About Us
History
The Residents Coalition of Chelan County (RC3) was formed to give residents a strong and powerful voice in the issues and projects that are shaping the future of this place we call home. We inform residents about issues, projects, and plans so you can influence decisions affecting your future. We are active in local decision-making processes to ensure that the residents’ perspective is heard.
Our Mission
To work with residents to ensure that future growth and development in Chelan County preserves and enhances the qualities that residents value the most—rural character, a strong sense of community, and a healthy and beautiful natural environment.
Board Members
Kathy Branch
Manson
I am an interior designer and reside in Manson. My husband and I relocated to the Chelan Valley after purchasing farmland in 2005. The home I currently own is a 100 year old cottage that I restored a few years ago.
My long career has been in business; design and fashion are the focus of my life's work. I sold my two successful retail stores in Austin, Texas before moving to Manson. The natural beauty of the surroundings were first and foremost in our choosing to spend the rest of our lives here.
I have family in the Seattle and Okanogan County areas. My mother's family were native and I spent most of my childhood on the Colville Reservation. The ties to this part of the country are long and stretching back many generations. Both my husband and father were Texans; I lived in Austin for forty years.
I hope to be of some service in future to this place I call home.
Ken Hemberry
Peshastin
I was born in Wenatchee. As a child, I played in the shade of apple and pear trees on my parents orchard. As I grew older, I learned how to thin the fruit on those trees so the remaining fruit could grow larger. In the fall, we picked the fruit and took it to the warehouse to be packed.
When my father retired, my wife and I bought the orchard where we raised our three kids and taught them to tend to the trees. In 2006, I was hired to be the General Manager of Peshastin Hi-Up Growers, a fruit cooperative that packs fresh pears and the same warehouse where my parents took their fruit. I remained in that capacity until my retirement in 2022. I am grateful for the opportunity that Hi-Up provided me and for the many relationships that I made with growers, employees and external contacts while there.
I have a deep connection to the Wenatchee Valley and the surrounding areas. I joined the Board of RC3 because I want residents to have a say in how the future of Chelan County is shaped and I want to do what I can to facilitate that.
Dorothy Johnston
LeavenworthDorothy moved to Seattle in the early 1990’s. She and her husband bought their home near Leavenworth in 2011 and moved there a few years later. She retired from a career in accounting and IT in 2015. Dorothy has previously served on local boards of a national environmental group and has spent countless hours volunteering at habitat restoration events. She enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and travel. Dorothy reflects often on how lucky she is to live in such a beautiful area, with so much nature and open space to enjoy.
Ed Martinez
Lake Wenatchee
Ed Martinez is a former Microsoft employee with 25 years of experience in various roles and locations, including Redmond, India, and Denmark. He currently lives at Lake Wenatchee in Leavenworth, where he enjoys the natural beauty and tranquility of the area. Ed has a passion for civic engagement and data analysis, especially around voting and mapping. He served as a Planning Commissioner for two years, where he helped shape the future development and growth of his community. He also co-chaired the Redistricting Committee for the State Democrats, where he played a key role in redrawing the district lines based on the latest census data. Ed is a skilled and knowledgeable leader who strives to make a positive impact on his society.
Julie McCoy
ChelanJulie relocated to Chelan from Southern California after retiring from a 35-year career as a trial and appellate attorney in Newport Beach. She is a past president of the Orange County Bar Association and of the Public Law Center, Orange County’s largest provider of pro bono legal services for the disadvantaged. She received the O.C. Bar Association’s Franklin G. West lifetime achievement award in 2018. Julie has a strong heart for service and is committed to helping her new community home deliver a better quality of life for its residents. To that end, she is a founder and current president of 911 Glass Rescue, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that repurposes post-consumer glass for the Chelan Valley (www.911glassrescue.org). Julie is also privileged to serve as Secretary of the Lake Chelan Rotary Club and is a past director of Chelan Valley Hope, another local non-profit serving the lesser-advantaged.
Brian Patterson
MansonBrian Patterson has been a resident of Manson, Washington since 2014. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1984 and a doctorate degree in chemistry in 1990. Brian then undertook a 25 year career as an environmental consultant specializing in air quality, human health risk assessment, and regulatory compliance. Since full retirement in 2015, he has served on the boards of numerous environmental and community service/advocacy nonprofits and co-founded a glass recycling nonprofit in the city of Chelan. He enjoys hiking, biking, motorcycling, and photography.
Kirvil Skinnarland
LeavenworthKirvil has been a full time resident of Leavenworth since 2008. Prior to retirement, she worked in a management capacity on issues related to the environment, natural resource management, and energy for local and state governmental agencies. She also was a trustee and the Executive Director of a small family foundation that funded animal protection here in the United States and overseas. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and graduate degrees from the University of Washington and Penn State University.
She is an active volunteer in the community and is committed to preserving our rural quality of life and the unique ecosystems in our mountains, rivers and lakes. She enjoys hiking, biking, gardening and making baskets.
David Stoller
Plain
David is a retired family physician. He practiced in Everett, WA for 25 years. Previously, he held an academic post at the University of Wisconsin and was co-director of a fellowship program in Family Systems Medicine. He also has practiced medicine in a small rural community in northern coastal California. He and his wife live in Plain. In addition to volunteer work, he enjoys gardening, hiking, kayaking, XC skiing, reading, traveling and learning new skills.
Ken Yalowitz
Leavenworth
Ken and his wife Jan have been recreating in Chelan County for nearly 40 years. They have owned their home in the City of Leavenworth for more than 10 years. Ken is an avid biker (mountain, road and gravel - in that order), runner and skier (cross country and downhill). Ken recently retired from practicing law as a construction litigator in Seattle. His practice was concentrated on representing design professionals, owners and contractors in resolving disputes arising out of construction projects. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Law where he served as editor-in-chief of the law journal. He served on and chaired the Construction Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Associated General Contractors of Washington, and the City of Issaquah Planning Policy Commission, and served as a board member of the Luana Water Association on Vashon Island. While raising their sons in Issaquah he served as a little league coach and a cub scout leader. Ken is enthusiastic about preserving the spectacular natural environment of Chelan County in the face of changes driven by inevitable population growth.