Board of Directors
Don Crook—Board President
Don grew up in Eastern Washington where he acquired a life long interest in the outdoor world through family hiking and camping vacations in Glacier National Park, skiing in Canada, and summers working with Boy Scouts teaching aquatics (swimming, canoeing, lifesaving, etc.). He earned undergraduate degrees in BioOceanography and Zoology from the University of Washington. Don enlisted in the Army, received an OCS commission, and traveled in Europe and Asia. After returning to the civilian world and the UW Business School, he went on to a career in manufacturing operations that took him around the U.S. and eventually back to Europe for five years of pure bliss living in Vienna, working and traveling throughout western and eastern Europe. Along the way, Don got into the sport of white water kayaking in the Midwest and sea kayaking on Lake Michigan. In Europe he kayaked portions of the Donau (Danube) in Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and Romania/Bulgaria, also the Mediterranean along the Croatian coast. Then back to family and retirement in Seattle, joining many others in working with WWTA to develop the best National Scenic/Recreational Water Trail in the world. Don still loves to hike, bike, and ski but kayaking can't be beat.
William (Bill) Brackin—Board Vice President
Bill is a lifetime water sports enthusiast, long distance paddler, adventurer, and outdoorsman. He is currently Program Director with Volunteers of America North Sound 2-1-1, and a Telephone Systems Manager. He formerly worked as a Computer Systems Manager. In an earlier incarnation Bill was Owner and Manager of a Sporting Goods Store that sold canoes, kayaks, backpacking, cross country skiing, and climbing equipment. He has taught whitewater kayaking, winter survival, cross-country skiing, and backpacking skills, and is a mountain and whitewater guide.
Tom Starr—Board Secretary
Tom is a mechanical engineer with post-graduate training in prosthetics and orthotics from Northeastern University and UCLA. Tom once worked as a research bio-medical engineer developing artificial limb technology for the Veterans Administration, but for decades now he has increasingly specialized in software, and presently works as an Oracle database architect for the Cobalt Group in Seattle. Tom likes to build and fix things and successfully accomplished a seismic retrofit of his home in 2009. Mostly, Tom loves to kayak, bicycle, hike and swim!
Phil Philbin—Board Treasurer
Phil was born in Toledo, Ohio, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ohio State University, moved to Seattle, and became a CPA in Washington State in 1979. Phil’s career has spanned work in public accounting systems consulting to CFO/Controllership positions prior to becoming self-employed in 2001 with Interlake Consulting, Inc. Phil has worked with several non-profit organizations in his career. He has been sea kayaking for almost two decades, and is connected to three online kayaking networks. Phil is married (Betsy) with a 27-year-old son (Andrew), both rock climbers.
Gus Bekker—Board Member
Gus graduated from the University of Idaho with two degrees: a B.S. in Forest Management and a B.S. in Wildlife Management. Gus has worked in the natural resources field for over 25 years as a Biologist and Forester. He has served in the Peace Corps in Ecuador, South America, as an Extension Forester from 1992-1994. Gus speaks, reads and writes fluent Spanish. Gus is an avid seakayaker, canoeist, and whitewater kayaker and he works part-time as a whitewater river guide in the summer months. He has served on two regional advisory committees with the Forest Service and BLM, and lived in Seattle for fifteen years prior to moving to Wenatchee six years ago.
Bruce Farrar—Board Member
Bruce has been a member of WWTA for fifteen years, has served as Board President in the past, and is now a returning board member. Throughout the years he has volunteered for many varied WWTA projects, and most recently is a Cascadia Marine Trail Site Steward. Native to Washington State, Bruce began sea kayaking in 1988 after building a fiberglass kayak with his son. He lives in Lynnwood with his wife Karen and enjoys frequent visits from their five adult children.
Ann Rieser—Board Member
Ann has been active in the Washington kayaking community since 1995. A board member since October 2008, Ann co-chaired the WWTA fundraising auction in the spring of 2009. With many contacts in the kayak community, she loves to lead overnight trips in the San Juans, Canada, and other attractive paddling destinations. Last year she led multi-day trips to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and then down to Costa Rica. Ann is currently involved with the WWTA Membership and Advocacy Committee.
Laurie Staley—Board Member
Laurie has been a WWTA board member since November 2008. She currently resides on Mercer Island, Washington. She is married with two grown daughters and one grandchild. She works as a Contract Carpet Sales Representative for Shaw Industries. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Laurie enjoys kayaking, bicycling, hiking, down hill skiing, and gardening. She also LOVES to cook! In 1984 she rode a tandem bike across America in two months, and in 1996 Laurie completed the Ridge of the Rockies bicycling event in 19 days, from El Paso, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta!
Rachel Van Noord—Board Member
Rachel recently completed her term as WWTA Vice President, and is currently in her second term on the WWTA Board of Directors. In her 9-5 life, Rachel manages the Partner Services team for WebJunction, a grant-funded project that supports libraries in offering public access computing to patrons. Rachel holds a Masters of Library and Information Science and her undergraduate degree is in Biology. Rachel can be found on the water around Seattle in any number of hand-powered vessels, from canoe to kayak to hobie cat to paddle board.