OlyFed announces board appointment and retirements

Olympia Federal Savings (OlyFed) announced sweeping board changes on April 29, including a new appointment, two reelections and the retirement of two longtime board members. 

Seated as the board's newest member is Heather Burgess, a real estate and land use attorney at Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess, PLLC. 

Burgess concentrates her practice on municipal law and port districts, currently serving as contract general counsel to the Port of Tacoma. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her law degree from the University of Washington. 

She spent 13 years on active duty as a U.S. Army officer, including six as a judge advocate. She continued her service with the Washington Army National Guard before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2016. 

Locally, Burgess previously served on the Boys and Girls Clubs of Thurston County Board of Directors, and currently sits on the Thurston County Economic Development Council Board of Directors. 

OlyFed President and CEO Josh Deck said her background positions the bank to better serve the region. 

"Heather has a great understanding of the economic landscape of our region and the critical issues impacting growth and development," said Deck in a statement.

"Having someone with Heather's caliber of expertise in real estate, land use and environmental law helps us be a better and more effective community partner." 

Meanwhile, at its April annual meeting, the bank bid farewell to two retiring board members, Kathleen Bauknight and Mary Gentry, awarding both with emeritus status. 

Bauknight was Director of Real Estate for St. Martin's Abbey when she joined the board 30 years ago. She chaired the Audit Committee for much of her tenure. 

Gentry, a former English and drama teacher who later was an estate planning attorney with Bean & Gentry for more than 30 years, served 28 years on the board and headed the Governance Committee for much of her tenure. 

Deck said their departures marked the end of a transformative era for the institution. 

"During their time on the board, both Kathleen and Mary were part of a team that helped the bank almost triple its asset size, move from paper to digital processes and double its branch locations," Deck said. "They are both pioneers in every sense of the word and their leadership in the community goes well beyond their work with the bank." 

The annual meeting also saw the reelection of Genevieve Canceko-Chan and Parfait Bassale to three-year terms. Canceko-Chan will chair the Audit Committee and Bassale will lead the Governance Committee. 

Deck said the reelections come at a time of increasing community need, adding OlyFed's mutual banking model continues to make a measurable difference in affordable housing, economic development and financial education.