Harrison McGovern - Founder/President
In March 2020, Harry was diagnosed with Stage 4 Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. He underwent 5 months of intense chemotherapy and endured numerous hospital stays for both his infusion treatments, surgery and associated issues. Those long days and nights spent in the hospital compelled Harry to come up with a plan to help others in similar situations. He used his “Make-A-Wish” to put together comfort kits consisting of various amenities specifically geared towards teenagers, to help them pass the time in the hospital. He started The First Night Project so he can continue to fund more of these comfort kits. His goal is to continue to put together these kits for distribution to various hospitals treating cancer teens.
Tanya Gardanar - Director of Outreach
Tanya grew up and attended schools in the Seattle area. She spent 28 years in law enforcement as a police officer and Sex Crimes Detective. She then went on to work as the Director of Support Services for Northwest Center in Seattle, WA where she managed 100 desk staff for 42 Amazon buildings, as well as a Moves Team between buildings. She also implemented and oversaw the operation of the iconic Amazon "Banana Stand" with its "Banistas" who distributed complimentary bananas to local passerbys. She currently splits her time between Pt. Ludlow, WA and Scottsdale, AZ where she resides with her husband. They enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and exploring wines and food. Tanya has known the McGovern family for over 20 years and is thrilled to be undertaking her new role to help bring Harry's goal to fruition.
Les Baron - Director of Development
Since age 10, Les has loved sales and marketing which he then parlayed into a career having managed sales in excess of $100M. His experience includes working with small local advertisers for community newspapers, or the largest global organizations in AV and Collaboration. He enjoys helping customers be more efficient and grow with an emphasis on community.
A Boston native, Les has now been in the Seattle area for 30 years. But he is still a loyal Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics & Patriot fan. Les, his wife Robyn and their family of 3 kids and 2 dogs (one named Fenway of course) enjoy traveling and spending time with friends and family.
Ann McGovern - Marketing & Communications
She will eventually get around to writing something about herself but has been too busy with charity-related efforts.
Ed McGovern - Treasurer & Secretary
Ed grew up in New York City and moved to Seattle over 20 years ago. For the past 11 years, he has served as Managing Director of Private Capital for Security Properties, a 50+ year old company based in Seattle, which owns, manages, renovates and develops affordable, workforce, and luxury apartment properties in 22 states plus DC. He has also worked in real estate investment, development and investment banking positions across multiple property sectors during his 25 years of industry experience. As a Board Member for the University of Washington Department of Real Estate, Ed served as an Adjunct Professor in the UW Runstad Master of Science of Real Estate Program. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and has an MBA in Real Estate and Finance from Columbia.
As Harry’s Father, and Treasurer of the First Night Project, Ed is just here to do as ordered by Ann and “execute and implement.”