Governor Gregoire Announces College and University Appointments

For Immediate Release: August 28, 2007

Citizens appointed from Bellingham, East Wenatchee, Kennewick, Lacey, Marysville, Pullman, Seattle and Zillah

OLYMPIA - Governor Chris Gregoire today announced appointments to the boards of trustees and boards of regents of several Washington colleges and universities:

Central Washington University Board of Trustees
Rebecca Neighbors of Marysville has been appointed to a term effective July 1, 2007, ending June 30, 2008. Neighbors is a full-time Central Washington University (CWU) student majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. She works part-time for the Ellensburg School District as a business office assistant and for the Washington Parks Department as a park aide. A 2004 graduate of Marysville-Pilchuck High School, she expects to graduate from CWU in June 2008.

The Board of Trustees is the governing body for Central Washington University.

The Evergreen State College Board of Trustees
Robert Matthew Segura of Lacey has been appointed to a term effective July 1, 2007, ending June 30, 2008. Segura is a junior at The Evergreen State College (Evergreen) studying law, political science and history. He came to Evergreen in 2006 after spending three years at Tacoma Community College, where he served as a student trustee, and spent two years as student body president. Segura was the recipient of the Tacoma Community College Distinguished Service Award in 2005 and 2006, as well as the Tahoma Award in 2006. He expects to graduate from Evergreen in 2008.

The Board of Trustees is the governing body for The Evergreen State College.

Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees
Isaura J. Gallegos of East Wenatchee has been reappointed to a term effective July 19, 2007, ending June 30, 2008. Gallegos is a senior at Eastern Washington University and plans to graduate in June 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She plans to attend graduate school and is a member of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.

Bertha Ortega of Zillah has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2007, ending September 30, 2013. During her first term on the Board of Trustees, she was a member of the business and finance committee and the student affairs committee. Ortega is the vice president for academic affairs at Heritage University in Toppenish, where she is a founding member and served as the dean of students until 1995. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a secondary teaching certificate from the University of Washington, she took postgraduate classes in childhood education and communications from Eastern Washington University and Central Washington University before earning a Master of Education from Fort Wright College in Spokane.

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Eastern Washington University.

Western Washington University Board of Trustees
Antasia Parker of Bellingham has been appointed to a term effective July 1, 2007, ending June 30, 2008. Parker is a junior majoring in political science with minors in communications and English and is the vice president of legislative affairs at Western Washington University. She was the coordinator of the Civil Controversy Speaker Series, a member of the executive board of the Black Student Union and a voting member of the associated students� diversity task force. Parker is the recipient of the 2004 Washington State Achiever Scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and expects to graduate in June 2008.

Dennis Madsen of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2007, ending September 30, 2013. Madsen is the former president and chief executive officer of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) and has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2004. He has served on the boards of Island Wood, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. Madsen founded the Youth Outdoors Legacy Fund, which involves urban youth in outdoor activities and stewardship. He is the past-president of the Western Washington University Foundation Board of Directors.

The Board of Trustees is the governing body for Western Washington University.

University of Washington Board of Regents
Erin Lennon of Seattle has been appointed to a term effective July 30, 2007, ending May 31, 2008. Lennon is a student in the University of Washington (UW) School of Law and graduated from the UW magna cum laude in 2002 with her Bachelor of Arts in sociology with minors in women�s studies and Spanish. She was the protocol manager for the HIV Prevention Trials Unit at the UW School of Medicine and volunteers as a student ambassador, peer mentor and tutor at the law school. Lennon is the managing editor of the Washington Law Review and the director of outreach for Outlaws, the UW Law School�s gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender student organization. She expects to graduate with her law degree in 2008.

Craig Cole of Bellingham has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2007, ending September 30, 2013. Cole has been a member of the Board of Regents since 2003, serving as vice chair of the Board from 2005 to 2006. He is the president and chief executive officer of Brown & Cole Stores, a regional supermarket chain, and has been honored as the Businessperson of the Year by Whatcom County Business Pulse Magazine and received the Spirit of America Award for Washington for civic leadership from the National Grocers Association. Cole has served on the Puget Sound Energy board of directors, the Washington Roundtable, the Food Marketing Institute board of directors and the Bellingham Waterfront Futures Task Force. He has received gubernatorial appointments to the state Human Rights Commission, the Board of Trustees of Western Washington University, the Governor�s Commission on Early Learning and the Governor's Commission on Employment of the Handicapped. Cole is a graduate of Western Washington University�s Fairhaven College.

Sally Jewell of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2007, ending September 30, 2013. Jewell has been a member of the Board of Regents since 2001, served as chair of the Board�s capital assets committee from 2002 to 2004, as vice chair of the Board from 2004 to 2005, chair of the Board from 2005 to 2006 and is the chair of the finance, audit and facilities committee. She is the president and chief executive officer of Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI). Jewell serves on the boards of the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, REI, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Initiative for Global Development and the Retail Industry Leaders Association. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1978 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

The Board of Regents is the governing body for the University of Washington.

Washington State University Board of Regents
William �Billy� Gordon of Pullman has been appointed to a term effective June 30, 2007, ending May 31, 2008. Gordon is a senior at Washington State University (WSU) majoring in psychology and finance with a minor in political science. He is a Senator with the Associated Students of WSU and led a project to extend the WSU library�s hours of operation. Gordon expects to graduate magna cum laude from WSU in May 2008.

Francois Forgette of Kennewick has been reappointed to a term effective October 1, 2007, ending September 30, 2013. Forgette has been a member of the Board of Regents since 2005. He is a partner in the law firm of Rettig Osborne Forgette LLP and is on the board of directors of TRIDEC and the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce. Forgette received the Tri-Citian of the Year Award in 2001, the first ever Proud to Be a Lawyer �Hero Award� from the Washington State Bar Association in 2000 and the Kennewick Man of the Year Award for 2001. He received his degree in English literature from UW in 1974 and graduated with honors from Gonzaga Law School in 1977.

The Board of Regents is the governing body for Washington State University.

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