To help create the Management Plan for the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area, we convened a group of representatives from across the region into a Steering Committee, which served from July 2020 through May 2022. This committee included members from a wide range of public agencies, private industries, heritage organizations, and other groups that have an interest in the heritage area. These captains were tasked with guiding the collaborative process to develop a plan for the heritage area by providing advice and recommendations on the plan’s direction, and by ensuring the public had plenty of opportunities to provide input.
Moving forward, Maritime Washington will establish a permanent Advisory Board and Tribal Working Group to guide the program.
Clare Petrich, Committee Chair (non-voting), is a small business owner of Petrich Marine Dock, with strong ties to Tacoma’s maritime heritage. She served for 24 years on the Tacoma Port Commission and led efforts to establish the Northwest Seaport Alliance with the Port of Seattle. Co-founder and former chair of the Commencement Bay Maritime Fest in Tacoma, Clare currently serves on the boards of the Youth Marine Foundation, the World Affairs Council, and Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. She is also President of Tacoma Sister Cities and Washington State Representative for Sister Cities International. She is a past president of the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Economic Development District Board and Secretary of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle and Sister Cities International. Previously, Clare was the board president of the Tacoma Historical Society. Clare is a graduate of Manhattanville College in New York and received her Master’s degree from the University of Virginia.
Lance Bailey, Development Services Director, City of Port Townsend
Jake Beattie is the Executive Director of the Northwest Maritime Center and creator of the Race to Alaska. At the NWMC his work has been focused on growing the mission and impact of the organization to a regionally serving organization- from helping school districts holistically embrace maritime education, to growing new and existing programs and signature events, and the acquisitions of both for profit and not for profit organizations. In its 10th year the Northwest Maritime Center now has programs and mission impact that span from Tacoma to Ketchikan, Alaska. Beattie grew up in Bellingham then graduated from The George Washington University with a degree in International politics and Economics. After graduation spent a number of years sailing on the east coast on various educational tallships. Beattie has been professionally connected to the water for more than 20 years in sail training, US Sailing instruction, licensed captain, instructing for Outward Bound, and has spent time as a mate on tugs and coastal freighters serving remote Alaskan villages. He came to the Northwest Maritime Center in 2010 after a 6-year stint as Deputy Director for Seattle’s Center for Wooden Boats.
Les Bolton, a member of the Pacific Northwest Maritime Heritage Council since 1990, has spent more than 35 years working in the maritime heritage field. During his 24-year tenure as Executive Director of Grays Harbor Historical Seaport in Aberdeen, he served ten years on the Board of Tall Ships America and was the West Coast Chair of their Ship Operations and Safety Committee. He also served on the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council for nine years, and on the Grays Harbor Economic Development Council Government Affairs Committee for ten years. An alumnus of the Seminar of Historical Administration in Colonial Williamsburg and the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute at University of Washington, Les has been an active participant and planner of West Coast maritime events since the 1980’s. He has worked with numerous tribes and individuals to help organize cross-cultural welcoming and healing ceremonies from Southern California to British Columbia. Capt. Bolton lives in Aberdeen with his wife Liz and splits his time between personal projects and working with nonprofits on project management and strategic planning.
Dr. Allyson Brooks is the State Historic Preservation Officer and Executive Director of the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. She has been appointed to this position by three consecutive Governors. As the Agency Director, Dr. Brooks is the CEO, CIO, and CFO of the department, as well as the tribal liaison to 36 Native American tribes. She supervises staff in the areas of archeology, physical anthropology, historic preservation, grants and contracts administration, Information Technology and policy development. In addition to this role, Dr. Brooks has served as an instructor for the National Preservation Institute since 2004. Previously, she held positions with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, BRW Inc, the South Dakota State Historical Preservation Center, and USDA Black Hills National Forest. Dr. Brooks holds her Ph. D in Anthropology from the University of Nevada, her M.P.A. from the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, her M.Sc. in Industrial and Historical Archaeology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and her B.A. from McGill University. She is active with Preservation Action, the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, the National Academy of Sciences, the Thurston County League of Women Voters, and Temple Beth Hatfiloh. She currently serves as an ex-officio Board Member for the Association of Washington Archaeologists and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.
