Director Biographies

William V. Humphreys, Chairman
Current term expires: 2016

William V. Humphreys is president, chief executive officer, and director of Citizens Bancorp in Corvallis, Oregon. He has served on the Seattle Bank’s Board of Directors since 2006 and as the board’s chairman since 2010. Mr. Humphreys has more than 36 years of banking experience, including 23 years as chief executive officer of a community bank. He is chair of the American Bankers Association Federal Home Loan Bank Committee and has served as a director of the Oregon Bankers Association and chairman of the State of Oregon Banking Board.

Mr. Humphreys has a bachelor’s degree from Western Oregon University and graduated with honors from the School for Bank Administration at the University of Wisconsin.

Craig E. Dahl, Vice Chair
Current term expires: 2013

Craig Dahl is president, chief executive officer, and director of Alaska Pacific Bancshares, Inc. (AKPB) and its subsidiary, Alaska Pacific Bank, headquartered in Juneau, Alaska. He also serves on the board of directors of both organizations.

Mr. Dahl began his banking career in 1973 with The B.M. Behrends Bank in Juneau, and he was president of the bank at the time of its sale to Key Bank in 1989. He joined Alaska Pacific Bank in 1992. The institution, formerly known as Alaska Federal Savings & Loan Association, has served Alaskans since 1935. In 1999, he led it through the process of converting to a stock-owned savings bank.

Mr. Dahl, who is a graduate of Seattle University, serves on the American Bankers Association Government Relations Council and served for two terms as president of the Alaska Bankers Association. He just completed a three-year term as assistant district governor for Rotary District 5010 and is a past president of the Glacier Valley Rotary Club.

Mr. Dahl is a member of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce and is an active member of the community.

David P. Bobbitt
Current term expires: 2014

Mr. Bobbitt is chairman and chief executive officer of Community 1st Bank in Post Falls, Idaho, and brings over 43 years of community banking experience to the Seattle Bank’s board. Mr. Bobbitt chartered Community 1st Bank in June 2007, and the company has since grown to $74 million in assets. Mr. Bobbitt served as president of Sterling Savings Bank from 2004 – 2006, overseeing the bank’s 150 branches and two Sterling subsidiaries, Action Mortgage Company and Harbor Financial. He joined Sterling in 1996 as branch administrator for private banking, commercial banking, and retail lending, and was named executive vice president with responsibility for all bank branches in 2000. His banking career has also included positions with Idaho First National Bank and West One Bank.

Mr. Bobbitt is actively involved in his local community and serves as chairman of Pacific Coast Banking School and on the boards of Western Independent Bankers and the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce.

He is a past president of the Idaho Bankers Association, Post Falls Chamber of Commerce, North Idaho Fair Board, the Bureau of Land Management Advisory Council, and the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee.

Mr. Bobbitt attended North Idaho College and earned post-graduate degrees from Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington and the International Seniors Program at Harvard Business School.

Marianne M. Emerson
Current term expires: 2015

Marianne Emerson is a highly accomplished information technology (IT) systems professional with over 15 years of experience in strategic planning and implementation of mission-critical, enterprise solutions for economists and financial services professionals.

From 2007 - 2012, Ms. Emerson served as chief information officer for the Seattle Housing Authority, a public corporation providing affordable housing to more than 25,000 low-income Seattle residents. From 2002 – 2007, she served as chief information officer at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., where she was responsible for providing IT services to the central bank of the United States.

She joined the Federal Reserve Board in 1982 and held a number of IT leadership positions during her tenure there.

Ms. Emerson earned a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College and a master of science (computer science) and a master of business administration (finance) degree from the University of Maryland. She has also served as an adjunct lecturer in information security at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

David J. Ferries
Current Term Expires: 2014

David J. Ferries is president, chief executive officer, and director of First Federal Savings Bank, a $226-million mutual in Sheridan, Wyoming. Prior to joining First Federal in 2002, he served as senior vice president of First Interstate Bank in Billings, Montana, where he held a variety of increasingly responsible positions during his 17 years of service.

Mr. Ferries is a director of Forward Sheridan, Inc., Northern Wyoming Community College Foundation, and Whitney Benefits Foundation Advisory Council. He has also served as a director of other national, civic, and professional organizations, including the Fannie Mae National Depository Advisory Board and the Sheridan Economic and Educational Development Authority Joint Powers Board. He has been appointed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to the Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee.

Mr. Ferries has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rocky Mountain College and an MBA from the University of Montana. He is a graduate of the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking and has earned Credit Risk Certification from Risk Management Associates.

Debora D. Horvath
Current term expires: 2016

Debora D. Horvath is principal of Horvath Consulting, LLC, in Shoreline, Washington, a firm she founded in 2010. From 2008 – 2010, Ms. Horvath was executive vice president for JP Morgan Chase & Co. From 2004 – 2008, Ms. Horvath was executive vice president and chief information officer for Washington Mutual, Inc. Prior to her tenure at Washington Mutual, Ms. Horvath, a 25-year veteran from GE, served 12 years as senior vice president and chief information officer for the GE Insurance businesses.

Ms. Horvath holds a bachelors degree in business administration from Baldwin Wallace College in Cleveland, Ohio, and is a graduate of the GE Financial Management Program and various GE executive development programs.

Michael W. McGowan
Current term expires: 2015

Michael McGowan is chairman and chief executive officer of Daniel Capital Management (DCM) Limited, which provides strategic consulting services and funding sources to private and public companies throughout the world.

