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Gov. Christine Gregoire appoints education trustees

For Immediate Release: September 20, 2005

Gov. Christine Gregoire today annouced the following appointments to boards governing the state's higher education system:

Washington State University Board of Trustees
Elizabeth Cowles of Spokane has been reappointed for a term effective September 30, 2005, ending Sept. 30, 2010. Cowles is chairman of Cowles Publishing Company, a diversified family owned media, forest products, insurance, and real estate company headquartered in Spokane. Cowles is active in the community, serving on a number of nonprofit boards, including the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, the Fox Theater Board, and the Spokane Symphony Society, where she recently finished her term as president.

Rafael Stone of Seattle has been reappointed for a term effective September 30, 2005, ending Sept. 30, 2010. Stone is a partner in the law firm of Foster Pepper & Shefelman, and chairs the firm's Institutional Pensions Investing and Operations Practice Group. He has more than 25 years' experience representing institutional investors, advisors, consultants, and U.S. corporations in a wide variety of national and international real estate and private equity investments. Stone is a member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys, the Pension Real Estate Association, the American Bar Association, and the Washington State Bar Association. Stone was the first chair of the African American Heritage Foundation and is a recipient of the Washington State Bar Association's Affirmative Action Award.

Bates Technical College
Theresa Pan of Tacoma has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Pan is the president of Associate Travel in Seattle. She is the president of the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation and a member of the American Society of Travel Agents. Pan also serves as a Trustee for the Annie Wright School in Tacoma.

Bellevue Community College:
Steve S. Miller of Bellevue has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Miller, a graduate of Harvard Law School, is a partner at the firm of Cowan & Miller and has been actively involved in education. He has served as President of the Bellevue School Board three times and was a co-chair of the state campaign for Initiative 728.

Bellingham Technical College
Yvonne Bianchi of Bellingham has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Bianchi is the owner of Cartwright Creative Group LLC. She is also the current director of the Bellingham Whatcom Economic Development Council and a member of the Bellingham Rotary Club.

Big Bend Community College
Cecilia Deluna-Gaeta of Othello has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Deluna-Gaeta is a graduate of Big-Bend Community College, and received her Masters and B.A. from Eastern Washington University. She is a DSHS Children and Family Services Supervisor and has served as a Big Bend Community College Board Member since July 2003.

Centralia College:
Judy Guenther of Chehalis has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Guenther has been actively involved in the Centralia community for many years, serving on multiple boards and committees such as the United Way Board and Crime Stopper Board. She began serving on the Centralia College Board of Trustees in January 1996.

Clark College:
Addison K. Jacobs of Vancouver has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Jacobs is the current board chair, and vice president of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce. She was appointed in December 2000, and is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound.

Columbia Basin College:
Wayne J. Martin of Kennewick has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. An environmental scientist, Martin received his PhD from Washington State University, and in the past has served as a board member on the Local Hanford Advisory Board. Martin is a member of the Local Advisory Board for Math Engineering, Science Achievement Program, and the National Society of Black Engineers. He was appointed in 2000.

Edmonds Community College
Richard Van Hollebeke of Edmonds has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Van Hollebeke is the owner of Van Hollebeke Insurance and Financial Services. He is a former member of the Edmonds City Council and a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Professionals.

Everett Community College:
James Davis Shipman of Snohomish has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Shipman received his Associates degree from Everett Community College before attending the University of Washington, eventually graduating from the Gonzaga University School of Law. He is currently a partner at the Law Office of Podrasky & Shipman. He has served as the Chair of the Regulatory Committee of the Snohomish County Citizens Cabinet since 2003 and also sits on the Snohomish County Priorities of Government Committee.

Grays Harbor College:
Carol Carlstad of Montesano has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Carlstad is the Vice President and Manager of the Bank of the Pacific, and was past President of the Montesano Chamber of Commerce. She was appointed in October 2000.

Green River Community College:
Lawton Case of Enumclaw has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Case is a retired Sergeant of the Enumclaw Police Department, and now serves as the director of the Enumclaw Kiwanis Food Bank. He is a Green River Community College alum, receiving his A.A.S. in Law Enforcement before receiving his B.S. from Evergreen State College. Case continues to be active with local organizations, participating in the Enumclaw Kiwanis, and City of Enumclaw Civil Service Commission, among others. He was appointed in July 2000.

