Introducing Our Board of Directors

Patricia Benton is the former Chief Financial and Operating Officer for OPEN Health, Evidence & Access, a UK based health care consulting company. Her experience across private and public sectors yields a blend of management, financial and partnership building skills. Before joining OPEN Health through the merger of Pharmerit International, LP Patricia was the CFO and COO for Pharmerit. Patricia served as Chief Financial and Operating Officer at Salzburg Global Seminar, an international non-profit located in Salzburg, Austria. Earlier in her career she held the position of Vice President for Finance and General Manager at Comsat Corporation, at that time the leading satellite telecommunications company in the US.

Patricia is currently a board trustee for Lincoln School in Providence, Rhode Island, serves on the board of OICF as Treasurer, and on the board of OCRC. She holds a B.A. in Economics and French from Brown University and an M.B.A. in Finance from George Washington University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Patricia lives on Orcas with her husband, Bruce, who is actively involved in efforts to build out the electric vehicle infrastructure on Orcas to secure a sustainable future for the island community. Three of her children live in Seattle and the fourth in New York City.   

Hugh is a clinical social worker, an Episcopal priest, and a wilderness guide with a passion for helping people deepen on their psycho-spiritual paths. He offers psychotherapy and spiritual direction at his office in Eastsound, and he is an assisting priest at Emmanuel Parish. 

He has a BA in Economics from Davidson College in North Carolina, a Master of Social Work from the University of Georgia, a Master of Theological Studies from Emory University, and a Master of Divinity degree from General Theological Seminary in New York. 

He has lived on Orcas Island since 2013 with his husband, Berto Gándara. 

Judy lives in Olga and serves as a senior partner in the DC-based law firm of James & Hoffman. During her 40-year career in labor law, Judy focused on issues such as the national fight to end growing income inequality, problems affecting women and immigrant workers, and the plight of low-wage workers. She has served on various boards of organizations committed to economic and social justice, such as the National Partnership for Women & Families, Alliance for Justice and American Constitution Society. She retired in 2017 as General Counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). 

Over her law career, Judy served as legal counsel to several unions, including the United Auto Workers, AFSCME, Teamsters, and United Mine Workers. She graduated from Wellesley College and Northeastern University School of Law, and previously worked for the Frontier Nursing Service in Hyden, Kentucky. 

Judy and her husband, Don Stillman, a retired union activist and writer, have been coming to Orcas with their now-grown children, Scott and Sarah, for more than 35 years.

Carie grew up in the Midwest, migrated to the SF Bay Area and attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a degree in Sociology and a lasting curiosity about individuals and what makes communities work. Early in her career, she was fortunate to join a team of other social scientists, environmental psychologists, and community planners interested in building tools and environments that support and enhance human development. In her position as Communications Director, she and her team worked on campaigns advocating for children’s health and strong families, encouraging energy conservation, recycling, clean water, and pedestrian safety. As a member of the founding executive team, she was instrumental in building a multi-disciplinary consulting firm into a national company. 

She has volunteered on non-profit boards focused on art and children in nature, the Orcas Crossroads lecture series, and on a small, private foundation which identified individuals and organizations providing sui generis contributions to their communities.

Carie first discovered Orcas while on a road trip with her husband in 1977. They have had a residence on the island since 1986 and have lived on Orcas full time since 2007.    

Like so many, Lisa's sojourn on Orcas began many years ago with the odd camping or boating stops during vacation. That eventually morphed into the purchase of her home and final move from Portland. 

Lisa's career has immersed her in the technology industry. As a serial entrepreneur she is a partner in a couple small companies: 376Tech providing consumer tech support on Orcas and IOJ Travel, providing group tour production services, primarily for travel to Europe. From time to time she also provides consulting services to tier one industry in software related decision processes. 

Orcas provided Lisa the opportunity to be of service to the non-profit sector. She was invited to serve on the OICF board in 2014, where she continues today. In her neighborhood, the Home Owners Association elected her as their president in 2013. In addition, Lisa has become a volunteer EMT with Orcas Island Fire and Rescue. She is also a board member for the volunteer fire association. 

One of the great things on Orcas is the opportunity to be involved in many different types of activities at once. For Lisa, this has included volunteering for lighting design for plays at Orcas Center and the Grange, facilitating workshops and evenings with the Labyrinth at Emmanuel, sitting in on the VRBO group meetings, and working with Rock Island during its start-up phase in marketing and advertising.