Presidential Search Committee
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The presidential search committee consists of 17 members: 2 students, 2 staff, 4 faculty, and 9 trustees and alumni leaders, and one non-voting diversity advocate. Board of Trustees Chair Nancy Serrurier and Search Chair Danielle Garbe Reser partnered with Dean of Students Kazi Joshua and the Associated Students of Whitman College, the Whitman Staff Advisory Council, and Faculty Chair Barry Balof to identify their respective representatives to the committee.
The Board of Trustees has charged the committee with leading a transparent, inclusive, and successful search and identifying a candidate to become Whitman’s 15th president by July 1, 2022.
Danielle Garbe Reser ’97, chair
Walla Walla, Washington
Danielle Garbe Reser earned her bachelor's degree with honors in politics from Whitman in 1997 and a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University through a fellowship with the State Department. After nearly 14 years as a diplomat with postings around the globe and at the White House, Garbe Reser returned to Walla Walla as CEO of Sherwood Trust, where she led the private foundation’s efforts to invest in community and economic development in the Walla Walla region. Garbe Reser has served Whitman for more than two decades, as an admission officer, member of the Alumni Board, vice chair of the President’s Advisory Board, a Trustee and as the alumni representative on the college’s 2015-2016 strategic planning committee. She and her husband live on the Reser farm in Walla Walla.
Salma Anguiano, senior
Walla Walla, Washington
Salma Anguiano is in the Class of 2022 and double majoring in Chinese and Politics and completing a Global Studies concentration. She was raised in Hermiston, Oregon and is the daughter of immigrants. Through her Project Protejiendo Nuestras Raíces, Salma has worked on both a national and local level to educate the public about working conditions in the U.S. and flaws within the workers compensation system, as well as advocating for undocumented workers. Salma also works on various Whitman committees that address diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus, is 2021-22 Admissions Senior Intern, and the 2021-22 Associated Students of Whitman College President.
Elissa Brown
Walla Walla, Washington
Elissa Brown is Whitman's Campus Sustainability Coordinator, overseeing the Office of Sustainability as part of Facilities. She attended Carleton College for her B.A. with a major in Studio Art and a minor in Environmental Studies, and then went on to the University of Minnesota for a Master of Landscape Architecture with a minor in Sustainable Agriculture. She joined the Whitman staff in 2019. She chairs the President's Sustainability Advisory Committee and serves as an elected representative to the Whitman Staff Advisory Council. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening at the Rees & Sumach Community Garden.
Joseph Davis ’80
Miami, Florida
Joseph C. Davis earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Whitman College in 1980. He went on to earn an MBA from Harvard University in 1988. Davis is a Senior Partner, Managing Director and Chairman of BCG (Boston Consulting Group) North America. He oversees the company’s operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. He served the college as an Overseer from 2004-2014, and joined the Board of Trustees in 2014. He was elected vice chair in 2018. His family comes from Waitsburg as a wheat farming family. He and his wife, Sarah (Nordholm) Davis ’80, have four children, including Andrew ‘18.
Brian Dott
Walla Walla, Washington
Brian Dott is Professor of History and Asian & Middle Eastern Studies. His passion is teaching students about the culture and history of China. Two favorite classes involve collaborating with colleagues: “Horse Riders and Samurai” and “History and Ethnobiology of the Silk Roads.” His most recent book, The Chile Pepper in China (Columbia, 2020), explores how the Chinese adopted this American plant as their own. In his previous book, he explored intersections between pilgrimage, culture and identity (Identity Reflections, Harvard Asia Center, 2004). He began teaching at Whitman in the Fall of 2002. He has served as the Division Chair for the Social Sciences, Chair of History, Director of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, Director of Global Studies, and Chair of the Curriculum Committee.
Claire Evans ’96
Walla Walla, Washington
Claire Evans earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Whitman College in 1996 and participated in the Whitman in China program after graduation. She returned to the Seattle area and worked in the test prep industry and non-profit sector gaining experience in marketing, operations, event planning and fundraising. Claire and husband, Kain Evans ’96, returned to Walla Walla in 2014 with their two daughters. Claire is now a member of Whitman’s Development team as the Reunion Giving Officer for the milestone reunion fundraising program. She also volunteers as an Associate Class Representative and is serving on the 25th Reunion Committee. Claire is not only an alumna and staff member, but also a proud parent of a ’23 Whitman student.
Kirsten (Adams) Gable ’01
Spokane, Washington
Kirsten (Adams) Gable earned her bachelor's degree in Biology, minor in Environmental Studies, from Whitman in 2001. She followed that up with a MBA from Gonzaga University in 2010. Gable has spent her entire career in the field of management consulting, most of it at Sapere Consulting. Gable leads Sapere's Organizational Transformation Practice which provides clients with thoughtful insight and practical understanding of how to design and implement change to redirect or improve their organizations. Gable has served Whitman for over a decade as a regional volunteer, Vice President and President of the Alumni Board, and is a current member of the President's Advisory Board. She and her husband Brent live in Spokane, WA and are the proud parents of two daughters (and a couple of cats).
Stephen Hammond ’79
Potomac Falls, Virginia
Stephen Hammond earned a mathematics and geology degree from Whitman College in 1979, the first to do so prior to the college having an established Geology Department. Hammond retired from his role as the deputy associate director for Natural Hazards at the Department of the Interior’s United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 2015. He joined Whitman College’s Board of Trustees in 2014. He and his wife, Charlotte (Bibb) Hammond ’79 have served as associate class representatives since 1998. They have two daughters.
