State Board Member Profiles

Martin joins the State Board continuing his service to education and community. Martin works as the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Heritage University in Toppenish, Wash. Prior to Heritage, he worked in different roles for Columbia Basin College in Pasco, including as a professor of history and intercultural studies, vice president for diversity and outreach and chief executive officer of the CBC Foundation.

Martin is also active in the Tri-Cities business community, serving as the interim executive director of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and as a board member for the Tri-Cities Economic Development Council (TRIDEC) and Gesa Credit Union.

Martin’s past volunteer affiliations include Visit Tri-Cities, Communities in Schools of Benton-Franklin, United Way, American Red Cross, Mid-Columbia Symphony, LEAP (Latino/a Educational Achievement Project), CREHST Museum, The Children’s Reading Foundation, Columbia Basin Badger Club and the Downtown Pasco Development Authority.

A graduate of UCLA and Stanford University, Martin is a PhD candidate at Stanford. He has also earned certificates from the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame, the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Kady Titus is Koyukon Athabascan and a citizen of the Native Village of Ruby, Alaska. She started her career working in social and behavioral health services with a Tribal health organization in Alaska. After moving to Eastern Washington in 2013, Kady began working with workforce development organizations providing services and on-the-job training opportunities in rural communities. Most recently, she worked with Tribes on a national level to identify, develop, and implement solar power projects that meet community needs, including education, hands-on training, and energy cost reductions for tribal members. She is an alumnus of the Native Action Network's Legacy of Leadership Cohort. Kady is also an artist, and her creativity and love for color can be seen in her indigenous beadwork.

State Representative Debra Entenman is a former non-traditional student who is passionate about education for people of all ages and stages of life. That passion stems from her own experiences, as well as her family’s experiences, in pursuing higher education. As the daughter of a Seattle teacher, Debra believes in helping people reach their goals by advocating for programs that lift families out of hopelessness and enable them to succeed. She benefited from that type of advocacy as an inaugural member of the Seattle/King County Head Start program, where she began her love of education.

Rep. Entenman went back to school after her own children were ready to enter college. At Highline Community College and Seattle University, she studied political science and went on to serve as District Director for Congressman Adam Smith. She was appointed to the Board of Trustees at Renton Technical College in 2015.

She currently lives in Kent with her husband.

Mack Hogans combines his many years of serving in senior leadership roles with his experience as a mentor and trusted adviser to numerous individuals, companies and organizations throughout the country. His unparalleled wisdom and business sense are the result of real life experiences in the corporate, not-for-profit and government sectors.

Mack retired as Senior Vice President after 25 years with Weyerhaeuser Company, where he held several critical roles. Among his many positions, he was responsible for; Corporate Communications; Environment, Health and Safety; Government Affairs; Law; E-Business; Procurement and Supply Chain Management. He also served as Chair of the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation.

Mack has served on numerous national, state and local boards and commissions.

Chelsea Mason-Placek, Workforce Development Director, Washington State Labor Council. Former Legislative Director, for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE 2001, and has worked in the public policy and workforce development industry for over 17 years.  Prior she served many roles in the office of United States Congressman Adam Smith. Chelsea is a member of Governor Jay Inslee's Choose Washington NMA Executive Council, is the co-chair for the NMA's Workforce Development Workgroup, a member of the Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing Pipeline Advisory Committee, an Advisory Member for the Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing, and a National Labor Representative for the U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Information Advisory Council. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from George Washington University and a Master of Science degree in nonprofit management from Northeastern University.

As general manager for Microsoft Elevate (formerly Microsoft Philanthropies), Naria leads Microsoft’s global capacity-building solutions team, shaping education and workforce systems as they transition to the AI economy. Focused on expanding access to digital and AI skills, her team partners with governments, industry, educational institutions, and civil society worldwide so learners, educators, nonprofits, and workforce leaders can succeed in a rapidly changing world.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Naria served as executive director of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS), a unique public-private partnership helping to build the next generation of scientists, engineers, technology specialists, mathematicians, and health care professionals in Washington state through scholarships and support services for low- and middle-income college students. Under Naria’s leadership, WSOS raised over $100M in public-private support for scholarships and supports and to support 20,000+ students - the majority of whom are women, students of color and/or first in their families to go to college.

