Board of Trustees

John Freedman

Chair
Vancouver, Washington

Bio: John Freedman has served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a pastor and administrator since 1981. After graduating from Andrews University Theological Seminary, he and Malinda began their pastoral ministry in the New Jersey Conference before moving to the Rocky Mountain Conference in 1987 to pastor the Littleton, Colorado SDA Church. In 1993 John was called to the Northern California Conference to be senior pastor of the Roseville, California SDA Church. John began his administrative ministry in 1998 in the Washington Conference when he was called to be the Ministerial, Evangelism and Stewardship Director. In 2001 he was asked to serve as the Vice-President for Administration and in 2002, John was elected president of the Washington Conference, where he served for 14 years. He was elected in September 2016 to serve as president of the North Pacific Union. John is passionate about uplifting Jesus Christ and the eternal gospel before the world. He loves seeing a life changed by the power of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit.

John enjoys reading books and walking with his wife--especially along the ocean coast line. John and Malinda have three special sons, two awesome daughters-in-law, and three wonderful grandchildren--all boys.

Joyce Newmyer

Vice Chair
Portland, Oregon

Bio: Joyce Newmyer joined the Walla Walla University board in 2016. She has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from California State University, Fresno and a Master’s in Health Services Administration from St. Francis University.

Joyce is the President of Adventist Health Oregon, and chief people officer for Adventist Health. Previous to that, she served as president of Washington Adventist Hospital, chief operations officer of Shawnee Mission medical Center, and chief operations officer of Tennessee Christian Medical Center.

Her hobbies are painting, music, knitting, and reading. She is also a worship leader.

Joyce and her husband, G.J., have four adult children and four grandchildren.

Alex Bryan

Secretary
College Place, Washington

Bio: Alex Bryan is President of Walla Walla University in College Place, Washington, USA.

He and his family have lived in College Place since 2009 when he became the senior pastor at Walla Walla University Church. In 2013 he became president of Kettering College (Ohio) for a year, then returned to Walla Walla University Church. In 2018 Alex joined Adventist Health (Roseville, Calif.), where he served as senior vice president and chief mission officer.

Alex earned bachelor of arts degrees in history and religion from Southern Adventist University (Collegedale, Tenn.), a master of divinity degree from Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Mich.), a doctor of ministry degree from George Fox University (Newberg, Ore.), and a master of science degree in bioethics from Albany Medical College (Albany, N.Y.).

Nicole Ward Bryan, Alex’s wife, earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from Walla Walla University and a master’s degree in education from Georgia State University (Atlanta, Ga.). While a student at Walla Walla University, she served as president of the Associated Students of Walla Walla University. Alex and Nicole have two children, Audrey and William.

Douglas Bing

Federal Way, Washington

Bio: Douglas L. Bing joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees December 13, 2016.

Bing is regarded as a visionary, relational, consensus building leader who enjoys working with teams and prayerfully seeking God's guidance. He is experienced in church growth, church planting, outreach, young adult mentoring, and education.

Bing began his pastoral ministry in Omaha, Neb., as a youth and young adult pastor. He went on to pastor an academy campus church and a large metro church in Kansas before coming in 2001 to Washington Conference as ministerial director. He was elected vice president for administration in 2002, and functioned as an active part of the administrative team.

Bing earned a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Union College. As a student at Union College, he spent a year in Indonesia as a student missionary.

Bing is supported in ministry by his wife, Wilma, and their three young adult children.

Gary Botimer

Nampa, Idaho

Bio: Gary Botimer rejoined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2022. He is a graduate of Loma Linda School of Medicine. And is a retired orthopedic surgeon.

Gary enjoys woodworking, cross-country motorcycle trips, and most of all being with his family.

He and his wife, Jacquie, have four children (all graduates of WWU as are their spouses) and seven grandchildren.

Columbus Candies, Jr.

Seattle, Washington

Bio: Columbus Candies, Jr. became a member of the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2022.  He graduated from Loma Linda University in 1983 with a Bachelor in Physical Therapy, completed a graduate program in Health Administration/Public Administration receiving a MPA/HA from Portland State University, and received his Ph.D. in Education and Leadership from the University of Idaho in 2008. 

Columbus opened his first private practice in 1984. He also opened and successfully managed over three dozen successful outpatient therapy clinics for organizations such as St Lukes Idaho Elks Rehab Services, RehabAuthority, Providence St Joseph’s in Thurston county and Direct Orthopedic Care (a national orthopedic immediate care company). His most recent business development endeavors include outpatient clinics in Texas and California. He has been a member of a number of local and regional health care committees, is an educator, innovator and visionary for the physical therapy profession.

Columbus has also been a leader in the churches he has attended serving as head elder while two churches in the north pacific union were transitioning between pastors. His outreach passion includes health ministries, youth, pathfinders and music ministries.

He is passionate about education serving as a board member for the NPUC school board, a member of Auburn Adventist Academy’s Equity Diversity and Accountability Committee as well as serving as Ombuds for the Academy. Columbus is newly remarried with a total of 7 children and 6 grandchildren. Hobbies include Sports, Building and Design, Gardening and Landscaping. He loves being with family.

Travis Crumley

Kalispell, Montana

Bio: Travis Crumley joined the Walla Walla University Board in 2022. He graduated from Walla Walla University with a B.S.E. in computer engineering with minors in math and music.

He is a software engineer at Google specializing in front end web development. Travis works remotely from Kalispell, Montana. He is a member of the Kalispell SDA Church and is part of the worship team his wife started there.

Travis and his wife Cora (also a WWU alum) have ten-month-old identical twins, Daja and Zaelynn. He enjoys skiing, most water activities, and hiking with his family in the mountains. Also enjoys playing games (both board and video games) with friends and making music.

Lowell Cooper

Kennewick, Washington

Bio: Lowell Cooper joined the Walla Walla University board in 2016. He holds a master of divinity degree from Andrews University and a master’s degree from Loma Linda University School of Public Health. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Loma Linda University in 2011.

Lowell retired in 2015 from his position as general vice president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, a position he held since 1998. Prior to his employment at Adventist world church headquarters, Cooper held pastoral and departmental leadership roles in Canada followed by more than 16 years of service in Pakistan and India.

He and his wife, Rae Lee, now reside in the Tri-Cities (WA). They have two adult children.

Stephanie Gates

Wenatchee, Washington

Bio: Stephanie Gates joined the Walla Walla University Board in 2014. She is an alumni of Walla Walla College graduating in 1997 with a B.S. in Elementary Education and minors in both Health and Early Childhood Education. She completed her MAT in Leadership in 2005 at Walla Walla College as well.

Stephanie is the Principal of Cascade Christian Academy where she loves her job and the diversity of working with students age 1 through 12^th grade.

She has had the wonderful pleasure of teaching a variety of grades. In Seattle she taught grades 1-3, K-2, 3-5, and finally 6^th-8^th. From Seattle, Stephanie and her family moved to Burlington where she taught 6^th grade part time and was Vice-Principal of the K-12 school, Skagit Adventist School. In the spring of 2009 she became principal of Palisades Christian Academy. And then in the summer of 2012, she continued on to becoming the principal of CCA, where she is today.

Stephanie and her husband, Tim, have four children.

Keith Hallam

Washington

Bio: Keith Hallam joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2022 when he was elected to serve as Vice President for Education at the North Pacific Union Conference.

Keith is a 1983 graduate of Walla Walla College, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Technology Education. He began his career at Wisconsin Academy teaching various technology vocational courses and serving in guidance counseling, academic registrar, and administration. After receiving his Master’s degree in Education Administration in 1990 from Andrews University, he moved into fulltime administration. Keith served as principal of Enterprise Academy for four years and at Auburn Adventist Academy for 14 years. He then transitioned to conference leadership as the Vice President for Education at Potomac Conference for eight years. Next, Keith answered a call to ministry at the Southern Union Conference as Associate Director for Secondary Education in July 2017 and then in 2021 served as Director for Education.

Seventh-day Adventist education means far more to Keith than private education. He has personal experience understanding the evangelism responsibility and potential that every teacher and administrator has for sharing the assurance of salvation given to each of us in Jesus Christ.

He and his wife of 40 years, Kandyce, have three grown children and five grandchildren.

Clint Hess

Alaska

Bio: Clint Hess joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2022. 

Clint is the senior vice president of Business Intelligence at Alaska USA Federal Credit Union. He has a B.A. in economics and B.B.A. in finance from the University of Alaska, and a Master of Business Administration in global finance from Alaska Pacific University.

He is the head elder at the Northside Seventh-day Adventist Church in Anchorage, Alaska.

Clint enjoys hiking, boating, travel, and learning. He and Nadya have two children, Zachary and Anna.

Sergio Hernandez

Walla Walla, Washington

Bio: Sergio Hernandez joined the Walla Walla University board in 2022. He is a graduate of Pacific Union College and Washington State University.

Sergio is a member of the Walla Walla University Church (Upper Columbia Conf.). His hobbies include biking, golfing, and spending time with his grandchildren.

Sergio and his wife, Wendy, a WWU graduate and immigration attorney, have two children and four grandchildren.

