June 7, 2022

Department of Commerce

Washington state Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown named 21 members to the state's new Manufacturing Council. The council will advise and consult with the department and its agency partners, including the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the state Board of Community and Technical Colleges, on the state of manufacturing and research and development.

The Manufacturing Council members are: Amit Arora, Jubilant HollisterStier; Allison Budvarson, Out of the Box Manufacturing; Susan Champlain, Boeing; Ted Cummings, United Steelworkers Local 338; Maud Daudon, Career Connect Washington; Jon Holden, International Association of Machinists 751; Kris Johnson, Association of Washington Business; Junus Khan, Carbitex; Jessica Koski, BlueGreen Alliance; Todd Mitchell, Heat and Frost Insulators Local 7; Greg Pallesen, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers; Shana Peschek, Machinists Institute; Gaylan Prescott, United Steel Workers, District 12; Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Jessica Stiefel, Heritage Distilling Co.; Phil Stephenson, Paccar; Russ Vaagen, Vaagen Timbers; Dave Whitehead, Schweitzer Labs; Brenda Wiest, Teamsters Local 117; Deloit Wolfe, Impact Washington; and Jan Yoshiwara, state Board of Community and Technical Colleges.

The Building Economic Strength Through Manufacturing (BEST) Act, passed by the 2021 state Legislature, provides a framework for the state to add 300,000 new manufacturing jobs over the next 10 years. The BEST Act also seeks to double the number of small manufacturing firms and the number of manufacturing firms owned by women and minorities.

Carolyn Busch, workforce innovation sector lead, and Sarah Lee, manufacturing sector lead, will staff the new Manufacturing Council. The first meeting of the council will take place this month.