The Parks & Trails Foundation welcomes Thao Weldy as our new Development Manager.
Thao grew up in Houston, Texas, and earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Her engineering projects took her around the world, including to Oslo, Norway, where she realized it was possible to live somewhere with incredible access to nature. She promptly requested, and was granted, a transfer to Oakland, Calif., where she embraced a lifestyle of biking, rock climbing, camping, and hiking.
In 2016, Thao transitioned to nonprofit work at a community center that provided the same services her parents accessed when they arrived in the U.S. as refugees, services that helped them eventually thrive. There, she established and opened the center’s immigration program, along the way earning accredited representative status from the Department of Justice to practice immigration law. She went on to work at two legal aid organizations, raising funds to help seniors, youth, women, immigrants, refugees, victims of crime, and survivors of domestic violence access essential services.
In 2020, Thao moved to Bainbridge Island to raise her young family near her in-laws. She loves paddle boarding in Eagle Harbor, cold plunging in Puget Sound, riding bikes with her kids at Strawberry Hill Park, and exploring the many miles of trails across the island.