Dave Schaub (2017) Inland Northwest Land Conservancy

Dave joined Inland Northwest Land Conservancy as Executive Director in 2017. An outdoorsman with deep ties to Spokane, Dave has the ideal combination of qualifications and experience: conservation, education, and business. Dave has a BA in Psychology from Swarthmore College and is a 2017 graduate of Leadership Spokane. He was a board member and a past president of the Dishman Hills Conservancy and is a member of the Spokane County Parks Advisory Committee. Prior to his involvement in conservation work, Dave’s professional experience includes owning a green building supply business in Montana and teaching public school in Seattle. Dave’s outdoor experience includes serving as a NOLS Alaska Instructor and hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. A proud father of two children, Dave and his wife Heidi spend as much time as they can exploring the beautiful lands and waters of the Inland Northwest on foot, by bike, on skis and by boat throughout the year.

Patty Shea (2003)Patty Shea is a Spokane native. She retired from Avista Utilities in 2019 after a 39-year career and immediately transitioned into starting her own business. She is owner of, Patty Shea Consulting, LLC, “Fixer of the Tough Stuff.” She is a private pilot, motorcycle enthusiast, still loves driving her first car, a 1969 XR7 Cougar, and is finalizing the publication of her first book!

Tonya Sherman (2007)Golden Tree Grove

Tonya is an experienced HR professional, energetic educator, and lifelong learner. As a strategic leader and business partner, she develops and implements creative solutions to deliver exceptional/sustainable results. Tonya continually seeks new opportunities to enrich her personal and professional growth. She is an active community member currently living in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho.

Lisa Shier (2017)Lydig Construction, Inc.

Ryan Smith (2018)Ryan Smith, Class of 2018, is the Director of Field Operations for Ravenswood Solutions (a TECH Co. & subsidiary of SRI International) and works on defense related work around the globe. In the Army Reserves, Colonel Smith currently serves as the Commander of the 420th Engineer Brigade with over 3000+ Soldiers in 6 states. Ryan is originally from Ione, Washington, and returned to Spokane area after 8 years on Active Duty to raise his two girls. Ryan also serves as a board member for the Spokane County Veterans Advisory Board and member of the Pacific Norwest PMP group. He is a proud WSU Grad with a B.S. in Forestry (GO COUGS!) and has a Master’s from both Missouri Science & Technology in Geology & Geophysics, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Whit Spencer (2018)Whit Spencer has lived in Spokane for 40 years. A former Army Cavalry Scout, Whit serves the community as a Fire Equipment Operator and Paramedic for Spokane County Fire District 9. Whit also mobilizes to many of the wildfires in our region as a Logistics Section Chief with an all hazard incident management team. Whit is also a recent graduate of Whitworth University with a BA degree in Public Administration. During his time off from work Whit enjoys heading outdoors and can usually be found untying a knot in a fly line along one of our local rivers. Elysia Spencer, Class of 2016, and Whit have been married for 18 years and have two children, William (12), and Nicole (8).

Kim Taylor (2012)Community Colleges of Spokane

Kim Taylor has lived in Spokane since 1982 and has taught psychology since 1999. She is a psychology professor at Community Colleges of Spokane. Her goal is to design and teach psychology, as well as teaching community courses to students via on-campus and online courses. Taylor also participates in several campus committees, initiatives and projects. She also is directly affiliated with American Psychological Association and is the Board Vice President at the Inland Northwest LGBT Center where she serves as managing editor for Ins & Outs, a collaborative alternative publication. She also serves as Vice Chair to the Spokane Human Services Advisory Board and is on the Spokane County Substance Abuse Advisory Board.

Tim Thomas (2017)Bouten Construction Company

Tim Thomas is a Vice President- Project Executive for Bouten Construction Company. In this role he oversees the company’s many projects and mentor the project management teams. Born and raised in Spokane, Tim holds a B.A. in Business and Economics from Washington Status University. He serves on the boards of the Greater Inland Northwest Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Spokane Regional Plan Center and the Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services serving the Catholic Diocese of Spokane. Tim enjoys flying as a licensed private pilot, boating and assisting his wife in helping their three children through college

Dirk Vastrick (2016)Dirk Vastrick Presents

Dirk has lived in Spokane for over 30 years. He spent 40 years in the private sector in sales, sales management, and business training before joining the State of Washington and WorkSource Spokane late in 2010. He retired from there early in 2019. His primary responsibility was teaching basic life success principles workshops for those who were unemployed and building one-hour training programs for staff. Dirk then launched his own business consultancy and motivation company – Dirk Vastrick Presents – in 2019. His clients have included the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and WorkSource Spokane. In addition, he is a part-time caregiver for his son and his wife Anne is a full-time caregiver. They have been married since 1986. Dirk is also involved in the community having served on the boards of Bethany Presbyterian Church, Spokane Branch #1137 of the NAACP, Leadership Spokane, and the local non-profit Childhood Saved. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to the comedy podcast “The Mike O’Meara Show” and is a bourbon aficionado.

