Seattle – The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition announces new board members whose terms begin today, February 13, 2008. Each new board member brings with them a strong dedication to maintaining funding at the level of $100 million for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program in the 2009 legislative session. New board members include:
- Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club: Mr. Ayers also sits on the Seattle Bridging the Gap Transportation Levy Oversight Committee, the Alaskan Way Viaduct Stakeholder Advisory Committee and is president of the North Central (Seattle) Little League. He is a past chair of the John Stanford International School Fund Development Committee.
- Bruce Bentley, Residential Operations Supervisor of the Seattle Division of Allied Waste: Mr. Bentley currently serves as a Board Member of the Woodland Park Zoo, Vice President of the Associated Recreational Council, Special Services Officer for the Seattle Seafair Commodores, Treasurer of the John C. Cannon Assisted Living Facility Board, as well treasurer of the African American Community Health Network.
- Lincoln Bormann, Director of the San Juan County Land Bank: Mr. Bormann is responsible for all acquisitions and land management for San Juan County’s land conservation program. He has also worked for the Nature Conservancy in Florida, where he managed an $80 million acquisition program for Sarasota County, and he has experience working for the Pew Charitable Trust designing forest and marine conservation initiatives.
- Bob Bugert, Director of the Chelan Douglas Land Trust: Mr. Bugert was formally with the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Team before becoming Director of the Chelan Land Trust. In this role, he’s successfully working to build bridges with the Chelan County Commissioners and helping them build a bigger vision for Chelan County which includes making parks, trails, and preservation of open spaces a priority.
- Tim Gallagher, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation: Mr. Gallagher most recently served as director of the Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation Department. He oversaw 65,000 acres of parkland, 1,300 full-time employees and a department budget of $110 million. He has 27 years of parks and resource management experience.
- Mark Isaacson, Director of Water and Land Resources Division, King County: Mr. Isaacson has 25 years in the public, private and non-profit sectors in various roles including a city planner in Washington and California, an environmental consultant, community organizing and serving as the executive director of a non-profit environmental advocacy agency in Hawaii.
- Keith Loveless, Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs of Alaska Airlines and Alaska Air Group: Mr. Loveless serves as a member of AAG’s seven-member executive committee, and has oversees the corporation’s environmental policy and practices. He was elected to the position of Corporate Secretary of Alaska Air Group in 1996 and is responsible for all corporate governance issues, He also manages the activities of the corporation’s Board of Directors.
- Jennifer Schroder, Parks and Community Services Director, City of Kirkland: Ms. Schroeder is also the current president of the Washington Recreation and Parks Association and serves on the National Recreation and Parks Associations Board of Trustees. She is a certified parks and recreation professional with over 27 years of experience in providing public parks and recreation services.
- Stephanie Solien, Consultant: Ms. Solien has over 20 years of experience and expertise in strategic planning, managing political campaigns, and policy development. She has served as the board chair for Washington Conservation Voters, the national political director for Bill Clinton’s campaign in Arkansas and the executive director of the Women’s Campaign Fund in Washington, DC.
- Paul Ward, Manager of the Yakama Nation Fisheries Resource Management Program: Mr. Ward is also on the Washington State Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy, a member of the Board of Directors for the Yakima Valley Community Foundation, chair of the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board and a member of the Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board.
- Rep. Judy Warnick, R-13 Moses Lake: Rep. Judy Warnick represents the people of the 13th Legislative District which includes parts of Kittitas, Grant and Yakima counties. She’s also the State legislative committee co-chair of the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington, and in the past, served as the local chapter’s president.
The Coalition board of directors consists of 62 board members (including 9 ex officio) representing conservation, business, recreation, hunting, fishing, farming, and community interests. Through the Coalition, businesses like Boeing and REI work hand in hand with nonprofit groups like the Nature Conservancy and the Federation of Fly Fishers to preserve and protect trails, parks and wildlife habitat. For a complete board roster, visit: http://www.wildliferecreation.org/aboutus/whoweare/board.
The Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition leverages public funding for parks, trails and working farms. In the 2007 legislative session, the Coalition was the driving force behind securing $100 million for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, a government grant program that funds park, wildlife habitat and farmland preservation projects throughout Washington. This victory doubled the amount of funding for the WWRP and represents the largest single two-year investment in parks and green space in state history and funds over 135 projects all over the state.