Gov. Gregoire announces boards and commissions appointments

For Immediate Release: February 15, 2008

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

Affordable Housing Advisory Board
Dave Gossett of Everett has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 7, 2008, ending Jan. 26, 2009. Gossett is a Snohomish County Council member. He currently serves on the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board and previously served on the Washington State Examining Board of Psychology, Mountlake Terrace City Council and Snohomish County Housing Trust Fund.

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

Capital Projects Advisory Review Board
Christopher Hirst of Bothell has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 31, 2008, ending June 30, 2011. Hirst has more than 30 years of legal experience, and is an attorney and partner with K&L Gates. He is a member of the King County Board Foundation, former member of the Board of Trustees of University Preparatory Academy and the YMCA Black Achievers.

The board was created in the Department of General Administration to provide an evaluation of public capital projects construction processes, including the impact of contracting methods on project outcomes, and to advise the Legislature on policies related to alternative public works delivery methods.

Forensic Investigations Council
Michael Humphreys of Walla Walla has been reappointed to a term effective Jan.31, 2008, ending Aug. 10, 2011. Humphreys is the sheriff for Walla Walla County, where he has served since 1998. He serves on the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs executive board and is the chairman of the Walla Walla County Emergency Communication Board.

Greg Sandstrom of Port Orchard has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 31, 2008, ending Aug. 10, 2011. Sandstrom, the Kitsap County coroner, has served in this position since 1998. He is the president of the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, and a member of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators.

Paul Pearce of Stevenson has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 31, 2008, ending Aug. 10, 2011. Pearce is a Skamania County commissioner. Prior to becoming county commissioner, he was a police officer for 28 years with the city of Camus, where he served as a detective sergeant, narcotics officer and deputy chief.

Gregory Zempel of Ellensburg has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 31, 2008, ending Aug. 10, 2011. Zempel has been the Kittitas County prosecuting attorney for the past 12 years and serves as the ex-officio coroner for the county. He is a member of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce, the Sexual Assault Interagency Coalition, Fight Crime Invest in Kids program and the Campus Community Coalition.

The Forensic Investigations Council oversees the state toxicology laboratory at the University of Washington; studies and recommends improvements in the death investigation system; and reports its findings to the Legislature.

Humanities Washington
Jan Walsh of Olympia has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 5, 2008, ending Oct. 31, 2011. Walsh is the state librarian for the Washington State Library. She is awards chair and federal relations coordinator for the Washington Library Association, research board member for the Bibliographic Center, vice chair of the Western Council of State Libraries and member of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies.

The commission issues grants to support programs that foster understanding and appreciation of history, literature, ethics and other humanity fields.

Interagency Committee for State Employed Women
Linda Watson of Olympia has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 16, 2008, ending June 30, 2009. Watson is a Web developer and e-learning developer with the Employment Security Department. She has more than 10 years of experience as a Web developer.

Meagan Macvie of Olympia has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 25, 2008, ending June 30, 2009. Macvie is the communications director with the Department of Personnel. Previously she was the communications manager with the Office of Financial Management, where she worked with the Office of the Governor and other agencies to plan and promote news events.

The committee examines and defines issues pertaining to the rights and needs of women employed in state government. It also makes recommendations to the governor and state agencies on desirable changes in program and law, especially in the area of education, training, career development and other conditions of employment.

Salmon Recovery Funding Board
Harry Barber of Washougal has been appointed to a term effective Feb. 6, 2008, ending July 15, 2009. Barber retired in 1999 from Fort James Corporation as senior vice president of manufacturing. He is the board president of Lower Columbia Fish Enhancements Group, co-chair of the Steelhead and Cutthroat Advisory Committee, and serves on the Columbia River Recreational Fisheries Advisory Group.

The board is responsible for issuing grants and loans for salmon habitat projects and salmon recovery activities from the amounts appropriated to it.

State Employee Combined Fund Drive Committee
Gary Fugere of Tumwater has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 23, 2008, ending at the governor�s pleasure. Fugere is the constituent services manager for the Office of the Governor, a position he has held since October 2006. Previously he was a program manager for Washington Wellness Works Program and project manager for strategic planning and process improvements with the Washington State Health Care Authority.

Kathryn Kimbell of Olympia has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 23, 2008, ending Jan. 1, 2011. Kimbell is the executive director for SMART, which provides sponsorship for three retrospective rating groups. It also provides safety, claims management and management training and education for a variety of industries. Previously, she was the manager of employer services in the Industrial Insurance Division of the Department of Labor and Industries before she retired in 2006 after 30 years of state service.

Dean Speer of Seattle has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 23, 2008, ending Jan. 1, 2011. Speer is a program assistant with the University of Washington and a member of the University of Washington Combined Fund Drive Steering Committee. Previously, he was the director of the Chehalis Ballet Center.

The committee is a mechanism whereby state employees can donate money to be distributed to a variety of charitable organizations.

State Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Their Families
Victoria Crescenzi of Silverdale has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 23, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Crescenzi is currently a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at the Naval Hospital in Bremerton. She is the Pandemic Flu Working Group co-chair and chair of the Child Abuse and Neglect Case Review Committee.

Ren� Denman of Langley has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 23, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Denman is a family resource coordinator at Skagit Valley College in Oak Harbor. She is chair of the Children�s Hospital Family Advisory Board, co-chair of the Family Leadership Team and member of the State Interagency Coordinating Council Data Committee.

Charisse Cook of Vancouver has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 30, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2009. Cook is currently a student at Clark College. She was previously employed as an administrative assistant with an insurance agency.

Steven Finch of Port Townsend has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 30, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Finch is the principal at Grant Street Elementary School. He is an associate, researcher and trainer at the Center for Organizational Reform, board member of the Jefferson/Clallam Community Action Council, and member of the Port Townsend Kiwanis.

Kathrin Fortner of Port Orchard has been reappointed to a term effective Jan. 23, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Fortner is the director of the Infant Toddler Program at Holly Ridge Center in Bremerton. She is a Neurodevelopment Treatment Association member, State Interagency Coordinating Council Data Committee chair, Kitsap Interagency Coordinating Council Early Intervention Services Committee chair, KICC Early Hearing Detection Diagnosis Intervention Committee chair and Council for Exceptional Children chair.

Dennis Mathews of Vancouver has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 30, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Mathews is the associate superintendent for Educational Service District 112. He is a member of the Washington Association of School Administrators, Urban Special Education Collaborative and Council for Exceptional Children, and executive board member for Clark County Community Network.

Bonnie Sandahl of Alderwood Manor has been reappointed as chair to a term effective Jan. 23, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Sandahl works as a nurse in two facilities for the Seattle School District. She is a member of the Washington State Nurses Association, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Associates, American Nurses Association Credentialing Board, and National Council on Health Planning and Development, and past president of the King County Nurses Association.

Kristine Slentz of Bellingham has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 30, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Slentz is a professor of early childhood/special education at Western Washington University. She served on the board of directors for Whatcom Center for Early Learning and was an evaluation coordinator for Nooksack Valley Center for Children and Families.

Danielle Wykes of Lake Tapps has been appointed to a term effective Jan. 30, 2008, ending Jan. 6, 2011. Wykes is a parent raising three autistic children, all under the age of 5. She was previously employed at Group Health as a medical biller and coder, was an extern in medical insurance billing and coding at Harborview Medical Center, and an emergency room unit secretary at Centrua Health in Frisco, Colo.

The council advises and assists the Department of Social and Health Services and participating state agencies in coordinating, developing and implementing policies on early intervention services.

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