Meet the Commission
Bob Cecile is the Whatcom County MRC representative to the Northwest Straits Commission. Bob moved to the Pacific NW to have access to the marine environment. He enjoys the full range of boating and fishing opportunities on our beautiful waters. When he heard about the opportunity to actively participate in protecting and enhancing the near-shore environment, he applied for an opening on the Whatcom County MRC. Bob has learned a lot since joining the group 7 years ago, and feel especially pleased when he is able to discuss issues with neighbors and friends to help them understand ways to have less impact on our marine waters.His career as a civil engineer has mainly been in county and municipal infrastructure management, where he has served as county engineer and public works director. Most recently Bob has been able to concentrate on developing the stormwater quality program for the City of Ferndale whose stormwater drains to the Nooksack River, Lummi River, and Birch Bay.
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Lenny Corin, of Oak Harbor retired to Whidbey Island in 2008 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska. “My wife and I have always loved this area,” he said. “Given my 30-plus years in natural resources management I wanted to give back to the community.” Corin received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in wildlife conservation and his master’s from Northern Michigan University focusing on wetlands management. For three years preceding retirement he was the USFWS representative on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which provides oversight for the $1 billion commercial fishing industry in Alaska’s waters out to 200 miles. He is an avid SCUBA diver, kayaker, biker, hiker, bird watcher, cross-country skier, eco-traveler and photographer, and serves also on the board of Whidbey Camano Land Trust.
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Shannon Davis holds a Masters degree in Urban Planning with an emphasis on natural resource management from the University of Washington. She received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Shannon spent five years as the owner and operator of a sailing and kayaking charter boat business in the San Juan Islands. She was the first coordinator for the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee and now she is a member of the Jefferson county Marine Resources Committee. Since 2003, she has been employed as the Development Director for Friends of the San Juans, a local environmental group in San Juan County.
David Dicks represents the Puget Sound Partnership and is appointed to the Commission by the Governor. He is the first executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership, appointed in August 2007. Prior to that appointment, David was a partner with Cascadia Law Group and a consultant to King County for Puget Sound matters.
Kathy Fletcher is founder and executive director of People For Puget Sound, a citizens' organization formed in 1991 to protect and restore the health of Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits. She is a member of the Washington state Oil Spill Advisory Council and the Governor's Puget Sound Partnership, and previously chaired the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority. She is currently on the board of Restore America's Estuaries, and is president of the WA Foundation for the Environment.
Joe Gaydos is a Governor's appointee to the Commission. He is the Regional Director for the Sea Doc Society. He is a wildlife veterinarian and is interested in diseases of free-ranging wildlife and the science of marine conservation. He lives with his family on Orcas Island.
Tom Hoban represents the Snohomish County MRC as an economic interest. Mr. Hoban and his family have a generational history of living on Puget Sound waterfront on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. His business background includes marketing and management with national corporations and 25 years as the designated broker of Coast Commercial Properties, a Washington State corporation specializing in income real estate. He served for 8 years on the Capital Grants Advisory Board for the Washington State Historical Society and has been a consultant to a number of non profits in the western states.
As a youth he spent his summers working as a deckhand onboard a charter sailboat visiting the San Juan Islands and plying the waters of the Northwest Straits. He has had experience with Alaska’s Fish and Game Dept. and while on active duty with the US Coast Guard was a rescue swimmer. He is also a WSU Beach Watcher.
Terrie Klinger is Associate Professor of Marine Affairs at the University of Washington, and is appointed to the Commission by the Governor. She has performed marine ecological research in the Northwest Straits region since 1991. She currently serves as Chair of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, and formerly served as a member of the San Juan County MRC.
Scott McCreery is a Governor's appointee and comes to the Commission after serving as an alternate for several years and after sitting for 7 years on the Whatcom County MRC. He manages marine environmental projects for BP and brings expertise in oil spill prevention, preparedness and response to the Commission. Scott and his family live in Bellingham.
Jim McEntire is the Clallam MRC representative to the Commission. He is currently a Port Commissioner for the Port of Port Angeles, and is twice retired – the first time after 32 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, retiring in the grade of Captain, and again from the Federal Senior Executive Service after an additional 6 years of civilian service to the nation.
Charlie O'Hara is the representative from the Skagit MRC. He is the Director of Planning & Community Development with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. He previously served as the Planning Director for the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Whiteriver, AZ and has held planning positions with the Puyallup Tribe and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe (AZ). He has a BA from Boston College and a Masters of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He is a member and past President of the Padilla Bay Foundation and has served on the Skagit MRC for nine years.
Jonathan White is a 13-year resident of the San Juan Islands, and served on the County Planning Commission for 5 years. He was the founder/director of Resource Institute, a non-profit organization that sponsored seminars from Seattle to Alaska aboard a 65' wooden schooner. Jonathan's book, Talking on the Water, was published in 1994 by Sierra Club Books. He is a father, husband, and currently makes his living as a custom home builder. Jonathan also serves as a trustee of the San Juan Preservation Trust.
Terry Williams is the Fisheries Natural Resources Commissioner for Tulalip Tribes and is the Tribal appointee to the Commission. Terry has worked to establish an office with EPA to address environmental issues of Indian Tribes nationwide. He has been an important participant in a vast number of important working groups including the NW Indian Fisheries Commission and the Pacific Salmon Commission, was appointed to the Regional Interagency Executive Committee by President Clinton, and represented tribes on the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority.