Our Team

Public HSSA Board Meetings are held monthly on the third Wednesday of the month at 3:00pm. Agendas with location will be published on the Agendas & Minutes page as soon as they are available.

How to Apply

HSSA Board members are appointed, three each by the Governor, the Spokane County Commissioners and the Mayor of Spokane, and up to five members appointed by the Board itself. Each entity has its own process for appointments when one becomes available. Please inquire at info@hssaspokane.org to discuss vacancies.
There is currently one vacancy with the City of Spokane. Apply here.
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Erin Williams Hueter

Erin Williams Hueter

Executive Director

Erin Williams Hueter joined Health Sciences and Services Authority of Spokane County in January 2023 as Executive Director. She discovered her passion for service at an early age and has been working in human services, public health, and violence prevention for thirty years. While completing an internship serving victims of domestic violence, she developed deep compassion for this population and... Read More
Francisco Velazquez, MD

Francisco Velazquez, MD

Board Chair

Francisco Velázquez, M.D., S.M., F.C.A.P. serves as Spokane County Health Officer at the Spokane Regional Health District. Dr. Velázquez is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML) and PAML Ventures, a healthcare solutions company with a focus in diagnostics, and one of the top ten reference laboratories in the country. Prior to his role... Read More
Allison Glasunow, Ph.D., J.D.

Allison Glasunow, Ph.D., J.D.

Vice-Chair

Allison Glasunow, Ph,D., J.D. and Attorney with Perkins Coie, was appointed by the Spokane Board of County Commissioners to also serve a four-year term. She focuses on life sciences and biotechnology patent counsel for large, mid and small-cap companies, start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, universities, research institutes, and financiers (venture, angel, etc.); and provides strategic counseling and advising, due-diligence, invalidity, competitor analytics... Read More
Darryl Potyk, MD

Darryl Potyk, MD

Secretary & Governance Committee Chair

Dr. Daryl Potyk is a medical doctor who received his undergraduate degree from the University of California (UCLA) at Los Angeles and his medical degree from the University of California (USC) medical school. He is a practicing physician with nearly 25 years of experience in graduate medical education (residencies) as well as other medical student education. He currently serves as... Read More
Daryll DeWald, Ph.D.

Daryll DeWald, Ph.D.

Grants Committee Chair

Daryll DeWald, Ph.D. was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to serve a four-year term. Dr. DeWald is the Vice President of Washington State University (WSU) Health Sciences Chancellor WSU Health Sciences Spokane. He leads development of WSU’s rapidly growing, world-class center for health sciences education and research. DeWald joined WSU Health Sciences Spokane in September 2017 as its fourth chancellor... Read More
Lewis Rumpler

Lewis Rumpler

Finance Committee Chair

Lewis Rumpler is a successful serial entrepreneur. His longtime interest in technology and specifically, biology, grew from his time at the University of Washington where he received degrees in Biology (BS) and Zoology (BA) in 1980. With a career spanning over 35 years he has served in numerous senior leadership roles, including CEO, COO and CFO, both for profit and... Read More
​Jason Thackston

​Jason Thackston

Board Member, Past Chair

Jason Thackston is senior vice president and chief strategy and clean energy officer for Avista. He joined the company in 1996 and has held leadership positions in energy resources, customer solutions, energy delivery, finance, risk management, investor relations, and corporate development.Thackston holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Whitworth University with a major in International Studies and an emphasis in... Read More
Chandima Bandara

Chandima Bandara

Board Member

Chandima Bandara is the CEO of Photon Biosciences and Precision Quantomics, and an Operations Manager at Amazon. At Photon Biosciences, he has been instrumental in developing a platform technology for biological imaging, securing substantial non-dilutive funding and integrating advanced technologies such as AI and machine learning. At Precision Quantomics, Chandima leads efforts to accelerate pharmaceutical drug development by incorporating quantitative... Read More
Alisha Benson

Alisha Benson

Board Member

Alisha Benson is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI), bringing 16 years of dedicated service to the organization. With a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University, Alisha has held various key roles within GSI, including Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer, Chief Operating Officer (COO), and VP of Education and Talent. As CEO, she... Read More
Vange Ocasio Hochheimer, Ph.D.

Vange Ocasio Hochheimer, Ph.D.

Board Member

Dr. Hochheimer joined the faculty at Whitworth University’s School of Business in the fall of 2011 after a previous faculty appointment at the University of Denver. Before attending graduate school, she worked at OFFITBANK, a wealth management firm in New York City. She received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in economics from Colorado State University. Dr. Hochheimer’s doctoral training includes... Read More
Alex Jackson

Alex Jackson

Board Member

Alex Jackson is the Senior Vice President and Chief Executive, Inland Northwest Region for MultiCare. He joined MultiCare Rockwood Clinic in 2018 as its Chief Operating officer until transitioning to the President and COO role in 2020. Jackson brings more than 30 years of progressive health care leadership experience in a variety of roles and settings including COO and CEO... Read More
Patrick Jones, Ph.D.

Patrick Jones, Ph.D.

Board Member

Dr. Patrick Jones is the executive director of Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis. He has served in that role since the Institute’s inception in 2002. In addition, he currently serves on the council of the Washington State Data Center (advisory to U.S. Census), the board of Spokane’s Health Sciences & Service Authority, as well as the steering committee... Read More
Julie Orchard, SHRM-CP

Julie Orchard, SHRM-CP

Board Member

Julie is currently the Chief Human Resource Officer for Providence - Inland Northwest Washington Service Area. Julie has been part of the HR Department at Providence since 2016. She has over 20 years’ experience in Human Resource functions. Julie has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Eastern Washington University and received her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification in 200... Read More
Robin Pickering, Ph.D.

Robin Pickering, Ph.D.

Board Member

Robin Pickering, PhD, is the Professor and Chair of Public Health at Gonzaga University. With a career spanning multiple academic institutions, she previously served as a Professor at Whitworth University, where she also directed the Women and Gender Studies program, and as an Associate Professor at Eastern Washington University. Dr. Pickering is an influential figure in community health, having actively... Read More

Leeanne Clegg

Program Assistant

Leeanne has lived, worked and raised her family in Spokane County since 1991. She holds a BA in Elementary and Special Education as well as graduate studies in education and counseling. Leeanne’s discovered her love of teaching underserved populations when attending undergraduate school at Carroll College in Helena Montana. She built her career in special education and while raising her... Read More