Governor Gregoire Appoints Spokane Business Leader to University of Washington Board of Regents

For Immediate Release: September 18, 2006

OLYMPIA - Governor Chris Gregoire today announced the appointment of Kristianne Blake of Spokane to the Board of Regents at the University of Washington.

�Kristianne Blake�s work with the Higher Education Coordinating Board and on the board of the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute makes her an excellent choice to help the UW continue to be a competitive research school,� said Governor Gregoire. �She will bring a unique geographic perspective to the university and will work to make sure the UW continues to serves the entire state.�

Ms. Blake said, �I am honored to accept this appointment. The UW is very important to this region and I look forward to working with the Regents to continue to expand the great work being done here.�

Ms. Blake is a certified public accountant and the president of her own accounting firm. She is the board chair for the Russell Investment Company and Russell Investment Funds. She sits on the board of directors of Avista Corporation, Advantage IQ, the WM Group of Funds and Laird Norton Tyee.

Ms. Blake has done community work with the Junior League of Spokane, the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Spokane County, the YMCA of the Inland Northwest, Saint George�s School and the Spokane Community College Foundation,

She is a former partner at the international accounting firm of Deloitte, Haskins and Sells and has spoken at many accounting conferences. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Washington in 1975. She currently resides in Spokane with her family.

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