Alumni Board Bios

Ryan Hagemann ‘94, President, graduated from Whitman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics in 1994 and from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2001. Well before his August 2008 appointment as Legal Counsel & Secretary to the Oregon University System, Ryan collected a wide range of experiences in various higher education settings. As a student, Ryan served on the Whitman College Board of Admission, continuing this service as an Admission Officer at Whitman, after a one-year stint in Washington DC working for sociologist Dr. Amitai Etzioni. During law school, Ryan served as the Associate Director of Student Judicial Affairs, a member of the University of Oregon’s Student Life team. Before graduation, Ryan secured a position in the Oregon Department of Justice as an Honors Attorney, serving an Assistant Attorney General in both the Education and Labor & Employment sections during the two-year program. At the conclusion of the program, Ryan received a permanent appointment as an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor & Employment Section. In May 2004, Ryan joined the Oregon University System as Secretary to the State Board of Higher Education, added legal duties as the Associate Deputy Chancellor for Legal Affairs in July 2006, moved to assume the Interim Deputy Chancellor for Legal Affairs duties in July 2007, and assumed his permanent position as Legal Counsel & Secretary in August 2008. In this role, Ryan represents the State Board of Higher Education, the Office of the Chancellor, and the four regional campuses in the Oregon University System. Additionally, as Secretary, he serves as the administrator of the State Board of Higher Education.

Tom Oldfield '67, Vice President, Alumni Board Overseer was raised in Tacoma, WA, and graduated from Whitman College in 1967. He has lived in the Tacoma area all of his life, and presently lives in Gig Harbor, with his wife Skip (Mary McNichols '67) Oldfield. All of their four children are grown, out of the house, and employed with benefits. His interests, in addition to work, include cycling, golf, boating, travel and two recent grandchildren (not necessarily in that order). Tom and Skip served as Class Representatives for the class of '67 for the last four years, and have been active with the Whitman Club of Tacoma. Thomas Oldfield is a member of the firm Sloan Bobrick Oldfield & Helsdon, P.S., in Tacoma. Mr. Oldfield has represented clients in real estate, business and banking matters in the Tacoma area since graduating from the University of Washington School of Law in 1970. He served as Supervisor of Banking for the state of Washington from 1985–1991, before returning to private practice. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, where he participates as a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and the Business Law Section. Mr. Oldfield is admitted to practice in the state of Washington and the Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington.

J Preston Frederickson ‘02, Walla Walla, WA is an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Walla Walla representing the city on various land-use, contract, municipal law and other civil matters. A politics major and studio art minor at Whitman, Frederickson attended Gonzaga University School of Law receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 2005. Before returning to Walla Walla in 2006, Frederickson practiced law in downtown Seattle, WA, focusing on construction defect litigation. He is involved at Whitman as an Associate Class Representative, a career mentor and an admissions office volunteer. He is married to Doretha. They are proud parents of 3 boys and 2 girls. Frederickson's interests include biking, camping, mechanicing and renovating his turn of the century craftsman bungalow.

John Blackmon '79 is a banking consultant specializing in opening small community banks. Blackmon received a master's degree in business administration from the University of Washington and a graduate degree in banking from Pacific Coast Banking School. Blackmon's community service includes work as president of First Tee of Southern Nevada; chairman of the board of Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada; and president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, (UNLV) Rebel Football Foundation. He was a Whitman class representative from 1993 to 2006. Blackmon and his wife, Susan, have six children and two grandchildren. He enjoys golfing, reading and collecting foreign coins.

A 30-year veteran of public relations, Mary Deming Barber '78 is president and CEO of The Barber Group, a strategic communications and public relations firm in Anchorage, a firm she founded in June of 2000. Most recently, Mary worked with the Alaska Community Foundation help create a strategic communications plan and establish guidelines for the organization's branding and communications. She was instrumental in the creation of Anchorage's July 4th Celebration. She is adept at communicating with Alaska's unique population groups, especially Alaska Native peoples and has extensive experience in food public relations. Mary spent her professional career in Portland, Denver and San Francisco before moving to Anchorage in 1991. She received a Silver Anvil award for work with the Beef Industry Council at Ketchum Public Relations in San Francisco. Between 1978 and 1991, Mary worked with a variety of food groups representing beef, sheep, seafood, raisins, potatoes and prunes. Taking a break from food public relations and keeping a promise made to a US Senator, Mary also coordinated the volunteer efforts for his successful statewide political campaign.

