Gov. Gregoire announces boards and commissions appointments

For Immediate Release: April 17, 2009

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced appointments to the following boards and commissions:

Affordable Housing Advisory Board:

Connie Devaney of Edmonds has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending Jan. 26, 2013. Devaney is the executive director for Kawabe Memorial House. She is a board member of the Affordable Housing Management Association, Aging Services of Washington, as well as a committee member on the United Way Senior Impact Council and American Association of Homes & Services for the Aging.

Dave Gosset of Everett, a Snohomish County Council member, has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending Jan. 26, 2013. Gosset is a board member of the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board and a member of Mountlake Terrace Friends of the Library.

Thomas Moak, mayor of Kennewick, has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending Jan. 26, 2013. Moak is a member of the Municipal Research Council.

Paul Purcell of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending Jan. 26, 2013. Purcell is the president of Beacon Development Group. He is the founding president of the Franklin Foundation for Educational Excellence and a member of the Housing Development Consortium Board of Directors.

Tony To of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending Jan. 26, 2013. To is the executive director of Homesight. He is a member of the Seattle Planning Commission and president of the Rainer Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

The board serves as the principal advisory body on housing and housing-related issues to the state�s Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.



Board of Pharmacy:

Christopher Barry of Cheney has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 10, 2009, ending Jan. 19, 2013. Barry is a pharmacist with Sacred Heart Medical Center. He is a former president of the Washington Pharmacists Association.

Gary Harris of Redmond has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 10, 2009, ending Jan. 19, 2013. Harris is a staff pharmacist at Group Health Cooperative. He is a member of the Washington Association of Diabetes Educators.

The board establishes policies for the practice of pharmacy, including licensing, disciplinary hearings and enforcement of laws pertaining to legal drugs.



Boundary Review Board for Clallam County:

Victorine Rudin of Port Angeles has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 1, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. Rudin is retired. She is a trustee for the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center and member of the Clallam County League of Women Voters and the Port Angeles Newcomers Club.

Boundary Review Board for Grant County:

Donald McDowell of Moses Lake has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 1, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. McDowell is retired from the Grant County Assessor�s Office.

Boundary Review Board for Grays Harbor:

Anthony Airhart of Aberdeen has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 1, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. Airhart is the president of Friends of the Aberdeen Museum.

Boundary Review Board for King County:

Evangeline Anderson of Bellevue has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 1, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. Anderson is an associate real estate broker for Windermere. She is a member of the Washington Association of Realtors.

Michael Marchand of Bellevue has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 1, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. Marchand is the director of communications of the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft Corporation. He is a board member of the American Jewish Committee in Seattle.

Boundary Review Board for Pierce County:

Carl Vest of Puyallup has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 1, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. Vest is retired. He is a member of the South Hill Historical Society and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 2224. He serves as lieutenant governor for the Kiwanis Division 30, Pacific Northwest District of Kiwanis International.

Boundary Review Board for Skagit County:

Art Shotwell of Anacortes has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 1, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. Shotwell is a self-employed Web designer. He is a board member of the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce, Anacortes Schools Foundation and Anacortes Housing Community Land Trust.

Boundary Review board for Snohomish County:

John Dewhirst of Edmonds has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 18, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. Dewhirst is retired. He is a former member of the city of Edmonds Planning Board.

Boundary Review Board for Spokane County:

James Peck of Liberty Lake has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 18, 2009, ending Jan. 31, 2013. John is a substitute teacher with the Spokane Public School District. He is a member of the American Planning Association and active with the Liberty Lake Kiwanis.

The board has jurisdiction over municipal annexations, incorporations, disincorporation and creation or annexation of certain special districts and extensions of sewer and water service outside the city or district.



Building Code Council:

John Chelminiak has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 26, 2009, ending Jan. 5, 2012. Chelminiak is a city of Bellevue Council member and the director of the North Cascades Initiative for The Wilderness Society. Chelminiak is also chair of the O�Dea High School Board of Directors.

Angie Homola has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 26, 2009, ending Jan. 5, 2012. Homola is an Island County commissioner and a member of the Island County League of Women Voters and the Whidbey Island Audubon Society. She is also involved in the Oak Harbor Middle School PTA, Oak Harbor High School PTA and Oak Harbor Filipino American Group.

Robert Koch has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 26, 2009, ending Jan. 5, 2011. Koch is a Franklin County commissioner and a member of the Benton Franklin Board of Health. Koch is also a member of the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments, International Fire Marshal�s Association, Washington State Association of Fire Chiefs and Franklin County Emergency Management Board.

The council studies, recommends revisions and provides technical and general assistance to building officials about adopted codes relating to uniform building, energy and barrier-free designs. The board also adopts and amends building codes.



Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee:

Paul Blanton of Spokane has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending Oct. 10, 2012. Blanton is a self-employed architectural/planning consultant. He is involved in the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and is the national chairman of the American Institute of Architects National Task Force.

Alex Rolluda of Seattle has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending Oct. 12, 2012. Rolluda is the president of Rolluda Architects Inc. He is a member of the Pike Place Market Historical Commission and the Council of Educational Facilities Planners.

The committee advises the State Capitol Committee and the director of the state�s Department of General Administration to review programs, planning, design, and landscaping of state capitol facilities and grounds. The committee also makes recommendations that will contribute to architectural, aesthetic, functional and environmental excellence in design and maintenance of capitol facilities on campus and in neighboring communities.



Clover Park Technical College Board of Trustees:

Bruce Lachney of Eatonville has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 2, 2009, ending Sept. 30, 2009. Lachney has been a pilot with Delta Airlines for the past 22 years. He was also a captain with the U.S. Marine Corps for six years. Lachney served on the Eatonville School Board and the Pierce County Planning Commission.

The trustee board is the governing board for each of the state�s 30 community and technical college districts.



Criminal Justice Training Commission:

Ned Newlin of Port Orchard has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 6, 2009, ending June 30, 2013. Newlin is the chief of corrections with the Kitsap County Sheriff�s Office. He served in the U.S. Army with the Military Police Corps for seven years, and on several boards, including the Governor�s Jail Industries Board and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Jail Managers Forum.

The commission develops and implements training standards and programs designed to upgrade criminal justice personnel. The commission also establishes standards relating to physical, mental and moral fitness for recruiting criminal justice personnel.



Electrical Board:

Geoffrey Newman of Brier has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending July 7, 2012. Newman is the executive vice president of NetVersant Solutions. He is a member of the Management Trustee Puget Sound Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee and a board member of the Puget Sound Chapter National Electrical Contractors Association.

Tom Phillips of Covington has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 25, 2009, ending July 7, 2012. Phillips is a building official for the city of Kirkland. He is a member of the Washington Association of Building Officials.

The board establishes general and specialty electrical contractor�s licenses, prepares and administers written examinations, and advises the Department of Labor and Industries director on the need for additional electrical inspectors and changes in electrical codes.



Everett Community College Board of Trustees:

Betty Cobbs of Everett has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 27, 2009, ending Sept. 30, 2013. Cobbs is the director of human resources with Everett Public Schools. She has worked in various positions with the school district, including nine years as an elementary school teacher and 25 years as an elementary school principal. Cobbs earned a master�s in education from Western Washington University and a doctorate in education from the University of Washington.

The trustee board is the governing board for each of the state�s 30 community and technical college districts.



Examining Board of Psychology:

Thomas Wall of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 26, 2009, ending Jan. 6, 2014. Wall is a self-employed clinical psychologist. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, International Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, National Health Care Providers in Psychology and International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education American Group.

Decky Fiedler of Mercer Island has been reappointed to term effective Feb. 26, 2009, ending Jan. 6, 2014. Fiedler is a self-employed psychologist. She is a member of the Mercer Island Youth and Family Service Board and the Mercer Island Schools Foundation Board.

The board examines candidates for licensure and is authorized to deny, revoke or suspend, or restrict licenses for specified conduct.



