Steve was born on April 14, 1952 in Los Angeles to Jerry and Belle Fink. He dedicated his professional life to education, serving first as a Special Education teacher in both Los Angeles and Idaho, followed by his role as principal at the Idaho School for the Deaf from 1978-1984. After earning his doctorate, he served as Special Education Director and Assistant Superintendent of Edmonds School District from 1984-2001. Moving on, he founded and was the Executive Director of the Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) at the University of Washington, where he also assumed the role as an affiliate professor of educational leadership and policy studies. Through CEL, Steve worked extensively with school and district leaders in improving instructional leadership. His work spanned large urban, suburban, rural and charter schools and management organizations across the country. Moreover, he co-authored two books, Leading for Instructional Improvement and Leading for Professional Learning. Notable too is that Steve served as a Senior Consultant with the Panasonic Foundation for over 20 years as well as a board member for Equal Opportunity Schools from 2016-2022. His professional legacy continues.
Equally notable to his professional influence is the impact he has had on friends and family. Steve has a close group of childhood friends, “de guys,” as well as fishing buddies, golf peers, in addition to many, many other friends. He epitomized working hard, but playing hard too as evidenced by his many golf trophies and thorough enjoyment of nearly every sport throughout his lifetime. He also coached up and coming golfers through First Tee, Seattle.
Steve was a loving, devoted husband and father, always putting his wife, Debbie, and daughter, Jessica, above all else. He and Debbie were married for nearly 43 years, enjoying a special bond that continued to grow with each passing year. Jessica was his pride and joy and the love he had for her knew no bounds.
Steve is also survived by his mother, Belle, his brother, Mark (Susan), brother-in-law (Scott) and sister-in-law (Beth) and 10 nieces and nephews. He was also honored to be a great uncle to two little ones.
Steve had an impact on all he met. His extroversion, keen curiosity, kindness, wittiness and sense of humor, as well as sheer intelligence, will live on in memories each of us hold. And his focus on equity and justice, humanity, and leadership paves the way for a new generation. To say that he will be missed is an understatement. It was an honor and a privilege to know him and to love him.
A Memorial/Celebration of Life will be held from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Edmonds Waterfront Center on Saturday, November 4, 2023. The address is:
220 Railroad Ave
Edmonds, WA 98020
In lieu of flowers and/or gifts, donations may be made in Steve’s honor to an organization of your choice or to:
First Tee (firstteeseattle.org/donate/)
Fred Hutch (fredhutch.org)
End of Life, WA (endoflifewa.org)
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