Highline Community College:
Susan Streifel of Issaquah has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Streifel, a graduate of Claremont College and Cornell University�s Graduate School of Management, has been the President and CEO of Woodstone Credit Union since 1996. Streifel is the Chair Elect at the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce and a Fellow at St. Francis Hospital. Streifel is committed to the community�s financial and educational systems, and has shown this through Woodstone Credit Union�s high school branch program, dedicated to educating students through activities that promote an understanding of business principles and develop financial skills.

Olympic College:
Peter Crane of Bremerton has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Crane is the founding president of the Kitsap Housing and Transportation Association, and has been the senior portfolio manager for Salomon Smith Barney since 1983. He received his M.A. from George Washington University, and sits on the Kitsap Regional Economic Development Council and Kitsap Regional Library Board. He was appointed in July 2001.

Peninsula College:
Toni M. Aspin of Port Townsend has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Aspin, who attended community college before graduation from the University of Washington, is a certified public accountant and is the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Mariner Bank. She is a member of the Peninsula College Foundation Board of Governors and has been president of the Washington State Arts Alliance.

Pierce College
Dr. Claire Spain-Remy of Lakewood has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Spain-Remy is a graduate of Washington University St. Louis, and received her graduate degree from Duke University. She is a private physician of obstetrics and gynecology at Women to Women in Tacoma. She is active in her community, serving on the Washington Contemporary Ballet Board, is a member of multiple medical associations throughout the state. She also has a long history volunteerism throughout Pierce County.

Renton Technical College:
Richard D. Zwicker of Renton has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Zwicker, himself a Renton Technical College alum, works for the Office of the Attorney General in the Bankruptcy & Collections Unit. He has served as the president of the North Renton Neighborhood Association since 2004 and is a volunteer for the King County Bar Association Homeless and Newcomer Project.

Seattle Community College:
Donald Root of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Root is a graduate of Western Washington University and the University of Washington. He is the chairman and CEO of GM Nameplate, a member of the Seattle Rotary, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He was the board chair of Seattle Community Colleges Board of Trustees from 2004-2005, and was first appointed to his term in July 2000.

Skagit Valley Community College:
Tom Moser of Mount Vernon has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Appointed in 2000, Moser is a graduate of George Washington University, Gonzaga University, and Central Washington State College where he received his M.P.A., J.D., and B.A. degrees. He is the current board chair, and is the former prosecuting attorney for Skagit and San Juan Counties.

South Puget Sound Community College:
Brian Vance of Olympia has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Vance, a graduate of the University of Washington, is the president and CEO of Heritage Bank. Vance has been serving on the South Puget Sound Community College Foundation Board as the finance committee chair since 2001 and is also a board member at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts since 2001, Pierce County Chamber of Commerce since 2004, and the University of Washington-Tacoma Milgard School of Business Foundation since 2003.

Tacoma Community College:
Marilyn Walton of Tacoma has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Walton is a member of the Pierce County Civil Service Commission, Pierce County Alliance Board, Tacoma Urban League, and the Tacoma-Pierce County Black Collective. Walton is a past board member for YWCA, and is a certified Human Resource Professional. She was appointed in August 1999.

Walla Walla Community College
Kristine Klaveano of Pomeroy has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Klaveano is the owner of Ladies in Red, a retail nursery in Pomeroy and a graduate of WSU.

Wenatchee Valley College
Kris Pomianek of Wenatchee has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005 ending September 30, 2010. Pomianek, an alum of Wenatchee Valley College herself, went on to graduate from the University of Washington and Central Washington University. Currently she is the Community Outreach and Social Sciences Facilitator of the Chelan County PUD, but in the past she served as Executive Director of the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Whatcom Community College:
Susan Cole of Bellingham has been appointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Cole, a graduate of Western Washington University, is the public affairs director and co-owner of Brown & Cole Stores of Bellingham. She is active in her community, serving as a board member on the Whatcom Community Foundation for the past three years. She has also served on the Bellingham Library Board, the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation, and the Bellingham Board of Adjustment.

Yakima Valley Community College:
James Carvo of Selah has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2005, ending September 30, 2010. Carvo has been the business manager/secretary-treasurer of Laborers� International Union of North American Local #614 since 1992, and has been actively serving on boards throughout the Tri-County area since 1990. He is the current board vice chair, and was appointed in 2004.

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