Presenter Bios Cohort 5

Ruth Perez, Councilmember, City of Renton

Ruth Pérez was appointed in 2014 to the Renton City Council, becoming the first Latina and immigrant to ever serve in this body. In 2015, she was elected to complete the term and re-elected in 2017 and 2021. Councilmember Pérez holds a BA in Communications and a Master’s in Business Administration. 

In 2019, she was unanimously elected by her colleagues to serve as Renton Council President. During her tenure, she has chaired at least once on every council committee and, in 2021, she was elected to be the first female to serve as Chair of the Renton Regional Fire Authority Governance Board.  

Councilmember Ruth Pérez has an extensive background in public service and a very successful professional career, which began as a television reporter and later was the editor-in-chief and founder of three magazines. She also worked with former Governor Gary Locke and at the Consulate of Mexico in Seattle.

As a councilmember, Ruth focuses on the issues that truly impact Renton residents’ everyday lives and has worked to ensure a strong economy, expand access to affordable housing, tackle our city’s transportation and traffic issues, build inclusive policies, encourage innovation, and balance the municipal budget.

Ruth was voted “Renton’s Best Elected Official” in 2018 & 2019, received an Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities in 2019, and was honored as a “Woman of the Year” in 2016.

Councilmember Pérez stays busy educating herself and serving Renton.  During her tenure on the City Council, she has represented the people of Renton on many regional boards and committees, including the SCA Public Issues Committee, LEOFF Board, National League of Cities Transportation & Infrastructure Services Committee, Association of Washington Cities Federal Committee, Eastside Transportation Partnership, South County Area Transportation Board, Mayor’s Inclusion Task Force, and Renton Airport Advisory Committee.

Ruth and her husband, Al, live in the Snake Hill Neighborhood of Renton with their two dogs: Frida and Pablito. She is excited to give back to the community that has given so much to her.

Andrew (Drew) Gorgey, CEO and Founder, Columbia Ltd.

Andrew Gorgey is recognized as one of the country's premiere executive recruiters. Through Columbia ltd, which he founded in 2016. Mr. Gorgey serves local governments in the western United States through a values-based, mission-driven business model, summarized as "excellence in executive recruiting." With emphases on professionalism, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), and public service, Columbia's goal is to improve every local government and community it serves, one recruitment at a time.  For more, click here

Prins Cowin, Administrative Services Manager, Planning and Building Department, City of Kirkland

Prins has worked in the administrative profession for much of her career in the private and public sectors. She currently serves as the Administrative Services Manager in the Planning and Building Department for the City of Kirkland. She is a successful professional with experience in organizational management, budgeting, accounting, and people management. Prins assists in developing and implementing office policies and procedures, manages the public records requests and records management subdivision, and customer experience and administration of the department programs and practices. She sits on various committees to assist in implementing change to assist community members to participate in public engagement and to obtain city services.

As a graduate of the Northwest Women’s Leadership Academy, she serves on the Communications and Networking Team. Prins has a passion for mentoring women in local government. She also enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the area’s many hiking and backpacking trails. 

Julie Underwood, Deputy City Manager of Operations, City of Kirkland

Julie Underwood is the Deputy City Manager of Operations and functions as the chief operating officer. Julie has 25 years of local government management experience, serving previously as City Manager for the City of Mercer Island, Assistant City Manager of Daly City, California, City Manager and Assistant City Manager for the City of Shoreline, and Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Rockville, Maryland. Prior to becoming Deputy City Manager for the City of Kirkland, Julie served Kirkland as Director of Public Works.  Julie holds a Master of Public Administration Degree from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and Politics from George Mason University.

Julie has had the privilege of being the first woman and person of color to serve in her two City Manager roles.

Susie Kroll, Law Enforcement Co-Response Program Manager & Mental Health Professional
King County Sheriff’s Office

Susie Kroll is a Co-Responding Mental Health Professional for the King County Sheriff's Office and a member of their Crisis & Hostage Negotiation Team. She has been co-responding with law enforcement since 2016 and has started Co-Response Programs in seven departments in King and Snohomish Counties. She consults nationally on co-response program development, safety, and de-escalation tactics, and instructs at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (Police Academy).