Governor�s Affirmative Action Policy Committee:

Elijah Forde of Seattle has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 12, 2009, ending May 31, 2011. Forde is employed by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General and represents the Department of Labor and Industries in workers compensation and building trades disputes. He is a member of several organizations, including Attorneys Assisting Citizen Soldiers and Families, and is the liaison between the Loren Miller Bar Association and the Washington State Attorney General Diversity organization.

Audrey Jacobson of Tacoma has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 12, 2009, ending May 31, 2010. Jacobson is a community relations administrator with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation at the Department of Social and Health Services. Previously she was the mental health program administrator at DSHS, where she worked as a tribal liaison.

Michaela Payton of Olympia has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 12, 2009, ending May 31, 2011. Payton is the equal employment manager with the Washington National Guard, and was a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Air Force Reserves, where she served as the military equal opportunity chief.

Santiago Ramos of Kirkland has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 12, 2009, ending May 31, 2011. Santiago is a self-employed insurance agent. He is a member of the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the city of Kirkland Human Services Advisory Board.

Danielle Stephenson of Seattle has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 12, 2009, ending May 31, 2010. Stephenson works at Dex Media as a talent recruiter. She is a member of several associations, including the Society of Human Resource Management, Hispanic and Black Masters of Business Administration associations and Urban League.

Annelle Lerner of Bonney Lake has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 12, 2009, ending May 31, 2009. Lerner is the human resource director for the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Previously she was the human resources director with the Muckleshoot Indian Casino. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

The council serves as a policy and review body for the state�s affirmative action program, and reviews and approves state agency affirmative action plans.



Governor�s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment:

Carrie Bayha of Kennewick has been appointed to a term of office effective Feb. 5, 2009, ending Dec. 31, 2010. Bayha is a developmental disabilities program specialist with the Benton Franklin Health Department. She is a member of the Benton-Franklin Developmental Disabilities Advisory Board.

The committee advises the governor and Legislature on disability issues, generates local action, initiates projects to address specific issues, and provides training and assistance to individuals and organizations statewide. The committee also conducts workshops and conferences, and publishes disability-related materials.



Health Care Facilities Authority:

Ronald Sperling of Fox Island has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 11, 2009, ending Feb. 11, 2013. Sperling is the interim chief financial officer for Danbury Hospital. He is a member of the board of directors for Sisters of Charity Health Systems and the chairman of the Tacoma Symphony�s Finance Committee.

The authority authorizes the sale of tax-exempt, non-recourse revenue bonds and loan proceeds to health care facilities. Bonds are sold in the name of the authority and are payable from an individual hospital�s revenue. Bonds sold by the authority are not obligations of the state of Washington.



Health and Welfare Advisory Board:

Irene Eldridge of Bellevue has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 18, 2009, ending Dec. 31, 2011. Eldridge is the secretary-treasurer for the Service Employees International Union Local 925.

The board helps the state risk manager adopt rules governing operation and management of health and welfare benefits programs. The board also reviews annual reports filed by health and welfare benefits programs.



Human Rights Commission:

Deborah Sioux Lee of Olympia has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 9, 2009, ending June 17, 2013. Lee works for the Nisqually Indian Tribe, is co-chair of the I'Wa'Sil Boys and Girls Club of Seattle, serves on the board for United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and is co-founder and board president of the Washington Indian Civil Rights Commission. Previously she served as chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

Charlene Strong of Seattle has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 9, 2009, ending June 17, 2012. Strong co-produced the documentary �Film for My Wife.� Strong was previously with the Humane Society�s Pet Project, which provides HIV/AIDS patients with help for their pets. She also worked with the Archdiocese of Seattle on a lesbian gay bisexual transgender task force dedicated to improving acceptance and understanding of LGBT parishioners within the archdiocese.

The commission prevents and eliminates discrimination by investigating civil rights complaints and providing education and training opportunities throughout the state.



Interagency Committee of State Employed Women:

Barbara Cleveland of Lacey has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 19, 2009, ending June 30, 2009. Cleveland is an executive assistant with the Office of Administrative Hearings. She is a member of the Washington State Executive Assistants Group.

