Martha Kongsgaard

Martha Kongsgaard was born and raised in Napa, California, to a family of jurists, grape growers and cattle ranchers. She married Peter Goldman, an environmental public interest lawyer, and collaborated with him to found the Kongsgaard-Goldman Foundation in 1988, focusing on environmental and social justice issues. Martha is the immediate past Chair of the Leadership Council of the Puget Sound Partnership, the agency she has been dedicated to since its inception in 2007. She is also co-Chair of the Puget Sound Institute, a member of the advisory boards of the UW College of the Environment and UW Center for Human Rights. Martha is the immediate past chair of the Washington Women’s Foundation.

She currently sits on the boards of the Bullitt Foundation, the Nature Conservancy of Washington, Friends of the Seattle Waterfront and the Resources Legacy Fund. She has recently committed to chair the Seattle Aquarium’s ambitious campaign to build the Ocean Pavilion at the heart of Seattle’s new waterfront. She has won numerous awards such as the Outstanding Family Foundation Award, Woman of the Year Award from Seattle University School of Law, and the Environmental Hero Award from the Washington Environmental Council. Martha is a graduate of UC Berkeley, and holds a law degree from the University of Puget Sound/Seattle University Law School.