PORT ANGELES — Three women, including a Forks resident, were named Thursday to the Clallam County Economic Development Corp. board.
Board members said the move was part of the nonprofit organization’s effort to achieve more gender and geographic diversity among its leaders.
The new board members are Julie Hatch, vice president and Olympic Peninsula Business Development officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties at Sound Community Bank, Port Angeles; Melene Bourm, registered nurse at Forks Community Hospital and a member of the Forks Chamber of Commerce board; and Port Angeles resident Carolyn St. James, a grant writer and planner for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.
The EDC board unanimously approved adding the women to the board at a meeting Thursday.
The panel acted on the recommendation of an all-female diversity advisory committee, increasing the panel’s number to 16 with one more position to fill — possibly by a fourth woman, board Chairman Doug Sellon said.
Their appointment takes effect April 1, and will add to a board composed entirely of men from the Port Angeles and Sequim areas.
“When the [Peninsula Daily News] article first appeared, I was so shocked that there were no women and there were 16 guys,” St. James, who will represent the Port Angeles and Sequim areas, said Thursday upon learning of her selection.
“I said, ‘Here I am, I have a different point of view, not only being a female, but being an older female.’ ”
Bourm, a Port Angeles native and Forks resident for 40 years, said the West End needs more representation.
“From my point of view, a lot of things happen that the West End is not always considered on how it’s going to affect us or our community,” she said.
Men and women often consider different factors when making decisions, Bourm said.
“A woman can look at different aspects of how it affects a community, maybe the schools, churches, travel.
“There are all different ways to look at things.
“I kind of found that out with just being a nurse, a wife and a mother.”
In a Dec. 1 letter to Sellon, Clallam County commissioners’ Chairman Mark Ozias threatened to withdraw his support from the EDC, which is financed with membership dues and public money, saying at the time that the EDC “shows no commitment to gender diversity in its top-level leadership.”
Sellon told the board that Thursday’s action was a credible beginning toward that goal.
“It’s important that we’ve started our diversity process and we will have, as time goes by, we will be having additional seats opening up, and be considering adding more women to our board as quickly as possible.
“We are collecting letters of interest and resumes, so I don’t think we are going to have a problem balancing out our board, other than some of you may not want to leave the board. We’ll talk about it,” Sellon said, stressing later that he was teasing the board members.
EDC board Vice Chairman Kelly Fox, CEO of Lumber Traders, the parent company of employee-owned Angeles Millwork & Lumber Company and Hartnagel Building Supply, forwarded the recommendation of the diversity committee to the board at Thursday’s meeting.
The diversity committee members are Lissy Andros, Forks Chamber of Commerce; Lindsay Fox, Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce; and Shelli Robb-Kahler, Darcie Senf and Shenna Younger, Sequim Chamber of Commerce.
In submitting the names to the EDC board, Fox took over the role of former EDC Director Bob Schroeter, who resigned March 2, Fox said.
After the meeting at the EDC meeting room, Fox agreed that adding the three women to the board, including a West End representative, was a step in the right direction for the EDC board.
“Look around you,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of old white guys, and it’s important to improve that.”
After the meeting Thursday, the board met in executive session to discuss a path forward following the department of Schroeter, who left the position after 10 months.
Sellon said in a later interview that the EDC will set up a committee “to do a thorough review of our infrascructure.”
The goal will be “to come up with something that will be a sustainable entity,” he said.
Sellon added that an interim director will be sought.
But whether the person will be part-time or full-time has not been decided, nor has it been determined if a search will be conducted for a permanent executive director.
“What we are doing is saying all options are on the table,” Sellon said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
Terry Ward, publisher of the Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum, serves on the Economic Development Corp. board of directors.
