Board members are volunteers who work closely with the superintendent to oversee policies and ensure the 20 component school districts in Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and Washington counties receive high quality services. 

NWRESD is governed by a nine-member board. Five zoned members are elected by school boards from the represented zone. Four members are appointed by the elected members. Appointed positions include representation from the social services, higher education and business sectors. There is also an at-large position.

At the annual board work session prior to the start of every school year, members develop goals for the NWRESD Board. 

Board goals:

1. Each board member will engage on ESD board committees, OAESD and/or OSBA work groups
   
   
2. Ensure regular Strategic Plan implementation
   
   
3. Maintain a minimum of 90% attendance rate at board meetings and arrive prepared to discuss board materials
   
   
4. Ensure board/superintendent working agreements are known, practiced and monitored

Members

Becky Tymchuk, Chair

Zone 5: Beaverton (Aloha, Beaverton, Mountainside and Southridge attendance areas)

Becky Tymchuk is a skilled nonprofit and political fundraiser with more than four decades of experience. She started her career as a legislative aide and campaign staffer in the Oregon Legislature. She worked as vice president of development and operations and later as a consultant for Junior Achievement for 25 years and oversaw special event fundraising, volunteer recruiting and training and business and education partnerships. 

As a partner at Achieve Events in Portland, she managed volunteers, coordinated special events, fundraised, developed curriculum and oversaw board development. Becky founded Tymchuk Consulting in 2010 and since that time has focused on capital campaign management, nonprofit strategic and fiscal planning, nonprofit fundraising and special events and political fundraising. 

In addition to her service on NWRESD's board, Becky has represented Washington County on the Oregon School Boards Association's Legislative Policy Committee since 2015. Other current board service includes the Oregon Zoo Foundation, Oregon Bankers Association Foundation and the Children's Institute. She also served on the Beaverton School District board in the Zone 6 position for 8 years. Becky was named OSBA’s board member of the year in 2022.

She received a bachelor’s degree in speech and social science from Willamette University and studied nonprofit management at Concordia College in Portland. She is certified by the National Society of Fundraising Professionals.

Becky's term ends on June 30, 2027. 

Maureen Wolf, Vice Chair

Board Member At-Large

Maureen Wolf has been active in public education for more than 25 years. She served as OSBA's board president in 2021.  She also recently served as a commissioner on the executive committee for the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. Wolf was on the board of the Tigard-Tualatin School District from 2009-21 and was recently chair from 2019-2021. Other previous roles include project management for E3: Employers for Education Excellence, board service for the Foundation for Tigard-Tualatin Schools, and membership on the City of Tigard’s Transportation Advisory Committee. She is a budget committee member for Northwest Regional ESD and a mentor at Tigard High School. 

Maureen co-founded a food box program called Packed With Pride after COVID-19 forced schools to go virtual in the spring of 2020. The program provides an average of 600-800 boxes of food every week to families in Tigard and Tualatin. Maureen joined the NWRESD Board in July of 2021. 

Maureen's term ends June 30, 2026.

Christine Riley

Zone 1: Gaston, Sherwood and Tigard-Tualatin

Christine Riley has been on the Gaston School Board since 2004 and has served on the NWRESD Board since 2012. She has long been a strong advocate of public service and community volunteering.

Chris is a retired Research Director at Intel, and she currently owns Upstream Alpacas with her husband, Alan McConkie. 

Christine's term ends June 30, 2028.

Doug Dougherty

Zone 2: Astoria, Banks, Forest Grove, Jewell, Knappa, Neah-Kah-Nie, Nestucca Valley, Seaside, Tillamook and Warrenton-Hammond

Doug Dougherty has been an educator with Seaside School District his entire professional career. He began as a teacher in 1982 and served as its superintendent from 1998-2016. He has been working with Northwest Regional ESD since it was formed and he understands the power of 20 school districts working together to serve their children.

Past leadership positions include president of the Oregon Association of School Executives; adviser to the Oregon State Board of Education; state commissioner representing Oregon’s K-12 schools, colleges and universities on the Oregon Earthquake Commission; board service for the Confederation of School Administrators; president of the Seaside Rotary Club; president of the University of Oregon College of Education Alumni Association; and president of the Seaside Providence Hospital Board of Directors. Doug joined the NWRESD Board in July of 2021. 

