Community Council Board
Last Update: August 22, 2024
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The community council board consists of 12 members when all positions are filled. The community elects 8 members in even years, and the board will appoint 4 more to fill gaps in skills needed and/or sectors to be covered.
We currently have openings for 4 more board members,
and are looking for board members who will be willing to work in the following areas:
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Learning how to run Hybrid meetings (Zoom and In-person)
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Expertise in Wix websites, or willingness to learn
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Newsletter design and wording
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Social media and other publicity – radio, newspaper, posters on bulletin boards
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Fundraising (events, raffles, grants, online donations, other)
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Serving as the board liaison to one or more committees working on community issues
We are also looking to have a board member be a liaison to the following sectors:​​
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Culture (art) and history
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Education
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Recreation
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LGBTQIA2S+
The sectors mentioned with each board member are those areas of special interest to the board member. The board member does not represent these sectors. Rather, the purpose is to have the board member connect with these sectors to understand their issues and needs and encourage participation in the Community Council meetings. This will result in greater visibility and understanding of community issues specific to each sector, and action on those issues.
Here are the Sectors and Board Member coverage, as of March 30, 2024:
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Affordable housing: Diane Emerson
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Business: Diane Emerson, Ben Carr
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Culture (art) and history: Open
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Education – Jessica Anakar
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Environment: Diane Emerson
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Faith - Open
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Food: Debra Gussin
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Health and human services – Debra Gussin
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Latinx Community – Jamilla Stigall
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LGBTQIA2S+ Open
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Recreation: Open
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Safety (Traffic safety, sheriff): Ben Carr
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Youth – Jamilla Stigall
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Others As Occur
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The Board meets the 1st Thursday of the month, beginning at 7:00 pm. If you would like to attend a board meeting, please see the info on the board meeting on the Events page.
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Interested ? Curious? Contact board president Diane Emerson; dianeemerson@yahoo.com
About
DIANE EMERSON
Board member, President
E-mail: info@v-mcc.org
​Sectors: Business, Environment
Committee: Co-Chair, Communications Committee (website team)
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I grew up in Minnesota. I have a bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology, and an MBA in marketing management. I worked 17 years in the specialty chemical industry, where I became Director of Marketing for HB Fuller Company, a Fortune 500 adhesive manufacturer, and served on several boards. Later, I spent seven years volunteering full time in the USA, New Zealand, France and India for many causes. Along the way I gained skills in Nonviolent (Compassionate) Communication and permaculture.​
Vashon became my permanent home in 2013. I met an Islander (Michael Laurie) and we married in 2014. Together we run Garden Green, an effort to help people garden organically, plus we jointly run a small plant nursery of native and medicinal plants. I also run a landscaping business – Emerson Gardening Services.
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Sectors: I have strong connections to the environment sector, between the Garden Green effort, and membership in VIGA, the Fruit Club, the Garden Club, and more. In 2019, I organized a community forum on pesticides and the recycling effort for the Strawberry Festival, washing out and sorting recycling right on the street. In my first year on Vashon, I generated no waste, only recycling. I organized a Permaculture Design Course on Vashon in 2014. At our home, we strive to follow these permaculture principles: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle.
I also have strong connections to the business community. I am an active member of the Vashon Chamber of Commerce. I have long been a proponent of buying local and have been buying pretty much only locally grown food (WA and OR) at the grocery store since 2012. My service to the community through the Community Council is a very high priority in my life.
About
ELENA CAMARILLO
Board member
E-mail: info@v-mcc.org
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I am originally from the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico. After I graduated from Monterrey Tech, I moved to the United States to join Microsoft. I worked as a Software Design Engineer before raising my daughters and discovering my calling for creative writing. I obtained a diploma in Memoir Writing from the University of Washington.
I was the Director of Educational Events at Seattle Escribe for a year, and then founded and directed Congreso de Chingonas®, a Hispanic women’s organization in the Seattle area.
During the pandemic I found my love for growing plants and vegetables. I completed a practicum in Sustainable Agriculture from Viva Farms in the fall of 2023.
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I am the oldest of four daughters to a father and mother who taught us about hard work, following our dreams, and living a life with purpose. As of September 2024, I will be an empty nester, with two young adults in college. My husband and I were drawn to Vashon by its beautiful rural setting, tranquility and vibrant community. We moved here part time in the summer of 2023 and full time in June 2024.