Rebecca Hanrahan
Walla Walla, Washington
Rebecca Hanrahan is an associate professor of philosophy here at Whitman. She received her A.B. from Smith College and her MA/PhD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She came to Whitman in 2003. Her areas of specialty are in epistemology and the philosophy of mind. She teaches courses in these fields as well as on Animals and Philosophy, Reproduction, Feminism, and Environmental Ethics. Since receiving tenure, she has served as the Director of the First Year Program and she has twice served as the Chair of the Humanities. Next academic year, she will be starting her term as Faculty Chair. She has border collie and a golden retriever mix. The border collie is a jerk.
Kurt Hoffman
Walla Walla, Washington
Kurt Hoffman began teaching Physics at Whitman in 1992 as a Visiting Assistant Professor and was hired in a tenure track line in 1994. In addition to teaching physics courses, he has taught both the first year Core and Encounters courses several times since 2002. His research interests have always centered on including undergraduate student participation. He began focusing on the optical characterization of laser materials and metallofullerenes and more recently shifted to studies in the acoustics of musical instruments and performance spaces. On June 30, 2021, he will complete his third and final year as Chair of Division III.
Peter Lewis ’81
Santa Barbara, California
Peter Lewis earned his degree in economics from Whitman College in 1981. He co-founded Firenze Designs Inc., an apparel manufacturer in 1982, which grew to include manufacturing facilities in California, Mexico and Asia. Subsequent ventures in apparel included private equity ownership in direct marketing companies Sundance and Athleta. Over the past 20 years, he has focused on developing and managing a portfolio of residential and commercial real estate in the western U.S. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.
Lauren Osborne
Walla Walla, Washington
Lauren Osborne is an associate professor of Religion and South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Whitman. A native of New Hampshire, she spent her childhood roaming the woods and frequenting the public library. A lifelong musician, Lauren started college at Lawrence University hoping to go on to a professional orchestral career. But she found the academic study of religion there, and graduated with both a BMus in Flute Performance and a BA in Religious Studies. She pursued her graduate studies at the University of Chicago, where she earned an AM and PhD in the study of religion, focusing on Islamic Studies. Her research is about the recitation of the Qur’an, and she teaches classes about Islam, sound, and religion and the senses. She has been at Whitman since 2014.
Aaron Perrine ’99
Seattle, Washington
Aaron Perrine is a Managing Director at Trilogy Search Partners, a private investment fund based in Bellevue, Washington. He grew up in Seattle and graduated from Whitman in 1999 with a degree in politics; he also earned a JD from the University of Washington School of Law, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. After an early stint as an infantry officer in the United States Army, Aaron worked as a consultant at McKinsey and as a product manager at Amazon. At Whitman, Aaron serves as the Chair of the President’s Advisory Board, and is a member of the Investment Committee and Resources Committee. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Paige, two children, two labradoodles, two (until recently three) chickens, a hedgehog, and a tortoise of uncertain age.
Akshay Shetty ’99
New York, New York
Akshay Shetty earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Whitman College in 1999. He went on to earn an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2006. Akshay is the CEO of Combe, Inc., a privately owned company operating in the health, beauty and personal care industry. He joined the Whitman College Board of Trustees in 2016. Akshay is originally from Mumbai, India and moved to the United States when Whitman took a chance on him and provided him a scholarship to attend the college. Akshay and his wife have two young children.
Jonathan Sposato ’89
Seattle, Washington
Jonathan Sposato earned his degree in political science with a minor in dramatic art from Whitman College in 1989. Sposato is the co-founder and chair of GeekWire and CEO of PicMonkey, the world’s most popular web photo-editor. A self-described serial entrepreneur and investor in many startups, Sposato is known for being the first person to sell two companies to Google. He joined the Board of Trustees in 2016.
Julie Taylor
Seattle, Washington
Julie Taylor is the proud parent Whitman alumnus Brooke Taylor ’18. Taylor joined the Whitman College Board of Trustees in 2018. She earned a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering in 1989 and a Master of Science in materials engineering and operations management in 1991, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the former director of business development at Physio-Control, Inc.
Christian Wallace-Bailey, senior
Walla Walla, Washington
Christian Wallace-Bailey was born and raised in Walla Walla and is a member of the Class of 2022, majoring in History with minors in Music, Classics, and with a concentration in Global Studies. Christian has worked in many different roles around campus, such as a senator on the Nominations and Appointments committee of the Associated Students of Whitman College, as an intern in both the President’s Office and the Career and Community Engagement Center, as a Tour Guide, and as a Resident Assistant. Christian recently studied abroad with DIS Stockholm and serves as the Student Representative to the Board of Trustees for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Helen Kim
Walla Walla, Washington
Helen Kim is Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean for Faculty Development. Her scholarship focuses on race and American Judaism in the contemporary era. She is co-author of JewAsian: Race, Religion, and Identity for America's Newest Jews (University of Nebraska Press, 2016). Helen has served in various administrative capacities at Whitman including Director of the Tenure-Track Faculty Mentoring Program, Director of Encounters, Department Chair and Interim Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. She is married to Noah Leavitt, Director of the Career and Community Engagement Center, and is parent to Ari and Talia Kim-Leavitt.