WSSDA's In-District Workshops and Retreats are led by our Leadership Development Cadre of Consultants, a 21-member group of trainers who offer impressive credentials and extensive experience to guide and support school directors in their governance role. Each consultant has been selected for expertise in areas of service most often sought by school boards and districts. They can help boards tackle and resolve issues unique to each district’s environment and culture. Areas of expertise include teambuilding and leadership development, strategic planning, board-superintendent relations, vision setting, community engagement, group facilitation, conflict resolution, problem solving, policy governance and Baldrige quality criteria.

• Debora Boeck specializes in policy development, program evaluation, board development, strategic planning and school improvement. She assists districts with policy review and development, delivers board development workshops and training and is a WSSDA grant writing resource.
• Skip Bonuccelli served as public information specialist for the Central Valley School District in Spokane for over 27 years and is currently an adjunct communication professor at two colleges. He delivers WSSDA workshops with gusto and is experienced with strategic planning and community engagement.
• Michael Boring has worked in educational administration for over 30 years, including service as assistant executive director of the Washington Association of School Administrators. His expertise includes board-superintendent professional development, strategic planning, and school improvement. He is also a superintendent search consultant.
• Martha Bryan specializes in communication and provides training and facilitation services in the areas of organization and personal excellence. With an education background, she has taught at both the high school and college levels and has provided training and facilitation services to many school districts, other state associations and organizations.
• Anne Golden is a professional trainer and has also served as a school director since 1982. Anne’s years of school board service and professional boardsmanship expertise are highly valued by our members. Additionally, she brings another perspective to school board training through her work with and service to local as well as national non-profit organizations. Anne is a WSSDA past president and helped design the Leadership WSSDA program.
• Kenneth Jones is an organizational psychologist who has served organizations locally and internationally in areas of strategic improvement. He has provided strategic planning and other organizational services, including leadership training and school improvement, to schools and school boards through the governor’s office and with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He was also a consultant for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
• Karen Madsen, a former science teacher, contracts with OSPI worked to develop the Science WASL. She has provided training to PTA boards at the council, regional and state levels, to school districts and at WSSDA conferences and workshops. As an Everett school director, she is an experienced facilitator, is a certified mediator, a trained reviewer with the Washington State Quality Awards. She is a graduate of Leadership WSSDA and is active in WSSDA leadership.
• Richard Parker specializes in strategic planning, Internet communication technology consulting and team and community development. Rich is a six-year veteran school director in the South Whidbey School District and has served as board president, vice president and legislative representative. As a former teacher and lifelong learner, Rich is enrolled in an Educational Leadership and Change doctoral program and is a graduate of the 2009 Leadership WSSDA program.
• Elaine Porter-Cole is an expert on board-superintendent relationships, team building, problem solving, planning and process facilitation and is one of the first consultants trained in the Lighthouse curriculum. She brings experience as a superintendent, teacher, staff development director, author and adjunct professor for three colleges as well as a WASA/OSPI District Improvement Facilitator.
• J. Marie Riche has more than a decade of experience in communications and community engagement with a focus on public schools. She is a certified Future Search facilitator and has trained leadership and governance teams in all facets of personal and organizational communications.
• Lynn Trantow is a former school director with the Central Valley (Spokane) School District and served on every committee possible. During her five years of board service, she served on numerous WSSDA committees and graduated from the Leadership WSSDA program. This and her degree in Communication Science from the University of Washington, add valuable insight and expertise to the cadre.
• Greg Welch has 25 years experience helping individuals, teams, and organizations create their vision, achieve their goals, become more self-aware, and improve the quality of all of their relationships. Service areas include organizational assessment, strategic planning, relationship building, conflict management and marketing.
• Patty Wood serves on the Kelso School Board and has participated in various WSSDA committees and task forces. She has co-presented with WSSDA staff in regional workshops and presented at the WSSDA Conference and NSBA. Patty is a member of the One Hundred District Leaders Network through the Education Commission of the States and is a graduate of Leadership WSSDA.