With the 2022-23 school year in full swing, EarthLab is excited to share that we have four new members who have joined the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council is a body of volunteers from diverse professions and backgrounds that provides unique perspectives to help inform our programming, introduce new potential collaborators, and raise awareness and financial support for EarthLab. The Council works to connect decision makers outside of academia to UW resources.
Welcome, Trish, Kate, Chukundi and Bob! We can’t wait to start collaborating together in this next chapter of advisory support. Learn more about our four new Advisory Council members below. To learn more about other present and past Advisory Council members, please visit our Advisory Council page.
Trish Millines Dziko
Technology Access Foundation
Trish Millines Dziko cofounded Technology Access Foundation (TAF) in 1996 after spending 17 years in the tech industry. Through Trish’s leadership, TAF transitioned from out of school programs to become a statewide leader in public education, operating TAF Academy (a 6th to 12th grade award-winning public school, co-managed with the Federal Way Public School District), partnering with public schools to transform them to promote the highest level of student learning, and increasing the number of teachers of color through the Martinez Fellowship.
Trish is a committed, proactive leader serving on boards of organizations that focus on children and education.
Kate Janeway, JD, MPA
Executive Coach
Kate Janeway has been working on environmental issues for more than 50 years, starting with the oil spill that fouled 40 miles of beach in her hometown, Santa Barbara California, when she was 15 years old. Her work since that time has been defined by her quest for the most effective skill sets to address the existential challenges we face. Consequently, Kate has a law degree, a Master’s in Public Administration focused on Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management and is a certified Executive Coach. The skills and insights from these combined disciplines inform her work with organizations and systems seeking change.
The through-line in Kate’s career has been the thirty years of work with The Nature Conservancy where she began as Assistant Director of the Washington/Alaska Field Office. Since then, she has served as a volunteer on TNC state boards in Ohio, Alaska and, currently, Washington.
Kate also serves on the Advisory Board of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment which is now deeply engaged in launching the new Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University.
Kate holds a B.A. in American Studies and Humanities from Stanford University, a J.D. from Georgetown Law Center, and an M.P.A. in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from the University of Washington. She is a certified Hudson Institute Coach.
Chukundi Salisbury
City of Seattle
A self-described “Parks Kid”, Chukundi grew up in the Central Area and participated in several programs at Miller Community Center and other organizations. He has a lifelong commitment to service as a volunteer, board member, employee, manager, small business owner, and participant.
Salisbury is a 25-year employee of the City of Seattle, where he works as a Manager for Parks and Recreation and serves as the founding director of the Youth Green Corps. He has served as the Trails Coordinator, Urban Food Systems Manager, Director of Camp Long, as well as a Recreation Center Coordinator at Garfield Community Center.
Outside of work, he is the founder of Service is a Lifestyle, a 501©3 Non-Profit that has launched several community initiatives such as 100 Black Parents, URBVOTE (the Urban Vote Initiative), and the “This House is Not For Sale Campaign”. In 2021 he launched the “Health is the Real Bag” campaign to focus on wellness after losing over 70lbs and reversing his Type II Diabetes.
As a community volunteer he has served in many roles and boards, including Real Change Newspaper, YMCA Camping Services, Mothers For Police Accountability, Southeast Youth and Family Services, The African American Advisory to the Seattle Police Department, and the Central District Community Preservation & Development Authority (CDCPDA). He currently serves as the President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Epsilon Epsilon Sigma Chapter in Seattle.
As an entrepreneur, he is the founder of SEASPOT Media Group, which is a marketing and publishing house. He is the Publisher of the Adventures of Lil Big Fella Comic Book and has owned small businesses.
Salisbury is also a nationally known Disc Jockey who has performed locally and internationally at venues large and small.
Bob Whitener
The Whitener Group
As owner and managing partner of The Whitener Group, Bob Whitener has over 40 years of experience working with tribal governments and enterprises within Indian County.
Bob has extensive experience in the areas of natural resources management, finance administration, human resources systems, tribal-state compact negotiations, policy development, and federal negotiations. Bob served as the Natural Resources Director for the Squaxin Island Tribe, The Director of Finance and Administration for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Executive Director of the Squaxin Island Tribe and CEO of Island Enterprises Incorporated. IEI is the economic development corporation for the Squaxin Island Tribe. Bob also served for many years on the Pacific Salmon Treaty, rotating in and out of the Chair of the Southern Panel.
After retiring from tribal service, Bob and his brother Ron, later joined by his Daughter Jennifer Whitener Ulrich, formed The Whitener Group LLC. TWG is dedicated to working in Indian Country and over the past ten years has worked with around 100 different tribes and Native Villages. TWG also works with many, usually non-profits, who want to work with or have good relations with tribes. These include the Pew Charitable Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Mountains to the Sound Greenway, Seattle YMCA, and Forterra.
TWG also works on emerging issues from climate change to carbon removal for these NGOs and/or as a supportive contributor to on-going processes.
EarthLab would like to thank Troy Alstead, Eric Artz, Jamie Bechtel & Chris Stolte for their years of service as inaugural Advisory Council members. We are grateful for the time, leadership and guidance that they provided within the council, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in other capacities as they transition into alumni roles going forward.
