Silvia Bajardi – President
As founder and directress of The Syndrome Mag, Silvia leads the non-profit organization in achieving its goal of raising awareness and educating about gender equality and feminist issues… through comedy. She is deeply committed to moving past a patriarchal society and believes that informing through storytelling and humor are key to achieving long-term changes in the lives of women and the families they raise.
Originally from Italy, Silvia understands the importance of both international and intersectional approaches to feminist issues. At The Syndrome Mag, she leads a team of women who offer perspectives from all over the globe and all over the map. She is multilingual, with Masters degrees in both Machine Translation and Multi-Media Communication & Technology. Her education and perspective have informed and cemented her commitment to communication across all media and to providing training to the IT community, among others, to promote gender equality and diversity in the workplace.
Linda Benson – Chair
Linda has more than 35 years of leadership, change management and fund development experience in the non-profit sector. Her work has primarily focused on supporting organizations serving marginalized and underserved communities and the growing population of people who are struggling to survive in a society with increasing income disparity and social and racial inequities.
She has worked with dozens of organizations of all sizes and is known for her ability to guide them through difficult transitions while helping build organizational and funding capacity to expand services and increase impact. Her most recent leadership efforts were on behalf of Imagine Housing, The Sophia Way, and Purrfect Pals. Prior to that, she served as a Vice President for Hopelink charged with creating a name, an image and a robust fundraising and leadership base for Hopelink’s vital mission. She is also co-founder of Nourishing Networks, an innovative engagement model that teaches people how to work together across sectoral, organizational and social boundaries to find and fill gaps in basic needs within our community’s safety net.
Linda is thrilled to be a member of the board for Syndrome Mag, and is excited to be a part of a movement to change the flawed beliefs and behaviors that perpetuate the loss of extraordinary contributions of women throughout the world. She is the proud mother of three beautiful daughters and resides with her husband, Bob, as part-time empty nesters in the charming City of Duvall, Washington.
Janet Livingstone – Secretary
Janet has ten years of nonprofit experience and 15 years of training, leadership development, and coaching experience on four continents. She has consulted to nonprofit organizations on vision, mission and strategic planning in numerous countries, and worked for eight years in global health, including two years in Zambia working on reproductive health and water-borne disease prevention. In her current role as lead facilitator and instructional designer for the Boeing Global Strategic Initiatives team, she has leveraged her experience to develop new business and deliver programming for aviation leaders in China, SE Asia, and India.
Having spent 16 years in Europe and several more living in Africa, Russia and Canada, Janet brings a unique perspective on diverse leadership styles and environments from across the globe. She speaks several foreign languages and counts music, skiing and podcasting amongst her pastimes. Janet is producer and co-host of the Syndrome Mag’s podcast, Original Syndrome.
Raelene Bushbeck – Treasurer
Raelene Bushbeck is a self-employed Forensic Accountant and full-time litigation support accountant and bookkeeper with the Law Offices of Sherri M. Anderson. She specializes in forensic accounting and tracing projects and works as an independent contractor with forensic CPAs and many family lawyers based in the Seattle area. Raelene is also a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and assists clients by providing reports and expert witness testimony in financial aspects of divorce.
Raelene was born and raised in Australia. She is the mother of five beautiful children, the youngest of whom will be graduating high school in 2021. While raising her children, Raelene attended the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business and earned a Business Degree in both Accounting and Finance. Her interests are cooking, entertaining, Peloton, yoga, learning to dance, spending time with family and friends and drinking wine. As the mother of four daughters, she sees the tremendous importance in the work of the Syndrome Mag. and it is with great pleasure she has this opportunity to serve as Treasurer of the Board.
Sophia Woolery
Sophia was born and raised in the great PNW. She graduated from the University of Washington with her bachelor’s degree in 2011, went on to finish law school at Seattle University in 2014, and is now a practicing family law attorney in Seattle. Her field of practice frequently brings to the forefront the inequities facing women from all demographics, which has led Sophia to fight for women’s rights both inside and outside the courtroom. Sophia has provided legal services to survivors of domestic violence and women in need through her former externship at the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center and volunteer work at New Beginnings.
Sophia joined the Syndrome Mag board in the summer of 2020 in continuation of her commitment to women’s rights, and is thrilled to be tackling the gross inequalities all womxn face today through humor and satire. When she’s off the clock, you can catch Sophia supporting the local live music scene, practicing yoga, and riding her bike through the beautiful city of Seattle.
O’Dealya Price
O’Dealya Price has spent her career working in Cloud, Industrial Controls and IoT technologies across a variety of industries. She received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Residing in the metro Seattle area, she is an active member of various technical organizations where she likes to encourage girls to pursue careers in engineering and technology.
Joining the Syndrome board in 2020 has been a highlight in an otherwise bizarre year. Using humor to combat the ridiculousness of gender inequality, builds upon O’Dealya’s personal view of equipping women and girls to live their best lives. In her free time she enjoys all things Pilates and hosting fabulous dinner parties.
