Tom Henderson

Chair

Tom retired from state government as the Assistant Director of State Facilities. He managed several divisions within the Department of Enterprise Services including Engineering and Architectural Services, Leasing, and renovation and maintenance of state-owned facilities, including the Capitol Campus. HIs state service also included Capital Budgeting with the Office of Financial Management and Facilities Director for Community and Technical Colleges. Prior to state employment Tom worked in the private sector with Bechtel Power Corporation, Ebasco Construction Services, and a claims consulting firm, Nielsen-Wuster. 

Tom continues to be involved in community service with West Olympia Olympia Rotary, South Puget Sound Community College Foundation Board, and Olympia Educational Foundation.

Karen Fraser

Vice chair

Karen served 24 years in the Washington State Senate, representing the 22nd Legislative District which includes Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and northern Thurston County. . She also served four years as State Representative, and 15 years as local elected official for 15 years, mayor of Lacey, Thurston County Commissioner, and President of the Washington State Association of Counties. Fraser graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in sociology and a Masters of Public Administration from the university’s Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs.

Kris Tucker

Secretary

Kris served as Executive Director of the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) 1999-2014. At ArtsWA, Kris led a professional staff an appointed board of commissioners, overseeing programs and services including Art in Public places, Arts in Education, grants to organizations, and community partnerships. She is board secretary for Olympia Artspace Alliance, and serves on Olympia’s Cultural Access Advisory Board, the Design Committee for the Olympia Downtown Alliance, and the Executive Committee for Whipsmart, a statewide nonprofit serving creative industries.

Laurie Mott

treasurer

Laurie currently serves as Development Director and manages the ALL Foundation of Washington with the Secretary of State's Office, which promotes history, community and preservation in the Washington State Archives, Library Archives, Library, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library and Legacy Washington divisions. She is passionate about the arts and the public sector and received a BFA from the University of Washington and an MNA from the University of Notre Dame. She lives in Olympia with her husband and two children, is an avid photographer, digital artist and enjoys traveling and spending as much time outdoors as possible.

Shirley Battan

Shirley grew up in the Bigelow neighborhood and attended Olympia High School. She graduated from Western Washington University and University of Puget Sound Law School, after which she returned to her hometown as a Staff Attorney for the state Supreme Court. Shirley was a partner in a small Olympia law firm and spent 35 years in the Attorney General’s Office, first as an Assistant Attorney General and then as a manager and Deputy Attorney General at the executive level. She retired in 2014 and joined the board of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, and has served as both Secretary and President.  She also serves on the Governor’s Mansion Foundation. Shirley was appointed to the Washington State Executive Ethics Board in 2017. In 2023 she received the Daniel R. Bigelow Lawyer of the Year Award from the Thurston County Bar Association.

Amy Briggs

Amy is co-founder of Hummingbird Studio, a free and welcoming community art studio for artists of all abilities and experience levels. She has three undergraduate degrees (journalism, studio art, and ceramics) and has worked in non-profit communications, editing, magazines/online communities, and advertising. Now retired, she loves to read, quilt, paint, design, sew, garden, make ceramics, bake, thrift, hike, and watch documentaries. 

Lori Drummond

Lori is retired President and Chief Executive Officer of Olympia Federal Savings (OlyFed). She began her 38-year career at OlyFed in 1984 after earning a degree in Business Administration from WSU. She has served on the board of directors of many organizations, including Olympia Symphony Orchestra, Washington Center for the Performing Arts, United Way of Thurston County, Rotary Club of South Puget Sound, and the Community Foundation of Souith Puget Sound. The Thurston County Chamber Foundation presented her with the “Distinguished Leader” award in 2017.

La’Tonja Hunter

La’Tonja is Senior Global Diversity & Inclusion Strategist at The Boeing Company and a Certified Diversity Recruiter. She previously served as Human Resources/Diversity Manager for the State of Washington.  She served on the board of Community Youth Services, and is active with Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She is a graduate of Florida State University.

Don Law

Don Law attended the University of Michigan, receiving a B.A. in History in 1968 and a Law degree in 1971.  He served as Counsel to the House Conservation and Recreation Committee in the Michigan Legislature, and moved to Olympia in 1975.  After 6 years of employment with the Attorney General’s Office, he entered private practice in 1981, founding the firm which is now Law, Lyman, Daniel, Kamerrer and Bogdanovich, P.S.  He retired in 2014.

Megan Ockerman

Megan is an historian, author and humanities specialist. Currently an Architectural Historian for an Alaska-based engineering firm, she previously served as Assistant Director and Assistant Curator for the Olympia Tumwater Foundation. She earned her BA and MA in History at Washington State University.

Amber Raney

Amber is the Design & Development Specialist for the Secretary of State, where she designs exhibits, books and other materials for the Legacy Washington oral history and exhibit program. In addition, she helps manage the ALL Foundation of Washington, the nonprofit arm of Washington State Archives, Washington State Library, and Legacy Washington. She was previously Curator for the Lacey Museum and Historical Records Project Coordinator with the Washington State Archive. She A received a BS in History from Oregon State University and an MA in History, Archives and Records Management from Western Washington University. She has designed several historical markers in the Lacey and Olympia area, has served on the board of the Lacey Historical Society since 2013. She currently lives in Olympia with her blended family.

Sam Reed

Sam served as Washington’s Secretary of State from 2001-2013. His accomplishments in this role include creating Legacy Washington that documents extraordinary stories in Washington history, creating the nation’s first digital state archives, saving the Washington State Library, and championing civility, moderation and bipartisanship in government. In 2006-2007, he served as the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State. He previously served as Thurston County Auditor for five terms, as the Assistant Secretary of State and as executive director of two gubernatorial commissions.
 
In retirement, Sam chaired the boards of directors for TVW, the YMCA Youth & Government, and the Mainstream Republicans of Washington.  He chairs the advisory committee for the Sam Reed Distinguished Professorship in Civic Education and Public Civility at WSU.  He serves on the advisory board for the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy & Public Service.

Sam was raised in Wenatchee, graduated from Lewis & Clark High School in Spokane and attended Washington State University where he received a BA in Social Studies and an MA in Political Science. Sam currently lives in Olympia with his wife Margie.

Shanna Stevenson

Shanna is a long-time local historian in Olympia, and formerly served as Historic Preservation Officer for Olympia, Thurston County and Tumwater. From 2006 to 2014  she served  as the Coordinator of the Women’s History Consortium project, responsible for the commemoration of the Washington Suffrage Centennial.

Shanna has a BA in History and Education from Gonzaga University and a Masters in Public Administration from The Evergreen State College. Her most recent publication,  Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices: The Campaign for Equal Rights In Washington is available from WSU Press.