Moonwater Reappointed to Secretary of State's Charities Advisory Council

We are pleased to announce that Moonwater, our Executive Director, has been reappointed to serve on the Secretary of State’s Charities Advisory Council.

According to the Secretary of State’s website, the Charities Advisory Council was created to advise the Secretary in determining training and educational needs of charitable organizations and creating model policies related to governance and administration of charitable organizations, assist the Secretary in identifying emerging issues affecting charitable organizations, and advise the Secretary on other related issues.

Council members are appointed by the Secretary of State; they represent a broad range of charities by size, mission, and geographic region of the state. Council members come from a range of professional backgrounds and possess general expertise in the management and leadership of charitable organizations. 

Moonwater was first appointed to the Advisory Council in June of 2011. About her recent re-appointment, Moonwater says, “It's an honor to serve as a voice for Whatcom County nonprofits in the important education and policy work of this Council”.

Moonwater has served as the Executive Director for the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center since 2005, and she possesses more than 18 years of experience in the field of dispute resolution. She is the lead instructor for the WDRC’s 40 hour Professional Mediation Training, and provides customized conflict management training to numerous nonprofit organizations, tribal departments, local governments, businesses, and associations. She has trained thousands of individuals in effective conflict management skills.

Previous recognition Moonwater has received includes: her appointment by the Whatcom County Council to serve on the Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force, her appointment to the Domestic Violence Commission, being awarded the Liberty Bell Award by the Whatcom County Bar Association, being honored with a Ken Glass Community Builder Award, and in 2017 being named Professional Woman of the Year by Whatcom Women in Business. In 2014, the WDRC was selected as the Bellingham-Whatcom Chamber of Commerce’s Nonprofit of the Year.