Staff & Board
The Issaquah History Museums is run by a dedicated staff and board of directors. Together, the Executive Director, staff and the board work to champion the museums' vision, protect the collections, and carry out their strategic goals. In addition to staff and board, the work of interns, groups, and volunteers is essential to the operations of the museums.
Meet The Team
Paul Winterstein
Executive Director
Paul landed in Issaquah fresh out of college in 1984 and has immersed himself in the landscape, the community and its history ever since. He leads IHM as Executive Director and works with our small but mighty staff, the Board of Directors, volunteers, partners, and the Issaquah community to do whatever is needed to fulfill our mission. Prior to IHM, Paul was Executive Director of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club and served two terms as an Issaquah City Councilmember. Paul also had a long career in the software industry and volunteered on the Issaquah Human Services Commission and at the Issaquah Meals Program. A life-long learner, Paul is happiest when sharing Issaquah’s history and helping people learn the past to gain a clearer lens to view the present and work for a better tomorrow.
Page Saurs
Museum Assistant
Moving to Issaquah in 1991 was a bit like throwing a dart. Page was new to Washington State—but she liked small towns (having lived in a few from Maine to Georgia)—and via California, found her way to Issaquah with her husband and daughter. They quickly grew to love the community. Prior to joining IHM in the fall of 2023, Page worked in marketing and product development in the travel and tourism industry. Using her creative and writing chops, today she works part-time at IHM doing research, writing blogs and social posts, overseeing the Depot's rental program, gift show needs, paying the bills, and on occasion, sharing local history at special events! In her spare time, Page enjoys adventuring, puzzling, and digging into her family's genealogy.
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Louisa Diomalli
Program & Volunteer Coordinator
Louisa has lived in Issaquah since 2017 and the Puget Sound area since 2013, drawn to its natural beauty and moody charm. She began volunteering with the Issaquah History Museums in summer 2025 and joined as a part-time employee in January 2026. Louisa loves reading, crafting, and walking and biking downtown Issaquah, where she’s lucky to be raising her two young kids. Before joining the Issaquah History Museums, she worked as a program manager for a tech giant, as a marketing copywriter, and as a freelance writer and editor. She has a master’s degree in fine art (poetry) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University.
Katarina Volchek
Collections Manager
Katya enjoys local history and fell in love with small town Washington during her time in Ellensburg at Central Washington University. As IHM's Collections Manager, she is focused on the care of our collections and the development of exhibitions. Young in her career, Katya finished her masters in 2022 at University of Washington and worked for a private art collection in Seattle before joining IHM in 2024. She's excited to learn more about the history of Issaquah and preserve it for generations to come. In Katya's spare time, she fancies running, book clubs, detective shows, and her cat (her cat fancies her too)!
THE
BOARD
The Board of Issaquah History Museums serves to support all aspects of the Issaquah History Museums (IHM).
Currently consisting of 7 members, the Board works as a cohesive team with the Executive Director & staff to ensure the missions and values of IHM are upheld, and that we fulfill our role for the City of Issaquah.
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Email: board@issaquahhistory.org
Heidi
Seligman
Heidi is a mental health therapist in private practice in Issaquah, where she has also lived for the last 25 years. She holds a Master’s degree in counseling from Seattle University, and also attended the University of Washington, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Both of her children, now young adults, attended K-12 in the Issaquah School district. While still new to IHMs and the board, she is excited about the opportunity to connect in a new way with the community she has been a part of for many years, and to work to honor and preserve the history of Issaquah.
Nick Weir-
Williams
Bio coming soon!
Cara
Kovac
Cara has been an active member of the Issaquah community since 2000. She and her husband Chris have raised 2 wonderful men who went through the Issaquah School District and participated in the wonderful soccer leagues in Issaquah. Cara has been a teacher in Issaquah for the last 16 years and currently works at The Children’s Garden preschool - which is the oldest preschool in Issaquah. One of Cara’s strengths is bringing community together - both old and young.
Emily
Lee
Emily Lee is an elementary educator in the Issaquah School District and enjoys making connections between IHM’s rich resources and the content students are studying in school. She believes that local history is an entry point for all members of our community to feel connected as we build that history together every day. Emily has a background in cultural anthropology and also serves on the Board of the Snoqualmie Valley History Museum.
Linda
Henderson
Linda has lived most of her life in the Bellevue/Issaquah community, recently retiring after 20 years of working for the Issaquah School District. Through her work with the Issaquah School district and involvement with her own children and grandchildren, she sees the importance of connecting youth to their community, finding ways to help them understand the past and making sure the voices of all who built the community we now share are honored and heard. She is inspired by all the different ways a museum can connect community members, not only to the
past, but also to each other.
Board Member Inquiry
Interested in joining the IHM Board? That's Great! Fill out the form and one of our IHM staff will be in contact with you.
The mission of the Issaquah History Museums is to discover, preserve, and share the history and heritage of Issaquah and the surrounding area.
Issaquah History Museums’ staff and board members pledge to:
Statement of Anti-Racism
Throughout the nation, museums of all sizes have come forward in recent days to remind their communities that museums are not neutral. The board and staff of the Issaquah History Museums (IHM) join other Americans and fellow Issaquahns in condemning and rejecting violence against Black Americans at the hands of police and citizens alike. We stand in solidarity against racism and pledge to intentionally seek out ways to be part of the solution.
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As the trusted caretakers of Issaquah’s history, we know there is much more work we can do to be truly anti-racist. We pledge to create inclusive programming and to lift up marginalized voices, whose stories deserve to be shared, preserved, and respected. In the next three months, we will lay out concrete actions we intend to take.
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We are committed to presenting the authentic history of Issaquah, which means that we tell the historical truth about Issaquah’s past, even when parts of that past are reprehensible. If we are selective about the history we present, we ignore the truth of who we have been. We will represent the history of all people in the Issaquah community.
Commitment to Our Community
Issaquah History Museums welcomes all visitors. We recognize the diverse needs of our audience and offer accessible programs and services to enable all visitors to explore the stories we interpret at Issaquah History Museums. For questions about Museum accessibility and how we can accommodate your specific needs, call (425) 392-3500 or e-mail info@issaquahhistory.org.
Get Involved Today!
You don’t have to be a board member to contribute time to the Issaquah History Museums. We encourage community members to serve on our committees, working groups and task forces. Contact us today to get in touch if you’d like to get involved with the IHM.