Manisha Paudel

Chief Equity Officer, City of Des Moines, Iowa

Manisha Paudel joined the City of Des Moines, Iowa, as its first Equity Coordinator in late 2017 and was appointed as its first Chief Equity Officer in 2020. She has over 12 years of global experience in human rights, cultural competency, local government, institutionalizing racial equity, and community engagement. She also serves as a Co-chair of Government Alliance on Race and Equity network. Prior to her role in Des Moines, she served the City of Tacoma (WA) as Senior Policy Analyst, City of Dubuque (IA) as Human Relations Specialist, and City of Davenport (IA) as Management and Accreditation Analyst. Manisha is a native of Nepal and

received her B.A. in International Relations from Drake University and her M.S. in Public Service Management from DePaul University.

Jennifer Ferrer-Santa Ines, City of Marysville

Jennifer Ferrer-Santa Ines has served various local governments, including the cities of Burien, Tukwila, Normandy Park, and Yakima.  She is currently the Finance Director for the City of Marysville.  Ferrer-Santa Ines earned a master’s degree in Accounting/Finance from City University and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Central Washington University. Ferrer-Santa Ines is the past president of the Puget Sound Finance Officers Association and a member of the Local Government Investment Pool Advisory Board. She earned an International City/County Management Association certificate in 2020 and is a 2021 graduate of the Northwest Women’s Leadership Academy.  For fun, she enjoys hiking, finding amazing eateries to try and spending time with family and friends.

Kari Roller, City of Renton

Kari Roller is the Finance Administrator at the City of Renton. She has been with the city since 2010, progressing from a Senior Finance Analyst up to the Fiscal Services Director position until her appointment to Administrator in 2021. Kari leads the Finance Department with a commitment to transparency, education, and collaboration. She has been a leader of substantial process improvements within the City of Renton and spearheaded the implementation of the city’s B&O tax program. She was also part of the development group that brought the Family First Center to Renton.

Kari has 30 years of accounting experience, previously holding Accounting Manager and Auditor positions. Before her work with the city, Kari worked as an accountant at a CPA firm in Auburn, WA where she later became a partner. Kari is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of Seattle University.

WENDY FRASER, Ph.D.

Dr. Wendy Fraser believes in and mentors the collective wisdom in an organization by engaging the talents and hearts of people. Through leadership and organization development, she fosters and builds capacity through strengthening human relationships and systems so that groups and organizations thrive. She brings fresh approaches to her work with a flare of humor and can yield results. 

For over fifteen years, Wendy has actively researched trust behaviors and trust repair in groups. She authored Trust Repair: It IS Possible!, and is a speaker, coach, and consultant who helps groups and organizations thrive, strengthen relationships, improve productivity, and repair trust. She has over twenty-five years of experience in organization development working with public, private, education, nonprofit, and tribal clients throughout North America, the Caribbean, and China.

She received the State of Washington Governor’s Distinguished Managers Award – Sustaining Leader.  And, she was honored with an international humanitarian award for her work with developing leadership strengths in youth around the world.

With over twenty-five years’ experience in the field of performance management, Wendy teaches, mentors, and certifies professionals in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt through the University of Washington-Tacoma and is part of the MBA faculty at Saint Martin’s University.

Wendy holds a doctorate and three master’s degrees. Wendy lives in Olympia, Washington with her family and is a volunteer in public schools and community service organizations.

Nancy Campbell is a management and leadership expert who helps people discover and develop their leadership strengths.

Nancy prepares leaders and teams who want better performing, healthier organizations to:

• Assess their individual and collective capacity to manage and lead

• Increase their self-awareness and self-management,

• Lead high-impact change,

• Align organizational practice with mission, and

• Plan for succession and transition

Nancy trains executives in the skills needed to lead an organization in the twenty-first century. She helps today’s decision-makers understand:

• Ways to improve team and organizational productivity,

• What must be done to create and maintain a healthy, mission-driven organization, and

• How to lead through transition and change.