Zale and his wife, Kristen, have lived in Olympia ever since they were married 24 years ago and have two sons, Sam, age 19, and Charlie, age 14. Both Zale and Kristen have participated in sports throughout their lives; in fact, both had college athletic scholarships. Zale had a football scholarship at the University of Puget Sound, and Kristen had a basketball scholarship at St. Martin’s College. Their boys have followed suit, each participating in several sports, including football, baseball, basketball, and cross country. Sam is currently attending Grand Canyon University. Zale and Kristen understand and appreciate that team sports can help children and teenagers develop skills in leadership, self-discipline, and goal-setting in addition to building physical strength. Zale has coached various teams for his sons over the years, most recently coaching Charlie's football team.
Zale is a passionate outdoorsman, and he and his family can be found during the spring and summer months on their boat, fishing for salmon, crab, and shrimp, sharing their catches with family and friends. He hunts in the fall and winter, and his family often joins him in that, too. They also like camping, hiking, and biking together when they are not busy with sports.
Zale founded Pillar Financial Group in 2013, believing that most investors would prefer a local, independent company to a large, traditional brokerage company. He has 25 years of experience in financial services, working as a senior financial planner and agency manager for two large national companies. He grew up in Elma, Washington, and graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, minoring in Economics. Kristen has been an elementary school teacher for the past 24 years, the last 14 in the Tumwater School District, where she currently teaches reading to the children in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Volunteer work is important to Zale. In addition to coaching youth sports, he serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County Club, whose mission is to inspire and enable youth to realize their greatness. He also gives time to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, an organization that helps fund and conduct habitat stewardship projects for elk and other wildlife.