Catherine Collins, Executive Director, Sound Experience/ Schooner Adventuress
Kate Dean was elected to join the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners in 2017 and represents District 1, Port Townsend. Kate moved to Jefferson County in 1999 and spent 10 years farming and working to grow the local food economy through businesses she co-founded including FinnRiver Farm and Mt. Townsend Creamery. Her experience as an entrepreneur is critical to her understanding of the local economy and community. Kate left the farm but didn’t go far; she started a consulting business that had her working on natural resources issues locally and regionally. Kate coordinated the Jefferson Landworks Collaborative (a farmland preservation and enterprise development initiative), managed WSU Extension’s Small Farm Program, worked for WA Dept. of L&I, and was the Regional Director for the North Olympic Development Council. Kate holds her Masters in Public Administration from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. Her publications include USDA Farmland Changing Hands and Preparing for Climate Change on the North Olympic Peninsula. In her spare time, Kate can be found gardening, riding her bike or in the mountains with her two school-aged children.
Lindy Dosher, Executive Director, Naval Undersea Warfare Museum and Puget Sound Navy Museum
Peter Herzog is the Assistant Director, Parks Development for Washington State Parks. Mr. Herzog‘s early career included jobs as a ski patroller, park aide, interpretive assistant, and park ranger in Washington’s state park system. His interests then shifted to park planning, and he helped develop State Parks’ Classification and Management Planning Program, which is now the agency’s standard for park planning. Mr. Herzog has held positions managing the agency’s stewardship and park planning programs, and in 2013, was appointed assistant director for the Parks Development Division, where he oversees the agency’s technical programs including capital development, resource stewardship, real estate, park planning, and business development. In his free time, he likes to travel with his wife and children, fly model airplanes, and serve as chief groundskeeper for his family home. Mr. Herzog has been State Parks’ designee on the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board since 2014.
Lynn Hyde is the executive director of Historic Whidbey, a Coupeville preservation nonprofit “committed to the protection, preservation and promotion of historic sites on Whidbey Island through education and advocacy.” She is currently managing the rehabilitation of the 1866 Granville Haller House, to be repurposed as a Territorial Heritage Center with supporting mercantile store & Victorian soda fountain. Lynn is also the Vice President of the Board of the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association, the town’s Main Street America organization. A program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Main Street movement helps communities leverage their historic character and promote economic revitalization. A former high school English teacher in Seattle Public Schools, Lynn shifted to public history and historic preservation at historic sites in Massachusetts from 2007 through 2010. Called back to the Northwest, she furthered her love of regional history in Interpretation and Education at North Cascades National Park, Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, and San Juan Island National Historical Park from 2011 through 2017. At the last park she organized the 2017 Tall Ships Parade through Admiralty Inlet in commemoration of the 225th anniversary of George Vancouver’s expedition in the Salish Sea. Lynn’s preservation projects include the successful nomination of the 1948 Mountaineers’ Snoqualmie Lodge to the Washington State Heritage Register in 2005, and the successful campaign to designate a significant Boston literary site, the c. 1820 Elizabeth Peabody Book Room, a Boston Historic Landmark in 2011. An avid hiker and kayaker, Lynn is co-author (with her subject) of Crags, Eddies, & Riprap: The Sound Country Memoir of Wolf Bauer – the Northwest’s pioneering climber, kayaker and shoreline ecologist for over 70 years.
