
ABOUT US:
LEADERSHIP
Our Mission
We celebrate and protect Seattle’s unique floating home community.
The Floating Homes Association (FHA) is a resource for all things related to Seattle’s floating home life. We champion our unique community—protecting Lake Union’s environment, honoring its rich history, and fostering connections through events and community technology. We support members with safety, dock tips, and guidance, while building valuable relationships with government and neighborhood leaders to amplify our collective voice and positive impact.
Our leadership team are all volunteers who love living on the water, supporting our colorful community and helping others.

Board President, Historical Preservation and Design Lead
Stafford Green
"I'm committed to... transparency, thoughtful planning, and enhancing collaboration to protect and celebrate our unique floating homes community."
Hi, I’m Stafford Green. I'm happy and grateful to be the President of the Floating Homes Association (FHA). I'm committed to sharing our colorful history, transparency, thoughtful planning, and enhancing collaboration to protect and celebrate our unique floating homes community. My goal is to transition the Board to a more strategic, empowering our strong committees to drive execution. I focus on advancing the FHA's long-range plan—supporting our advocacy, environment, and member services—all from my floating home in Eastlake with my Norwegian wife Kristin and our Sheltie, Watson. PSL I also work on a nonprofit I founded: capeLABS, a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse through empowerment, education and technology.

Board Vice President, Legislative and Neighborhood Relations Lead
Sheri Greaves
"...I was very involved in the effort to get the DNR lease 30 years ago, saving the floating homes on the University Dock from eviction and drafting the regulations for floating homes in the Seattle Shoreline Master Plan..."
Hello, I’m Sheri Greaves. I have lived in Houseboat D (‘the smiley-face houseboat’) on Portage Bay Place East since 1982. I grew up in a small town in Southeast Missouri, affectionately referred to as the “Bootheel”. I went to college at Arkansas State University, and received my Masters in Public Administration from the UW after moving to Seattle. During that time, I worked as the Office Manager at the Floating Homes Association part-time. That led to me joining the FHA Board in 1992. My main interests were (and still are) in legislative and urban affairs, so I was very involved in the effort to get the DNR lease 30 years ago, saving the floating homes on the University Dock from eviction, and drafting the regulations for floating homes in the Seattle Shoreline Master Plan as a member of the Board and Chair of the FHA Legislative Committee. I later served as President for several years. My real job since 1992 has been working in various positions at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the last 20 years as a research administrator in the Public Health Sciences Division. My husband races boats so we spend a lot of weekends at small lakes and rivers around the PNW, and also at our cabin on Orcas Island. I think the Floating Homes Association continues to make a difference in the lives of everyone in our community, and I look forward to continuing my relationship with the FHA for many years to come.

Board Secretary
Linda Knight (on left)
"...I helped organize our very first Floating Homes Tour back in the late '70s alongside Jan McFarland, and have continued to support community efforts since..."
Hi, I’m Linda Gail Knight. I’ve lived on my floating home since 1969, and over the years, this community has become deeply woven into my life. I’m a retired registered nurse, and my late husband, Jim—who was a pediatrician—shared my love for this unique lifestyle. While he wasn’t an FHA officer, he was always a strong supporter of our Association. I helped organize our very first Floating Homes Tour back in the late '70s alongside Jan McFarland, and have continued to support community efforts since. These days, I assist with the quarterly Dock Leadership Team meetings and have volunteered with our intern Chloe to hunt FHA materials to archive. Outside the FHA, I’ve played violin with the Music Lovers group, raised a wonderful son who now teaches art and graphic novels at the college level, and enjoy regular long walks with a group of friends. I find the role of Secretary both entertaining and—despite rumors—completely possible. I’m happy to serve and contribute to the continued strength of our floating homes’ community.

Board Member and Culture/Tour Lead
Melissa Ahlers
"I’ve lived on a floating home for 25 years and feel deeply connected to this unique and vibrant community."
I’ve lived on a floating home for 25 years and feel deeply connected to this unique and vibrant community. I’m married and a proud mom to a wonderful 15-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old Havanese dog. I’ve been a realtor in this community for over 20 years, helping neighbors buy and sell floating homes with care and local insight. Along the way, I’ve even made appearances on a couple of reality TV real estate shows—though I’ll be the first to tell you they’re totally scripted!

Board Member and Director of Technology
David Boschwitz
"..it’s been incredibly rewarding to apply my tech background to help strengthen communication and support within our community."
Hi, I’m David Boschwitz. I’m a software engineer based in Seattle, currently working at Amazon in the Alexa for Enterprise division. My work focuses on building voice-enabled productivity tools that help organizations streamline communication and operations. I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Software Engineering, where I led a senior design project on disaster relief technology as part of IBM’s Call for Code initiative. That experience deepened my belief in using tech for good. Growing up on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota, I’ve always had a strong connection to water. After moving to Seattle, I found my way to a floating home community and instantly felt at home. Now, I serve on the Board of Directors for the Seattle Floating Homes Association as the Director of Technology and Communications. It’s been incredibly rewarding to apply my tech background to help strengthen communication and support within our community. When I’m not coding or volunteering, you’ll often find me behind a camera. I love photography—capturing adventures, portraits, and events is my creative outlet. You can check out some of my work at david.boschwitz.com.

