Bigger state board has new members, new officers

An expanded board of directors, with new members and new officers, was installed at the annual meeting of NAMI Washington June 30. The meeting was held as part of the national NAMI convention in Seattle.

The nominating committee was blessed to have many great applicants to choose from and had informed the affiliates of the board's decision to fully utilize the talents presented by expanding the board to 15 members. Seven new members were elected: Kathryn "Kay" Sharp of NAMI Spokane, Cheri Dolezal of NAMI Pierce County, Curtis Thompson of NAMI Eastside, Tim Osborn of NAMI Greater Seattle, Michael Uradnik of NAMI Eastside, Dave Weaver of NAMI Eastside and Richard Weaver of NAMI Yakima.

Earlier in the month, three board members had been appointed. Two of these are familiar names: Past presidents Gordon Bopp of NAMI Tri-Cities and Jim Bloss of NAMI Snohomish County are returning for one-year terms to provide stability to the board, and John Turner of NAMI Snohomish County was appointed to a two-year term.

Janet Hunter of NAMI Snohomish County was re-elected to serve a second term.

There are also four board members — Norman Anderson and Trez Buckland of NAMI Greater Seattle, John Freeburg of NAMI Kitsap County and Charlene Woodward of NAMI Chelan/Douglas — who are in mid-term.

President Farrell Adrian stepped down following the election. She will continue with NAMI Washington as a part-time development director.

Following the meeting, the new board elected officers: Gordon Bopp was elected president, Jim Bloss was elected vice president, Trez Buckland was elected secretary and Norman Anderson was elected to continue as treasurer.

You can contact any of the board members in care of office@namiwa.org.

2012–13 NAMI Washington board of directors

Gordon Bopp, president

(Appointed 2012, first Term, term expires 2013)

Dr. Gordon R. Bopp retired from Westinghouse Hanford Company in 1995 after serving as Executive Director of the International Environmental Institute and Manager of Training and Educational Outreach Programs. He is currently owner of his own independent consulting firm specializing in educational, environmental and investment management consulting. Dr. Bopp was formerly Executive Director of the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI) in Spokane, Washington; and is a past Vice President for Academic Affairs at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and Eastern New Mexico University. He has over 30 years experience in educational management, technology transfer and commercialization and business operations. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado and earned his doctorate in the same field from Stanford University. He is married and has four grown daughters. Gordon is President of the Tri-Cities Residential Services Board of Directors. Gordon served as President of NAMI Washington from 2004 and 2008. Gordon and his wife Nan have been active leaders of NAMI Tri-Cities affiliate for many years.

Jim Bloss, vice president

Appointed 2012, first term, term expires 2013

Jim is a full-time retired, active-duty volunteer, involved in many community activities, primarily related to NAMI and St. Vincent de Paul. Jim has spent a lifetime working in middle and upper – level management positions, primarily in the planning and programming disciplines. He is a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, has worked in both the public and private sectors and has run his own company as an independent businessman. Jim has a B.S. in Commerce degree from St. Louis University (major in Marketing) and a M.S. in Logistics Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He has had a lifelong interest and involvement in all forms of social and human services-related issues and has been involved in politics and active advocacy for these issues for over 20 years. He lives with his wife and beagle dog in Monroe, WA. and has three grown, adult children, one living with and in recovery from a mental illness. Jim has been involved with NAMI for over 15 years, in various capacities at both the Affiliate and Washington state-levels, including serving on the NAMI Washington Board of Directors as Vice-President for two years and on the NAMI Washington Public Policy Committee for over 6 years, and was the Chair of the Steering Committee for the 2010 Washington NAMI Walk. He is currently a member of the NAMI Washington Public Policy Committee and the President of NAMI Snohomish County affiliate, a position he has held for over 8 years.