Philip H. Red Eagle was born in 1945 in Tacoma, Washington. His mother, Marian Steilacoom, of Salish decent, was born near Port Angeles, Washington. Philip’s father, Philip Red Eagle, a member of the Dakota Tribe, was born near the Missouri River on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. Phillip spent the first fourteen years of his life in Tacoma, attending Stanley and McCarver schools before moving to Sitka, Alaska with his family in 1959. Philip joined the Navy shortly after graduating from high school, serving in Vietnam for five years from 1969-1973. After Vietnam, Philip returned to Washington and began undergraduate studies at the University of Washington where he earned two bachelor’s degrees. Nearly from the beginning, Philip played an important role in the annual Tribal Canoe Journeys, a tradition started in 1989 by Emmett Oliver of the Quinault Nation. Within the next few years, Philip found himself intimately involved in a cultural renaissance that involved multiple generations of a still-growing number of indigenous nations. As an artist, Philip brings an influential presence to the Canoe Journeys. With help, he has made over 6,500 copper rings that have been used in The Copper Ring Ceremony since 1995. The ceremony calls for no alcohol, no drugs, no violence, and total commitment to the 10 Rules of the Canoe while on journey. Philip is also the Director of the Carver’s Camp which was formed in 2004 to teach carving to the people of the Canoe Nations. Started with only three carvers, the camp is currently manned by twelve persons, native and non-native, male and female. The Camp is directly descended from The Cedar Tree Institute, which was dedicated to the resurgence, maintenance and support, of Northwest Native culture. Philip’s presence extends far beyond those involved with the Canoe Journey’s. A publisher and a writer, Philip’s contributions to the Puget Sound’s art community are vast. Philip organized The Raven Chronicles, a Seattle-based nonprofit literary arts magazine, in the early 90s. The organization’s mission is to publish and promote artistic work that embodies the cultural diversity and multitude of viewpoints of writers and artists living in the Pacific Northwest and other regions. Philip’s writings have since been published by various journals, magazines, and newspapers and his book, Red Earth: A Vietnam Warriors Journey, is in its second printing. Through his poetry, writings, art, community engagement, and myriad other ways, Philip promotes the revival of and respect of Indigenous cultures.
Tim Stapleton is the Natural Areas and Natural Heritage Assistant Division Manager for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, a new husband and dad, dog co-manager to Genepi & Wes Paul, and Kentucky transplant. While swabbing the decks in the environmental remediation industry for nearly a decade, Tim also served as Mayor in the small, charming, Eastern Kentucky town of Worthington. Yes, he has seen the show ‘Justified.’ It was while he was serving as Mayor, his “Mayor-i-time” if you will, that Tim fell in love with working directly with the public and stakeholders to solve problems in a collaborative way by bringing all hands on deck. Although there was no shortage of opportunities to work through challenges for a private company and weather the seas, it was the public-driven processes, learned through baptism by fire as the executive of a city that taught Tim how to manage competing interests in a way that can tack and set sail in a directions that people can believe in. This experience helped him tremendously in his environmental remediation days and continues to influence the way Tim steers his ship through stormy seas. With a love for conservation and recreation, Tim completed his M.A. in Sport Management and set sail towards a career in outdoor recreation. After filling in some crew gaps for the agency, Tim dropped anchor in the coolest job at DNR as the Conservation Program Manager.
Peter Steinbrueck is a Commissioner for the Port of Seattle. He is the current President and former Secretary for the Port, and is a member of the Art Oversight Committee, Audit Committee, and Aviation Committee. He also sits on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Oversight Committee, Growth Management Policy Board (Puget Sound Regional Council), Highline Forum, SR-509 Executive Committee, Soundside Alliance, and Economic Development Council Board and Executive Committee. Peter Steinbrueck was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He graduated from Bowdoin College with a major in government and earned his Master’s degree in architecture from the University of Washington. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, community planner and urban strategist. As a former three-term Seattle city council member from 1997 to 2007, Peter led numerous legislative efforts to advance innovative programs and policies in comprehensive planning, land use and development, parks and open space, affordable housing, climate protection and renewable energies, water conservation, municipal waste reduction, and urban mobility. In 2008 Peter founded Steinbrueck Urban Strategies, a mission-driven professional consulting practice with an emphasis on driving best practices for greening cities. Peter is a Harvard University Loeb Fellow, where, in 2010, his research at the GSD and Kennedy Schools focused on urban environmental policy and sustainable cities. Peter Steinbrueck is a sought-after public speaker, writer and thought leader on sustainable urban policy. Peter volunteers and has served on the boards and advisory councils of many organizations locally and nationally, including AIA Center for Civic Leadership, Harvard University Working Group for Sustainable Cities, Walkable Livable Communities Institute, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Washington Environmental Council, Seattle Library Foundation, Market Foundation, Feet First, United Indians of All Tribes Labateyah Youth Home and Green Seattle Partnership. Peter is the proud father of two fine young men, Ben and Mason.
