Legislative Advisory Committee Members

Justin Ruffridge

Representative, Alaska State Legisalture

Loki Tobin

Senator, Alaska State Legisalture

Ken Bennett

Senator, Arizona State Legislature

Jennifer Bacon

Representative, Colorado State Legislature

Dafna Michaelson Jenet

Representative, Colorado State Legislature

Lisa Kitagawa

Representative, Hawai'i State Legislature

Donna Mercado Kim

Senator, Hawai'i State Legislature

Michelle N. Kidani

Senator, Hawai'i State Legislature

Amy Perruso

Representative, Hawai'i State Legislature

Kevin Cook

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

Dave Lent

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

Senator Dave Lent represents District 33 in the Idaho State Senate, where he is a member of the education and agricultural affairs committees. He is sitewide training manager for Fluor Idaho at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he oversees both regulatory and facility-specific training programs and served as chair for the Energy Facilities Contracting Group. He received a Distinguished Leadership award from the Department of Energy for regulatory reform and cost-cutting initiatives, has consulted in the nuclear power industry in radiation protection and training, has managed several multimillion-dollar projects, and has participated in mission-critical activities at the INL since 1980. He served on the Idaho Falls School District 91 Board of Trustees, where he played a key role in replacing four elementary schools and transitioning a junior high into a successful project-based high school. A graduate of Eastern Idaho Technical College and Idaho State University, he and his wife, Terri, have five children and twelve grandchildren.

Lori McCann

Representative, Idaho State Legislature

Carrie Semmelroth

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

David Bedey

Representative, Montana State Legislature

Llew Jones

Representative, Montana State Legislature

Daniel Salomon

Senator, Montana State Legislature

Paul Tuss

Representative, Montana State Legislature

Marilyn Dondero Loop

Senator, Nevada State Legislature

Sandra Jauregui

Assemblywoman, Nevada State Legislature

Melanie Scheible

Senator, Nevada State Legislature

Robin Titus

Senator, Nevada State Legislature

G. Andrés Romero

Representative, New Mexico State Legislature

Debra Sariñana

Representative, New Mexico Legislature

Bill Soules

Senator, New Mexico State Legislature

Bill Soules was appointed to the WICHE Commission in May 2023. He was born and raised in the Mesilla Valley, and has been a lifelong advocate for the interests of students. He has served as a state senator since 2013, taught in the Las Cruces Public Schools for 16 years, and served as president of the New Mexico School Board Association and a member of the Las Cruces School Board. Soules serves as the senate representative to the New Mexico Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NM EPSCoR), a statewide consortium expanding the state’s capacity to conduct scientific research and train a diverse, highly qualified STEM workforce.

Kyle Davison *

Senator, North Dakota Legislature

Kyle Davison has served as a Senator in the North Dakota Legislature since 2014 and represents District 41 in south Fargo. He currently serves on the Appropriations committee and previously chaired Government Veterans Affairs and was a member of the Education committee for three sessions.

In addition, Senator Davison is the Executive Director of the South East Education Cooperative (SEEC). He has held that position since July 2005. The SEEC serves 36 school districts, nearly 38,000 students and over 3500 teachers by providing support to schools in areas such as professional development, business services, special education, and curriculum development.

Kyle is a graduate of Valley City State University with a degree in Business Administration.

Karen Krebsbach

Senator, North Dakota Legislature

Bob Martinson

Representative, North Dakota State Legislature

Mark Sanford

Representative, North Dakota State Legislature

Lew Frederick

Senator, Oregon State Legislature

Ricki Ruiz

Representative, Oregon State Legislature

Casey Crabtree

Senator, South Dakota State Legislature

Roger DeGroot

Representative, South Dakota State Legislature

Reynold Nesiba

Senator, South Dakota Legislature

Tim Reed

Senator, South Dakota State Legislature

Manny Gregory Castro

Representative, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Kalani Kaneko

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senator, Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands

Kalani Kaneko has served as a Senator in the Republic of the Marshall Islands Legislature since 2016 and represents the Capital City of Majuro Atoll. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Heath, Education, and Social Affairs (HESA) committee and has been a member for two terms.

In addition, Senator Kaneko is currently a member of the Marshall Islands Scholarships, Grant, and Loan Board (MISGLB). The MISGLB serves as oversight for the nation’s scholarship program for postsecondary education locally and overseas.

Senator Kaneko is a graduate of Post University with degrees in Marketing and Business Management.

Tina Rose Muña Barnes

Senator, Guam Legislature

Amanda Shelton

Senator, Guam Legislature

Keith Grover

Senator, Utah State Legislature

Michael McKell

Senator, Utah State Legislature

Ann Millner *

WICHE Vice Chair, Senator, Utah State Legislature

Senator F. Ann Millner represents Senate District 5, encompassing parts of Davis, Morgan, and Weber counties. Elected to the Senate in 2015, she currently serves as majority whip and chair of the School Security Task Force and Senate Ethics Committee. Additionally, Millner contributes her leadership and expertise to several legislative collaborative organizations across the nation, including the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Foundation Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Born in Middlesboro, Kentucky, and raised in Clarksville, Tennessee, Millner’s academic journey includes a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee, a master’s from Southwest Texas State University, and a doctorate from Brigham Young University. She is distinguished as a regents professor of health administration and served as president of Weber State University from 2002 to 2012. Under Millner’s leadership, Weber State University expanded into a multi-campus institution, saw a nearly 40% rise in enrollment, and strengthened its community partnerships.

Millner’s legislative efforts are driven by a deep commitment to enhancing Utah’s education system and fostering economic development. She has championed policy aimed at strengthening workforce preparation, improving public and higher education, bolstering aerospace defense industries, and expanding access to affordable healthcare.

Karen Peterson

Representative, Utah State Legislature

Debra Entenman

Representative, Washington State Legislature

Mari Leavitt

Representative, Washington State Legislature

Gerry Pollet

Representative, Washington State Legislature

Representative Gerry Pollet has served in the Washington State House since December 2011. Pollet is an attorney and faculty member at both the University of Washington School of Public Health and Western Washington University. Pollet serves on the Postsecondary Education, Education, Appropriation and Rules Committees. Pollet was deeply involved in developing and passing the Washington College Grant, accompanied by dedicated funding, to provide one of the nation’s broadest need-based aid programs. He was the author of a program responding to the critical shortage of teachers in Washington, including a grant program to pay tuition for low-income students seeking to be teachers in underserved areas. Pollet has been honored several times as the Legislator of the Year for his work to improve affordable access to higher education and improved student success. He is the House sponsor of The Washington Promise, for free community college tuition.

Vandana Slatter

Representative, Washington State Legislature

Fred Baldwin *

Senator, Wyoming State Legislature

Fred Baldwin, a physician assistant in Kemmerer, and is serving his second term in the Wyoming State Senate. He is the chairman of the select committee on behavioral health, the Senate’s labor, health and social services committee as well as on the revenue committee. Baldwin is active in his community as Chief of the South Lincoln fire district. He also works with Kemmerer’s suicide prevention group. He is a fourth-generation Wyomingite who graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in physician assistant studies and earlier was enrolled in the nursing program at Casper College and pursued studies at the University of Wyoming, the University of Wisconsin Washington County, and Western Oregon State University.

Landon Brown

Representative, Wyoming State Legislature

Wendy Schuler

Senator, Wyoming State Legislature

Art Washut

Representative, Wyoming State Legislature