Mr. McGowan is currently a principal in several sustainable resource companies, including AlgEvolve, Inc. and Green Energy Corporation, and he was the primary founder of Nova Biosource Fuels, Inc. He is also a frequent speaker on the subjects of strategic funding, commercial algae development, and renewable energy to global audiences.

Prior to entering the renewable energy sector, Mr. McGowan worked in the banking and financial management industry as an investment portfolio manager. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in history and international relations from the University of Montana.

Russell J. Lau
Current term expires: 2013

Russell J. Lau is president and chief executive officer of Finance Enterprises, Ltd. and vice chairman and chief executive officer of Finance Factors, Ltd. in Honolulu, Hawaii. As chief executive officer of Finance Factors, the largest Hawaii-owned, financial-services loan company, he directed a major strategic restructuring effort for the institution.

Mr. Lau is a member of the Financial Executives Institute and active in Honolulu’s non-profit community, serving as treasurer/trustee of Assets School, treasurer of American Judicature Society – Hawaii Chapter, director of Palolo Chinese Home, and trustee for St. Andrews Priory.

Mr. Lau holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Puget Sound and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Oregon.

James G. Livingston
Current term expires: 2013

A senior vice president in the investments division at Zions First National Bank in Salt Lake City, Utah, James G. Livingston has extensive education and experience in accounting, finance, capital markets, and corporate governance.

Prior to his tenure at Zions First National Bank, Dr. Livingston worked for Zift Brothers Investments, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund in New York City, where he was director of the financial research group and served in the quantitative strategy group. He has also served as an assistant professor of accounting at Southern Methodist University and as an instructor of economics and finance at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.

Mr. Livingston holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in applied economics and a doctorate degree in business administration from the University of Rochester.

Cynthia A. Parker
Current term expires: 2013

Cynthia A. Parker is president and chief executive officer of BRIDGE Housing Corporation, one of the nation’s largest owners and developers of affordable housing, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Previously, Ms. Parker served as regional president for Mercy Housing Inc. (MHI), which develops affordable housing for low income families, seniors, and people with special needs in Idaho and Washington.

Prior to her tenure at Mercy Housing, Ms. Parker served as senior vice president for Seattle-Northwest Securities, a public finance firm, where she oversaw affordable housing and commercial and public facility real estate financing in five Northwest states. Previously, she worked for the City of Seattle, where she established the new Office of Housing, doubled the agency’s housing production, and managed a $61 million biannual budget.

Ms. Parker has also served as executive director of Anchorage Neighborhood Housing Services and general manager of Portland Student Services. She is a former president of the National Neighborhood Housing Network and a former director of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She has chaired the Sound Families Initiative for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and served on the Seattle Bank’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council. She is currently a director of the National Affordable Housing Trust, Housing Partnership Network, and the OneCalifornia Foundation.

Ms. Parker has a bachelor of science degree from Portland State University.

J. Benson Porter
Current term expires: 2016

J. Benson Porter is president and chief executive officer of Boeing Employees' Credit Union in Tukwila, Washington. Prior to joining BECU in April 2012, he served as president and chief executive officer of First Tech Credit Union in Palo Alto, California, from February 2007 – March 2012. He also served in several positions at Washington Mutual Bank, most recently as executive vice president and chief administrative officer, from May 1996 – February 2007.

Mr. Porter has also held positions as regulatory counsel at Key Bank and as staff director for the Washington State Senate Banking Committee. He is a former director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and is currently a member of the Board of Overseers of Whitman College and the Board of CO-OP Financial Services.

Mr. Porter earned a law degree from Seattle University School of Law and an undergraduate degree in economics from Whitman College.

Thomas P. Potiowsky
Current term expires: 2016

Thomas P. Potiowsky is professor and chair of the Economics Department and director of the Northwest Economic Research Center at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Potiowsky served as Oregon State Economist from 1999 – 2006 and from 2008 – 2011. He has also served as advisor to Oregon Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors.

Mr. Potiowsky received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio University and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

David F. Wilson
Current term expires: 2014

David F. Wilson has been the chief executive officer of Wilson Construction, LLC, a residential and commercial development company in Ketchum, Idaho, since 1977 and has served as an independent director on the Seattle Bank’s board since 2007.

Mr. Wilson is chairman of the board at Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA), and has been a member of that organization since 1995. He is also an active member of the National Association of Home Builders and served as the organization’s president in 2005. Currently, he is an NAHB senior life director and chairman of the Home Building Industry Disaster Relief Fund. Mr. Wilson served as Mayor of Sun Valley, Idaho, from 1997 – 2001 and as a city council member from 1991 – 1997.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University at Los Angeles.

Gordon Zimmerman
Current term expires: 2015

Gordon Zimmerman is president and director of Community Bank, Inc., a $100 million community financial institution located in Ronan, Montana.

Mr. Zimmerman began his career in the financial services industry with KPMG Peat Marwick, where as a manager in the firm’s audit department, he specialized in matters relating to real estate, financial institutions, SEC regulation, and technology. Following his tenure at KPMG, Mr. Zimmerman served as chief financial officer for several venture capital entities, including Southwest Value Partners of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Pack River Ltd. LLC, in Sandpoint, Idaho. In 1998, he joined Pend Oreille Bank in Sandpoint, Idaho, serving as its chief financial officer, president, and board member until 2003, when he joined Community Bank, Inc.

Mr. Zimmerman holds a bachelor of arts in accounting and finance from the University of Montana, a graduate degree in banking from the University of Colorado, and a professional master of banking degree from the Executive Banking Institute at Louisiana State University. He is a licensed CPA in Montana, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and a member of the Montana Bankers Association.