Helen Teresa "Trez" Buckland, secretary

Elected 2011, first term, term expires 2014

Trez is a longtime health educator and counselor with a PhD in Nursing. Her dissertation topic was "Young Adults with Schizophrenia: Defining Happiness, Building Hope." She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the UW School of Nursing and Public Health, teaching in both schools. She also is a project director for a National Institute on Drug Abuse grant on the Neurobiology of Addiction. She is a former NAMI Greater Seattle Board Member, Walk Team Captain and group facilitator for young adults with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. In addition, with a group of committed volunteers (family members, friends and consumers), she create, taught and trained others to teach the Educating the Next Generation program which provides outreach to high school students on mental illness and stigma. She continues this volunteer effort in partnership with University of Puget Sound Nursing faculty and students. In addition to NAMI, Trez volunteers with Hero House, NAVOS and the Science and Management of Addiction Foundation. She lives in Seattle with her husband and has four children and four grandchildren. She has many family members with mental illness. She is a member of NAMI Greater Seattle.

Norman Anderson, treasurer

Appointed 2011, first term, term expires 2014

Norman retired from the Carpenters Trusts of Western Washington after serving as the Administrator and Special Projects Manager. In those capacities he managed the business affairs of related Retirement, Savings, Health Plan, and Apprentice programs for these non-profit Taft-Hartley Trusts. He was also responsible for development of strategic plans for design, funding, and administration of the benefit programs. His career spans the fields of Finance, benefit and regulatory analysis and compliance, health plan costing and design, health insurance industry market analysis with local firms: Boeing, Wells Fargo Bank, and Charleton Industries as well as William M Mercer Co, in San Francisco. He holds a BA and an MBA from the University of Washington.He currently serves on two nonprofit employee benefit trusts. He is supportive of family members who have mental illness. He is currently a member of Greater Seattle Affiliate.

John Freeburg

Elected 2011, first term, term expires 2012

John Freeburg has three degrees including: a BA from Fairhaven College at Western Washington University, a MA from the Chicago Theological Seminary and a D. Min. (Doctor of Ministry) from Meadville/Lombard Theological School which at that time was affiliated with the University of Chicago. He has also completed one year of PhD studies at Union Theological Seminary in NYC. After NYC, he returned to Chicago where he got married and later adopted his stepson (Christopher). He and his wife also had a daughter (Angela). After over two years as a minister he became a sales person for an advertising company owned by Dun & Bradstreet, which later employed him near and in Miami. His mental illness caused him to be prescribed Stelazine while he was working while he was working toward a PhD, but he was able to live without medications up until he became disabled in the late 1980's. John is proud of the fact that despite his disability his children are quite successful. His son, Christopher, is a University of Illinois English professor after earning a Masters degree from Stanford and PhD from the U of Chicago Christopher's first book is being published by Cambridge University Press. Angela has a BA from Harvard and a BS in Nursing from Columbia. Even with setbacks, relationships can be highly satisfying for the disabled with or without children. John has served as NAMI Kitsap President and has been an active advocate for appropriate Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) and the rights of all individuals in their encounters with public safety officers. He is a member of NAMI Kitsap.

Charlene Woodward

Elected 2010, second term, term expires 2013

Charlene is a lifelong resident of Washington State. She grew up in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1972 with a degree in Sociology. Over the past thirty years Charlene, together with her husband, have built the specialty book business, Dogwise, into a successful retailer, wholesaler and publisher of books on dogs. Her current position with Dogwise Publishing is as Acquisitions Editor. A life-long volunteer, Charlene got involved in NAMI Chelan Douglas 10 years ago after becoming aware of lack of services in North Central Washington for those with mental health issues. She has served her affiliate as Vice President and President and is in her second term on the NAMI Washington Board as Chair of the Education Committee. Charlene has also served on her local RSN Advisory Board, PACT Advisory Board, Mental Health Stakeholders group and Suicide Prevention Coalition of North Central Washington. Seven years ago, working with local law enforcement agencies, Charlene was instrumental in bringing the Memphis Model of Crisis Intervention Team training (CIT) to North Central Washington. This CIT program has trained over 250 officers. Charlene chairs the NAMI WA Education Committee and is also interested in affiliate governance and children's mental health service. She is a member of NAMI Chelan/Douglas.

Kathryn Sharp

Elected 2012, first term, term expires in 2013

Kay recently retired from her position as Office Manager/Accountant for Contract Resource Group, a for-profit, small business, manufacturing corporation. During her over 30 years of financial/office management experience, she also served as Financial Director to New Horizon Care Centers, a non-profit drug and alcohol residential and outpatient treatment center serving both men and women in the Spokane area. She has supervised accounts receivable/payable, personnel and payroll and overseen the monthly reconciliation of cash accounts and banking activities. Kay served two years as Vice Chair of the Eastern State Hospital Advisory Board. She was Team Captain representing NAMI Spokane in the 2011 NAMI WA Walk and has served as a volunteer member of the RSN mandated Quality Review Team. As a QRT volunteer she helped gather information which was assimilated into reports to determine the extent of satisfaction with local mental health services. Kay received her accounting training from Spokane Community College and through her many years of business experience. She has a degree in Education (certified in special ed and reading) from Gonzaga University. Kay's adult child suffers from a mental illness. She has personally experienced the revolving door of services and the uphill battle of helping her family member obtain effective services. She supports his efforts at maintaining dignity and working towards recovery. Kay has two grown children and lives in Liberty Lake, WA. As a NAMI Spokane member and volunteer, she currently serves on the affiliate's Outreach Committee.

Cheri Dolezal

Elected 2012, first term, term expires in 2014

Cheri is the current CEO/Director of Optum Health in Tacoma. She is very aware of NAMI mission and values and personally feels a total kinship with the organization. As someone who has worked for over 35 years in mental health, at all levels, Cheri has a working/hands-on knowledge of the organizational and Board member skills needed by NAMI Washington. Her degree in Nursing and Masters in Business positions her to both understand client needs at the grass-roots level and be able to understand what it take, business-wise and organizationally, to effect positive change in people and systems. Her life and work have been devoted to helping those with mental illness toward recovery and personal empowerment. She is the mother of 4 children, now grown, and lives in Tacoma with her husband. She is a member of NAMI Pierce.

Curtis Thompson

Elected 2012, first term, term expires 2014

Curtis is currently a certified volunteer Veteran Service Officer (VSO) with the East Lake DAV chapter. He has major and final (paid) career work and experience in senior management of Information Technology (IT) for local and national corporations with hire/fire authority and full budget responsibility. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army from Feb. 1968 to Dec. 1969, with a year's service in Vietnam assigned to the 40th Medical Detachment of the 44th Medical Brigade (atch. to the 25th Infantry Div. based in Cu Chi). Curtis was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and Combat Medic Badge; was detached from active duty in Dec. 1969 and Honorably Discharged in 1991 with a service-connected disability. He is a former crisis counselor for Youth Eastside Services; a former Fairfax Psychiatric Hospital employee; and a former board member and president of the board of directors of his home- owner association (was President for seven years). Curtis is a Pacific Northwest resident, born in Seattle, WA., and has a BA in Psychology from the U. of Washington/Seattle. Curtis is a volunteer with the American Red Cross; Veterans Legislative Liaison Coalition (VLC); King County Veterans Advisory Board (elected position); National life member and state committee member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV); Life member and sponsor of the Seattle Veterans Museum; and life member of the Assn. of the U.S. Army (AUSA). Curtis is a member of NAMI Eastside Affiliate.

John Turner

Appointed 2012, first term, term expires 2014

John is recently retired as Police Chief after having served for more than twenty years in the Cities of Marysville, Mountlake Terrace and Snohomish where he and his wife Margo currently reside. Prior to coming to Snohomish County, John came up through the Law Enforcement ranks in Thurston County where he was born and raised. He first began his public safety career by serving as a fire fighter then police cadet for the newly formed City of Lacey in 1966. After attaining a BS degree in Police Science and Administration from Washington State University in 1971 john joined the ranks of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office where he held the ranks of Patrol Deputy, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Chief Deputy. He is currently chair of the Governor's Clemency and Pardons Board. He has served four governors on five boards and commissions since 1990. He has a passion for prevention issues and has recently focused on the need to improve the Mental Health system in Washington State. John is a member of NAMI Snohomish.

