Officers

Jim Helman, M.D., President 
Jim Helman is a cardiac anesthesiologist and pain management physician at Virginia Mason Medical Center, where he is also the Program Director of the Anesthesiology Residency training program. He has a passion for education, mentoring original clinical research, and leadership development of young investigators. He has utilized these interests during a twenty-two year career in the U.S. Army and academic appointments at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), Yale University, and presently at Virginia Mason. Jim earned his B.A. from Vanderbilt University, his M.D. degree from the University of Miami, his anesthesiology residency training in the U.S. Army, and his fellowship training at the UCSF. Whether it's building homes with youth in Mexico or crewing with friends on the Salish Sea, Jim has an enthusiasm for sharing in the learning experience.

Scott B. Vokey, J.D., Vice President
Scott is General Counsel of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company.  Previously he held positions in hospitality and investment companies and was a partner in Preston Gates & Ellis, a Seattle headquartered law firm.  He is a graduate of Northfield Mt. Hermon School, Connecticut College and the University of Houston College of Law.  Scott’s passion is sailing and he continues to explore the waters of the Pacific Northwest and other areas of the world with family, friends and fellow Salish board members.

Tom Mueller, B.S., Secretary
Tom runs his part time environmental consulting business called Sequana Environmental from his residence on Bainbridge Island.  He happily retired from public service in August 2005 after spending 34 years with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. For his first 5 years with the Corps, he worked on dredges on the Mississippi River and snag boats on Puget Sound.  For the remaining 29 years, he worked in the Corps Seattle District's regulatory program, first as a project manager and supervisor for 15 years and then as the Branch Chief for 14 years.  Tom earned his BS degree in biological oceanography from the University of Washington in 1971.  Tom is a strong proponent of environmental stewardship, especially in educating our youth of its importance.

Donald E. Jackson, Jr. M.B.A., Treasurer
Donald is a Sr. Data Analyst at Russell Investments.  He earned a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in quantitative analysis from Howard University in Washington, DC. He has a broad range of experience including financial analysis, process analysis, and management experience. In addition to his professional experience, Donald volunteered for 5 years as a trip leader for UNC Charlotte’s Venture Program which is a program that provides a variety of enriching outdoor leadership experiences in the way of Adventure Trips to college students. He is an avid sea kayaker and also enjoys camping and hiking.

Eric Laschever, M.M.A, J.D., Past President
Eric is a partner at K&L Gates LLP, where he focuses his practice in the areas of land use, environmental and hazardous waste law. He previously was a partner at Stoel Rives where he headed Seattle Land Use Practices.  He is a graduate of the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School and National Outdoor Leadership School, Williams College Mystic Seaport Program in Maritime Studies and the University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs.

Members

Laurie Bauman Arnold, B.A.
Laurie is a writer and designer of over 40 children’s interactive computer games, many of them award winning, and has written numerous episodes for children’s television programs, among them “Dragon Tales,” currently airing on PBS. She has also written and published several children’s books. Her passion for exposing children to healthy media alternatives and providing them with engaging opportunities to learn problem-solving skills has been a driving force in her career as a children’s media writer. She graduated from Antioch University with a B.A. in English.

Roger Coulter, M.P.P.M.
Roger is currently the CFO of General Biodiesel, the region's largest producer of biodiesel from waste cooking oil. Roger uses his expertise in strategy, finance, and operations to provide insight into our organization and make us more effective in executing our mission.  He has experience with large international companies, including Goldman Sachs, and Amazon.com, medium organizations, and early-stage startups and mission-driven organizations. Roger excels at analyzing and diagnosing the root causes of operational inefficiencies and developing solutions to align business processes with the overall mission and strategy of the organization. Roger earned his B.A. from Brown University and his Masters of Public and Private Management from Yale University. In the summer months, if Roger’s not in our offices, he’s out sailing with his family on the boat he built for his honeymoon.

Matt Eldridge, M.B.A, MA. - On Leave
Matt is Executive Vice President- Partnerships at Emergency Water Relief.org, a supplier of sustainable, solar-powered water filtration systems to disaster survivors worldwide. His 20 years of strategy, marketing and operations experience also includes 10 years as President and Co-founder at Online Video Service, a leading provider of transparency solutions to U.S. federal and state agencies, COO at a national health care reform nonprofit, SVP at a regional public affairs firm, and Senior Associate at Cascadia Consulting Group. He holds a B.A. from Stanford, a M.A. from the University of Cape Town and a M.B.A. from Yale.

Michelle McClure Ph.D.
Michelle is the leader of the Integrated Watershed and Estuarine Science Team at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center.  Michelle has a broad background in marine biology, ecology and conservation biology.  She has also been active in a variety of educational efforts, both in her current job and as a member of the board of the Poulsbo Marine Science Foundation.  Michelle received her Ph.D. from Cornell University and a BA/BS from The Evergreen State College.  In her spare time, Michelle enjoys the outdoors and books with friends and family.

John Sheppard, M.B.A,
John is the Director of REI Adventures & Outdoor School, the adventure travel and outdoor education division of REI, which operates 140 programs on all seven continents in 40 countries.  John has held several REI leadership roles, including managing operations of the Seattle Flagship Store.  He earned a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in marketplace strategy and business policy, from the University of Washington.  In addition to his business management experience he is an accomplished sailor and is very active in yacht racing.  John is a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer holding a U.S.C.G. 50GT Master License and is a certified S.T.C.W. Medical Person-in-Charge.

Amanda Stock, J.D.
Amanda is a partner at Plauché & Stock LLP, a natural resources and environmental law firm focusing on marine and shoreline issues.  She has a B.A. in Anthropology from Scripps College and a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.  In 2000, Amanda was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and spent a year traveling and researching the sociocultural effects of local economic systems in Australia, India, Senegal, and New Zealand.  A native Seattleite, Amanda grew up sailing the Salish Sea with her family.  She currently lives and works in downtown Seattle.

Denice Trimble, J.D.
Denice is a partner at GordonDerr LLP, advising public and private clients with real estate and land use interests, including acquistion and disposition, residential and commercial development, risk management and pokucy making.  Denice moved to Seattle in 2006, after practicing in Austin, Texas for several years. She is a graduate of Austin College and the University of Texas School of Law.  In her spare time, she explores the rich and wonderful opportunities that the region has to offer, including the elusive quest for good  barbeque.

Kari Walker, M.B.A.
Bio coming soon.

Katharine (Trina) F. Wellman, M.M.A., Ph.D.
Trina is a currently a natural resource economist for Northern Economic, Inc. that is based in Anchorage, Alaska.  She previously served as a consultant specializing in environmental and natural resource economics as applied to marine resource management and public policy development and implementation. She has worked for the Battelle Memorial Institute, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington D.C., and has experience as a student, crewmember and science coordinator on both research and sailing vessels. Trina has a Masters in Marine Affairs and a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Washington.

Brian Windrope
Brian now works in Professional and Continuing Education at the University of Washington and previously enjoyed more than 20 years in outdoor science education, professional guide work, and non-profit administration. Most recently he was Executive Director of Washington Trails Association and Director of Philanthropy for the San Juan Preservation Trust. His passion is wilderness exploration, conservation and education. He has completed numerous extended solo transits of North American mountain ranges as well as sea kayaking trips around the West, including a solo trip up the length of the inside coast of Vancouver Island. When children came along, so did sailing, and his family now enjoys extended trips all over the Salish Sea aboard their beloved Gulf 32 Aeolus, based in Friday Harbor, WA. A B.S in Zoology and a B.A in Anthropology from UC Berkeley helped launch his career outdoors, and he also holds an MA in Education from Stanford University.