I am inspired by the council’s dialog because it makes civic engagement accessible and because it sparks action for the wellbeing of the island. I am part of the board because I deeply care about community and I aim to foster it.
In my professional life, I was an actuary. I also volunteered for many years at the University of Washington Women’s Center, serving on their Advisory Board and tutoring high school students in their college preparation program. I retired from my career in 2019 and today I coach at a gym on the island and volunteer for the Land Trust at Matsuda Farm. My current hot topics are the corporatization of food and farming, climate change and its local impacts, and creating safe spaces for our LGBTQIA2S+ friends and neighbors.
About
JESSICA ANAKAR
Board member, Corresponding Secretary
E-mail: info@v-mcc.org
Board Liaison, Equity, Social Justice and Inclusion Committee
I am a 4th generation islander and a mother of three school aged children. I deeply care about our community and our Island spirit.
My family has been in service to our island community for generations.
About
BEN CARR
Board member, Corresponding Secretary
E-mail: info@v-mcc.org
Board Liaison, Equity, Social Justice and Inclusion Committee
Ben serves an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. He previously served for 14 years as a Senior Deputy Prosecutor in the King County Prosecutor’s Office, focusing largely on issues of legal reform, violent crime, and gun violence prevention. He got his J.D. at U.W. Law in 2008. Before going to law school he worked as a professional actor.
Frequent visitors for many years, Ben and his family moved to Vashon permanently in early 2020. They now live on the south end of town along with their dogs, cats, chickens, and bees.
"I have dedicated my professional life to public service, and have made it a point to get involved in outside organizations that promote equity, safety, and positive change. That mindset is something I would bring with me into this role, and I believe it could be a benefit to the council."
BACKGROUND - Coming soon!
Dr. Steven Nourse
Dr. Steven W. Nourse has been working as an ADA consultant since 1993. Dr. Nourse retired as a Full Professor at Central Washington University’s Des Moines Center in 2016 where he taught and coordinated the Master Teacher program. Prior to that he was a Counselor/Coordinator for DO-IT. He has also worked on Washington's five-year systems change grant in transition services. He has been an elementary, middle and high school teacher and has taught graduate and undergraduate special education courses for the University of Washington, Central Washington University, Seattle Pacific University Pacific Lutheran University and Seattle University. He has also worked as an Equal Opportunity Specialist with the U. S. Dept. of Education. While working for the U.S. Department of Education for thirteen years, he investigated race, sex, age, sexual harassment and disability discrimination cases, as well as providing training to educational administrators regarding these issues. He holds a BA in Special Education from Central Washington University, an MSW from the University of Washington specializing in physical disabilities and a doctorate in Special Education also obtained from the University of Washington. Most recently he co-authored What follow-up studies say about post-school life for young men and women with learning disabilities: A critical look at the literature. Journal of Learning Disabilities and a chapter in the textbook Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America entitled Moving from School to Adult Life: Transition Services for Students with Disabilities. In 1997, Dr. Nourse produced a series of 26 videotapes titled Special Education 101 for Para-educators for the Bates Technical College Para-educator Training Program. Dr. Nourse is a person with a disability. He is married, has two daughters, two granddaughters, and has lived on Vashon Island since 1985.
I see the council as primarily an “educator” of vashon citizens. While the community council holds no official legislative function, its opinion is important to vashon. The most valuable asset the council can provide to vashon is a well-informed community. All stories and issues have multiple facets, and the community deserves to be well-informed on all those unique facets. I certainly have my personal likes, dislikes, and biases, but I am not here to push any specific agenda, but rather to shed some light on the issues that we have on the island currently. I will fight for everyone to be heard regardless of their point of view or perspective. Voices should not be stifled, ever. This is the open-minded Vashon that I know and love. I would like to work on the island comprehensive plan and how it intersects with public accessibility and accommodation, the Americans with Disabilities act, and section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973."
Dr. Nourse may be contacted by e-mail at graduate22@comcast.net or through his web-page at www.disability-access.org
Learn More about joining our board of directors
Would you like to learn more about serving on the board of the Community Council? Let's meet over coffee! Contact any of the board members or current Board President Diane Emerson at: