PROTEC17 is governed by our members via the Regional Executive Committee who are guided by our constitution and a common mission to improve the lives of our families and communities. The PROTEC17 Executive Board is the equivalent of a board of directors, with a President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and three Trustees. The Board meets monthly to make policy decisions between REC meetings and exercises financial oversight of our operations. Each board member is elected by a membership-wide vote and serves a three-year term. The day-to-day administrative and financial operations of PROTEC17 are the responsibility of the Executive Director, who reports to the Executive Board. The Executive Director hires and supervises PROTEC17 staff and serves as an official representative of PROTEC17 in labor relations and business matters. PROTEC 17 staff are experts in their fields. From labor relations and labor law professionals, to communications, research, financial and political specialists, PROTEC17 staff help the organization achieve its goals. And many staff members are PROTEC17 members themselves!
Executive Board
Hossein BarahimiPresident
Sean SimmonsVice President
Cindy Watanabe-MezsSecretary Treasurer
Jessica GarciaTrustee
Mary DavisTrustee
Sarah SpottsTrustee
Hossein BarahimiPresident
Hossein Barahimi has been a proud member of PROTEC17 since the 1990s. In that time, he has served as a Steward, Policy Committee member, Contract Negotiator, REC Delegate, Executive Board Trustee, and Executive Board Vice-President. He has been President since 2018. Hossein has worked for King County as a Transportation Planner/Manager for nearly 30 years. He graduated from University of Washington with a BS in Psychology and a MS in Transportation Planning. He lives in Bothell, Washington with his wife; he has three children and is a proud grandfather.
Sean SimmonsVice President
Sean Simmons
Cindy Watanabe-MezsSecretary Treasurer
Cindy was born and raised in Seattle. She graduated from Seattle University with a B.A. in Marketing and Management and worked in the employee benefits and human resources fields before joining King County Metro in 1999, where she is currently a Project/Program Manager. Cindy has previously served as a Board member to a condo association and a Treasurer for her children’s school. Her three boys (including her husband) keep her busy as a chauffeur and multi-tasker extraordinaire.
Jessica GarciaTrustee
As a PROTEC17 member, Jessica Garcia has served as an REC Delegate, a Steward, on the bargaining team for the last two contract negotiations with Benton-Franklin Health, and as Trustee since 2017. Jessica has been working for the Benton Franklin Health District since 2010, where she has served in many roles as a WIC Nutrition Aide, Communicable Disease Health Services worker, Vaccine Coordinator, and HIV Case Manager. She is currently a Public Health Educator serving the Tri-Cities community with a primary focus on the latinx community and those affected by HIV. Jessica graduated from Central Washington University with a BS in Information Technology and Administrative Management. She is an eastern Washington native who currently resides in the Tri-Cities with her two children.
Mary DavisTrustee
Mary Davis was born in Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Urban Planning and an MA in Public Administration. She has worked as a city and county planner for many years. Currently, Mary works for Seattle City Light as a Senior Real Property Agent. She has served PROTEC17 in many capacities, and has been on the Board since 2018.
Sarah SpottsTrustee
Sarah Spotts is an Engineer in the Engineering Planning group at the City of Portland Water Bureau and is licensed in Oregon, Washington, and California. She currently models the hydraulics in distribution systems to understand the system and plan for the future. She’s been an active member since joining the City in 2013, and was the driving force behind greatly improving the vacation leave accrual rates at the City of Portland. While she’s lived in many places across the US, she’s spent much of her adult life in the Northwest. For the past 7 years, Sarah has lived and worked in Portland, OR, but she can frequently be found in Bellingham, WA where she has immediate family.
Staff
Karen EsteveninExecutive Director
Denise CobdenUnion Representative
Annie CostelloUnion Representative
Anthony DavidsonOperations Director
Deidre GirardCommunications Director
Alisha Gregory DavisUnion Organizer
Elliot LevinResearch Director and Legislative Advocate
Sarah LorenziniUnion Representative
Melissa MafuaUnion Organizer
Jackie MillerFinance Director
Vince OliveriStrategic Initiatives Director
Steven PrayUnion Representative
Ray SugarmanUnion Representative
Shaun Van EykUnion Representative
Brent WagarUnion Representative
Lorelei WalkerUnion Representative
Rachel WhitesideUnion Representative
Alexis YoungUnion Representative
Donna ClarkeCommunications Specialist
Laura EliaMembership Administrator
Karen EsteveninExecutive Director
| 800-783-0017 ext. 101
Denise CobdenUnion Representative
Denise Cobden represents members at King County (DOT/Roads, IT, OEM, PHASS, Transit).
| 800-783-0017 ext. 127
Annie CostelloUnion Representative
Annie Costello represents Public Health members at Benton-Franklin, Chelan-Douglas, Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom and Yakima.
| 800-783-0017 ext. 120
Anthony DavidsonOperations Director
Anthony Davidson is our Operations Director.
| 800-783-0017 ext. 121
Deidre GirardCommunications Director
| 800-783-0017 ext. 130
Alisha Gregory DavisUnion Organizer
| 800-783-0017 ext. 116
Elliot LevinResearch Director and Legislative Advocate
Elliot conducts internal and external research for union-wide and contract-specific issues, and advocates for worker-friendly policies in the Oregon Legislature on behalf of our Portland Chapter members.
| 800-783-0017 ext. 128
Sarah LorenziniUnion Representative
Sarah Lorenzini represents members at WSDOT throughout the Puget Sound region.
| 800-783-0017 ext. 110
Melissa MafuaUnion Organizer
| 800-783-0017 ext. 129
Jackie MillerFinance Director
| 800-783-0017 ext. 102
Vince OliveriStrategic Initiatives Director
| 800-783-0017 ext. 108
Steven PrayUnion Representative
Steven Pray represents members at the City of Seattle (City Light, Housing, IT, Municipal Court, Neighborhoods, SPU Contact Center).
| 800-783-0017 ext. 105
Ray SugarmanUnion Representative
Ray Sugarman represents members at the City of Seattle (Arts & Culture, Civil Rights, Econ. Dev., Ethics, Finance, Fire, Law, Parks, Retirement, Seattle Center, SPU).
| 800-783-0017 ext. 107
Shaun Van EykUnion Representative
Shaun Van Eyk represents members at the City of Seattle (DEEL, SDCI, HSD, Municipal Court, Planning & Dev., Police, SDOT).
| 800-783-0017 ext. 133
Brent WagarUnion Representative
Brent Wagar represents members at City of Tacoma, Pierce County, and Kitsap Public Health.
| 800-783-0017 ext. 131
Lorelei WalkerUnion Representative
Lorelei Walker represents members at King County (17A, Court Reporters, Managers, Public Health)
| 800-783-0017 ext. 122
Rachel WhitesideUnion Representative
Rachel Whiteside represents members at the City of Portland and Clark County.
| 800-783-0017 ext. 113
Alexis YoungUnion Representative
Alexis Young represents members at the Washington State Department of Licensing, Spokane County, Spokane Regional Health District, WSDOT units in Central and Eastern Washington, and the Washington State Patrol.