Barber is currently the secretary/treasurer of the Public Relations Society of America College of Fellows. She recently completed a four-year term on the Society's Board of Directors, including service as the 2008 secretary and member of the PRSA Foundation's Board of Trustees. She is accredited in public relations and was inducted into the prestigious College of Fellows in 2003. In 2000, PRSA's Alaska Chapter named Mary its Communicator of the Year. She's been president of both the Ad2 Division of the American Advertising Federation and the International Foodservice Editorial Council.

An avid community volunteer, Mary served on the board of directors for the United Way of Anchorage for nine years. During her tenure, she established communication tools so the Board of Directors was aware of staff activities, and served as leader of a community-wide committee to identify Anchorage's strengths and weaknesses with a goal of building a better city in the long run. Mary also served as chair of the marketing and communications committee for several years where she spearheaded a re-branding effort for the organization.

Unable to say "no" to a cause in which she believes, Mary offers assistance to a number of other organizations. Most recently, she joined the Whitman College Alumni Board, continuing more than 30 years of service to her alma mater. She is well known in Anchorage for her flower garden so it's no wonder she also offers public relations advice to the fledgling Alaska Botanical Garden.

Mary's husband (Alan) completed 30 years of service in the Alaska Air National Guard and retired as commander of the Maintenance Group. He now works in business development for an Alaska Native corporation. They have two active teenage sons meaning Mary is intimately involved in all the boys' activities.

Kirsten Adams Gable ‘01 graduated from Whitman College in 2001. She majored in Biology, minored in Environmental Studies and received her MBA at Gonzaga in 2010. Kirsten has worked as a Management Consultant at Sapere Consultant for the past ten years. Their areas of expertise include business process improvement, organizational strategy, project planning and management, product strategy and development, and regulatory and policy analysis. Her work supports clients in the energy and natural resources sector. Clients range from large government entities to smaller local utilities. In addition, she heads Sapere’s Recruiting Committee.

Kirsten is married to Brent Gable (University of Idaho). They have one daughter.

Kirsten and Brent support the First Harvest Food Bank and the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. They also take advantage of the many outdoor activities the Spokane area has to offer (hiking, beautiful city parks, skiing, camping). Prior to moving to Spokane, she was a volunteer for Share Vancouver, a non-profit that provides shelter, food, and emergency services, in addition to annual summer camps for disadvantaged youth. She also enjoys participating in Bloomsday and other local charity runs.

Kirsten said that it is hard to define one Whitman memory as a favorite, but rather the entire experience was fulfilling. The excellent professors (Professors Drabek and Carson in particular) taught her to always be intellectually curious and to actively seek out learning opportunities. The many late nights spent in the library taught her about the value of time management, thought hanging out in the library late at night often lead to great conversations with friends. Winning blue shirts for intramural flag football was a highlight (go Kappa!). Kirsten thinks mostly what she thinks of fondly when she reminisces about Whitman, was that it was a time in her life when she was surrounded by good friends who were always more than willing to embark on adventures together, whether it was a drive into the wheat fields or a decision to study abroad for the semester. The feeling of community at Whitman was strong and she is happy to be a member.

Kirsten's time at Whitman helped to shape her into the person she is today and she will always be grateful for the wonderful experiences she was able to enjoy. Volunteering for Whitman as a member of the Portland and Spokane Alumni Clubs and now as an Alumni Association Board member presents her with the opportunity to give back to the College and to the Whitman community. It also allows Kirsten to continue her Whitman experience, which she finds invaluable.

She is excited to begin her term on the Alumni Association Board and is looking forward to working with alumni to ensure their thoughts and opinions are heard and communicated to the College.