Board of Directors
The governor appoints the nine members of the Washington State Convention & Trade Center’s board of directors. The board meets six times each year on a bi-monthly basis.
Frank K. Finneran
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Appointed to the WSCTC board of directors in 1988, Finneran served as board treasurer from 1995 until becoming chairman in 2003. He is president and chief executive officer of Frank K. Finneran & Co., consultants to the hospitality industry. Finneran has over 30 years experience in hotel management, development and consulting, including serving as manager of the Olympic and Westin Hotels in Seattle, the Plaza in New York, as managing director for the developer of the 840-room Seattle Sheraton and as chief operating officer of the Space Needle Corporation. He is twice past president of the Washington State Hotel and Motel Association and a past president of the Seattle-King County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Finneran has received numerous honors for his contributions to the hotel industry and the community, including recognition as Washington’s Hotelier of the Year.
Deryl Brown-Archie
Vice Chair
Brown-Archie joined the Convention Center board in 2000 and became vice chair in 2003. She is a tribal attorney for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, focusing on business operations. She spent several years as corporate counsel in the insurance industry and most recently served as General Counsel for KPS Health Plans in Bremerton, Washington. Her civic involvement has included the Municipal League of King County, service as past president of the Seattle Women's Commission, and Loren Miller Bar Association. Affiliations include The Links, Inc. of Greater Seattle, the Junior League of Seattle, Association of Blacks in Healthcare, Northwest Kidney Center, NAACP, Urban League, and Washington Association of Health Care Attorneys.
Robert J. Flowers
Treasurer
Flowers' 34-year career with Washington Mutual began as a loan representative and ended with his retirement as Senior Vice President of Community Lending and Investment in January 2005. Flowers is extremely active in public and community affairs on a national, regional and local basis. He currently serves as Chair of the KCTS television board and Co-Chair of the Plymouth Housing Group capital campaign. He is Chair of the African-American Heritage Foundation, past Chair of Seattle Sports Commission and has served on several other boards and committees. Before joining Washington Mutual, Flowers worked in the Seattle Mayor's Office and for the Washington State Multi-Service Center. He also served as a captain in the Army Signal Corps.
Rick S. Bender
Bender has been president of Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO since March 1993 and a member of the Convention Center board since 1995. He also serves as a member of the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board and the Washington Council on International Trade (ex officio). Bender is a former Washington state legislator, having served ten years in the House of Representatives and eight years in the Senate.
Kathy Coffey
Appointed to the board in 2006, Coffey currently serves as President and CEO of the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau and as General Manager of the Yakima Convention Center. Through her leadership, Coffey formed her community’s first Sports Commission and developed a state-of-the-art Visitor Center to welcome guests to Washington’s wine country. She has guided the Yakima Convention Center through two expansions in seven years, both of which have been critical to the growth and diversification of the region. Coffey was instrumental in the formation of the Yakima County Tourism Promotion Area (TPA). Prior to her current responsibilities, Coffey spent 15 years in the hotel industry, primarily with Red Lion/Thunderbird Hotels.
Susana Gonzalez-Murillo
Appointed to the Convention Center board in 2003, Gonzalez-Murillo is a vice president at U.S. Bank, serving as country manager for Latin America, Canada, Spain and Portugal. She has worked in the local banking industry since 1979, joining U.S. Bank’s International Banking Division in 1993. She is currently the President of the U.S./Mexico Chamber of Commerce and a board member of the Centro Mexicano of the state of Washington. Gonzalez-Murillo has served as a board member of the World Trade Club in Seattle and the Mayor’s Sister City Council. She has also been involved with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Women in International Trade, Green River Community College’s business department advisory board and is a past-president of the Northwest Letter of Credit Committee.
Jerome L. Hillis
Hillis began his career in Washington D.C. with the United States Justice Department. In January 1969, he started his own law firm and began focusing his practice on real estate, land use and environmental law. Hillis has coordinated real estate and land use issues involving numerous large development projects. He received recognition as one of the "Super Lawyers" in Washington by the publication Washington Law and Politics. Hillis is a past president and member of the board of trustees at Whitman College and has been active in several professional and community organizations, including the Washington State Independent College Associations, the Pacific Real Estate Institute, the Downtown Seattle Association and the Municipal League board of trustees. He has served on the Convention Center board since 2003.
J. Terry McLaughlin
Governor Locke appointed McLaughlin to the Convention Center board in March 2004. He has been with The Basketball Club of Seattle, LLC, since 1997 and serves as the Club’s Executive Vice President. McLaughlin is responsible for managing the administrative functions of the Club, government relations, human resources, information technology, Key Arena operations, concessions and retail. Before joining the Sonics and Storm, he was the Deputy Director of Seattle Center, where he was responsible for negotiating major business contracts, including the Key Arena and Benaroya Hall developments. He is a past member of the board of directors of the Seattle-King County Convention and Visitors Bureau and a current member of the board of directors for the Seattle Aquarium Society.
Karen Wong
Wong joined the Convention Center board in 2000. She is general counsel for United Savings and Loan Bank and co-chair of the diversity committee of Business Law Section. She is active in the community at large and in Seattle's Asian community. Wong serves on the Virginia Mason Medical Center board of governors, as president of the Robert Chinn Foundation, and as a member of the Law Fund Board. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Seattle, Seattle Art Museum Guild, and the Rainier Club. As president of the Robert Chinn Foundation, Wong headed a capital campaign to build an Asian Resource Center for the Seattle community, which opened in the International District in September 1994.