About HU
Our Board of Directors
Heritage University is governed by a Board of Directors made up of community leaders from the Yakima Valley and across the United States. The Directors generously volunteer their time and resources to ensure the success of Heritage projects and initiatives. Their guidance and varied expertise has been instrumental to our growth as a university.
2024-2025 Board of Directors
Lori Arviso Alvord
Surgeon, Astria Health
Zillah, WA
Paul Chiles
President, Chiles & Company
Yakima, WA
Connie Falon
CEO, Compass Financial Network
Yakima, WA
John Fraire
Healdsburg, CA
Mimi Gardner Gates
Director Emerita, Seattle Art Museum
Seattle, WA
Bob Gerst, Chairperson
John I. Haas
Yakima, WA
Mike Goettl
Vuca Farms
Yakima, WA
Michelle Gonzalez
Pollution Control and Shorelines Hearings Board
Seattle, WA
Brad Hill
Yakima, WA
Saundra Hill
Retired, Pasco School District
Pasco, WA
Kathleen Hilton
SNJM-U.S.-Ontario Province
Marylhurst, OR
Doug Lawrence
Stokes Lawrence Law
Seattle, WA
Russell Lidman
Professor Emeritus, Seattle University
Seattle, WA
Nichole Maher
President & CEO, Inatai Foundation
Bainbridge Island, WA
Elizabeth Mendoza
Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
Seattle, WA
Patrick Oshie
Attorney
Zillah, WA
Allison Parker
Principal, Peake Impact
Seattle, WA
Kip Ramsey
Tiin-ma Logging Co.
White Swan, WA
Derek Red Arrow
Attorney, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Seattle, WA
Philip Rigdon
Superintendent, Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources
Wapato, WA
Gerardo Ruelas
Director, International Program Management, Costco
Issaquah, WA
Maricela Sanchez
Anesthesiologist, Kadlec Regional Medical Center
Prosser, WA
Raul Sital
Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Supports, Pasco School District Pasco, WA
Steven Smith
V.P., Marketing, Washington Fruit Growers
Yakima, WA
Henry Strom
Executive Director Office Of Native Education, OSPI, Grandview, WA
Alex Vera
IT Manager, Costco
Issaquah,WA
Ellen Wallach
Seattle, WA
Elmer Ward
Associate Judge, Yakama Nation Court
Wapato, WA
E. Arlen Washines
Retired, Yakama Nation Higher Education Programs
Toppenish, WA
“What Heritage Means to Me” by Bob Gerst
Chair, Heritage University Board of Directors