Candace Grisdale, Seattle native and long-time C3 Leaders Forum Chair, can’t be missed in a crowd.  She is an energetic, confident, charismatic and passionate leader, not only full of ideas but able to execute at a high level.  In addition to her involvement in C3 Leaders, she is a member of the Executive Network of Seattle and a leader/facilitator in the Washington Student Leadership Forum.

Candace has an interest in outdoor adventures, especially related to the water, but a conversation with her about mentoring youth quickly draws her real passion to the surface.  Her regular dinner meetings with aspiring Seattle-area leaders are legendary.

Concerning her experience in C3 Leaders, Candace says, “When I first learned of C3 and about the opportunity to chair the first women’s forum, I didn’t really understand the impact it would have.  I eagerly anticipated having other women to talk with about issues common in the workplace and to learn from their experiences.  Over the course of these nine years, what I got was a group of lifelong friends and sisters.”

Candace combines a successful 15-year sales and sales management career at Microsoft (including Senior Director of Worldwide Sales) with 4 years at Hewlett Packard, plus several years in technology in young or startup organizations.  She has brought this influence and those substantial skills to a significant amount of volunteer work (both in leadership and assisting roles) in Christian non-profits.  Recently, Candace served as President, Vice President and Board Member for Vision House, a $2.9M nonprofit agency serving homeless families.  Vision House has experienced substantial grown in donor revenue, increased its financial reserve, and completed an $8M transitional housing facility.  She also played a pivotal role in implementing and executing the organization’s succession plan.  She has a dynamic, high-energy personality, charisma and passion.

But all that previous success might be all in preparation for her latest endeavor:  She has been selected by Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission (SUGM) as Chief Development Officer.  Candace is thrilled with the new position because of the broad reach and deep impact SUGM enjoys.  “The Mission goes far beyond providing emergency care and long-term recovery services – it also providing numerous other services and has crafted synergistic relationships with other organizations in the Greater Seattle Area.  SUGM is dedicated to serving, rescuing and transforming those in greatest need through the grace of Jesus Christ through many different programs.”

We congratulate Candace on her service to her Forum, to young leaders and now to the Greater Seattle area through SUGM.  We would encourage support of both Candace and SUGM – feel free to donate or contact her for more information!