Jeff was a customer of Skookum in his position with the Navy. Over the years Jeff experienced first hand the powerful impact Skookum creates in the lives of its employees. This opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities drew Jeff to the company when his Naval career came to a close.
Jeff successfully orchestrated a 500% increase in job creation since joining the organization over a decade ago, leading the Company beyond it’s Washington State roots and into new business lines and new geographical regions. Jeff dramatically expanded the integration of Veterans into Skookum’s workforce. Today over one third of the Skookum team are Veterans, and over one quarter of the team are Veterans with Service Related Disabilities.
A former Naval Officer and Contracting Officer, Scott was also a customer of Skookum in his position with the Navy. As Director of Public Works Scott provided supervision, management, and professional direction to an all-inclusive Public Works Department encompassing three Northwest Naval Installations with a Plant Value of over $2.9 billion spread over 8000 acres comprised of industrial, educational, medical, administrative, retail, and housing facilities. Upon retiring from the Navy, Scott began his journey with Skookum in 2005.
Denise holds over 30 years of experience in international and domestic corporate finance. Her expertise in strategic planning, financial controls, and accounting practices have been essential in Skookum’s growth. Denise is known for her practical management approach and ability to build solid relationships with executive teams and clients. She leads Skookum's Finance Department, providing financial resources for all operations.
Rob and the Skookum Human Resources team closely collaborate with Skookum operational leadership and management to align with, drive and support Skookum’s mission and strategies. Core functions of the team include workforce planning and staffing, learning and development, employee relations, performance management, organizational development, and safety.
Rob has over 20 years of organizational development and safety experience, primarily in the non-profit and public agency sectors. This experience includes strategy development and implementation, culture assessment and design, organizational and work unit performance, employee engagement, change management, and leadership development. Rob’s safety experience includes programmatic and safety culture assessments, safety auditing, and the design and implementation of safety program strategies.
As a senior consultant, Rob provided these services to a wide spectrum of federal, state, and local clients, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, various state of Washington agencies, King County Metro Transit, Sound Transit, and the City of Seattle.
Rob also has deep experience in the design, piloting, and implementation of safety programs (including safety management systems, or SMS) for large organizations.
Robert brings over 30 years in leadership, management, information technology, systems engineering, process improvement. Robert’s primary role at Skookum is to lead an outstanding team that leverages systems and technology improving our ability to deliver outstanding services for our customers.
Zach maintains responsibility for new business development and innovation at Skookum. He draws upon a diverse background of experience in furtherance of a simple agenda, to enhance the impact Skookum provides customers, employees and community.
Outside of work, Zach loves spending time with his family, working in and around the shop and taking long walks with his dog (who is also a member of the family).
Marie leads Skookum's advocacy efforts on all disability issues on State and National levels. She forms relationships with partners within the national disability advocacy community, promoting collaboration in advocating on employment issues for Veterans and people with disabilities.
As the Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Kelsey leads a highly skilled team, overseeing all aspects of marketing, branding, public relations, and visual and social media strategies. Her leadership is instrumental in driving the growth and preservation of Skookum’s culture and mission across the nation. Kelsey is passionately committed to enhancing the company’s presence and ensuring its values are effectively communicated and upheld.
Megan oversees the Workforce Development department, which includes the following teams: AbilityOne Vocational, Client Community Employment Services, Career Services, and Training and Employee Support. The focus of these teams is to create opportunities for people with disabilities and help people to be successful in their jobs and careers. Megan holds a BA in Sociology from Western Washington University and an MA in Student Development Administration from Seattle University. Megan worked in the Washington State Community College system for 15 years as an Educational Advisor and Career Education Instructor before coming to Skookum.
Jessica provides Home Office coordination in support of Site and Project Managers in Washington, Texas, Virginia, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. She also administers, prices and negotiates new and current contracts for Skookum.
Before joining Skookum in 2002, Jessica was an Army vehicle maintenance officer at Fort Lewis, WA. Following her medical separation from the Army, she joined Skookum as a Logistics Coordinator at JBLM. She then spent nine years as the JBLM Central Issue Facility Project Manager before being promoted into her current role as a General Manager and Contracts Manager.
Robert’s passion for public works management was developed during a 20-year Navy career as a Civil Engineer Corps officer. The Navy provides extensive exposure to Public Works, Post-Award Construction Management and contingency engineering. Notable tours included Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes Illinois, Camp David Maryland and Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. His final tour of duty led him to the Pacific Northwest as the Director of Production Engineering & Facilities, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton Washington. Upon retiring from the Navy, Robert joined Skookum in 2012.
Marty was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. He went on to complete a B.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. Shortly after Penn State he was commissioned in the Naval Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) and had his first duty station at SUBASE Bangor.
