SSS Board
T J Johnson
Board President
TJ is a former union organizer and shop steward who established and ran a successful bed and breakfast, was a founder and long-time president of the Upper Eastside Neighborhood Association, and served as a citizen representative on several city advisory committees. He’s a past member of Garden Raised Bounty (GRuB) Board of Directors, and the founder of Beyond Hiroshima, a grassroots anti-nuclear education and advocacy organization. He was a featured speaker at the 2006 Japan Peace Conference, and a member of the World Peace Forum International Advisory Committee. In 2006, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility awarded him the prestigious Paul Beeson Peace Prize for “his extraordinary leadership towards a world free of nuclear weapons and war”. TJ also served six years on the Olympia City Council, chairing the Finance Committee and the Intercity Transit Authority, and was a passionate advocate for a more sustainable community and a more peaceful world.”
Monica Gilmore
Board Vice President & Secretary
Monica offers 19 years of brand experience including expertise communication strategies, planning, project management, design, copywriting, public relations and the supervision of brand implementation through online and offline media. She holds a master’s in communication arts from the VCU BrandCenter and a BA from The University of Texas at Austin. Her storytelling approach, put to work in shops across the nation, has helped companies like Columbia Crest Wines, JanSport, The North Face and Amtrak meet their performance goals. She and her husband are nurturing a sustainable home on the Olympic Peninsula with their son and Huskies.
Chris Hawkins
Board Treasurer
Chris is a graduate of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia. He works for the Thurston County Public Health department as its Active Healthy Communities Coordinator, preventing chronic disease by making environment and policy changes to support healthier eating and increased physical activity. Chris has served over the past decade with several South Sound public interest and non-profit organizations in environment and social development work, including Alliance for Public Transportation, Capital Bicycling Club, Climate Solutions/Energy Outreach Center, Olympia Safe Streets, South Sound YMCA and SPEECH. He has followed a passion for outdoor activity by advocating for non-motorized transportation and trails at the local and state level.
Cindy Beck
Cindy Beck earned her Naturopathic degree from Bastyr University. A native Pennsylvanian, she relocated to the Olympia area in 1984, and has taught at college level since 1986, currently entering her eighteenth year as a member of the Evergreen State College faculty. In addition to teaching, she owned and operated a private practice in Lewis County in the early 1990s, and for the past eight years has worked at the Chehalis Tribal Wellness Center. She is a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor who empowers others to achieve their wellness goals through a healthy lifestyle, which includes exercise and whole foods.
Rachel Friedman
Rachel Friedman has a Masters of Forest Science from the University of Washington and a Bachelors of Science from Hampshire College. This science background led her into the environmental regulatory world for approximately 30 years. Her career spanned local, state and federal service in a variety of capacities. She rounded out her public service career with the National Marine Fisheries Service implementing the Endangered Species Act. She was primarily responsible for working on pesticide toxicity issues affecting threatened and endangered salmon species throughout the Pacific Northwest. She has a deep abiding passion for the protection of our earth. Currently, Rachel owns a small business in Olympia, Motion in Balance Studio. She serves on the board of the Zonta Club of Olympia and is also a member of Dining out for Women. Rachel has 2 sons, both grown and gone and is married to Larry Geri, faculty of Evergreen State College.
Joe Hyer
Joe Hyer graduated from Pacific University in 1994, with a degree in Creative Writing. By 1996, he had opened The Alpine Experience, an outdoor retail store in Downtown Olympia. He served on the Olympia City Council from 2004-2010- including assignments such as – Solid Waste Advisory Committee (County & State), Visitor & Convention Bureau Board, EDC Board, EMS Council, General Government Committee Chair, and Finance Chair. In addition, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Outdoor Industry Association (Nat’l trade group) and Olympia Downtown Association.
Currently, Joe is co-owner of Alpine Experience & The Bike Stand as well as part owner of the Warehouse Rock Gym. In addition to serving on the SSS board, he serves as President of the Board for Harlequin Productions, boardmember for the PARC foundation, and boardmember for the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Coalition. He lives in Downtown Olympia with his husband Shawn and their Great Dane, Baldur. Standard commute to work is 12 minutes- on foot.