Doug's term ends June 30, 2027.

Dorian Russell

Zone 3: Hillsboro 

Dorian Russell (they/them) is the executive director of HomePlate Youth Services, Washington County’s only nonprofit organization providing drop-in services and street outreach for youth and young adults experiencing houselessness.

Dorian has over a decade of public policy, advocacy and government administration experience at the local, state and federal levels and has authored book and article publications on equity, diversity and inclusion practices in workforce development.

They grew up in the Hillsboro-Aloha area and have lived experience navigating government services essential to education, housing, health and safety needs. Dorian is deeply rooted in the region and enjoys serving on the City of Hillsboro Library Board and volunteering for Jackson Bottom Wetlands. 

Dorian's term ends June 30, 2028.

Michelle Graham

Zone 4: Beaverton (Sunset and Westview High School attendance areas), Clatskanie, Rainier, Scappoose, St. Helens and Vernonia

Michelle Graham is a retired health care executive and intensive care nurse from Scappoose. She is passionate about education and building partnerships and recently retired from the Scappoose School District board after 16 years of service, including two terms as board chair. 

Michelle began her 44-year career in health care as an intensive care nurse at Providence Health and Services. She held various roles over the years all within Providence, including at the regional and state-wide levels. In her most recent position as the executive of quality and medical staff services, she was proud to bring together diverse groups of people to help improve an increasingly complex health care system. 

She and her husband have three grown sons who all attended Scappoose public schools. 

Michelle's term ends June 30, 2029. 

Paul Jarrell

Higher Education

Paul Jarrell has been active in higher education for over thirty years. After receiving his doctorate in biology from the University of Oregon, Paul began his teaching career at Southern Oregon University (then Southern Oregon State College). 

Life took Paul to southern California where he continued his teaching career at Pasadena City College. There, he taught biological sciences courses for about two decades before becoming a dean. 

Paul subsequently served as vice president and chief academic officer at Santa Barbara City College, Lane Community College and Tillamook Bay Community College. Currently, Paul serves as president of Tillamook Bay Community College. 

He has been active on statewide committees in California and Oregon that are working to address the credit transfer issues community college students often face. Paul is committed to removing barriers for community college students and providing them with the options and upward mobility they deserve. 

In his spare time, Paul is an avid fiddle player and a terrible golfer.

Paul's term ends June 30, 2029.

Mjere Simantel

Social Services

As the director of Washington County’s Health and Human Services, Mjere (MEER-uh) Simantel manages an annual budget of $193 million and oversees a staff of 450. Her teams provide services to people across the lifespan, including veterans, older adults, parents with young children, and those with developmental disabilities or behavioral health conditions. She also oversees public health, animal services and solid waste and recycling programs. 

In this role, she often partners with NWRESD and its various programs and services. Over the past several years, she and her team have collaborated with our educators to reduce problem substance use, address mental health issues and prevent suicide among students. 

A dedicated public servant, her career spans more than two decades. She’s familiar with the inner workings of education service districts and got her start helping students facing barriers to employment transition out of high school and into the workforce as a youth transition coordinator with Clackamas Education Service District. She also spent eight years working at Willamette View, a retirement community in Portland, and eventually oversaw health care services before joining Washington County in 2017. 

Mjere says she’s honored to have been appointed to the social service position on NWRESD’s board. As the proud parent of three Tigard High School graduates, she says she strongly supports public education and is looking forward to serving on the board. 

Her term ends June 30, 2029. 

Ernest Stephens

Business position

Ernest Stephens is the founder and CEO of Morant McLeod, a strategy and management consulting firm. Ernest has over 20 years of experience in leadership, compliance, operations, strategy, continuous improvement, and finance.

A skilled negotiator, Ernest has trained under the world’s top hostage negotiators and negotiated contracts worth over half a billion dollars with Fortune 100 companies, governments and enterprises.

Having worked as a CEO, COO, CFO and entrepreneur, Ernest is passionate about representing the business perspective. Ernest joined the NWRESD Board in December of 2021. Read more about Ernest.

Ernest's term ends June 30, 2027.