Nancy Auer, M.D., F.A.C.E., Chair
Chief Medical Officer, Swedish Medical Center
Dr. Nancy Auer has worked at Swedish Medical Center for 14 years
and currently serves as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to this,
Dr. Auer was VP of Medical Affairs, and Assistant Director at
the Department of Emergency Services. She also frequently lectures
on several medical topics.
Dr. Auer is the past President of the Washington State Medical
Association. She is currently a member of many boards and committees
at Swedish Hospital, Seattle-King County Disaster Team, Boeing
Advisory Committee on Leapfrog Initiative, American Heart Association,
King County Health Department, Bellevue Club and Rainier Club.
Dr. Auer is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine
and has recently received the Honorary Fellowship of the International
Federation for Emergency Medicine and the John G. Wiegenstein
Leadership Award.
Term expires: December 31, 2007
Benita Horn, Immediate Past Chair
Principal, Achievement Architects North
Benita Horn is the principal of Achievement Architects North,
Building Human Performance, which she founded in 1990. Prior to
1990 she was employed by US West, where she started in 1964 in
Operator Services. By 1970, Ms. Horn was part of the company's
management team, and over the next 20 years she served in a number
of positions of increasing responsibility.
Ms. Horn is currently a member of American Society for Training and Development and sits on the Board of Directors Personnel Committee for YMCA of
Greater Seattle. In addition, Ms. Horn is a Community Advisor for Junior League of Seattle, Inc. as well as a Teen Advisor and the Financial Secretary
for the Seattle chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
Term expires: December 31, 2007
Vic Dirksen, Vice-Chair
Administrator, Jefferson Healthcare
Vic Dirksen has been the administrator of Jefferson Healthcare
in Port Townsend Washington for the past 24 years. In that time
he has been instrumental in establishing many programs that have
effectively improved health care delivery in rural Jefferson County.
Mr. Dirksen is currently the President of the Board of Directors
of the Washington Rural Health Association.
Term expires: December 31, 2007
Josef Gray, Secretary-Treasurer
Retired (former President, Seafirst Bank)
Josef Gray retired in 1998 as President of Seafirst Bank, where
he worked for 37 years. He began his career at the bank as a management
trainee and was promoted several times until elected President
of the company in 1993.
Mr. Gray is past chairman of the Alliance for Education and is chair-elect for Providence Community Health System Board. In addition, he serves on
the boards of Zion Academy Foundation, Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Gonzaga University Board of Regents, University of Washington
School of Business Administration Advisory Board and the Seattle Community Colleges Chancellors Roundtable among others.
Term expires: December 31, 2007
Andrew Craigie
Administrator, Garfield County Public Hospital District
Andrew is administrator of Garfield County Public Hospital District
in the "Frontier Rural" Community of Pomeroy, located
in the South East corner of Washington State. He is a graduate
of Washington State University with a degree in Business Administration.
Andrew began his service in Health care in Assisted Living and
joined Garfield County Hospital District in 2000. He and his team
have focused on developing the means and methods of delivering
the most gratifying health care experience to the small rural
community they serve. Testing all initiatives against their ability
to contribute to sustainability; the District is focused on improving
the patient experience, operational efficiency and financial performance.
In addition to his work as administrator Andrew is a volunteer
EMT, serves on the board of the Association of Washington Public
Hospital Districts and the Critical Access Hospital Network. He
is also very involved in Critical Access Hospital and Quality
initiatives.
Term Expires: December 31, 2007
Bob Drewel
Executive Director, Puget Sound Regional Council
Bob Drewel is the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Regional
Council which serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization
and Regional Transportation Planning Organization for King, Kitsap,
Pierce and Snohomish counties and cities. He served three terms
as Snohomish County Executive from November 1991 to December 2003,
and is also the former president and chief executive officer of
Everett Community College.
Within Snohomish County, Mr. Drewel has served as a board member of the Economic Development Council, Healthy Communities Initiative, United Way,
Snohomish County Tomorrow, Snohomish County Needs Assessment Project, Economic Investment Plan, SnoNet and City/County Task Force on Criminal Justice.
His other civic involvement includes the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Rotary, Everett Area Chamber of Commerce, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Deaconess
Children's Services, YMCA and numerous other community projects. He is also past president and member of the executive board of the Puget Sound Regional
Council, and the former chairman of Sound Transit.