Board Member and Director of Strategy
Becca Galfer
"I’m excited to lend my career experience as a designer and user experience design leader "
I’ve lived on Flo Villa dock for more than 11 years, including 10 years as dock Secretary, Secretary/Treasurer, and now VP/Secretary. My husband, Derek Bottles, and I recently retired from 25+ year careers, so the time has come to expand our community involvement. We are avid boaters with two 31-foot sailboats tied to our floating home, a 28-foot lobster boat in Anacortes, several small sailboats for racing, and myriad kayaks and dinghies on the lake and at our cabin on Lopez Island. We race 2-person Tasar sailboats both locally and (occasionally) internationally. We also launched a business to provide marine surveying and interior yacht detailing. I’m excited to lend my career experience as a designer and user experience design leader to updating the FHA website and logo. Your honest and unfettered input will be important!

Board Member and Finance Director
Megan Sutherland
"It’s such an unbelievable privilege to live in this little sanctuary, nestled quietly amidst the hustle of our vibrant and beautiful city, and to be part of this community – there’s truly no place like it."
I’ve lived on a houseboat in Eastlake for over a decade now, and I love this quirky, close-knit community, with its proximity to both the city and to nature, and all it offers. It reminds me of the island where I grew up, where our neighbors were family, our doors were open, and our little homes on the water were places of refuge and joy. I attended the University of Washington or both undergrad (English Literature) and grad school (Finance MBA). After moving to Eastlake right after college, I would walk the neighborhood and dream of life on a floating home, and was thrilled to make that a reality so many years later. I spent the early part of my career in finance, working at a small company, and then in finance and marketing at two of the region’s larger employers. I am grateful for those experiences, the relationships I developed, and all that I learned, but I’ve more recently found the most meaning in community work. I currently serve as board chair of Safe Crossings Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping grieving kids heal and get back to being kids again after the loss of a loved one. Every day demonstrates the resilience of young people and the importance of community, and it’s an honor to be involved. It’s such an unbelievable privilege to live in this little sanctuary, nestled quietly amidst the hustle of our vibrant and beautiful city, and to be part of this community – there’s truly no place like it.

Director of Social and Fun
Brendan Lopez
"I am so grateful for the experiences, friendships and conversations the floating home community has provided me"
My name is Brendan Lopez and I live on the Boston Rose Dock, two blocks south of Pete’s Market. My first memory of a floating home comes from a car ride into the city, looking out on Portage Bay, through the window of my parent’s 1996 minivan. I never imagined I would be living in a floating home. It all started when my then girlfriend, and now wife, insisted we move from a 900 sq/ft apartment to a 450 sq/ft single wide in March 2020. Five years, three moves and one sailboat later, the hooks are certainly in. I am so grateful for the experiences, friendships and conversations the floating home community has provided me. On land, I am a committed husband, responsible dog dad and practicing small business owner. I love cooking, writing, flossing, making coffee, bird watching and practicing yoga. Let’s have some FUN!

Director of Membership
Sarah Morlidge
"Living on Lake Union is a dream... These days, my role with the FHA is to help organize and streamline our membership records, making sure everything is tidy and up to date."
I’m Sarah Morlidge. A few years ago, I downsized from a large suburban house in Sammamish to a floating home on Roanoke Reef—and I’ve never looked back. Originally from England, I now work as the Technology & Communications Director at a private school on the Eastside. I love the scenery and wide-open feel of Washington and have no plans to leave. Living on Lake Union is a dream. In my spare time, you’ll find me tending my P Patch allotment or out on the water—sometimes solo, sometimes with my husband, our kids, or our dog. These days, my role with the FHA is to help organize and streamline our membership records, making sure everything is tidy and up to date.

Director of Safety and Security
Jason Rungsigul
"I’m Jason Rungsigul, a lifelong Pacific Northwest resident, and I’ve been enjoying life in the floating home community for the past five years. "
I’m Jason Rungsigul, a lifelong Pacific Northwest resident, and I’ve been enjoying life in the floating home community for the past five years. I’m a proud UW alum with degrees in electrical engineering and business, and I do my best to balance work with family life. My wife, Yao, and I are raising our energetic daughter, and when I’m not exploring new places or trying great food, you’ll find me cheering on my favorite sports teams, playing tennis, or spending time outdoors with my family.

