Who We Are
Scan Design Foundation owes a profound debt of gratitude to the devoted team who constructed a reliable infrastructure for the organization after the passing of Inger and Jens Bruun. The bridge they built has held strong since 2004 and helps to guide our path today.
Ms. McGinn was selected as President of the Foundation in May, 2020.
Fidelma has been a leader at the compelling intersection of philanthropy, social enterprise, and community investment for more than 20 years. As an executive leader and Board member, she has focused on creating impactful civic-corporate partnerships. Most recently she served as Chief Philanthropy Officer for Seattle Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the United States. Throughout her tenure in the non-profit arena, many national and international organizations have sought her guidance, leadership, and financial acumen. Fidelma’s Board experience includes being chair of the National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture, Grantmakers in Film & Electronic Media, and was appointed by Seattle’s Mayor to serve on the influential Seattle Arts Commission.
A native of Ireland, her early career started in the technology field at Microsoft's European Headquarters in Dublin. From there, she emigrated from the Emerald Isle to the Emerald City to join Microsoft's Redmond campus where she worked on the early releases of the Office suite of products.
Fidelma is a graduate of Dublin’s College of Commerce where she studied Marketing & Communications and was an inaugural fellow in the Executive Leadership in the Nonprofit Arts from Stanford University’s Graduate Business School.
Line Larsen was selected Program Officer for the Foundation in April 2022.
Line has worked in non-profit organizations around the world for more than 10 years. Through her work and education, she has gained experience building community partnerships across borders and advocating for global social change. She was born in Nykøbing Falster in Denmark and moved with her family to Singapore then to Southern California. Since relocating to the U.S. she has established strong ties in the Danish-American community.
Her academic interests propelled her to seek out the University of Washington’s Scandinavian Studies program, where she was a member of the 2007 student cohort in the SDF-funded Copenhagen Classroom. In 2010 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Danish with a minor in International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. After completing an internship at an NGO in Argentina, she moved to Denmark to study at Roskilde University and pursue her Master’s degree in Global Studies and Cultural Encounters. Line has a variety of work experience in Denmark from designing ads for her family’s newspaper company (Landbrugsnyt) to working in anti-trafficking NGOs. She was also a research intern at the Institute for Happiness Research in Copenhagen.
Line now resides in Seattle, WA where she worked for Northwest Danish Association for seven years and started her own freelance business in communications. Returning to the University of Washington, she recently completed a professional certificate in Storytelling and Content Strategy.
Mr. Thompson is the Chairman of the Board, and previously served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Foundation since its formation in 2002. He is currently the chief financial officer for the nonprofit organization, AtWork!, and was formerly the CFO for Scan Design Furniture, Inc., the furniture retail furniture store chain established by our Founders.
Ms. Thor Andersen joined the Board in January 2021. Katrine is a Senior Director, Bayer Healthcare US, Business Development, Licensing and Open Innovation. She is responsible for developing and negotiating strategic public-private-philanthropic partnerships on behalf of the global pharma business. From 2017 to 2022, she served as Deputy Director of Alliance Management within Global Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation in 2017, Katrine worked in global pharmaceutical R&D organizations as scientist, outsourcing manager, transformation consultant and research informatics and business operations leader. Katrine is a Danish citizen; her hometown is Odense. Since graduating from the Royal Danish School of Pharmacy Copenhagen, and obtaining an MBA from Copenhagen Business School, she has worked in New Jersey, Copenhagen and currently resides in Fremont, Seattle. In her spare time Katrine loves hiking and skiing in the Pacific Northwest mountains as well as baking and cooking.
Ms. Stevns joined the board in 2019. Born in Denmark, Bodil earned a master’s degree in law at University of Aarhus, Denmark. She worked at a major law firm in Copenhagen before moving to the US in 1990 to pursue a master’s degree in law at University of San Diego, California.
Bodil has lived in the Seattle area since 1992. She has more than three decades of experience in financial services and is the founder of Sound Divorce Strategies, LLC, offering personalized services to help individuals and couples navigate the financial complexities of divorce.
She is actively involved in the local Scandinavian community and currently serves as the Past President of the Danish Club of Seattle, and she is Past President at the Northwest Danish Association (formerly known as Northwest Danish Foundation). Bodil met Jens Bruun in 1992 shortly after moving to Seattle.
