5/14/26 Rotary Off the Cuff: Taylor Fukushima & Stacey Cowles
Are you an early riser or a night owl?
Taylor: Well, I have kids, so I have no choice. Early riser.
Stacey: Both. Who needs to sleep?
What was your first job?
Stacey: My first real job was building docks on Coeur d’Alene Lake for Fred Murphy.
Taylor: I’m from San Luis Obispo, California, and there is a local team called the Blues baseball team. It’s like a minor league team, and I used to sell hot dogs and sandwiches as one would.
Who has influenced you the most or you’ve looked up to over your career?
Taylor: This is not because she’s my boss, and she’s not in the room. The first person is Colleen Fox; if you guys have not met her, you will remember if you do. She’s just the perfect balance of tenacity and authenticity. I just want to be like her when I grow up.
Stacey: I think I would say my parents. They’re very different people. My dad was super principled, and he never said much, but I gained so much by osmosis. And my mom, a lot of words, and a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of insistence that I do my best, and I think, between the two of them, they did a great job.
What skill or trait makes you particularly good at the work you do now?
Stacey: I’m very diplomatic, and I hold my tongue. So, it really helps because you can find out what’s really going on without, you know, popping off first.
Taylor: I could learn a thing or two from that. I am ruthlessly optimistic and working in non-profit fundraising, you have to be or else you know.
When did you join Rotary, and who/what inspired you to join?
Taylor: I joined last year (Aug 2025), and again, Colleen (Fox) invited me to be part of it, and it was such a blessing, just being so welcomed. So early on, I think, new to Spokane in general, it was such a gift. I’m really thrilled to be here.
Stacey: Sometime in the early or mid-90s (Oct 1992), and Scott Jones brought me in. We were neighbors with Barry and Carol, so we were steeped in Jones, everything, and he inspired me to join.