The committee examines and defines issues pertaining to the rights and needs of women employed in state government and makes recommendations to the governor and state agencies with respect to desirable changes in program and law.



Lake Washington Technical College Board of Trustees:

Lynette Jones of Bellevue has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 27, 2009, ending Sept. 30, 2012. Jones is the director of clinical informatics at Evergreen Healthcare. She has worked in the health care business for more than 25 years. She started her career as a registered nurse before working in hospital administration, and later developed a health care software company. Jones was a member of the Green River Community College Foundation.

The trustee board is the governing board for each of the state�s 30 community and technical college districts.



Prescription Drug Assistance Foundation Board of Directors:

Sallie Neillie of Seattle has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 29, 2009, ending Sept. 15, 2012. Neillie is the executive director of the King County Project Access. She is a member of the Seattle International District Rotary.

Charles Schneider of Woodinville has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 29, 2009, ending Sept. 15, 2009. Schneider is the chief executive officer and president of Northwest Hospital & Medical Center.

The board is a not-for-profit organization designed to assist qualified uninsured individuals in obtaining prescription drugs at little or no cost.



State Advisory Council on Homelessness:

Joseph Ingram of Bothell has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 29, 2009, ending Jan. 4, 2013. Ingram is the executive director of Vets Edge. He is a member of the Affordable Housing Advisory Board.

Kathy Wahto of Port Angeles has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 29, 2009, ending Jan. 4, 2013. Whato is the executive director of the Serenity House of Clallam County. She is the chair of the Clallam County Homelessness Task Force, director of the Clallam County Mental Health Advisory Board and member of the Kiwanis.

The council makes annual policy recommendations to the governor and the Affordable Housing Board on ways to enhance the state�s ability to respond to the needs of people who are homeless, who are at risk of being homeless or who have been homeless.



State Rehabilitation Council:

Don Brandon of Mountlake Terrace has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 28, 2009, ending Sept. 30, 2010. Brandon is the director of the Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center at the University of Washington. He is a former chair of the Alaska Governor�s Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities and a member of the Southeast Alaska Independent Living Center.

The council reviews, analyzes and advises the general vocational rehabilitation program of responsibilities under the Rehabilitation Act.



State School for the Blind, Board of Trustees:

Edwin Snook of Kirkland has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 9, 2009, ending July 1, 2013. Snook is retired from his private law practice. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, American Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, Washington State Defense Trail Lawyers, Washington Trial Lawyers Association and U.S. Blind Sports Association.

The board serves the educational needs of visually impaired and blind students in the state. The board also develops comprehensive curriculum to maximize and develop students� skills to live, work and be capable, contributing, independent citizens.



Washington Commission on National and Community Service:

Eleanor Andersen of Spokane has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 16, 2009, ending Feb. 15, 2012. Andersen is retired from Junior Achievement. She is the president of the Junior League of Spokane, chair of the Women Helping Women Fund Board and medal chair for the Washington Centennial Games.

Federico Diaz of Walla Walla has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 16, 2009, ending Feb. 15, 2012. Diaz is a neighborhood organizer with the Blue Mountain Action Council. He is involved with the Walla Walla Police Department.

Denise Nichols, Selah City Council member, has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 16, 2009, ending Feb. 15, 2012. Nichols is retired from the city of Yakima. She is active with the YMCA and the Washington Parks and Recreation Association.

Liz Vivian of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective Feb. 16, 2009, ending Feb. 15, 2012. Vivian is the senior manager of global corporate citizenship at The Boeing Company. She has been a member of the Seattle Public Schools� Community Advisory Committee on School Facilities and Programs, Leadership Tomorrow�s Curriculum Committee, Seattle City Club Forum Committee and Executive Alliance Board of Directors.

The commission has a long history of helping bring about change in communities through service activities. The commission implements national service initiatives, provides training and technical assistance, evaluates programs, and leverages federal dollars with local, state and private sector resources.


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