Executive Office leadership team

Previously a state senator, Jarrett also served four terms in the state House of Representatives, after stints as Mercer Island Mayor and as a city council and school board member. Mr. Jarrett has also had a 35-year career at The Boeing Company.

 Yang most recently served as the Executive’s director of external affairs and government relations. Previously, he was chief of staff for Seattle City Light. His 14 years of  experience in state and local government includes serving as council relations director for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, legislative aide for Seattle City Council member Martha  Choe, and deputy director for the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.

For the past 19 years, Berry worked at the City of Tukwila, the past five years as City Administrator with responsibility for eight department directors, 315 full-time employees, and a general operating budget of about $45 million. Prior to her career with Tukwila, she spent nearly 12 years as a systems engineer for the IBM Corporation.

Woods most recently served as the Executive’s council relations manager. Previously, he was policy director for Constantine when he served on the King County Council. Woods has also worked in senior level positions on numerous campaigns. Prior to that, Woods spent several years in investment banking, helping small businesses raise start-up capital.

During her 16-year tenure with King County, Whalen has managed a number of complex projects and initiatives, including the county’s nationally-recognized employee health reform initiative and planning for continuity of county operations during emergency events such as pandemic flu and extreme weather. Recently Whalen led the countywide effort known as the Accountable Business Transformation (ABT) program, which has the goal to streamline business processes for financial, human resource, payroll, benefits and budget operations.

Prior to King County, Dively had a 22-year career with City of Seattle, most recently serving as Director of Finance and leading the city’s financial and budget management initiatives since 1994. He also served the mayor as Executive Services Director and the city council as staff director and budget analyst. Since 1989 Dively has also taught public financial management and public budgeting at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, where three times he was named "Outstanding Teacher."

Cihak comes to the Executive Office after eight years as a senior-level policy and budget analyst for the Metropolitan King County Council. Her most recent assignment has been as lead staff for the King County Board of Health. Prior to that she worked on a wide range of complex policy issues, including pandemic influenza preparedness plans, cost analysis of the State v. Ridgway (Green River killer) case, and the financial plan for the County's general fund. She is trained as a Ph.D.-level economist and worked on international trade and finance for President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers.

 Abe served for seven years as communications director for the Metropolitan King County Council and executive producer of King County TV, cable channel 22. He previously    served as communications director for former County Executive Gary Locke, and as a media specialist in the King County Department of Transportation. For 14 years he covered  local government and the King County Courthouse as a news reporter for KIRO Newsradio 710, and produced an independent film for PBS. He was a founding member of the Seattle chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.

Jones has served in a communications and media relations role for three Executive administrations and two other local governments, where she has focused on public outreach and government accessibility. Before working in government, she was a television news assignment editor, producer, reporter, and anchor. She received her BA from Pomona College in English and Media Studies and her MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix.

Cole-Tindall has served four different county departments over the past 12 years, most recently as Assistant Director of the Community Corrections Division in the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD). Prior to that, she worked as HR Service Delivery Manager for the Office of Information Resources Management, as an Employee and Labor Relations Representative in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, and as an Internal Affairs Manager with DAJD managing the department's internal investigations program. Previously, Ms. Cole-Tindall was responsible for the regional investigative program at the Washington State Employment Security Department which was designed to detect fraud and theft of unemployment insurance benefits. She also has experience with the Washington State Gambling Commission, where she planned, organized and conducted complex criminal, administrative and financial investigations.

Ordoñez is a native of the Willamette Valley region of Oregon and a graduate of Willamette University. He served as a policy advisor in the Oregon State Legislature in both the House and Senate, and helped coordinate the 2009 Homeless Needs Assessment for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.