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Mission

The Board of Trustees of Eastern Washington University will assure students, their families and the citizens of the state of Washington that the university will provide high quality, student-centered educational and service programs. Promoting excellence, the Board will further assure that the university is accountable, both academically and financially. The board will serve as an advocate for the university, as a steward of the public trust, and as a participant in charting the future course of Washington post-secondary education.

Meet the Board Members

Kim Pearman-GillmanMichael FinleyVicki Wilson Uriel Iñiguez James Murphy

Jay J. ManningRobert WhaleyAuriana Mitchell

Kim Pearman-Gillman, Chair of the Board

Original Appointment: Feb. 21, 2018
Term Expires: Sept. 30, 2023
Hometown: Spokane, WA

Kim Pearman-Gillman is the Senior Vice President of Community and Corporate Relations for Numerica Credit Union. She brings 35 years of senior leadership experience to bear spanning the private, public, and non-profit sectors with extensive strategic expertise in business development, economic development and community relations, project management, marketing, and communications. This diverse business background has included such prominent leadership positions as: Partner & Business Development Executive for McKinstry; Executive VP of Marketing for Itron; Sr. Vice President of Avista Development and Economic Development Advisor for the City of Spokane.

Pearman-Gillman, who graduated from the University of Houston after also attending Rutgers University, has made Spokane her home with her spouse, raising their three daughters here since 1989. She also serves on the Empire Health Foundation Board. Over the past thirty years she has worked alongside three EWU university presidents as well as many faculty members, administrators and students.

“I have seen firsthand the quality, talent and passion of each of these groups and am honored to serve and be a part of EWU’s future,” said Pearman-Gillman.
Pearman-Gillman has gained the reputation as a well-known “connector” and “go to” collaborator in the Spokane area, playing a critical role in several major community and economic development projects, including having spearheaded Spokane’s University District’s formation and development.

“It was a great honor to be chosen to serve on Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustees,” said Pearman-Gillman. “I’m excited to serve because I believe in EWU and in the importance of its mission as a public university dedicated to top-notch education for all. In particular, I am a deeply committed supporter of the university’s focus on first-generation students and the advancements being made in STEM education.”

Michael Finley, Vice Chair of the Board

Michael FinleyOriginal Appointment: Nov. 30, 2015
Term Expires: Sept. 30, 2027
Hometown: Inchelium, WA
Profession: Management

Michael Finley earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Eastern Washington University and is proud to return to serve his alma mater.

Born and raised in Inchelium, Washington, Finley is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and is a two-time chair of the Colville Business Council.  He also served as first vice president to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). He earned his BA in American Indian studies and history (2003) and an MA in history (2005) from Eastern Washington University and has received numerous awards for his academic and professional achievements.

“I am truly honored being bestowed such a distinguished position,” said Finley. “It is a responsibility I accept with humility, and I pledge to foster success with the university and the entire student body, in every discipline, and at every corner of the institution. This represents an opportunity to give back to the university that helped me realize my own potential, which in turn led to my prosperity.”

Finley received the Cecil Dryden Alumni Award from EWU’s Department of History in 2011, which is given to a distinguished graduate in that field each year. He has co-authored a book on Native American history and continues to serve on national tribal councils.

In 2014-15, Finley launched several businesses, ranging from entertainment to convenience stores. His primary business, Feathered Arrow, LLC, is a consulting business that primarily serves Indian tribes in national policy issues and realizing economic development opportunities.

In recent months, Finley was recruited by leading gaming innovators to develop a new company, NEX7 that will, over time, drastically transform the gaming experience on tribal gaming properties and eventually the entire gaming industry worldwide. NEX7 will provide tribes with much-needed control with the future of this new technology, in hopes of placing tribes on the path to self-determination. Finley continues to serve on boards through Indian Country and someday plans to return to politics.

Vicki Wilson, Trustee

Original Appointment: Oct. 16, 2012
Term Expires: Sept. 30, 2024
Hometown: Richland, WA
Profession: Management
Other Assignment: Audit Committee

Vicki Wilson is a software engineering services manager in the Information Management organization for Mission Support Alliance in Richland, Washington. She earned her BA in business administration from Eastern in 1981.

Wilson serves as a foundation board member of Columbia Basin College (CBC) in Pasco, Washington, and also serves on the advisory council for CBC’s Information Technology Department and is a Class V Leadership Tri-Cities graduate.

“I am very honored to be appointed to the board of trustees for Eastern Washington University,” said Wilson. “EWU’s president, faculty, staff and board of trustees have truly made Eastern an outstanding place to receive your college education. EWU was a very important part of my early adult years and has played a significant role in who am I today. I’m excited and look forward in helping to continue the great tradition of EWU.”

Uriel Iñiguez, Trustee

Original Appointment: Jan. 1, 2014
Term Expires: Sept. 30, 2025
Hometown: Olympia, WA
Profession: Administrative Management
Other Assignment: Audit Committee

Uriel Iñiguez holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on human resources from Eastern Washington University, and he has a master’s degree in public administration from City University. Iñiguez is a first-generation immigrant from Michoacán, Mexico. He is the oldest of 11 children, six of his siblings and his two sons have graduated from Eastern Washington University. Gabe graduated in 2014 with a BA in business administration, and Uriel’s youngest son, Max, graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in computer science.

Appointed by Gov. Inslee to the EWU Board of Trustees in 2014, Iñiguez is the director of community relations at the Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries. He also served as the director of the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs from 2005-2016. Prior to his appointment as executive director, he worked for the Department of Corrections, where he held various management positions.

In October 2013, four of the Iñiguez alumni from Eastern Washington University began the Iñiguez Family Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship will help first-generation Latino students complete their college degrees.

