OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) recently elected new officers and directors to the AWC board of directors. The election was conducted by city leaders from across Washington state during the AWC’s annual conference in Vancouver, Washington, held from June 18-21, 2024.

The AWC board of directors is the association’s governing body. The board is comprised of 25 directors, 23 of whom are mayors or city councilmembers from Washington cities or towns, and two ex-officio members who are non-elected city officials representing the Washington City/County Management Association (WCMA).

In addition to board officers, half of the district positions and two at-large districts were up for election. The Secretary of the association also assumed office after being elected by the AWC board in February.

AWC officers for 2024-2025:

• President: Amy Ockerlander, Mayor, Duvall
• Vice President: Fred Brink, Mayor Pro Tem, West Richland
• Secretary: Jon Nehring, Mayor, Marysville
• Past President: Betsy Wilkerson, Council President, Spokane

New and returning directors elected to the AWC Board:

• District 2: Jillian Henze, Councilmember, Waitsburg (new)
• District 4: Matthew Lundh, Mayor, Cle Elum
• District 6: Josh Penner, Mayor, Orting
• District 8: Brett Gailey, Mayor, Lake Stevens (new)
• District 10: John Hines, Deputy Mayor, Tacoma
• District 12: Amy Howard, Deputy Mayor, Port Townsend
• District 14: Julia Johnson, Mayor, Sedro-Woolley
• At-Large #2: Dee Roberts, Mayor, Raymond
• At-Large #4: Marla Keethler, Mayor, White Salmon
• WCMA President: Stephanie Lucash, Deputy City Manager, Kenmore
• Incoming WCMA President: Rich Huebner, City Administrator, Selah (new)

AWC CEO Deanna Dawson welcomed the new and returning board members and directors. “This is an exceptionally dedicated and engaged group of city leaders and I am excited to work together to build strong cities and a great state,” said Dawson.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve AWC and advocate for cities across the state,” said AWC President Amy Ockerlander, Mayor, Duvall. “From our smallest rural towns to our largest urban cities, we have unique challenges, but we are stronger when we can find common ground and work together. At the end of the day, we are all serving to make a positive difference in the lives of our residents.”

“I’m honored to continue working with my fellow city leaders to ensure AWC continues to deliver timely, relevant, and impactful advocacy, education, and services to every one of our state’s 281 cities and towns,” said AWC Vice President Fred Brink, Mayor Pro Tem, Richland.

“It has been an honor to represent the City of Marysville and neighboring cities on the AWC board, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to step into this leadership role as secretary,” said AWC Secretary Jon Nehring, Mayor of Marysville. “I am committed to ensuring that all of our cities and towns are represented as we advocate for and enact common sense solutions to the pressing issues facing our communities.”

More than 450 attendees representing over 130 cities and towns across Washington attended the AWC Annual Conference to learn about issues critical to the success of cities. The theme of this year’s conference was Livable, loveable cities, and keynote speaker Peter Kageyama shared his ideas on harnessing the passion people feel for the places they live to help build thriving communities. A highlight of the conference was a panel of distinguished leaders speaking to civic health and how cities are leading the way through divisive times. Sessions on infrastructure, emergency management, budgeting, legal requirements, the fentanyl crisis, and a wide array of other important topics rounded out the conference agenda.

Founded in 1933, Association of Washington Cities (AWC) is a nonprofit corporation that represents Washington’s 281 cities and towns. AWC’s mission is to build connections between Washington state’s diverse cities and towns, while providing their members with the support needed to thrive through delivery of data-driven education, nationally recognized pooling programs, and nonpartisan advocacy. Membership is voluntary; however, AWC consistently maintains 100 percent participation from Washington’s 281 cities and towns.

AWC also provides training, data and publications, and programs such as the AWC Employee Benefit Trust, AWC Risk Management Service Agency, AWC Workers’ Comp Retro, AWC Drug and Alcohol Consortium, and AWC GIS Consortium.

A complete list of AWC board of directors is available on the association’s website.