Naria has also served as executive director of the James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, a juvenile and education law and social work organization in Illinois and the director of LAW Fund and the Endowment for Equal Justice at the Legal Foundation of Washington.

Naria currently serves on (and was formerly the Co-Chair of) the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment steering committee within the Jobs Group. She also serves on the Board of Seattle Arts and Lectures, where she is the Chair of the Development, as well as the Board of Taproot Foundation, a national organization with the mission of driving social change by leading, mobilizing, and engaging professionals in pro bono service.

Naria is a graduate of the Law School and the College at the University of Chicago.

Jay Schmidt’s industry experience spans over 40 years in advanced manufacturing leadership positions, primarily in Aerospace, Defense and Medical electronics technology sectors. During his career, he has held positions of Executive Vice-President/General Manager, Vice President-Operations and Vice-President of Business Development for key advanced manufacturing firms in the Pacific Northwest.

He is an active leader in regional industry & education organizations, including:

• Southwest Washington High-Technology Council - Chair
• Advanced Manufacturing Advisory Committee, Clark College – Chair
• CareerConnect Southwest (Washington) – Governance Board
• Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition - Member
• Center of Excellence, Aerospace/Advanced Manufacturing – Advisory Board
• Center of Excellence, Semiconductor & Electronics Manufacturing – Advisory Board

Mr. Schmidt also served as an Adjunct Instructor of Leadership studies at Clackamas Community College (Oregon) for over nine years, as well as Washington State University-Vancouver for four years.

Mr. Schmidt holds Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degrees from Concordia University, as well as an Associate of Applied Science degree from Portland Community College (Oregon).

Mr. Schmidt resides in Southwest Washington and enjoys outdoor activities in the region, as well as classic rock music.

Jeff Wagnitz has served more than 40 years in Washington’s community and technical colleges, beginning with 12 years fulltime in the classroom. After gaining his first administrative experience at Grays Harbor College, he went on to hold progressive appointments between as an academic dean, vice president, and interim president at Highline College, the state’s most diverse campus. Among other statewide roles, he twice held the Instruction Commission presidency and was a regular presenter and mentor for the Washington Executive Leadership Academy (WELA). In 2016, he received the Award of Excellence in Leadership from the Washington Community and Technical College Leadership Development Association. Though retired since 2019, he continues to serve as chair of College Spark Washington and as an evaluator, team chair, and training facilitator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). He holds a doctorate in educational leadership from University of Washington Tacoma.

Emily Yim is the President & CEO of Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS), a collaboration of school districts across WA State, whose mission is to lead a partnership of school districts, industry, and community dedicated to ensuring students furthest from opportunity can pursue a future that embraces their strengths, passions, and dreams. Emily works with the Board of Directors, comprised of K12 Superintendents and Industry leaders to support equity in every school and opportunity for every student. 

She has served as a Board of Trustee at Edmonds College for 13 years overseeing two successful Presidential transitions. She also served as the Chair for the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) in Washington, D.C., providing leadership in governance and policy advocacy, which serves over 520 governing boards and 6,500 trustees. She served as the Chair of the ACCT Public Policy Committee and is the former Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander and Native American Caucus. She also served on the national board of The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in Washington, D.C, an advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges, representing more than 1,000 2-year, associate degree-granting institutions and nearly 12 million students.

Ms. Yim is a guest speaker and consultant for Community College Boards across the country and internationally. And also serves as faculty at The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) preparing future Community College Presidents. 

Ms. Yim was also the founding Director of the Department of Neighborhoods and Community Affairs for the City of Lynnwood; Vice President of Community and External Affairs at Chase, helping to oversee and invest a $29 million annual philanthropic budget; and is a current board of the Providence Regional Board. She completed her B.A. in International Studies and Political Science at the University of Washington. 

She likes to spend time with her husband and son who was a Running Start student at Edmonds College and currently attending the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.