Mr. Beck joined the board in 2023. Jan is a seasoned business executive who has served as Chief Operating Officer and various Leadership roles in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, most notably Novo Nordisk in both Denmark & the US, for over 20 years. He spearheaded the establishment of the Novo Nordisk R&D Research Center in South Lake Union, Seattle, WA. He also headed the Global Business Intelligence unit at Novo Nordisk Corporate Finance in Denmark and held various international finance and operations roles in Copenhagen, Zürich, and Princeton, NJ. His early career started in Carlsberg Group in Copenhagen, with projects spanning the European portfolio of companies and subsidiaries. He is currently a business owner, investor, and an advisor to several biotech start-ups for strategy development and securing venture capital investments. He holds a M.Sc degree in Business and Finance from Copenhagen Business School and he completed leadership programs for Biotech Executives at Harvard Business School.
Mr. Suzman joined the board in 2023. Paul Suzman is the founder of OfficeLease, a real estate firm founded in 1981 that specializes in commercial building tenant and buyer representation. He advises and represents numerous Seattle area companies in their strategic real estate planning, alternative facility evaluations, lease vs. purchase decisions and transaction negotiations. Mr. Suzman attended Hilton College and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and immigrated to Seattle in 1979. He has served on the boards of several local companies such as The Learning Garden (now Bright Horizons) and Torrefazione Italia Coffee acquired by Starbucks. He is a founding board member and serves on the Executive Committee of VillageReach and has served as trustee of non-profit organizations including Pacific Science Center, University of Washington Presidents Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Henry Art Gallery. He was a founding board member of the Washington Technology Industry Alliance, served as chair of Seattle’s Community Development Roundtable and is a member of Seattle Rotary Club.
Mr. Nielsen was Jens Bruun's lawyer. He set up the Danish Scan Design Foundation and was a board member for many years. He now serves in an administrative capacity to the Danish Foundationd and practices law in Romania.
Mr. Sorensen joined the Board in 2013. He is the Head of the Doctoral School for Civil Engineering at the University of Ålborg and Head of DAWE (Danish Academy of Wind Energy).
Ms. Gulsrud joined the Board in 2015. She has a MPA from the University of Washington-Seattle and a PhD in Urban Green Space Governance from the University of Copenhagen. She lives and works in Copenhagen.
Mr. Matthiesen joined the Board in 2017. He is a Global Segment Director at Danfoss and has a Master of Energy Engineering from DTU and a BSME/MBA from the University of Denver. Hans was born in Denmark but grew up in Seattle, where his father was a long time friend of Inger & Jens Bruun.
Ms. Møller joined the Board in 2019. Kirsten is the director of J.L. Møllers Møbelfabrik A/S. She has a Bachelors degree in Finance and a Masters degree in Environmental Economics. She was born and raised in Minnesota, USA and now resides in Aarhus, Denmark.
Ms. Matzen joined the Board in 2019. She works as a freelance Art Professional in the field of art communication. Sara Line has a Bachelor degree in Art History from Aarhus University and a MA in Modern Culture from the University of Copenhagen. She lives and works on the island of Funen.
Mr. Harris is the Founder and CEO of Pacific Market International located in Seattle. He was a long-time friend of Inger and Jens Bruun. Rob has served on the boards of numerous privately held for-profit companies and a number of community based not for profit organizations, including Leaders Up, Los Angeles, Seattle University, Entrepreneurship Center and Global Advisory Board at University of Redlands, Redlands CA
Mr. Schleck served as President of the Foundation since its formation in 2002 until May, 2020. In addition to serving as President, he is an attorney in private practice in downtown Seattle. Mr. Schleck is the honorary Danish Consul for Washington State.
Mrs. Adamsen is the founder of Kids Furniture in Aalborg, and was Jens' much loved partner of many years. Marianne retired from the board in 2020.
Mr. Matthiesen joined the Board in 2008. He is the owner of Highland Refrigeration in Seattle, Washington. He travels frequently between Seattle and Denmark and has strong ties with both countries. He was a long time friend of Inger & Jens Bruun. Lars retired from the board in 2017.