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Faculty/TrainersThe Public Leadership & Civic Engagement Academy has assembled a group of distinguished and highly qualified individuals to serve as the trainers/faculty for the Leadership Academy Seminars. This faculty is assisted by community leaders, elected public officials and practitioners serving on panels and conducting presentations. The following profiles are a representative list of committed faculty. Christine DiStefano, Ph.D. (Leadership Academy Facilitator)
She received her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her primary research interests are in the areas of political theory, feminist theory, and democratic theory. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Political Theory, Women and Politics, Feminist Theory, and Democratic Theory at the University of Washington. She has served on the Editorial Boards of "Women & Politics," "PS: Political Science and Politics," and "Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society." She has also served as President of the Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association. While most of her scholarly publications to date have focused on issues in contemporary feminist politics and theory, her current research examines the theoretical legacy of the great African-American social theorist, W.E.B. Du Bois, whose classic text, THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK, offers relevant and timely meditations on the pathologies of oppression and disempowerment. Christine's abiding passion, as a scholar and a citizen, is to promote democracy as "a way of life" that encompasses social relations in politics, at work, in schools, communities and households. Norman Rice, MPA
Rice received his Master of Public Administration from the Evans School in 1974 (then known as the Graduate School of Public Affairs) and went on to build an illustrious career that included three terms as a member of the Seattle City Council and two very successful terms as Mayor of Seattle. From 1998 to 2004, he served as President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, and is currently Vice Chairman of Capital Access, LLC, an investment banking firm that specializes in strengthening communities and creating a sustainable environment. Kathleen A. Ross, snjm, Ph.D.
Dr. Ross is nationally known as a leader in higher education, especially in the field of cross-cultural communication. She was one of three recipients, in 1989, of the Harold McGraw Prize in education. In 1991, Georgetown University presented her with the John Caroll Award. She has honorary degrees from Dartmouth, Alverno, Pomona, and Whitworth Colleges; Notre Dame; and Seattle University. In 1995, Ross was one of two people to receive the Washington State Medal of Merit award. In 1997, she was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, the so-called "Genius Award." Dr. Ross holds a B.A. degree from Fort Wright College, a M.A. from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate School. At Claremont, she studied with Peter Drucker and Howard Bowen and did her dissertation on cultural factors affecting American Indian students in higher education. She has facilitated numerous national and international meetings of administrators working on strategic planning. Public Leadership & Civic Engagement Academy Faculty/ TrainersGary Segura, Ph.D.
Segura is serving as the General Program Chair of the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association. He presently serves on the Executive Council of the Western Political Science Association and is a former Executive Council member for both the Midwest and the American Political Science Association. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Politics, and a former member of the board for PS: Political Science and Politics. He has been appointed to the Board of Overseers of the American National Election Study for 2006-2009. In 2004-2005, he served as President of El Sector Latino de la Ciencia Política (Latino Caucus in Political Science), is a past chair of the WPSA’s Committee on the Status of Chicanos and a former member of the APSA’s Committee on the Status of Latinas y Latinos. Matt A. Barreto, Ph.D.
Matt specializes in Latino and immigrant voting behavior. He teaches courses on Racial and Ethnic Politics, Latino Politics, Voting and Elections, and American Politics at UW. Part of his research agenda also includes public opinion and election surveys, including exit polling methodology. Matt is also an affiliated faculty member in the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS) at the University of Washington. Beyond the UW, he has been an affiliated research scholar with the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (www.trpi.org) since 1999 and with the Center for the Study of Los Angeles (www.lmu.edu/csla) since 2002. In 2004, he co-authored the TRPI/Washington Post National Survey of Latino voters and in 2005 he was co-principal investigator of the CSLA Los Angeles Mayoral exit poll. Frances E. Contreras, Ph.D.