Director of Environment
Katheryn Hayes
"Living on Lake Union gives us a truly unique view of our city's ecosystem, but it also means we're on the front linesMof protecting it."
My husband and I are starting our 9th year in a floating home this fall, but I've lived in the Seattle area for over 30 years, raising two children in Bothell and working at Microsoft for almost 20 years. We love stepping off our deck and onto paddle boards (or kayaks, or a sail boat, or a canoe...) and being in the middle of the lake in minutes, but mostly we just love watching the lake and seeing the weather, the boats, the birds, and the animals move around on it. When I'm not working for or being entertained by lake-life, I'm cherishing moments with my favorite people, gardening, and enjoying all the other things our lucky lives offer us each day. Did I mention that I spend a lot of time reading? Yes, on my phone. Yes, about politics. Ugg. Thank goodness for lake distractions, dock dogs and neighbors! Living on Lake Union gives us a truly unique view of our city's ecosystem, but it also means we're on the front lines of protecting it. To help us be successful protectors, the Environmental Committee has set up three goals for themselves: (1) Research a range of environmental topics and share the learnings with you. (2) Identify and create opportunities for individuals and groups to take actions that make a difference in the health of our lake and surrounding community. (3) Communicate with our neighbors.

Director of Welcome
Stephanie Farrell
"We love the beauty and the simplicity of living on the lake in a close and caring community. Being in the FHA has helped us to feel even more connected and tap into priceless shared information"
Hi! I live on The Log Foundation dock in Eastlake with my partner Dave and our crazy-sweet 5-mo puppy, Otis. We’ve been floating home owners for 2yrs, and the prior 30 was spent on Capitol Hill raising our 3 kids, Hannah, Connor, and Chloe. This year, Dave retired from a 40-year career in finance and I’m an architect, so one of us has a lot of vacation and the other one works all the time! We love the beauty and the simplicity of living on the lake in a close and caring community. Being in the FHA has helped us to feel even more connected and tap into priceless shared information. Look for me shopping at Pete’s, drinking coffee at Fram, kayaking to work, running around the lake, picking up trash with my trash-grabbers, or scooping Otis’s many poops :-)

Historian
Adam Woog
"Adam is the official FHA Historian...he wrote for
Seattle Times for more than two decades and hundreds of other pieces for newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and abroad..."
Adam Woog, a Seattle native, is the Floating Homes Association official historian and author of the recently published "Still Afloat: The History of Seattle's Historic and Iconic Houseboats." He is the author of several books of Pacific Northwest history for adults and dozens of books (mostly history and biography) for middle-school students. He wrote a monthly column for the Seattle Times for more than two decades and hundreds of other pieces for newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and abroad. Among his many excellent adventures, Woog lived overseas for several years and was a stay-at-home Dad until his daughter didn’t want him hanging around so much. In a sense, things have come full circle for him. Back when houseboating was a cheap and Bohemian lifestyle, he was conceived on a floating home below the legendary original Red Robin Tavern on Portage Bay. (His mother didn’t relish the thought of life on a rickety floating shack while pregnant, and his parents soon moved to land.) Much later, in the 1980s, Woog bought a small houseboat on Lake Union and was living there when he met his future wife -- Karen Kent, a (now-retired) geriatric mental health therapist. And for the last several years he has been happily headquartered in another small houseboat near Gasworks Park.

Board Representative for Eastlake Community Council
Oliver Bengle
"Oliver attends FHA meetings on behalf of the Eastlake Community Council (ECC), helping keep our two organizations connected and informed."
We’re happy to welcome Oliver Bengle as the Floating Homes Association’s official Eastlake Community Representative. Oliver attends FHA meetings on behalf of the Eastlake Community Council (ECC), helping keep our two organizations connected and informed. The FHA and ECC have worked closely together for decades. It’s a relationship built on shared goals—safer neighborhoods, strong community ties, and thoughtful stewardship of our shoreline. Over the years, that partnership has taken many forms: Neighborhood Improvements: From the earliest mini-park projects along Fairview Ave E—complete with new landscaping, benches, bike racks, and even a fishing float at Newton Street—the FHA and ECC worked side-by-side to open up and improve public waterfront spaces. Environmental Advocacy: Both organizations supported major city efforts to reduce sewage overflows into Lake Union, including the separation of storm and sanitary lines. Community Conversations: Together, the FHA and ECC sponsored public forums, including a well-attended ballot-measures event in 2006. Safety Collaboration: The ECC’s crime-prevention work was inspired in part by the FHA’s long-standing dock-watch program. Many residents have been part of both groups over the years—people like Melissa and Tim Ahlers, who once held a shared board seat, and Amalia Walton, who serves both the FHA and ECC through the ECC Land Use Committee. This crossover reflects something central to the FHA’s mission: building meaningful relationships with our neighbors and local leaders. Oliver continues that tradition. His role strengthens the bridge between Eastlake and our floating home community, making sure we stay in sync on local issues, development, and opportunities to work together. We’re grateful to have him at the table.













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