Term Expires: December 31, 2007
Dave Gitch
Retired (former President & CEO, Harrison Memorial Hospital)
Dave Gitch retired as President and CEO of Harrison Medical Center,
Bremerton, WA in December 2004. Dave is a native of Fredericksburg,
Iowa and spent his growing up years in Grand Raids, Michigan.
He is a graduate of Valparaiso University, 1962, with a B.A. degree
and majors in business and government. He received an MBA in Health
Care Administration from George Washington University in Washington,
D.C. in 1964. His previous administrative positions have included
CEO-Harborview Medical Center/University of Washington, Seattle;
CEO-St. Paul-Ramsey (now Regions) Medical Center, St. Paul, Minnesota;
and administrative positions at Community Hospital, Indianapolis.
He completed his administrative residency in hospital administration
at Riverside Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. He served on the Clinical
Faculty of the Programs in Health Care Administration at the University
of Washington and the University of Minnesota until his retirement
in 2004.
He is Past Chair of the governing Council for Metropolitan Hospitals
of the American Hospital Association (AHA). He has been an AHA
delegate and a member of the AHA's Region 9 Policy Board. Dave
has served as Chair of the Boards of the Washington State Hospital
Association and of the Minnesota Hospital Association. In addition,
Mr. Gitch served on the Boards of the National Public Hospital
Association, the Twin Cities Council of Community Hospitals and
the Twin Cities Council of Teaching Hospitals. He has served on
the Board and as Chair of the Bremerton Symphony Association and
is currently on the Bremerton Symphony Endowment Fund Board. He
is a past Board member of the Admiral Theatre, Bremerton. Currently
he is serving on the boards of Lutheran Community Services Northwest,
Olympic Peninsula Kidney Dialysis Center, Great Peninsula Conservancy
(Land Trust), Washington Health Foundation and Kitsap Bank. In
2004, he chaired the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on
the consolidation of the Bremerton and the Kitsap County Housing
Authorities.
Since December, 2005, he is serving as the Interim Executive
Director of the Bremerton Housing Authority during a transition
period. He is the recipient of the Spurgeon Award for exceptional
career achievement and community service presented by the Indianhead
Council, boy Scouts of America and the City of St. Paul, Minnesota
and the Thunderbird Award presented by the Bremerton Chamber of
Commerce.
Term expires: December 31, 2007
Leo Greenawalt
President & CEO, Washington State Hospital Association
Leo Greenawalt has been president of the Washington State Hospital
Association for the past 20 years. Previously, he was vice president
in the government affairs division of the Michigan Hospital Association
and vice president of the Association of University Programs in
Health Administration (AUPHA). Mr. Greenawalt began his career
as a hospital CEO in Oklahoma, and at two different times, served
in public policy positions in Washington, D.C.
For the American Hospital Association (AHA), Mr. Greenawalt served in an at-large position on the Board of Trustees, and as a member of the Strategic
Planning Committee, Health Care 94 Steering Committee, Committee on Allied Hospital Associations, and Task Force on National HealthCare Reform. He has
also chaired the State Hospital Association Executives Forum (SHAEF). Mr. Greenawalt is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, from
which he received the Gold Medal Award in 1999. He has also been active in the Healthcare Forum.
Term expires: December 31, 2007
Susanne Hartung, S.P.
Regional Director, Providence Health & Services
Susanne Hartung, S.P. recently served as Vice President for Mission,
Ethics and Community Relations for Swedish Health Services following
the sell of Providence Medical Center to Swedish. She currently
serves as Regional Director of Mission and Ethics of the Washington/Montana
Region of Providence Health & Services Susanne is passionate
about access issues, particularity for the poor and vulnerable
and has worked to this end by building partnerships with a wide
range of community groups. She also has played a lead role in
Providence's sweeping campaign to reduce domestic violence in
the community. Her current work includes a new initiative for
Providence: Ministry Leadership Formation for the Executive Team
as well as the integration of the newly formed Providence Health
& Services.
Prior to entering health care, Sister Susanne spent many years
in the education ministry as a teacher, counselor and administrator.
She holds a bachelor's degree in social sciences and a master's
degree in psychology. She has also done master's work in history,
advanced studies in theology and doctoral studies in business,
and social and medical ethics at the University of Louvain, Belgium.
Term expires: December 31, 2008
Judy Huntington
Executive Director, Washington State Nurses Association
Judith (Judy) A. Huntington, MN, RN, is the Executive Director
of the Washington State Nurses Association, a position she assumed
in January 1999 after nearly 10 years on the executive staff of
the American Nurses Association (ANA). She is a graduate of the
University of Washington where she received both her BSN and MN.
