Renee Zimmerman Named New Eastside Baby Corner Executive Director

Local social service agency, Eastside Baby Corner (EBC), is proud to announce the Board of Directors appointment of Renee Zimmerman as its new Executive Director starting January 7, 2013. Founder and outgoing Executive Director of 22 years, Karen Ridlon, will be taking on a new role as Emeritus Executive Director.  Ridlon will remain a member of the Board of Directors and will continue to nurture key relationships for the organization and serve as a mentor to EBC’s service delivery.

Named Citizen of the Year last spring by the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, Zimmerman has over 17 years of professional and personal experience in creating stronger communities. EBC said in a press release that she also brings with her a deep respect for the efficiency, teamwork and caring space that are the hallmarks of Eastside Baby Corner, which provides basic necessities for children so that EBC’s partners—schools, social service agencies, food banks, hospitals--can help families become stable, safe, housed, fed and employed, distributing more than 40,000 items for families annually. 

Eastside Baby Corner says Zimmerman is looking forward to engaging the community in continuing EBC’s essential work and finding ways to meet the growing need in the local area.   Renee has a wealth of experience in executive leadership, marketing and communications, including time as the Executive Director of the Issaquah Highlands Council.  She is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, and holds both a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in Public Administration.  

About Renee Zimmerman

Most recently, Zimmerman served as the Executive Director for the Issaquah Highlands Council, with the mission of building community.  She received her Masters Degree from City University in both Public Administration as well as Business Administration with her Bachelors Degree in Interpersonal Communication Arts from Pacific Lutheran University.

Zimmerman currently oversees a Cub Scout Pack of over 80 Scouts as the Committee Chair and serves as the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Special Events Committee Chair.  You will also find her on the field volunteering for Issaquah Youth Football as well as sitting in the dugout with her camera for Eastside Select baseball team capturing various action shots from the games.

She has brought in the lessons of serving community to her Cub Scouts.  Last year, she partnered with Eastside Baby Corner to help pick up and deliver donated items from Issaquah Storage to EBC’s warehouse.  She assigned each of her 11 dens to a month that they would help with this service project.  The partnership has resulted in a win-win; EBC gets the donations delivered and the Cub Scouts learn the value of serving their community.  Renee has been a partner and advocate of Eastside Baby Corner for over 5 years to help promote its mission.

Zimmerman has won several awards including the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year Award, Key to the Highlands, and Toastmasters Spark Plug Award.

She is married to Erick and they have two children. 

As the new Executive Director for Eastside Baby Corner, Renee will begin her position on January 7, 2013.

About Eastside Baby Corner

Relying almost exclusively on volunteers, EBC takes in donations of children’s clothing and goods from the community and supplements donations with purchases of the absolute essentials for children:  baby food, formula, car seats, port-a-cribs and diapers.   As the vital safety net under family-assistance providers, EBC annually distributes over 40,000 items for kids from birth to age 12 directly to nearly every agency serving families in east King County.  Founded by pediatric nurse practitioner, Karen Ridlon in 1990, EBC helps more than 500 children each week.

--Information from Eastside Baby Corner