Susan Pappalardo - Co-Founder and President
SPLASHForward
It has been just over fifty years since the last new public pool was built on the Eastside and our population has grown tremendously and is much more diverse. Learn about the nonprofit SPLASHForward’s efforts to bring a game-changing new Bellevue Aquatic Center to the City of Bellevue to meet our aquatic needs and provide aquatic pathways so that everyone can learn essential life skills and be safe around water. SPLASHForward is the private partner to the City of Bellevue bringing stakeholder voices to the process, creating community engagement, developing long lasting partnerships, leading the vision for the facility design and usage, and providing the private funding to a 130,000 square foot aquatic facility that will be an economic driver to our local economy. In support of their mission, they have several initiatives including a HS Lifeguard Training Program that has supported 76 students to date. SPLASHForward envisions a world where everyone is safe around water and has equitable access to best-in-class aquatic centers that are vibrant places of pride and inclusive for all. Their mission is to build healthier, stronger, and safer communities by creating equitable access to aquatic facilities and programs that build essential life skills, inclusion, connection, and active lifestyles.
About the Speaker
Susan is the co-founder and president of the nonprofit SPLASHForward founded in 2018 when the city of Bellevue reawakened their efforts to explore a new comprehensive regional public aquatic center. Susan has 15 years of program management leadership and user interface design experience in computer graphics and mobile software design. She worked at Microsoft for 11 years and has been a Kirkland resident for 30 years where she and husband raised twins that just entered college. Susan is a lifelong learner and athlete. A competitive runner, a former long standing volunteer track and cross-county coach for Cascade Striders, and a masters and open water swimmer. She is never far from a pool and has met many outstanding people of all ages and abilities through swimming. She co-chairs of the Kirkland Arts Center Advisory Council, serves on the Advisory Committee for the King County Aquatic Facilities and Parks and Open Space Grant Programs and serves on the City of Kirkland’s Parks Funding Exploratory Committee for a potential 2023 Parks Measure.
