center, 3438 S.E. 148th St. in Tukwila.
Remembrances are suggested to the Leah C. McCollough Legacy Fund, in care of The Women's Funding Alliance, 603 Stewart St., Suite 207, Seattle, WA 98101.
Charles E. Brown: 206-464-2206 or cbrown@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
UPDATE - 11:25 AM
Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
Danny Westneat: Lee the Horse Logger found slow wagon shrank tumor
Parents want answers on new Seattle school boundaries
3 Cascade Mountain passes close due to snow; more rain, wind expected Sunday

Mourners gather at KeyArena for slain officer's memorial
Mourners gathered at KeyArena for the memorial service of Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton on November 6, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Briefs | Soccer: New Mexico suspends hair-pulling player Elizabeth Lambert
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Huskies suffer another heartbreaking loss to UCLA
- McGinn pulling away as late ballots come in
- Using anti-shooter tactics, civilian Army police officer brought down gunman
- How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
- 3 Cascade Mountain passes close due to snow; more rain, wind expected Sunday
- Heavy snow in Cascades shuts down roads
- UCLA game thread
940 - Weapons, bomb-making materials found in suspect's apartment
334 - Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood suspect
293 - U.S. House passes health plan
222 - Decision day for health care in the House
201 - Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
151 - Huskies suffer another heartbreaking loss to UCLA
102 - Referendum 71 show's Washington's strategy for marriage equality is working
96 - Grading the game
89 - How an underdog named Mike McGinn took City Hall
58
- Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
- Flags were key link to cop slaying, bombings
- 10 ways to take control of your health
- Danny Westneat | Lee the Horse Logger found slow wagon shrank tumor
- The birth of 'Grunge,' in photos by Michael Lavine
- 10 investing missteps to avoid
- Bombs, guns found at home of suspect in Officer Brenton's slaying
- Guest columnist | Cut the South Carolina jokes, Seattle. Get ready to compete
- How do innovators think?
- Consortium on verge of owning Eastside railway land