Linda Stonier is the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area’s NPS Liaison and a non-voting member of the Steering Committee. As the Regional Coordinator for the National Heritage Areas Program of the National Park Service in Interior Regions 8,9,10 and 12 (formerly the Pacific West Region), Linda serves the designated and emerging NHA’s in California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. She is also on the staff of the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of NPS, providing planning and technical assistance to community-based conservation and outdoor recreation projects throughout California. Linda began her career as a city planner in New Haven, Connecticut. She joined the National Park Service in 1988. Linda holds a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She loves teamwork, and helping communities discover, enjoy, and steward their own unique places.
Dr. Stephanie Toothman is a technical advisor to the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area and non-voting member of the Steering Committee. Stephanie retired in June 2017 as Associate Director, Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science after 39 years with the National Park Service. In May 2018, she returned to NPS as a Special Assistant to the Acting Associate Director under a special appointment authority for retired employees whose skills and knowledge can continue to benefit the NPS. Before serving as Associate Director, Stephanie was the Chief, Cultural Resources for the Pacific West Region, and also served as Regional Historian and Chief, Cultural Resources for the Pacific Northwest Region. She entered the NPS as a historian with the National Register of Historic Places and spent two years with the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service before it was folded back into NPS in 1981. Stephanie brings a multi-disciplinary perspective to resource management, with degrees in American Studies from Smith College, and American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. She received the Distinguished Service Award in 2017. She is a member of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Board of Directors.
Monique Valenzuela serves as the Executive Director of the Youth Marine Foundation (YMF), an organization dedicated to serving youth by providing hands-on maritime and marine science programs year-round at their campus in the Foss Waterway. Her current role at the Youth Marine Foundation has combined her experience of providing teenagers with life changing opportunities through on-water programs using vessels as a training and leadership development platform. Her goal is to identify and remove barriers that underserved youth traditionally face that prevent them from participating in maritime and marine science programs provided on Puget Sound. Prior to her role with YMF, Monique challenged the obstacles to being a female small business owner when she co-founded her award-winning Tacoma restaurant. She leveraged the experiences of successful entrepreneurship as a Hospitality Management instructor at Clover Park Technical College. Her approach to innovative operations, outstanding service to community, and collaborative mentorship resulted in her being nationally recognized by U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer in the Congressional Record in 2013. Monique is a servant leader dedicated to community through service on various boards, involvement in business organizations, and commitment to non-profit endeavors. She was appointed by the Tacoma City Council to serve for five years as a member of the Tacoma Public Utility Board, which is responsible for setting policy and managing a $2 billion biennial budget. From 2017 to 2018 she served as Chair for the TPU Board and the utility, which provides electricity, water and rail service to over 1 million residential and business customers. She is an inaugural founding officer of the Washington Tourism Alliance and helped advocate for the organization in the legislature, assisting in the successful effort of implementing the privately self-funded tourism model that now exists statewide. She is humbled to have served as the Honorary Vice Commander of the Western Air Defense Sector at JBLM and advocated for military families in the Puget Sound area during her trips to Washington D.C. as an ambassador. A tireless Tacoma advocate and resident of downtown, Monique takes advantage of the urban scene and enjoys the recreational opportunities of the Foss Waterway.
Steve Walker resides in Bellingham. His career in recreation and land management includes stints as a ranger with Washington State Parks, the adviser for Western Washington University’s Outdoor Center, the steward for Whatcom Land Trust, and two terms as the executive director for the Community Boating Center. He currently serves on the board of the Working Waterfront Coalition of Whatcom County. He is convinced the Steering Committee will have a Merry Time if it’s not Wherry of Dinghy ideas!