Mill Creek is the Vilorias’ long-dreamed of haven

By Melissa Marsh
If you ask Tom Viloria he’ll tell you he met Brenda, his wife of nearly 32 years, in “Haven”—Pizza Haven that is. Native Washingtonians, Tom and Brenda grew up in Bremerton, Wash., and met during college, while both working summer jobs at the favorite local pizza hangout, noting it was “love at first slice.” Corny, but true.
The summer romance endured long distance, as Tom received his Associate of Applied Science degree from ITT in Seattle, while Brenda, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Washington State University (WSU). “Go Cougs,” exclaimed Viloria in honor of her alma mater. Married in their hometown of Bremerton, they soon after moved to Seattle and introduced their first “fur baby” Lancelot, a tabby kitten into the fold.
Once their careers were underway, Tom and Brenda bought their first home in Everett, Wash., caught the DIY remodeling bug, and welcomed their beautiful daughter Kelsie into the family. Five years later, after selling and buying their second home, their strapping son Cole was born, completing their little nucleus.
One late night while searching for an all-night pharmacy—a necessity with two kids under six— the couple stumbled across and fell in love with the community of Mill Creek, Wash. Unable to move at the time, Tom and Brenda knew in their hearts that one day they would call Mill Creek home.
“Life doesn’t move in a straight line. That’s what makes it interesting,” said Brenda. After Brenda accepted a promotion as Vice President of Sales with Verizon, the Everett clan sold their home, packed their bags to move across the country, buying their third home in the quaint New England town of Newburyport, Mass. Mill Creek would have to wait.
And that wasn’t the only adjustment they’d accommodate. Tom, a huge supporter of Brenda’s career and true family man, put his profession at Adobe on hold to become a stay-at-home dad in their new Massachusetts neighborhood. Then sadly, Lancelot crossed the “rainbow bridge” at the age of 15, prompting the adoption of two feral kittens, Chloe and Naomi—one for each child.
Determined to take advantage of all the adventure and firsts the Boston area offered, the Vilorias enjoyed baseball at Fenway Park (including the lore of The Green Monster), visited the barrier Plum Island known for the plum bushes that grow along the beach, explored the history of Plymouth Rock, tried mouthwatering lobster rolls and embarked on stunning fall foliage tours. But even with endless things to do and see, the call to return to their native Washington and make Mill Creek home beckoned. After two years, the Viloria clan bade farewell to the East Coast and trekked west to fulfill their long-held wish—next stop, Mill Creek.
For the last 16 years, the Vilorias have resided in Mill Creek’s River Crossing neighborhood. Kelsie and Cole both graduated from Jackson High School. Following in Brenda’s footsteps, Kelsie attended WSU and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Zoology. Cole, inheriting Tom’s artistic talents and love of gaming, currently is a senior in the Game Art & Design program at the Art Institute of Seattle.
While working as a hostess at Russell’s Restaurant and Loft in Bothell, Wash., Kelsie met the love of her life, Kevin Bylsma, coincidentally a fellow Mill Creek resident and WSU grad. Now a clinic supervisor with EvergreenHealth’s Neuroscience, Spine & Orthopedic Institute, Kelsie tied the knot with Kevin three years ago. And to her parents’ delight, the young couple bought a home nearby in the Mill Creek area too. Kevin works as a ComTech 4 with Comcast Business Services, out of the Bothell office. “Location, location, location,” said Brenda, now a Windermere agent, specializing in the Mill Creek neighborhood.
When not juggling their livelihoods, Kelsie and Kevin mirror her parents’ early path, working on home projects, planning a trip to Thailand and raising their own “fur baby,” Griffey, a year-old Golden Retriever whose name was inspired by the couple’s love of the Seattle Mariners and Ken Griffey, Jr. “He’s truly a heart-melter, who smiles with his whole-body wiggle,” said Brenda, “grand mum” to the pup. However, cats, Chloe and Naomi, might not share the same opinion.
Outside of school, Cole and his longtime girlfriend enjoy quality time together and he works part-time at Central Market. With big dreams for his future, he is studying to be an Environmental Artist, furnishing the gaming world with props, objects and life. “We’re convinced, one day we’ll be saying, ‘we knew him when,’” said proud mom, Brenda.
Post a 30-year career in executive sales leadership in Telecom, Brenda retired—well, not totally. Never one to let the grass grow, she parlayed her love of real estate and successful business acumen into launching her own Real Estate business with Windermere. You might have noticed her signs dotting the landscape about town and she always greets customers with a smile that will brighten your day at local open houses. “I really believe in mixing old fashioned customer service with modern marketing,” explained Brenda, determined to blend her experience in technology, sales and marketing with exceptional customer service to help her clients make their real estate dreams come to fruition. “It’s all about putting you first, so I will be your champion, your advisor, your lifelong real estate partner.”
And while Brenda focuses on Real Estate, Tom continues his more than 10-plus years as a Security Officer at Gateway Middle School. Formerly at Heatherwood Middle School, older students often say they recall his time there, offering Jolly Ranchers as a reward for anyone who helped pick up trash on the playground at recess. “Yes, I’m the Jolly Rancher Man,” Tom acknowledged with a chuckle and a smile.
Brenda chimed in, “Tom has such an amazing and unique way of connecting to students. He’s no nonsense, yet a good listener and deeply committed to protecting the children and staff at Gateway. I think that’s something parents and administrators really find invaluable, in this day-and-age.”
Almost empty nesters, Brenda and Tom remain close with the kids, regularly hanging out and even dog-sitting for Griffey. Whether boating on Lake Sammamish, strolling trails behind the Town Center, summer concerts outside Central Market, Mill Creek community garage sales, re-watching favorite Star Wars movies, or vacationing in Hawaii, they are never at a loss for laughter and adventure—together. No matter what activity they’re partaking in, they value tradition and love deeply in their very own haven of Mill Creek.

