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Fort Vancouver Regional Library District
Board of Trustees
The Library Board is composed of seven positions representing the Fort
Vancouver Regional Library District. Since they are not compensated for
their time, Board members are essentially volunteers. They are appointed
by a joint resolution of the commissioners of Clark, Skamania and Klickitat
Counties, generally for 7-year terms. The three counties have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding
(it includes an amendment), to specify details about Board members' appointments. Clark County has a resolution that describes their appointing procedures.
Board Meeting Schedule | Meeting Agenda | Minutes | Bylaws
Email the Board at trustees@fvrl.org
Board officers for 2012:
-Brian Carrico, Chair
-Bonnie Reynolds, Vice-Chair
-Jane Higgins, Secretary
Board members and their representative areas:
Meet our Board and Executive Director:
Rebecca Blaisdell
Rebecca Blaisdell's position represents Clark County and continues through December 31, 2017.
Rebecca grew up in a military family, which meant never living in one place long enough to form lasting community connections. In 1999, Rebecca moved to Vancouver with her husband and two children from Georgia, seeking a true “hometown” experience. She and her family have found a warm welcome here, which has inspired her to give back to the community through support for the library and other good causes.
Rebecca is Vice President at The Management Group, headquartered in Vancouver. She has served as Vice-Chair of the Fair and Affordable Housing Committee for the Clark County Association of Realtors and is a graduate of Leadership Clark County's class of 2007. Rebecca has volunteered with the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and co-chaired the Chamber's ambassador program. She also is a past member of the FVRL Foundation Board.
A strong library advocate, Rebecca notes, “Libraries are essential for the development of lifelong readers and learners. I feel very strongly about the importance of public libraries, especially for the impact libraries can have on our children's future.”
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Todd Yuzuriha
The City of Vancouver makes recommendations for appointments to two library board positions (positions 2 and 5). Todd Yuzuriha was appointed to one of these positions and his term runs through December 31, 2018.
Todd and his wife Elaine have three children. His oldest child attends University of California at Berkeley's School of Optometry, his second oldest attends Stanford University and his youngest is an eighth grader. Todd grew up in Portland and has been a Southwest Washington resident since 1991.
Todd retired in 2006 as vice president of engineering for Logitech, where he led product development of the company's audio and video game products. Prior to Logitech, he was senior vice president of engineering for Labtec in Vancouver, director and senior director at Sharp Microelectronics in Camas, and engineer and engineering manager at Tektronix. Todd is the author of How to Succeed as an Engineer: A Practical Guide to Enhance Your Career.
Todd has a bachelor's degree in engineering from Stanford, a master's degree in engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and an M.B.A. from the University of Portland.
He is currently Vice President of the school board for Evergreen Public Schools, having been appointed in 2008, elected in 2009, and re-elected in 2011. He plays trumpet for the Minidoka Swing Band and the Vancouver Brass Ensemble.
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Bill Yee
Bill Yee's position represents Skamania County. Bill was reappointed for a second term that runs from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2020.
Born and raised in Portland, Bill has a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University and an MBA from Portland State University. He is also a veteran, having served four years in the U.S. Air Force on active duty. For 25 years, Bill worked as general manager for Skamania County Public Utilities District. Before that he was chief engineer for Richland City Light.
A frequent library user and avid supporter, Bill is a member of Friends of Stevenson Community Library and also participated on our citizen Strategic Planning Committee in 2004-2005.
Bill's hobbies include collecting antique clocks (specifically those with wooden movements) and ancient coins. His favorite reading material is science fiction.
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Jane Higgins
Jane Higgins' position represents Clark County and runs from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2015.
Jane was born in Kansas and raised in Eastern Oregon where she developed her love of books and libraries. In fourth grade she lost the library book, The Secret Sloth. “I felt like I had committed a mortal sin,” Jane remembers. “Library books were that important.”
As an adult, Jane has lived in several states, following her husband Don's career transfers. Her interests and activities focused on the education of her two children, civic and neighborhood activities, and life-long learning.
Jane is a graduate of the University of North Carolina - Charlotte and taught school in Charlotte, eventually working as a middle school instructional facilitator and coordinator for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program. Part of her work included evaluating schools in North America that were applying to implement the program, and schools whose certification was up for renewal. She coached academic teams and twice took her team to the final four in National Academic League competition. Helping students achieve challenging goals was the most gratifying part of her teaching career.
Jane and Don retired to Battle Ground in January 2000 (a new home in the new millennium). Jane's affiliations have included Phi Kappa Phi, the International Reading Association, the National Middle School Association, and the Friends of Battle Ground Community Library. Jane has served as chairperson of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library Foundation and president of the Friends of Battle Ground Community Library. She and her husband, Don, have been co-chairs of the campaign for a bigger and better library for middle and north Clark County.