Nancy Vorhees (1983)Nancy grew up as the oldest of 8 children on a farm in Eastern Montana where she learned the importance of community and working together for the greater good. She holds a bachelor of science in nursing from Montana State University and a masters of science in nursing from Gonzaga University. She spent 40 plus years in the health care profession primarily in the “C” suite. She retired from INHS as the Chief Administrative Officer after 19 years in 2016 and then served a Interim ED of the Spokane Teaching Health Center until finally retiring March of 2018. In spite of an amazing career, she is most proud have raised 3 awesome sons while always working full time.

Kent Wales (2009)Happy Laundry & Dry Cleaning

Kent is the owner of Happy Laundry & Dry Cleaning; a company that specializes in commercial and personal laundry and dry cleaning services. Through Kent’s experience in Leadership Spokane (Class of 2009), he was introduced to the Northeast Youth Center. He was offered an opportunity to serve the community on the NEYC Board of Directors. He’s been a member of this Board and a member of the Finance Committee for nearly three years. In September of 2013, Kent married the love of his life, Monica Wales (Class of 2012). Kent and Monica met through a mutual friend. This friend was in the Leadership Spokane class of 2009 with Kent and served on the EWU Alumni Board of Directors with Monica. The gift of friendship and lifelong relationships that Leadership Spokane bestowed upon Kent is worth far more than any monetary donation, and Kent continues to support Leadership Spokane through his time and talents.

Jeff Watson (2020)Cetera Advisors

Jeff is a class of 2020 Leadership Spokane graduate, and has lived in the Spokane area since 2010, when he was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base to serve as an Inflight Refueling Specialist. He fell in love with the Spokane community, and met his wife, Alyssa, here. As a family, they decided that Spokane is the perfect place to plant roots and raise a family. Since separating from the Air Force in 2015, Jeff completed his MBA from Whitworth University and worked at two local financial institutions before landing his dream job as a Financial Advisor. Every day he looks forward to helping his clients achieve their dreams and take the worry out of their finances through a personalized plan and one-on-one guidance. Outside of finance, Jeff enjoys keeping active with running, spending time with his family, and actively serving on his church council.

Jamie Welsh (2017)Garco Construction, Inc.

Jamie Welsh is a Spokane native, attending Gonzaga Prep and then venturing out to Santa Clara University. Early on he acquired an interest and passion for the architect, engineering and construction industry; with first-hand experience at Garco Construction, a family-owned business. After college, Jamie worked in San Jose, California and Seattle, Washington where he gained additional insight with other general contractors. In 2003, Jamie returned to Garco as a project engineer, which eventually lead him to his current role as vice president and co-owner. His endeavors have included a variety of projects ranging from military construction to public works projects to educational facilities to industrial construction. He has extensive experience in various project delivery methods including Design-Build and General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) delivery methods. Jamie currently serves on several construction industry related boards as well as the Spokane Youth Sports Association Board of Trustees. Jamie and his wife Kristen have been married for since 2006 and have three wonderful children.

Chud Wendle (1994)Hutton Settlement Executive Director

Since 2014 Chud has served as District Director for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. In July 2016 he will become the executive director of Hutton Settlement. He previously worked for Coldwell Banker Tomlinson as a residential and commercial broker and was President of Wendle Motors for 16 years. Chud received his MBA from Gonzaga University and his BA in Business Administration at the University of Washington. Chud has been a Rotarian for more than 15 years, and is current Vice-President of Rotary Club #21. Currently he serves on the Goodwill Board of Directors. Chud and his wife Cindy have been married for nineteen years! Together they have three boys, Ben (17), Nick (15) and Jack (11).

Cindy Wendle (2016)Cindy is currently enjoying being a stay-at-home mom after managing branches for Washington Trust Bank in Pullman, Moscow, Lewiston and Spokane. She and her husband, Chud, have 3 boys that have given them boundless opportunities to learn and meet new people. She is a Trustee for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery and Treasurer for Washington East Soccer Club. Cindy was raised in Pullman, WA and is a graduate of the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

Christopher Zilar (2006)Inland Northwest Business Alliance

Chris has managed two cancer prevention programs: Breast and Cervical Health Program and the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. He was also formerly an HIV prevention specialist. Currently, he is the new Membership Representative for the Inland Northwest Business Alliance.