She is also the Executive Director of the Washington State Nurses
Foundation and Vice-President of the Washington Center for Nursing.
A veteran of association work as both an elected leader and staff,
Judy served in a variety of leadership roles at the local, state
and national levels of WSNA and ANA, including President of WSNA
from 1979-1983, Interim Executive Director in1983-1984 and as
ANA Second Vice President from 1985-1989.
In December of 1998, Judy was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science
degree from Kent State University for her work in health policy
and advancing distance learning through electronic communications
and development of the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, an
award-winning peer-reviewed nursing journal jointly sponsored
by Kent State and the ANA.
Judy has been involved in numerous community and advocacy activities
ranging from environmental health, health care reform, support
for public health, breast cancer awareness, children's health,
immunization, and disaster response and preparedness planning.
Term expires: December 31, 2008
Kenneth H.Z. Isaacs, M.D.
past President, Washington State Medical Association
Dr. Ken Isaacs is the immediate Past President of the Washington
State Medical Association, and currently Chair of the Executive
Committee. He has been involved with the evolution of our health
care system with contribution to the Health Care Options Task
Force and Rural Health Committee. He has been intimately involved
with efforts of medical liability reform, as Chairman, as well
as currently working to enhance the Medical Quality Assurance
processes.
Dr. Isaacs has undergraduate and graduate training in mathematics
and physics at the University of California and Princeton University.
Choosing a medical career in neuroscience, he has been in private
practice in Walla Walla for 25 years after completion of residency
and fellowship work at UCSD. He is a Diplomat of the American
Board of Neurology, as well as having subspecialty board certification
with his work in neuromuscular medicine. He has served on Providence
Services hospital boards for 11 years. He has also been involved
in his community as a member of various boards and task forces.
Term expires: December 31, 2008
Robert Jeffrey
Publisher/CEO, ColorsNW Magazine
Robert L. Jeffrey Jr. started his career in media in1991 at The Seattle Times. Jeffrey was selected as one of the first two Times Fellows, a program that gave him experience in advertising, corporate marketing, operations, new media, circulation and information systems. The goal of that program—to train promising individuals in the area of publishing—gave Jeffrey the drive to create ColorsNW Magazine, a publication about people of color in the Northwest. Co-founded with his wife, Minty Jeffrey, Jeffrey launched the magazine at age 31 to illuminate issues relevant to Northwest communities of color through high-quality, enlightening and thought-provoking content.
Jeffrey graduated from Hampton University with a bachelor's degree in business with a marketing emphasis. He has completed management training at the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, Kellogg School of Business and Northwestern University in Chicago and served in an operations internship at The Washington Post. Jeffrey is a member of The Breakfast Group and a board member at United Way of King County and Seattle Goodwill. He has served as Basileus of the Zeta Upsilon Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., for three years. Jeffrey is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Photo Credit: Amrita Huja / ColorsNW Magazine
Term expires: December 31, 2008
Steve Leahy
Executive Director, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Steve Leahy is the President & CEO of the Greater Seattle
Chamber of Commerce, a position he has held since early 2002.
Prior to that, Leahy served as the Chamber's executive vice president
for 10 years.
During his tenure at the Chamber, he has overseen the organization's
marketing, membership, administrative and financial operations;
its public affairs and community development programs; and its
relationships with regional, state, and federal leaders.
Leahy received his M.B.A. from the University of Puget Sound,
his Masters in English from the University of Notre Dame and his
B.A. in Religious Studies from Lewis University (Illinois).
Leahy is active in a number of community organizations, and currently
serves on the boards of the Association of Washington Business,
the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, Leadership
Tomorrow, enterpriseSeattle, the United Way of King County, the
Urban Enterprise Center and the Washington Chamber of Commerce
Executives Association. He chaired the board of Family Services
and the Seattle Children's Museum.
Term expires: December 31, 2008
Janet Liang
Executive VP, Columbia Region Group Health Cooperative
Janet Liang joined Group Health in 1992 and has held several
management positions in the care delivery system. She received
a master's degree in Health Services Administration from the University
of Washington and a bachelor's degree in political science from
Boston University. Liang is a 2005 graduate of the Seattle Leadership
Tomorrow Program and is on the boards of Asian Counseling and
Referral Services and the Washington State Hospital Association.
Term expires: December 31, 2008
John Long
President, Good Samaritan Hospital
John Long has spent his entire career as a health care executive
in the Northwest. He came to Tacoma in 1986 as the President &
CEO of St. Joseph Medical Center. In 1995 he joined the executive
staff of Group Health as the Chief Operating Officer, based in
Seattle. After 8 years of commuting daily from Gig Harbor to downtown
Seattle, he decided to retire, which didn't last nearly as long
as he anticipated. In January 2004, he returned to health care
to join MultiCare Health System's leadership team as the Strategic
Executive. As a result of an affiliation between MultiCare and
Good Samaritan Community Healthcare, in October 2006 John became
the first affiliation president of Good Samaritan, based in Puyallup.
John and his wife Sara, who also works for MultiCare Health System
as the Executive for Philanthropy, are 20-year residents of Gig
Harbor. No long commutes from Gig Harbor to Puyallup for John
- he and Sara have taken a second residence in Puyallup!
Term expires: December 31, 2007
Carlos Olivares
Executive Director, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic
When Carlos Olivares took over as executive director of the Yakima
Valley Farm Workers Clinic in 1986, the organization had about
150 employees working at small clinics in Toppenish, Grandview
and Cowiche, Washington. Today, more than 25 years after it was
founded in 1978, the Farm Workers Clinic has over 1,200 employees
providing medical, dental, mental health and social services at
22 facilities in Washington and Oregon.
Carlos grew up in La Paz, Bolivia, and graduated from Pepperdine
University in California. He is a founding board member of Community
Health Network of Washington/Community Health Plan of Washington.
He serves on the Board of Directors of Heritage College in Toppenish,
WA, a school that predominantly serves Hispanic and minority students.
In addition, he was appointed by Governor Gary Locke to the 2020
Commission, a body entrusted with reviewing the current higher
educational system in the State of Washington.
Carlos chairs the National Association of Community Health Centers
(NACHC) Farmworker Health Committee, and serves on the board of
directors of The Memorial Foundation, which raises funds and allocates
resources for health care in the Yakima Valley. In 2003, he was
honored by the Washington Health Foundation as the recipient of
the Heroes of Healthcare Award for Leadership.
Term expires: December 31, 2008
Mel Tonasket
Retired (former Member, Colville Tribal Council)
Mel Tonasket was born on the Colville Indian Reservation. He
served in the United States Navy, United States Naval Security
Group. He worked for six years with the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Colville Indian Agency, Colville Indian Reservation. He was a
public affairs specialist for the Portland Area Office of the
Indian Health Service, director of Indian Policy and Support Services
for the Washington Department of Social and Health Services, and
service unit director for the Colville Indian Health Center. He
also owned and operated the Omache Health Spa in Omak.
He recently retired as a member of the Colville Confederated
Tribal Council (he had been a member for 20 years) and was formerly
chairman of the School Board for Paschal Sherman Indian School
in Omak. He was elected president of the National Congress of
American Indians for two terms and first vice president for one
term. He was a member of the congressional American Indian Policy
Review Commission for two years and has represented United States
tribal governments at the World Council of Indigenous Peoples
and at the Inter-American Indigenous Conference in Brazil.
Mr. Tonasket has been married 44 years to Nancy Tonasket and
has 3 sons and 4 grandchildren.
Term expires December 31, 2008
Mary Selecky
Secretary, WA State Department of Health
Mary C. Selecky has been Secretary of the Washington State Department
of Health since March 1999. In February 2005 she was reappointed
to the position by Governor Christine Gregoire. Prior to working
for the state, Mary served for 20 years as administrator of the
Northeast Tri-County Health District in Colville, Washington.
Throughout her career, Mary has been a leader in developing local,
state and national public health policies that recognize the unique
health care challenges facing both urban and rural communities.
As Secretary of Health, Mary has made tobacco prevention and control,
nutrition and physical activity and emergency preparedness her
top priorities. Mary is known for bringing people and organizations
together to improve the public health system and the health of
people in Washington State.
Mary has served on numerous boards and commissions; she is immediate
past president of the Association of State and Territorial Health
Officials, receiving the 2004 McCormack Award for excellence in
public health, and is a past president of the Washington State
Association of Local Public Health Officials. A graduate of the
University of Pennsylvania, she's been a Washington State resident
for 32 years.
Trustee Ex-Officio
*Board as of January 1, 2007