PRESIDENT

Throughout her career working with regional and international nonprofit institutions, Melinda served as an organizational builder and an agent of change for mission-based organizations committed to conservation action, informal and formal science education, research excellence, and life-long learning. Melinda professionalized two previously volunteer-based organizations, and lead the successful merger of two international scientific societies.

She has served on regional and national committees and boards including grant-making foundations, university-based teaching and research institutes, regional/national conservation organizations and networks, and municipal, state and federal agencies.

 Melinda and her husband, Steve, have been connected to the Methow for over 40 years and moved to Winthrop permanently in 2023. They have two grown children, are avid hikers and cyclists, and love to explore wild and scenic rivers.

VICE PRESIDENT

Sharmon is a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, working with families facing end-of-life transitions for over 30 years, She is active in end-of-life community education and outreach, including state and nation-wide projects on advance directives and end-of-life choices.

She serves as co-chair for the statewide POLST task force and on education teams for National POLST.  She continues to work as a nurse practitioner in palliative care and hospice in local communities and is also the clinical consultant for POLST and Serious Illness training thru the state advance care planning initiative, Honoring Choices PNW. 

Her passion is helping providers learn how to discuss serious illness, to listen for the individual’s story, and to align care with the values and wishes of individuals along their health care journey.

TREASURER

Natalie is an attorney with a focus on water law, real estate law, probate and estate planning, and commercial transactions. She is the founding attorney of The Kuehler Law Firm, PLLC, based in Winthrop, Washington. Since moving to the Methow Valley in April 2014, Natalie has been deeply engaged in local community service. She has served on the boards of Room One, Methow Trails, and Cascade Fisheries, and played a key role in the formation of the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative.

Through her legal work, Natalie understands the importance of thoughtful planning for later life, and the unique vulnerabilities that come with aging. She holds a deep appreciation for the compassionate, person-centered care that Jaime’s Place provides to elders in the community.

Natalie lives in Winthrop and can often be found exploring the area’s hiking or ski trails or enjoying the Chewuch River — usually with her two dogs by her side.

SECRETARY

Cindy owns a group psychotherapy practice serving communities across Washington. A licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 30 years of experience, she has provided counseling in private practice, schools, hospitals, and the military across U.S., Europe, and Asia.

In addition to her clinical and administrative work, Cindy has worked with nonprofit boards and community agencies serving underrepresented communities. This reflects her commitment to organizational governance, collaboration, and advancing access to care for all.

Although her work has taken her around the world, Cindy returned to her roots in the Methow Valley. She and her husband live in the community and love sharing this unique valley with their family. Cindy is deeply committed to strengthening rural health and access to care, and she is dedicated to the mission of Jamie’s Place in supporting dignity, care, and connection for all members of the community.

BOARD MEMBER

Mary Beth is recently retired after serving over twenty years as a health care ethicist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Ethics in Health Care. She has published widely on health care ethics topics related to serious illness, end of life care, life-sustaining treatment decisions, allocation of scarce or limited health care resources, and ethical leadership, among others.

Mary Beth was also an affiliate faculty in the School of Medicine, Department of Bioethics and Humanities and the School of Public Health where she taught an ethics class for Executive Health Care Management students. Prior to her work as a health care ethicist, Mary Beth managed a continuum of health care services for older adults including geropsychiatry, rehabilitation, and hospice.

Mary Beth is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to Seattle after falling in love with Mt. Rainier. She and her wife have visited the Valley since the 80’s for cross-country skiing and mountain biking. They, and their chocolate lab Olive currently split their time between Winthrop and Whidbey Island.

BOARD MEMBER

Peggy spent her career in cancer research at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center and University of Washington leading a lab and serving on multiple national and international cancer-related advisory boards.

She has served on the Jamie’s Place Board and on the Methow Conservancy Board for 6 years. She and her husband Rolf moved to Winthrop in 2016 where Rolf spent the last years of his life cared for beautifully by the wonderful staff at Jamie’s Place.

Their compassion and creativity continue to inspire her support for this wonderful organization.