Dr. Contreras also teaches leadership courses at the UW, presents at forums across the county and conducts seminars on educational leadership. In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Contreras serves on the Board of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, LEAP, and the Chicana/Latina Foundation. Dr. Contreras’s experience includes being the Director of Education Policy with the Latino Issues Forum in California, various administrative positions within a university and public foundation and was a researcher with SRI International. She also is a principal in a consulting firm. Dr. Contreras received her Ph.D. from Stanford University, Master of Education from Harvard University and B.A. from University of California, Berkeley. Jim Diers, Community Organizer
Currently, Jim works for the University of Washington where he teaches courses in community organizing and development and connects university resources with community initiatives. As a member of the faculty for the Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Jim delivers speeches and conducts workshops throughout North America and beyond. Jim received a BA and an honorary doctorate from Grinnell College. His work in the Department of Neighborhoods was recognized with an Innovations Award from the Kennedy School of Government, a Full Inclusion Award from the American Association on Mental Retardation, and the Public Employee of the Year Award from the Municipal League of King County. Jim’s book, Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way, is available through the University of Washington Press. More information can be found on Jim’s website: www.neighborpower.org Robert Ozuna, MPA (Leadership Academy Director)
Robert Ozuna was the principal investigator for developing the grant that is funding this Public Leadership and Public Engagement Academy. It has long been his vision to bring this type of expertise and training to the communities of the Yakima Valley. As a long time resident of the Yakima Valley, he has learned about the need for such initiative. Robert serves as the director for the Leadership Academy. AdvisorsTeri K. Johnson-Davis, Director, Yakama Nation Economic Development - Teri was hired on as the Economic Development Director with the Yakama Nation in March of 2002. Teri acts as a Liaison to the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and advises the Overall Economic Development and Planning [OEDP] Committee on Economic Development Projects and Diversification, Feasibility Studies, New Enterprise Development Projects, and serves on various Boards and Committees. Blaine R. Thorington, Member, Toppenish City Council - Blaine has served on the Toppenish City Council for nine years, 2 of those years as Mayor-Pro Tem and 2 years as Mayor. Blaine has also served five years as the President of the School District Classified Union consisting of 180 members. Vickie Ybarra, President, Yakima School District Board of Directors - Vickie Ybarra was appointed to fill a vacated position on the Yakima School District Board of Directors in June 2002 and won election to the board in November 2003. Jesse S. Palacios, Commissioner, Yakima County Commissioners – Jesse Palacios served on the Grandview City Council from 1985 to 1991 and as the Mayor of Grandview from 1991 – 1998. He was elected to serve as a Yakima County Commissioner in 1999. Hon. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, State Representative, Washington State House of Representatives – She has been elected and served in the state legislature for four terms representing the 46th District in north Seattle since 1976. Miguel Puente, Director, Sunnyside School District Board of Directors - Miguel was appointed to the Sunnyside School District Board of Directors on January 2003 and served until July 2003. He was subsequently elected to the Sunnyside School District Board of Directors on November 2005. Clara R. Jimenez, Member, Toppenish City Council - Clara was first elected in 1997 and has served two terms on the Toppenish City Council. She also served two years as the Mayor-Elect and two years as the Mayor of Toppenish. She is currently serving a third term on the council. Jesse Farias, Mayor, City of Wapato - Jesse retired from state government after serving in senior executive positions for over thirty years. He was appointed to the Wapato City Council in 2003. He was elected Mayor in 2004. He serves on numerous boards and commissions ranging from salmon recovery to economic development. |
Dr. Christine Di Stefano is Associate Professor of Political Science and Adjunct Associate Professor of Women Studies at the University of Washington. She is also the Director of NEW Leadership Puget Sound, a leadership academy for undergraduates who aspire to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in the arena of women's political and civic leadership.
Former Seattle Mayor and UW alumnus Norman B. Rice was recently recruited by the University of Washington, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs to help launch a new seminar series on Civic Engagement for the 21st Century in Seattle. The Evans School has appointed Norman B. Rice to create and lead the series. Rice is the school's newest Distinguished Visiting Practitioner-in-Residence, a three-year appointment that brings the popular, former Seattle Mayor (1990-1997) back to his alma mater.
As founding president of Heritage University, Dr. Kathleen Ross has led this unique liberal arts college from 85 students in 1982 to its present enrollment of more than 1,300 students. Today, Heritage continues to fulfill its mission and is in the vanguard in bringing a quality liberal arts education to a multicultural population. 
Dr. Gary M. Segura is a University of Washington Associate Professor of American Politics. He received his Ph.D. in American Politics and Political Philosophy from the University of Illinois in 1992, and previously taught at the University of California, Davis, Claremont Graduate University, and the University of Iowa. His work focuses on issues of political representation and he is currently focusing on the accessibility of government and politics to America’s growing Latino minority, as well as a book-length project on the links between casualties in international conflict and domestic politics. He is also serving as the co-Principal Investigator of the Latino National Survey, a national poll of 8600 Latino residents of the United States conducted in the fall and winter of 2005-2006.
Matt A. Barreto is an Assistant Professor in political science at the University of Washington, Seattle and a member of the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (WISER). He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Irvine in 2005. His research examines the political participation of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and his work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, and other peer reviewed journals. 
Dr. Frances Contreras is a University of Washington Assistant Professor in Education Leadership and Policy Studies. Dr. Contreras presently researches issues of equity and access for underrepresented students in the education pipeline. She addresses transitions between K-12 and higher education, community college transfer, faculty diversity, affirmative action in higher education, and the role of the public policy arena in higher education access for underserved students of color.
Jim Diers has a passion for participatory democracy. Since moving to Seattle in 1976, he put that passion to work for an Alinsky-style community organization, a community development corporation, a community foundation, and Group Health Cooperative. He was appointed the first director of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods in 1988 where he served under three mayors over the next 14 years.
Robert Ozuna is the Director of the University of Washington – Yakima Valley Community Partnership Office and adjunct faculty at Heritage University in public administration. He received his Master of Public Administration from Harvard University – John F. Kennedy School of Government where he studied campaigns and elections with former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer. His Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration was received from Heritage University. He has served on many national, state and local campaigns.