Yvonne Iwasa

Payette, Idaho

Bio: Yvonne Iwasa joined the Walla Walla University board in 2016. She earned a Bachelor of Social Work from Walla Walla University in 1988, and an MA in Sociology from California State University, Fullerton in 1992. She spent ten years of her professional career at Treasure Valley Community college where she was Social Science Department Chair and sociology instructor before leaving to be a full-time parent. She currently serves as a counselor in private practice in Boise, Idaho.

Yvonne serves on the Idaho Conference Personnel Committee and the boards of Abba's Child Grief Camps and Impact Hope.

She is passionate about Adventist education.

Yvonne is married to Dan Iwasa who also attended WWU and is an optometrist. They live in Payette, Idaho and have three children: Carly, Makoto, and Chloe.

David Jamieson

Spokane, Washington

Bio: David Jamieson joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees after his election as the president of the Upper Columbia Conference in December 2021.

Before pastoring at Church in the Valley, Jamieson served as president of the Newfoundland Conference in Eastern Canada. He has traveled worldwide, speaking at conferences, and sharing seminars for pastors and laity highlighting topics related to pastoral leadership, community outreach, and evangelism. Additionally, he has been the speaker-director for Faith Out Loud Canada, a 30-minute, five-days-a-week radio program, broadcast throughout all Canada.

Jamieson attended Canadian Union College (now Burman University). He later went on to receive a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University in 1989 and returned in 2009 to receive a Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis in evangelism and church growth.

Jamieson and his wife, Shandra, have four children--Shantel, Stacia, Joshua, and Jared--all attended Walla Walla University. Shantel, their oldest child, lives in Burlington, Wash., with her husband, Nathan, and their son, Jamieson. Stacia, their second daughter, lives in Mount Vernon, Wash., with her husband Michael. Their eldest son, Joshua, daughter-in-law, Emily, and youngest son, Jared, live in Loma Linda, Calif.

Steve Kreitner

Kalispell, Montana

Bio: Steve Kreitner joined the Walla Walla University board in 2016. He graduated in 1989 from Southern Adventist University with a B.A. in History as well as religion minor and secondary education teaching certificate. In 1992 he earned his J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Steve is the Associate General Counsel for Logan Health in Kalispell, Montana.

Steve is a member of the Kalispell Church (Montana Conf.). He enjoys spending time with family, skiing, running marathons and spending time in Glacier National Park.

Steve and his wife, Nancy, have three children, Elyse, Jonas and Olivia.

Mileen Loeffler

Washington

Bio: Mileen Loeffler joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2022. Mileen has a B.S. in behavioral sciences and psychology from Loma Linda University.

Mileen retired from Integra in 2018 as the executive director of client services. She possess extensive knowledge and experience in the long-term care industry.

She is a fifth generation Seventh-day Adventist. Is a member of the Auburn Academy Board, serving on the Finance and Residential Housing committees.

Mileen has lived in Washington for 30 years and loves the rain! She has a daughter, a son, and two granddaughters.

Mileen and her husband were medical missionaries to Zimbabwe for three years. She taught classes at Anderson School while her husband did dentistry.

Bill McClendon

Ridgefield, Washington

Bio: Bill McClendon joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees after his election as vice president of administration for the North Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in April 2018.

Bill and his wife, Shirlene, a teacher by trade and recently children's ministry pastor at Ellicott City, have one married daughter.

Kathy Morgan

Washington

Bio: Kathy Morgan joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2022. She attended WWU, and graduated with a B.S. in nursing from Olympic College.

Kathy is an RN at St. Michael's Hospital in cardiovascular critical care and teaches as an adjunct nursing professor.

She as served in various positions at church including as well as Washington Conference Board of Education and Executive Committee. She enjoys gardening, reading, knitting, road trips, visiting national parks, and spending time with grandchildren.

Kathy met her husband, Dennis, at Walla Walla College. They have two sons, two daughters, and five grandchildren. Three of their children married WWU graduates/attendees.

Ken Norton

Bozeman, Montana

Bio: Ken Norton joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees after his election as the president of the Montana Conference in March 2021.

Norton has a rich ministry history both in pastoral ministry and education. While president of the Guam-Micronesia Mission, he oversaw a mission field that sees numerous missionaries each year, many of them student teachers serving the mission’s more than 10 schools. He has a passion for church planting and evangelism, having served as Florida Conference church planting director and as president/director of the Lay Institute for Evangelism.

His more than 22 years of pastor ministry experience has included serving on the pastoral team of the Collegedale Adventist Church on the campus of Southern Adventist University in Tennessee. He also served as an adjunct professor at SAU.

Norton and his wife, Julie, have two grown children, son Ken and daughter Michelle.

