Urban Studies Advisory Board

Virginia Anderson

Longtime Seattle community leader Virginia Anderson served most recently as president of the Safeco Insurance Foundation, and prior to that was director of the Seattle Center from 1988-2006. Earlier in her career, Anderson spent ten years at Cornerstone Development Company, the Seattle real estate and property management firm, eventually becoming senior vice president for several key divisions. She has served on many corporate and civic boards including Standard Insurance Company, Washington Energy Company, U.S. Bank of Washington, United Way of King County, and the University of Washington.

 

Brian Coffey

Brian is the founding faculty member of UW Tacoma's Urban Studies program. A geographer by training, he did his undergraduate work at The Ohio State University. He received his master's from the Akron University and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Brian's recent research interests include topics related to race and housing, community development, and local governance. He also has a strong interest in international education and has developed an exchange program for Urban Studies students in Groningen, The Netherlands along with summer program in Leiden and a winter term program in Australia and New Zealand. In addition to his duties as Director of Urban Studies, Brian serves as Director of International Programs at UWT.

 

John Folsom

John Folsom served as the president of Brown & Brown, Inc. of Washington, formerly Raleigh, Schwarz & Powell (insurance brokers and consulting), from 1990 through 2006 and currently serves as an independent consultant on insurance and risk management matters. He has an extensive background of community service, including leadership roles with the American Leadership Forum, Creative Cities Leadership Steering Committee, Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma, MultiCare Health System, Tacoma Art Museum, Goodwill Industries, and Good Samaritan Hospital Systems.

 

Rod Hagenbuch

Rod Hagenbuch is co-founder of the Quantum Leap Institute consulting firm, specializing in the Financial Services Industry, Corporations and non-profits. Rod's professional experience includes 32 years in the securities industry with Merrill Lynch as an Institutional Consultant working with Fortune 100 companies, union, state, and municipal retirement funds and bank trust departments. He was an elected Trustee in Meridian, Michigan, and has chaired a Planning Commission, Human Resources Council, Police and Fire Committee, County Housing Commission, Symphony, Corporate Council for the Arts, Economic Development Board, University Presidential Advisory Board, Downtown Association, Tacoma Club, Pierce County United Way, Los Angeles Red Cross. He currently serves on several boards in Los Angeles, but remains connected with the UW Tacoma campus, which recognizes his role in the establishment of the campus.

 

Chuck Kleeberg

Chuck has been the Director of Planning and Land Services for Pierce County since 1997. Before that he was Director of the Drainage and Wastewater Utility in Seattle, Director of King County Development and Environmental Services, Director of Seattle-King County Environmental Health Services and was involved in various functions during a 16 year stint with the US EPA.

He has served on the Board of the Puget Sound Clean Air Board, taught courses and lectured at UW and UWT, and served as President of the board of a non profit free health clinic on the Hilltop in Tacoma. Kleeberg holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering from NC State University and a JD degree from the University of Puget Sound.

 

Ryan Petty, chair

Ryan Petty is the City of Tacoma's Community and Economic Development Director. Within his department are the City's programs for planning, housing, neighborhood councils, business districts, geographic information systems, arts, culture, and historic preservation.

Ryan Petty was president and chief executive of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County from 1986-1989. Subsequently he led a statewide economic development organization for Washington State. From 1992 to 2004, Ryan served simultaneously as President and CEO of both a chamber of commerce and an economic development organization in the northwest Chicagoland region. Ryan received his undergraduate degree in History with honors from Princeton University and was awarded the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law.

 

Lua Pritchard

Lua is Executive Director of the Korean Women's Association, a South Sound institution that hosts and administers 22 social services/programs serving more than 1,500 clients of 17 different national backgrounds and languages each month.

 

Scott Winship

Scott served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in both King and Pierce Counties before entering private practice as an associate with the Tacoma firm of Bonneville, Viert, Morton & McGoldrick in 1988. In 2002, Mr. Winship left the active practice of law to help organize and open Northwest Commercial Bank in Lakewood, Washington. Mr. Winship is on the Board and Executive Committee of the United Way of Pierce County and serves as Treasurer for that organization. He is a member and has been chair of the boards of both the MultiCare Health Foundation and the Nonprofit Center. He has also been the president and a board member of the Municipal League of Tacoma-Pierce County.

 

Derek Young

Derek Young is the founder and editor of Exit133, the Tacoma blog focusing on real estate, politics, the arts, and urban development. Derek worked for REI corporate for ten years before dedicating himself in 2007 to full-time involvement in Exit133 and his other web and community involvement projects. Derek graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a BS in Biology, a second major in Politics & Government, and a minor in Chemistry. He also has an MBA from UW Tacoma's Milgard School of Business.

 

Melissa Young

Melissa Young, a former student of the UW Tacoma Urban Studies program, is currently pursuing a master's degree in Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is particularly interested in parking and transportation strategies, as well as neighborhood design. Her weekdays are spent crossing county lines, embracing the entertainment that only a three-hour commute on public transportation can provide. Weekends, she stays local and enjoys walking to the farmer's market and admiring the architecture in her vintage neighborhood.

top