He developed diverse experience in construction management, capital improvements and planning, and the operations and maintenance of Navy, Marine Corps and Joint Forces facilities and infrastructure as he continued to serve with the Navy in Iraq, Diego Garcia, and Port Hueneme. After separating from active duty he completed a M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of California. For the last five years, Marty lived in Oakland, CA where he worked with Webcor Builders, a commercial construction contractor completing several notable projects such as the SFMoMA and the Apple Visitor Center.
Ryan joined Skookum in 2006 and has since excelled in various roles, including HR Generalist, Contracts Manager, and General Manager. Now serving as Regional Vice President, he oversees over 300 employees and is dedicated to supporting his cross-functional team, project managers, and exceptional staff in delivering outstanding customer service.
Arnie has been an attorney at the Seattle based law firm of Hacker & Willig since 1990. He has been actively involved with and inspired by Skookum since 1992. He graduated from Seattle University with a degree in Business Administration and Pepperdine University School of Law. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Mt. Baker Housing, a non-profit organization serving low-income families.
Holly Molino has been serving on the Skookum Board of Directors since 2009. Holly holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Utah, along with two Master’s Degrees from Idaho State University, one in School Psychology and one in Special Education and Early Childhood Special Education, and is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Holly and her husband have four children and live in Idaho Falls where they own a mental health clinic which works with children with developmental disabilities and mental health diagnoses. Six months out of the year Holly is a hockey mom and eight months out of the year she is a football widow (husband coaches and her sons play).
Harry Phillips is a CPA and retired Moss Adams LLP partner. He holds an undergraduate A.B. degree in Accounting from Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, and a graduate M.S. degree in Tax from Golden Gate University. Since retiring at the end of 2007, Mr. Phillips has been an adjunct professor of accounting and tax at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and does part time accounting and consulting work. He has served on the Skookum Board of Directors since 2010.
Cmdr. (Ret.) Tamsen Reese is our newest board member (2019). She is a decorated veteran and served as a Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Navy for 20+ years. She was deployed during the onset of the Iraqi War and is the first-ever PAO to deploy with Navy SEALs. Other tours of duty include Director, Navy Office of Information in New York City, Navy Newsdesk Director at the Pentagon, Director of media relations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well as advisor to the Undersecretary of the Navy and Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Tamsen earned her degree in English from the University of Mississippi through a Navy scholarship. She retired in 2016.
Jeanine is a people and operations leader with over 13 years of experience. Currently she is the Associate Director of Operations at Spotify for Audiobooks. Prior to Spotify, Jeanine launched a non-profit called KindWork. KindWork is a tech training program that works with talented young adults from overlooked communities to help them land their first job in the tech sector. Prior to this she started her career in finance and honed her operational skills at GE, Deloitte, Groupon and Uber. At Uber, Jeanine grew and led operations for over 10 support center locations employing over 250 people across multiple states. She is passionate about people development, as well as diversity and inclusion. She is proudly a first-generation Latina and lives in Miami Beach, FL with her husband and seven-month-old son, Alex.
Capt. (Ret.) Brian Luke is a senior professional staff research engineer in the Cyber Warfare Systems group at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. In this role, he serves as a trusted technical advisor to operationalize and scale cyber capabilities for primarily US government customers. Brian is a retired Navy Captain who served over 30 years on active-duty in a variety of operational, leadership, and staff roles in aviation, cybersecurity, program management, and in the intelligence community. Brian holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy. He lives in Gambrills, Maryland with his wife and three children.
Scott Droppelman is the the Construction Manager of a heavy civil construction company in Auburn, WA. Scott has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry building roads in King and Pierce counties. He has managed companies and projects in private, public, and federal sectors. He has a BS in Industrial Technology with a focus in Plastics Manufacturing from Western Washington University. Scott lives with his wife and 2 children in Gig Harbor
Demetria “Lynn” Strickland is an Army veteran who served over nine years and has 25+ years of management experience in several sectors. She is a former Dean of Instruction at Bates Technical College where she supervised 14 apprenticeship programs, 11 career training programs and Continuing Education.
Lynn began working for the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee as a Program Manager in February 2012, was promoted to Deputy Director in July 2012 and has served as Executive Director since August 2014. Lynn and the AJAC team develop and implement pre-apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship and registered apprenticeship employer-driven programs for the incumbent workforce open to all employers across Washington State in the advanced manufacturing industries. AJAC apprenticeship programs use the dual training method allowing apprentices to “earn while they learn,” simultaneously pursue both an educational and career pathway, work full time, earn college credit, access a 2 year degree with no college debt while being instructed by current industry professionals. AJAC also partners with secondary, post-secondary, community based organizations and state agencies to implement and expand apprenticeship program offerings.
Lynn has a M.A. in Organizational Leadership with a graduate certificate in Human Resources and a B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis Management.
