Commission Members

 

Co-Chairs:

 

Mona Lee Locke

Mona Lee Locke, wife of Washington Governor Gary Locke, became the state’s twentieth
First Lady on January 15, 1997. Governor and Mrs. Locke are the proud parents of Emily Nicole,
born in March 1997, and Dylan James, born in March, 1999.

Mrs. Locke co-chairs the Governor’s Commission on Early Learning. The commission is charged
with ensuring that every child in Washington state goes to school prepared to succeed. It is comprised
of leaders in education, child care, health, business and government. The commission is working to
identify gaps in programs for children from birth to age five, as well as raise public awareness about
the importance of early learning.

In June 1998, the First Lady led a delegation of fifty early childhood educators, child care providers
and parent educators on a cross-cultural exchange to China. Mrs. Locke and the delegates, from five
Pacific Northwest states, met with their counterparts at primary schools, kindergartens, preschools,
community centers and orphanages. Mrs. Locke is currently working with a PBS television station to
co-produce a documentary about early childhood education in China.

As First Lady, Mrs. Locke is an advocate for other issues related to children and education. She is the
spokesperson for Washington state’s Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Foundation, an advisory board
member of Mothers Against Violence in America (MAVIA) and honorary co-chair of Healthy Mothers,
Healthy Babies.

Mrs. Locke, a California-native, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelor’s
degree in English Literature and earned a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of
Journalism. She has worked as a television news reporter in Washington DC, Green Bay, Wisconsin and
Seattle, Washington.

 

Melinda French Gates

Melinda French Gates is a woman who has distinguished herself in the business world and is now
beginning to apply her leadership skills in the non-profit arena.

Born and raised in Dallas, she has Bachelor Degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Duke
University in 1986 and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 1987.

In 1997, Governor Gary Locke appointed Ms. Gates co-chair of the Governor’s Commission on Early Learning.
The Commission is working to identify gaps in programs for children from birth to age five, as well as
raise public awareness about the importance of early learning.

Ms. Gates joined Microsoft in 1987.   And in her various management positions there, she played a
leadership role in the development of many of Microsoft’s multi-media products … including Expedia,
an Internet travel product; Encarta, an encyclopedia product; and Cinemania, a movie guide.

She’s worked on programs and products – some of which have become household words.  They include
Microsoft Word for MS-DOS and for Windows; Microsoft Works; and Microsoft Publisher.

Two years after she married Microsoft Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Bill Gates, she retired from her
position as General Manager of Information Products in 1996 to care for her first child and to contribute
her technological talents and leadership experience to the community. 

She’s involved in a variety of philanthropic endeavors that take in fields of service from the arts and
social services to education – with a particular devotion to her alma matter – Duke – where she is on
the board of trustees. 

She serves on the parent-teacher technology Committee for Sacred Heart Catholic School on Clyde Hill. 
She is a past board member at the Village Theatre in Issaquah and she devotes much of her time to
the William H. Gates Foundation she and her husband started.

Melinda Gates also is co-founder of the Gates Learning Foundation which is dedicated to bringing
computers and Internet access to patrons in public libraries in low-income communities.  In addition,
the William H. Gates Foundation was established by Bill and Melinda Gates in 1994 to support initiatives
in areas of particular concern to them. Those broad fields include support for institutions of higher
learning, local capital campaigns, access to technology, and world health and population.

 

Members:

Kathryn Barnard, R.N. Ph.D. of Seattle, is a professor of nursing and psychology and an affiliate of
the Center for Human Development and Disability at the University of Washington.

Senator Lisa Brown of Spokane is a graduate of the University of Colorado and holds a doctorate in
economics, currently serving as an associate professor of economics at Eastern Washington University.
She has one son, Lucas.

Don Brunell of Olympia has been president of the Association of Washington Business since 1988.  
He is the father of six children.

Craig Cole of Bellingham is president and chief executive officer of Brown and Cole Stores,
Washington’s oldest retail grocery firm founded in 1909. His company focuses on and supports
family-friendly practices.

Yolanda Cortinas-Trout of Walla Walla is the owner and director of Yolanda’s ABC-123 Day-care,
a licensed family in home child care facility.

Kim Cook of Seattle is the regional director of District 925/Service Employees International Union,
which represents professional, technical and office support staff, including librarians, accountants,
social service providers and other professions.

Senator Alex Deccio of Yakima represents the 14th District. Prior to serving in the House of
Representatives and as Yakima County Commissioner, he was an executive in the insurance industry. 

Robbin Dunn of Olympia is the Head Start/ECEAP director for the Educational Service District 113.
She also has worked on developing program regulations, standards and procedures for the state’s
Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.

Marty Jacobs of Seattle is the executive director of the Washington Association for the Education
of Young Children. WAEYC works to support, advocate, train and interact with other organizations
on children's issues.

Peter A. Jackson, Ph.D. is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Foundation Northwest,
The Community Foundation in Spokane. The Foundation supports human services, education, civic
development, and the arts and the humanities in the 10 easternmost Counties of Washington.

Sheri Flies (Representing James Senegal) is the Corporate Counsel at Costco Wholesale and
is the Costco coordinator of the Community Child Care Alliance Project.  Sheri is the
mother of two children.

Mary Ellen O'Keefe of Seattle is the interim associate dean for health and human services at Edmonds
Community College. She has extensive experience in family support programs, as well as work in
adult education and infant and toddler development.

Representative Lynn Kessler of Hoquiam represents the 24th District.  She is the Democratic Leader
in the House of Representatives. She and her husband have three sons and one daughter.

Scott D. Oki of Bellevue is the chief volunteer for the Oki Foundation. He is recently retired from
the Microsoft Company, in which he held a variety of executive positions.  Scott is the father of
three children.

Dee Ann Perea of Issaquah is a parent education instructor at Bellevue Community College, in which
she leads classes in child rearing for parents of children up to age six. She is the mother of two.

James D. Sinegal (Represented by Sheri Flies) of Issaquah is the president, chief executive officer and
director of Costco Wholesale. He has three grown children.

Representative Gigi Talcott of University Place represents the 28th District.  She is a former first-grade
teacher and instructor at Clover Park Technical College. She and her husband have two sons.

Yvonne Ullas is an elementary school teacher in Naches and has worked in parent education programs
there and the Yakima School District.  She also was selected as the 1998 Washington State Teacher of the Year.

Dee West of Bellingham is the associate director of Early Childhood Opportunities Northwest.  She is
the mother of one child.

Reverend Lawrence White of Tacoma is a sales manager at US West Communications, working with
sales consultants in residential settings.  He has two children and 52 nieces and nephews.

Gayle Womack of Kennewick is the Director of the Benton-Franklin Developmental Center, which
provides special education, therapy and family services to children between the ages of birth and
three who are developmentally delayed.

Dr. Kyle Yasuda of Seattle is a pediatrician at Virginia Mason Medical Center, associate professor
at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and President of the Washington Chapter,
American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Diana Yu of Olympia is a Pediatrician and the local public health officer with the Thurston
County Public Health and Social Services Department. She has extensive experience in public
health, serving on numerous medical and health associations and committees.

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