Staff and Board of Trustees

Staff:

Julie Brunner has been the Housing Manager since 2002, working half time. Julie manages resident applications, mortgage financing, homebuyer education instruction, and manages the Housing Services Coordinator.  In addition to working for OPAL, Julie teaches courses for the National Community Land Trust Network and works as a consultant for Common Ground.  Julie has worked in the field of affordable housing since 1995 and prior to that in social service and international economic development. She has a B.A. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and an M.A. in city and regional planning from Rutgers University.

Lisa Byers has been OPAL CLT’s Executive Director since January 1996. She is the only full-time staff person. Prior to working for OPAL, Lisa worked as Land Steward for the San Juan County Land Bank, and for 10 years as a land and property manager for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England), based in Boston, Massachusetts. Lisa has an A.B. from Vassar College and an M.B.A. in public and nonprofit management from Boston University.  In 2006 Lisa was elected to serve as the first President of the National Community Land Trust Network and was awarded the Friend of Housing Award from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.

Carol Ely works 80% of full time. Carol completes all bookkeeping, database management, office organizing, receptionist services, and board meeting support, as well as helping volunteers with event production. She managed her own very successful floral business for 16 years, and prior to that was a manager in the food services industry. Carol has a B.A. from Siena Heights University.

Lety Hopper works half time as the Housing Services Coordinator.  Lety administers rental assistance and energy assistance, manages tenant and property management concerns, and assists the Housing Manager with homebuyer education and processing homebuyer applications.  Prior to working for OPAL, Lety was the primary manufacturer for Island Thyme Natural BodyCare, a research assistant for Friends of the San Juans and a fisheries technician and research assistant for a number of marine science centers in Maine and Massachusetts.  She has a B.S. from the University of Maine at Orono and a Higher National Certificate in Fisheries Science.

Judy Whiting works 60% of full time as the Publications and Outreach Manager. She is the editor and production agent for OPAL’s newsletters and printed materials, and she coordinates media, public relations, community outreach, membership renewals and fundraising activities. Judy previously served on the board of trustees of OPAL for three years, and returns after four years of working a range of office management positions on the island. Prior to island life, Judy and her husband owned and managed a KOA campground and Judy worked for 16 years at Microsoft in user education and print management. Judy has B.A. in Editorial Journalism.

Board of Trustees:

Lizbeth Anderson has been a full-time resident of Orcas Island since 2007. She has taught elementary and middle school, served as interim editor for a community newspaper, worked as a school librarian, and volunteered for numerous organizations, including the United Way, the Audubon Society and co-founding a Habitat for Humanity Chapter in Blaine County, Idaho. Liz has a B.F.A. from the University of Denver and an M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University.

Helen Bee first lived on Orcas Island in the 1970s and returned in 2003 after a career as professor and author of numerous text books on psychology and human development, including The Developing Child, now in its 11th edition, and Journey of Adulthood, now in its 6th edition. She has served on numerous non-profit boards, including the Happy Valley Foundation, the Orcas Island Foundation (Camp Indralaya), the Festival Choir of Madison, and the Orcas Island Senior Center.

Vicki Brems has lived on Orcas and been an active volunteer with OPAL since 2001.  Vicki’s professional career was in marketing and communications, serving as vice president and creative director for a number of Seattle-area marketing and advertising firms, where she guided marketing efforts for a wide range of clients.  She has served on various boards, including the University of Washington Alumni Association, the Washington Chapter of the Leukemia Society of America, and the Washington State Council of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Midge Kraetzer (description coming)

Suzanne Olson moved to Orcas Island in 2005 to work as the Communications Specialist and Storyteller for the Community Land Trust Alliance of the San Juan Islands. She served in that capacity until 2008 when she was hired by Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO) to serve as their Communications Specialist. Suzanne’s professional career has focused on writing, strategic development, and fundraising for organizations such as the Northwest Academy in Portland, OR, the Oregon Zoo Foundation and the Metropolitan Group.

Luann Pamatian has lived on Orcas since 1988. On the island, Luann has worked as a dental assistant and massage therapist, while raising her two children, Connor and Ursula. She served on the board of the Orcas Island Prevention Partnership and meets monthly with her neighbors in the Oberon Wood neighborhood to manage their neighborhood association.  Luann enjoys gardening and playing in the theater.

Rollie Sauer has been a full-time resident of Orcas Island since 2004. He has had a full career, which he continues on a part-time basis, supervising clinical reseach trials. He served as President, Partner and Research Director for a number of companies based in southern California, and along the way volunteered as referee and coach for youth soccer and baseball.  Today he serves the San Juan County community in a number of volunteer roles, including as a commissioner for the Eastsound Sewer and Water District.

Penny Sharp Sky has lived on Orcas Island since 1987 and is one of the co-founders of OPAL Community Land Trust. To help get OPAL started, Penny organized and ran meetings, advocated, wrote grants, held the vision and kept people on task.  In addition to OPAL, Penny co-founded and helped to lead two other island institutions:  Orcas Open Arts and OASIS, the alternative public school program. She is a potter at the Orcas Island Pottery, actress, dancer, and workshop leader. She lives in the first OPAL neighborhood, Opal Commons, with her husband, Michael Sky and their daughter Lily.

Allen Smith was co-founder and served as CEO of ISX Corporation from 1989 until his retirement in 2000, and he continues to serve as board chairman. In his role at ISX, Allen helped create the artificial intelligence discipline of Advanced Concept Engineering, which is now widely used at DARPA and elsewhere.  He has served on several boards, including IRobots Inc., Skoozle.com, The Los Angeles Challenger Center, the Ventura Council, Boy Scouts/Learning for Life, and the Sustainable Ecosystem Institute.

Kari Van Gelder became a full-time resident of Orcas Island in 1998 after four years of part-time residence. She lives with her family in Opal Commons, the first OPAL neighborhood. Kari is an artist, landscape designer, gardener and cook. Since the birth of her daughter in 2001, she has focused on parenting and volunteer projects, committing her time in 2002 to Camp Indralaya as registrar and to OPAL CLT as landscape designer in 2003-2004.  In 2005 she and two partners founded and now operate Bossy’s Feltworks.