Inclusion and work life balance top the conversation at WiT Regatta 2018’s Leading with Vision is Vital workshop

By Melissa Marsh
According to NBC’s The More You Know segment, more than half of girls say they’re interested in math and science, but only 14% are engineers.
This fact along with work life balance seemed to come up over and over at the 2018 WiT Regatta Leading with Vision is Vital session.
Initially, Theresa Schaefer, VP of Product Management at New York-based Olo, a mobile and online food ordering platform for popular restaurants such as Applebee’s (DIN), Chili’s (EAT), Five Guys Burgers & Fries, and Wingstop (WING), had thought her focus during the workshop would help her motivate her team as well as cross functional teams.
Inspired by Stephanie Landry, VP of Amazon Prime globally, she wanted to emulate the powerful female leader. “She could really rally the troops,” said Schaefer, a former Amazon team member for six years. “I wasn’t prepared for this to take a personal bent,” said the Seattle University alumni.
That shift happened nearly immediately though as session moderators, Susan Gibson and Siraj Sirajuddin, co-founders of Temenos+Agility, kicked off the afternoon explaining why we were all there.
On deck? We were to listen to our hearts to bring out the personal vision that’s inside every one of us—let it emerge.
“It’s vital to our being and what we want every day,” shared Gibson with joy. “Building our leadership muscle is how we can articulate in a connected way. It starts with the spark in the heart.”
That catalyst is what spurred Schaefer to envision her home life, as a mom of two, including a daughter who has an avid interest in coding, and how to strike the right balance of time investment alongside the demands of the work environment.
Next, all 175 registrants were asked to divvy up into groups of 10, or our “container,” and reflect on and jot down the first thing that came to mind in terms of one’s visions, ideas, thoughts, images, words or diagrams.
True to a product manager, Schaefer chose to flowchart a scale depicting work vs. life balance as it stands today and how she might change her prioritization strategy for work requests and personal requests in the future.
Then we were given the gift of listening to each other while one-by-one, every participant revealed her personal vision. To Schaefer’s surprise, she wasn’t alone. Many fellow moms among our circle had the same worry.
“Sometimes I get up in the morning and I only have time to heat up leftover mac and cheese for my kids’ breakfast—does that make me a bad mom?” Schaefer asked rhetorically.
For the Seattle area resident, redefining what it means to be both a successful working mom and having a personal life was the key.
“Is work my life or life my work?” she again pitched open-endedly. Then she thought through aloud how she could reframe her thinking to perhaps work life harmony, weaving it in all the time to achieve balance.
“The struggle for balance is more visible to me now that the kids are older. They call me out and notice every time I prioritize work first. Before kids, I didn’t have to worry about that,” she shared.
Then, our bubble of safety expanded as we were asked to mingle and find four to six more people to share our personal vision with.
Again, mothers feeling inadequate due to imbalance with work came up frequently, as did the lack of inclusion or seeing other women in tech at respective companies. One recent college graduate, said she ended up at the Leading with Vision session by default, because her company had tickets and she was the only woman in her department.
“That’s a big issue today,” said Schaefer. “I think about my own daughter who wants to learn coding, so I signed her up for classes. But she is the only girl there and can’t really relate to the boys who are rambunctious and very loud. We have to work toward inclusion and provide role models for these girls.”
As the workshop neared its close, moderator Sirajuddin ushered us into a huge circle encompassing our entire South Lake Union Thinkspace co-working room. Coincidentally, a float plane took off in the backdrop of the windows as he said, “Now. In our circle, cite your vision aloud. If you fly, we’ll catch you.”
With confident voices, each attendee took turns disclosing her vision.
What started as a professional, continuing ed opportunity for Schaefer, ended with a personal breakthrough.
“Hearing I’m not the only one who has these concerns about the perceived societal definition of a “good mom” versus an introspective definition, makes me feel like I’m a lot closer to work life balance than I thought,” she said.
And with moms who are so self-aware and committed to improving their lives at home and within the workplace for women, perhaps Schaefer’s daughter will see a day when 50% of girls not only like math and science, but go on to become engineers and scientists.
We can envision it.