Trustee Iñiguez looks forward to working with the other trustees and the president to ensure EWU continues to fulfill its mission of expanding opportunities for personal transformation through excellence in learning and in making EWU one of the leading educational institutions.

James Murphy, Trustee

Original Appointment: Oct. 16, 2012
Term Expires: Sept. 30, 2024
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Profession: Law
Other Assignments: Investment Advisory Committee and EWU Foundation Board

Judge James Murphy earned his BA in political science from Eastern before going on to law school, earning a JD from Gonzaga University in 1973.

Murphy served on the bench for 26 years in Spokane County, retiring as a superior court judge in 2003. He currently serves on the International Court of Arbitration for Sport. Murphy is an avid skier, hiker and camper. He is also extensively involved in USA Track and Field and is a certified official who has officiated the Goodwill Games, the U.S. Olympic Trials and the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a long-time member of the Spokane Sports Commission and the Lands Council.

“As a graduate, I have watched an amazing transformation occur at the university since my days as a student,” Murphy said. “I know this growth was largely made possible by the leadership of an active board of trustees and dedicated leadership provided by staff and the Office of the President. I am proud to be part of such a creative group of people and such a dynamic process.”

Jay J. Manning, Trustee

Original Appointment: Nov. 25, 2015
Term Expires: Sept. 30, 2027
Hometown: Olympia, WA
Profession: Law
Other Assignments: Medals and Awards Committee and Investment Advisory Committee

Jay J. Manning rejoined Cascadia Law Group in 2011 after more than six years as director of the Washington Department of Ecology and Gov. Gregoire’s chief of staff. His practice focuses on environmental and energy matters, providing consulting, legislative and legal assistance.

As chief of staff from 2009-2011, Manning worked closely with the governor and her cabinet and senior staff to address budgetary and public policy challenges facing state government.  As director of ecology from 2005-2009, he focused on managing the state’s water resources, including creation of the Office of Columbia River, guiding the effort to bring the Puget Sound back to good health by 2020, including the creation of the Puget Sound Partnership and addressing climate change and the daunting threat it poses to Washington’s economy and environment.

Manning co-chaired the Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification in 2012, which led to an executive order directing the state’s implementation of the panel’s recommendations for a coordinated, regional response. Manning is board chair for Washington Environmental Council, vice chair of the Puget Sound Partnership’s Leadership Council, a member of the Board of the Ruckelshaus Center, a member of the University of Washington’s College of the Environment Board and—most importantly—a proud Eastern Washington University alum.

Manning has three grown children and two lovely and brilliant grandchildren. He enjoys riding his bicycle, traveling, reading, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Robert H. Whaley, Trustee

Robert WhaleyOriginal Appointment: Oct. 10, 2011
Term Expires:  Sept. 30, 2023
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Profession: Judge
Other Assignment: Early Head Start Board

Judge Whaley currently serves as a Senior United States District Judge in the Eastern District of Washington. He was nominated by President Clinton on May 24, 1995, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 1995, and appointed by the President on June 30, 1995. Judge Whaley served as chief judge from Aug. 1, 2005 to July 12, 2009.

Prior to his federal judicial appointment, Judge Whaley served as a Superior Court Judge in Spokane County from 1992-1995.  Early in his legal career, Judge Whaley was a trial attorney with the Department of Justice in the Land and Natural Resources Division. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Washington for two years in the early 1970s and was in private practice for 20 years before being appointed to the Superior Court bench.

Judge Whaley went to undergraduate school at Princeton University and earned his AB in 1965. He graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1968, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Auriana Mitchell, Trustee

Original Appointment: July 1, 2021
Term Expires: June 30, 2022
Hometown: Cheney, WA
Profession: Student

Auriana Mitchell was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee as the 23rd EWU Student Trustee, at the age of 18, in July of 2021. Auriana brings experience from not only her three years at EWU, but additionally, as a third generation EWU student and local to the Cheney area, with an understanding of the community and EWU as a whole.

Auriana started attending Eastern Washington University at the age of 16 through Running Start. She has senior standing and is working toward her Bachelor of Science in Data Analytics, with minors in Mathematics and Spanish (completed in 2020). She has worked in the EWU Developmental Math Lab since 2019 and is still extremely passionate about helping others in math, a subject she greatly struggled with in high school. In the 2020-2021 school year she worked for the Eastern Washington University College Assistance Migrant Program (EWU CAMP) as a mentor/tutor. Her junior (standing) year she was the Vice-President of the S&A Fee committee where she helped designate over $4 million in funds through 19 programs.

Personally, she has her own photography business where she provides seniors and families with beautiful portraits. She is also an avid performer of the National Anthem, performing at many events including The Spokane Interstate Fair, multiple Spokane Indians Baseball games, and the 2017 WIAA Football State Championship in the Tacoma Dome. In the summer, you can find her wake surfing with her family, where she will one day perfect her 360. Legend has it, in the winter, she can be found holed up in her room, behind a pile of statistics and math books with “Friends” playing on repeat.

“I am truly honored to represent my fellow students on the Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees. If you had told me my sophomore year in high school, before I started Running Start, that I would soon be not only on this Board, but tutoring math, I could have laughed you out of any room. I truly became who I am because of EWU. Because of the professors who convinced me I could make it through calculus when I was in math 104, or the faculty who pushed me to ask the hard questions and dig deeper on the S&A Fee committee. EWU is my home, my family, and my community. I look forward to representing the EWU community through thick and thin, and hope I make you all proud. Go Eags!”

Auriana hopes to be accessible to the entire community and encourages you to email her at trustee.amitchell@ewu.edu and to say hi when you see her on campus. She is passionate about answering questions, and hearing concerns not only among her fellow students but everyone in the EWU family. Additionally, she promises she does not bite, and that she is just another student like all her peers.