Our story, since 2018
The story gets bigger without anyone having to disappear.
when people have room to grow, they do
Level Up was conceived by two people, carried by a family, reshaped by the men it served, and handed forward chapter by chapter. This page is the record, kept so it does not have to live in anyone’s memory.
The first home, Edmonds, July 26, 2019.
Katrina Romatowski, Frank Shankwitz and Angie Christensen, Edmonds, 2019.
Co-Founder, In Memoriam
Frank Shankwitz
March 8, 1943 to January 24, 2021
In 1980 Frank co-founded the Make-A-Wish Foundation and became its first President and CEO. Before that he was an Air Force veteran, an Arizona highway patrol motorcycle officer, and a homicide detective. After Make-A-Wish he gave his time to two causes: foster youth and veterans.
He co-founded Level Up Seattle with Katrina Romatowski. As Chairman of Cause Equity, which bought housing and leased it below market to nonprofits, he helped put a roof over the first home. He was in Edmonds for the ribbon cutting in July 2019, and he talked about Level Up in interviews, on podcasts, and on television.
He brought more than his name. He brought the belief that ordinary people have extraordinary capacity to change one life, and that everyone can be a hero to someone. That idea is part of Level Up’s DNA. His Make-A-Wish chapter model is the blueprint for how Level Up hopes to grow.
Frank in his own words, and in the record
- Interview with Frank "The Wish Man" Shankwitz (podcast)
- Real Kindness interview with Frank (YouTube)
- Frank on the Marketplace of Kindness (LaunchEngine)
- On the Shoulders of Giants featuring Frank Shankwitz, 2019
- Level Up Seattle launches its first home (press release, 2019)
- One helluva ride: Frank’s memorial ride, 2021
- The Wishman Monument
A continuum of contribution
Who conceived it. Who built it. Who carried it. Who is carrying it now.
A healthy institution can say clearly who did what, and when. Giving one person full credit never requires taking credit from another.
- 01
2018
The organization is formed
Katrina Romatowski and Frank Shankwitz incorporate Level Up Seattle to give young people aging out of foster care a stable home and a place to decide what their lives could become.
Who carried this chapter
Katrina Romatowski, Frank Shankwitz, Angie Christensen, Matthew Strax-Haber
- 02
July 26, 2019
The first home opens in Edmonds
A ribbon cutting hosted by the mayor and the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. Ten young adults moved in that August with housing, meals, life-skills classes, and business mentors. Angie Christensen served as the first Executive Director.
Who carried this chapter
The Edmonds community, Cause Equity, the first residents
- 03
December 2019
Federal 501(c)(3) recognition
The determination letter arrives dated December 6, 2019, with the exemption effective back to October 10, 2018. Level Up Seattle is a public charity, and the legal foundation for everything that followed is in place.
Who carried this chapter
The founding board
- 04
2019 to 2023
Keeping the doors open
The residents taught the organization where the need really was. Many had been justice-involved, some while living in the house. The Romatowski family stood in the gap whenever there was one.
Who carried this chapter
Residents, Rick and Katrina Romatowski, early board members, donors and volunteers
- 05
2023 to 2025
The population teaches us, and reentry becomes the path
Board members brought lived experience of incarceration, recovery, and reentry. The 18-to-24 age limit no longer made sense. The board removed it and expanded the mission to men coming home. Jim Chambers of Weld Seattle helped deepen the reentry pathway and bring the first men into the house.
Who carried this chapter
Ronnie Jackson Jr, Anthony Powers, Robert Britten, Carrie Bixel, Jim Chambers
- 06
2025 to 2026
Teri steps into the work
Teri Devlin came in administratively, recognized her own story in the reentry work, and became Executive Director. Under her the recovery and reentry model was strengthened and Level Up earned WAQRR accreditation as a recovery residence.
Who carried this chapter
Teri Devlin, the mentors, the men in the house
- 07
2026 forward
Institution, scale, and stewardship
A new board chair, stronger governance, and a 2025 to 2028 plan to grow from one home to five across King and Pierce counties, then to prepare a locally led chapter model in the spirit of Frank’s Make-A-Wish chapters.
Who carried this chapter
Heidi Ihde as President and the 2026 board, and the people whose names we do not know yet
Edmonds, July 26, 2019
The day the first door opened.
The mayor and the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce hosted the ribbon cutting at 4:30 in the afternoon. Ten young adults and a program director moved in that August. The house had meals, life-skills classes, and a roster of business owners who showed up to mentor.
The population changed over the years. The people carrying the work changed. The central belief did not.
“When people have room to grow, they do.”
What the program is todayThe unfinished work
Where this goes next.
The 2025 to 2028 strategic plan is called The Unfinished Work. It grows Level Up from one home to five across King and Pierce counties, formalizes coaching and reentry planning, deepens employer partnerships, and prepares a locally led chapter model with shared standards, in the spirit of the Make-A-Wish chapters Frank helped build.
Personal sacrifice can start an organization. It should not be the permanent infrastructure that keeps it alive. The next chapter is about Level Up standing on its own institutional strength.
FAQ
Questions about our history
Who founded Level Up Home?
When did Level Up open its first home?
Did Level Up always serve men in reentry and recovery?
What was Frank Shankwitz’s role at Level Up?
What is Level Up’s plan for the next three years?
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Every one of them belongs in the story. So do you.
Frank. Katrina and Rick. Angie and Matthew. Early and later board members. Jim. Teri. Residents, donors, partners, volunteers, and the people who trusted us with their stories.