“I believe that an easily accessed community library must be available to all of our citizens. Libraries were important in ancient civilizations, they have remained important throughout time, and they are even more important today,” Jane says.
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Brian Carrico
Brian Carrico represents Clark County and his term continues through December 31, 2016.
Brian was born in Washington State and has a degree in Geography from Central Washington University. He works as a land use and environmental consultant for a firm in Vancouver providing natural resources consulting for both public and private clients through out the state. He also has experience as a land use planner for Clark County, Yakima County and the City of Cle Elum and worked as the Community Development Director for the City of Battle Ground. Brian notes, “I have a broad understanding of issues that local governments face, and have spent most of my career listening to people as they navigate these issues.”
Libraries are important to Brian's family -- his two young children make regular use of the FVRL system. “The library was an important part of my childhood and books are an important part of my life,” says Brian. “I feel that libraries are vital to our communities as places where all citizens can have access to information.”
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Bonnie Reynolds
Bonnie Reynolds represents Klickitat County and her term continues through December 31, 2013.
Bonnie earned a bachelors degree in sociology and psychology from Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa. She studied school psychology at Millersville State University and graduated from Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Professional Studies in 1985. After graduating, Bonnie was a family therapist for the Oregon Children's Services Division, then a mental health professional for Mid Columbia Center for Living in Hood River. From 1997 to 2001, she worked in private practice as a mental health counselor. She is currently a domestic relations mediator under contract with the State of Oregon.
Bonnie has served on the board of directors for the Trout Lake School and the Columbia Arts Gallery. She was on the founding board of directors for the Trout Lake Arts Council and served on the Council for 10 years. She has served on various other education and service committees. Currently, Bonnie is involved in developing forums on the topic of peaceful resolution of conflict for the Trout Lake Presbyterian Church.
In her free time, Bonnie enjoys art in all forms but in particular literature, cinema, music and fine art. “The nurture of creative and intellectual people from all walks of life is essential to the maintenance and development of a viable culture,” Bonnie said, noting that, “the public library is the most democratic institution I can think of in the service of that goal in that it is free to anyone who chooses to use it.”
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Chris O'Malley
Chris O'Malley was appointed to the Library Board to fill a term that had not yet expired. His term will continue through December 31, 2014.
Chris was born and raised in Southern California and attended Arizona State University in Tempe, where he did his undergraduate work in chemistry. While attending ASU, Chris began working for Bank of America, spending 10 years with the bank and advancing his career by taking assignments in Arizona, California and New Mexico.
Through his many assignments and travels, Chris knew that he would someday call the Pacific Northwest his home. In February 2009, he accepted the position of Senior Vice President of Retail Delivery at iQ Credit Union, where he leads retail branch banking, branch operations, the IS and T department, payment systems and the member service call center.
Chris has a passion for civic responsibility and has immersed himself in the Vancouver and Clark County communities. He currently serves as Board Treasurer for Justice for Children, a citizen's coalition that supports the Arthur D. Curtis Children's Justice Center of Clark County, and is actively involved as a member of the general advisory committee for Evergreen Public Schools.
“Libraries are as fundamentally important to society and communities as they were when I was a child, a teenager and a young adult -- they will continue to be a place of learning, a home away from home and safe place to gather,” Chris said. “Libraries are our past, our present and our future. I am honored to serve as a Trustee.”
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Nancy Tessman
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Nancy had her first look at the Pacific Northwest when she attended the University of Portland in the 1970s. She returned to her birth state to complete a degree in mass communications at the University of Utah, then joined the Salt Lake City Public library in 1976.
During her 33-year career at “The City Library,” Nancy rose through the ranks in a variety of positions, becoming director in 1996. Her most visible accomplishments as director include earning the title of 2003 Librarian of the Year from the Utah Library Association, and leading SPCPL to be honored as Library of the Year in 2006 by Library Journal.
Nancy's 2007 retirement from SLCPL allowed her to fulfill her yen for travel and learning in other places and cultures. She and her husband Charlie spent much of the next six years traveling and finding out what it's like to live in places through the US, Canada and Europe.
Nancy's return to the Pacific Northwest can be partially attributed to having family in Portland and Seattle, and to the quality of life she and Charlie have found in this area. The rest of the story revolves around her desire to have a hand in shaping the future of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. She says: “Libraries remain key to our commitment as a society to ensure equal access to ideas and information for all. The means and forms by which we do that may shift and evolve, but the fundamental values and principles remain rock solid. We have much to be proud of all we've accomplished at FVRL, and much to accomplish as we build excellence in responding to future needs.”
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Updated 08/09/12
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