OUR STAFF AND BOARD

CO-CHAIR, CO-VICE CHAIR

Patty is a Registered Nurse who had a 30-year career in both clinical nursing and research.  She spent the last years of her career working for a non-profit developing curriculum and working as a nurse educator in Africa and India.

 Here in the Methow Valley Patty has been interested in caregiver recruitment and training and has worked in conjunction with Wenatchee College and Jamie’s Place to train Certified Nursing Assistants.  She also volunteers as a health advocate with the Lookout Coalition for Methow Valley community members. Patty has served on several non-profit boards including serving on the board for Room One. 

She and her husband have enjoyed the Methow Valley for the past 30 years first as a part-time resident, and since 2016 enjoying fulltime residency in Mazama.

VICE PRESIDENT

Sharmon is a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, working with families facing end-of-life transitions for over 30 years, She is active in end-of-life community education and outreach, including state and nation-wide projects on advance directives and end-of-life choices.

She serves as co-chair for the statewide POLST task force and on education teams for National POLST.  She continues to work as a nurse practitioner in palliative care and hospice in local communities and is also the clinical consultant for POLST and Serious Illness training thru the state advance care planning initiative, Honoring Choices PNW. 

Her passion is helping providers learn how to discuss serious illness, to listen for the individual’s story, and to align care with the values and wishes of individuals along their health care journey.

TREASURER

Throughout her career working with regional and international nonprofit institutions, Melinda served as an organizational builder and an agent of change for mission-based organizations committed to conservation action, informal and formal science education, research excellence, and life-long learning. Melinda professionalized two previously volunteer-based organizations, and lead the successful merger of two international scientific societies.

She has served on regional and national committees and boards including grant-making foundations, university-based teaching and research institutes, regional/national conservation organizations and networks, and municipal, state and federal agencies.

 Melinda and her husband, Steve, have been connected to the Methow for over 40 years and moved to Winthrop permanently in 2023. They have two grown children, are avid hikers and cyclists, and love to explore wild and scenic rivers.

SECRETARY

Ali’s career within healthcare ranges from fundraising for Overlake Hospital, navigating patient care services in the greater Okanogan County for Home Health and Hospice, to most recently focusing on sales and marketing for companies that intersect between healthcare and technology services like DocuSign.

Ali has a skill set that encompasses fundraising and campaign coordination, sales, marketing, and business development. As a side project, Ali has recently partnered with Dalla Fonte to fulfill her passion for her Italian roots, helping others enjoy a little piece of Italy.

Okanogan County has been considered home since 2020, residing in Riverside with her long-term partner, Dylan. The Methow Valley has always drawn their attention and they love to be a part of the hidden gem within the North Cascades.

BOARD MEMBER

Peggy spent her career in cancer research at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center and University of Washington leading a lab and serving on multiple national and international cancer-related advisory boards.

She has served on the Jamie’s Place Board and on the Methow Conservancy Board for 6 years. She and her husband Rolf moved to Winthrop in 2016 where Rolf spent the last years of his life cared for beautifully by the wonderful staff at Jamie’s Place.

Their compassion and creativity continue to inspire her support for this wonderful organization. 

BOARD MEMBER

Cindy owns a group psychotherapy practice serving communities across Washington. A licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 30 years of experience, she has provided counseling in private practice, schools, hospitals, and the military across U.S., Europe, and Asia.

In addition to her clinical and administrative work, Cindy has worked with nonprofit boards and community agencies serving underrepresented communities. This reflects her commitment to organizational governance, collaboration, and advancing access to care for all.

Although her work has taken her around the world, Cindy returned to her roots in the Methow Valley. She and her husband live in the community and love sharing this unique valley with their family. Cindy is deeply committed to strengthening rural health and access to care, and she is dedicated to the mission of Jamie’s Place in supporting dignity, care, and connection for all members of the community.

BOARD MEMBER

Mary Beth is recently retired after serving over twenty years as a health care ethicist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Ethics in Health Care. She has published widely on health care ethics topics related to serious illness, end of life care, life-sustaining treatment decisions, allocation of scarce or limited health care resources, and ethical leadership, among others.

Mary Beth was also an affiliate faculty in the School of Medicine, Department of Bioethics and Humanities and the School of Public Health where she taught an ethics class for Executive Health Care Management students. Prior to her work as a health care ethicist, Mary Beth managed a continuum of health care services for older adults including geropsychiatry, rehabilitation, and hospice.

Mary Beth is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to Seattle after falling in love with Mt. Rainier. She and her wife have visited the Valley since the 80’s for cross-country skiing and mountain biking. They, and their chocolate lab Olive currently split their time between Winthrop and Whidbey Island.