Janet Hunter

Elected 2012, second term, term expires 2015

Jan is a member of the corporate board of Hunter Industries and is experienced in all facets of management and administration of a business organization. She has over 30 years volunteer and professional experience. She is currently vice chair on the board of Midway College in Kentucky, a college that serves women and working adults. She recently finished terms which included extended Chair, Vice-Chair and executive committee assignments on 1) the Riverview School on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, a school that serves students ages 12 – 22 who have learning and social issues that prevent them from succeeding in mainstream educational environments, 2) the advisory board for the Devereux Pocono Center in Pennsylvania, a long-term living facility for adults with cognitive and psychiatric disorders and 3) the Jackie Robinson family YMCA in the inner city of San Diego. Her experience includes over three decades working at the local and national levels of the AFS High School Exchange student program She is a 3rd generation Washington native who attended Whitman College, graduated from the U. of Maryland and later taught elementary school. She and her husband raised 4 children from infancy, 2 adopted and two birth children and became the guardian of a 16-year-old girl in 2004. Jan's late daughter suffered from mental illness and she and her family actively nurture and support several extended family members as they address mental health issues on their road to wellness. She is a member of NAMI Snohomish County.

Tim Osborn

Elected 2012, first term, term expires 2015

Tim Osborn is an attorney with Microsoft Corporation, where he leads the Law & Corporate Affairs Real Estate and Facilities group. He represents the company in real estate acquisitions, leases, subleases, property development, dispute resolution, as well as credit & collection matters. Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Osborn was a partner at Bogle & Gates in Seattle and Dorsey & Whitney's Seattle office, where he was head of that office's real estate group. He is a graduate of the University of Washington (BA, 1973) and Willamette University School of Law (JD, magna cum laude, 1976), and was law clerk to Justice Charles Horowitz on the Washington Supreme Court. Mr. Osborn has published articles and spoken on real estate topics such as commercial leasing, like kind exchanges, water as a boundary to real estate, and title insurance. He was Chair of the Real Property, Probate & Trust section of the Washington State Bar Association, on the Board of the International Association of Attorneys and Executives in Corporate Real Estate, and a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Attorneys. He was a Board member and on the Executive Committee of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. Tim supports a family member with his struggle toward recovery. He is a member of the Seattle affiliate

Michael Uradnik

Elected 2012, first term, term expires 2015

Mike currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Fairfax Hospital in Kirkland, WA. He has a strong background in strategic planning and expanding and improving health care services. He is responsible for operational and business development at Fairfax. Prior to this position he directed various health care services including, Women's and Children's, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, and Multiple Sclerosis. He has a BA in English (U. of Chicago), MA in English (U. of Montana) and a Master's in Health Services Admin. (U. of Michigan). Fairfax provides behavioral health services for adults and adolescents, with an emphasis on the qualities of compassion, respect, accountability and responsibility. Mike hopes to bring these traits with him in his involvement with the NAMI WA Board. He is a member of NAMI Eastside.

Dave Weaver

Elected 2012, first term, term expires 2015

Dave, a Product Manager at Liberty Mutual Bank in Seattle, has over 35 years experience in business financial matters, focused on claim management and budgeting. He has been a board member of his church financial committee, his condo association and a number of industry/professional organization boards as well as being a member of the Board of Directors and treasurer at NAMI Eastside. He lives with his wife & family in Bellevue. One family member deals with mental illness, Dave and his family are active in helping to support their loved one on the journey to successful treatment and recovery. Dave wants to help the NAMI Board work with NAMI Washington Affiliates, developing improved the lines of communication between these entities. He has been active in working to support NAMI WALKS and speaking before cities on the eastside and advocating for support for NAMI programs. Dave is a member of NAMI Eastside.

Richard Weaver

Elected 2012, first term, term expires 2015

Rick is currently the CEO of Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health/Yakima. His various positions have given him experience in all facets of mental health management, services and programs. As the legislative lead for Washington State's provider association, Rick has been involved in crafting legislation and attending legislative hearings related to improvements to the mental health system. He has strong connections with other advocacy organizations and legislators, plus knowledge of "the system" and how to navigate it to get things done. He has served on numerous boards and working committees and wants to join the NAMI WA. Board and work as a team member, helping to "make a positive difference" in our cause. Rick has a BA and an MA in Psychology, is a Designated Mental Health Professional, a geriatric and Native American MH specialist and has co-occurring MH/CD specialty training and experience. He has a family member with a long history of mental illness whom he has helped on the road to recovery and living a useful, productive and full life. Rick has been a member of NAMI since 1983 and is a current member of NAMI Yakima.