W. Todd Pascoe

Vancouver, Washington

Bio: W. Todd Pascoe joined the Walla Walla University board in 2016. He has a B.A. in History from Walla Walla University and a J.D. from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark.

Todd is an attorney and has his own law firm. He specializes in criminal and family law, living out a calling to offer respect to each individual he serves. He taught at Gem State Academy (1982-1985) and now co-teaches Start Law at Columbia Adventist Academy (2018-present).

Todd enjoys spending time with his family, being active in church, sports, and exploring the outdoors from the Gorge to the Pacific. Todd and his wife, Laura, and are blessed with daughter, Savannah, who is attending Walla Walla University.

David Prest, Jr.

Boise, Idaho

Bio: David Prest, Jr. became a member of Walla Walla University Board of Trustees after being elected conference president at the Idaho Conference in 2011.

David holds a B.A. degree in Theology, from Southern Missionary College.

David began his ministry in the Carolina Conference before heading to Alaska as pastor of the Hillside O’Malley Church for six years. For five of those years he was Pathfinder director.

Before accepting his post at the Idaho conference, David was the ministerial at the Montana Conference. Now, as President of the Idaho Conference he chairs many committees and participates in several more.

David and his wife, Ellen, have two sons: Jonathan and Michael.

Mark Remboldt

Ridgefield, Washington

Bio: Mark A. Remboldt was named to the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2008 when he became the North Pacific Union Conference treasurer.

Remboldt has worked at the NPUC since January 2005 and has a background of domestic and international financial management experience. Before joining the NPUC, Remboldt worked with many church entities including the Mountainview, Northern California, and Washington conferences, Auburn Adventist Academy, and the former East Africa Division.

A 1981 graduate of WWU, Remboldt also holds a Master of Business Administration from Andrews University.

He and his wife, Janette, make their home in La Center, Washington, and have two children, Anthony and Amy, both students at WWU.

Paul Rhynard

Seattle, Washington

Bio: Paul Rhynard rejoined the Walla Walla University board in 2016. He previously served as a board member from 2006-2011. 

He graduated from Walla Walla College in 2004 with a BBA in Finance, and an MBA from the University of Virginia-Darden School of Business in 2012. He is also a former president of the Associated Students of Walla Walla College.

Paul is the CEO of Wilkinson Baking Company, former executive vice president for the Joshua Green Corporation, and, most recently, chief strategy officer at Russell Investments.

Paul currently lives and works in Seattle and is married to Deanne Rhynard ('04). They have two boys, Ford and Otto.

Jaime Rodriguez

New York, New York

Bio: Jaime Rodriguez joined the Walla Walla University board in 2016, with service on the Academic Planning Committee and the Hispanic Service Institution Taskforce. He is a graduate of Milton-Stateline SDA School, Walla Walla Valley Academy, and Walla Walla University. He has an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Ph.D. in Latin American History from Columbia University.

Jaime is an Associate Professor of Global History at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. He enjoys coaching youth track, running, and attending symphony concerts, museum exhibits, and Broadway theater.

His wife, Linda Abdel-Malek (also a WWU alumnus) is a health care attorney. They have two young daughters, Lina and Selma, and are members of the Church of the Advent Hope in Manhattan.

Ashwin Somasundram

Anchorage, Alaska

Bio: Ashwin Somasundram joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees as the interim president of the Alaska Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in October 2024. He holds a B.A. in Theology, a master's degree in ministry and a doctoral degree in ministry.

Somasundram has more than 20 years of experience in union, conference, and university administration. His ministry accomplishments include service in the British Union Conference for Global Missions, leadership at both Newbold College and Andrews University, Texas Conference administration as well as mission work in Israel.

Bruce Thorn

Washington

Bio: Bruce Thorn joined the Walla Walla University Board of Trustees in 2022. He served prior terms on the WWU Board of Trustees, including service as vice chair.

Bruce graduated with a B.S. in business administration from Walla Walla University before earning a J.D. from Willamette University and an LLM, in taxation, from the University of Florida.

He has nearly 30 years of experience in real estate development and investing. He served as director, vice president, and secretary of Holiday Retirement Corp., one of the largest owner/operators of senior housing units in the world until the sale of the company and its affiliates.

Bruce has taught courses in real estate and finance as an adjunct professor at the WWU School of Business.

Ron Wilkinson

Walla Walla, Washington

Bio: Ron Wilkinson joined the Walla Walla University board in 2016, with service on the Audit Review, and Finance and Facilities committees.. He has a B.A. in theology from Walla Walla College.

He is an entrepreneur and is a strong supporter of Christian Education. He has served on a number of community boards. His hobbies include photography, reading, hiking, and travel.

Ron and Janet have three children, all of whom are graduates of Walla Walla University.