A Proven Leader Ready to Serve King County
Rob’s family roots run deep in King County. His father and grandfather were self-employed and raised their families in the county. After returning from WWII, his father started two businesses in Rainier Valley. Rob’s family instilled in him the importance of volunteering early on.
All that continued when the family moved to Shelton on the Olympic Peninsula.
Following high school, Rob earned his Business Administration and Political Science degree from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. He was honored as a Dean’s Scholar for his academic and volunteer achievements.
He returned to Shelton and continued the family business.
Rob founded Education First, a partnership between the Chamber of Commerce and the local school district to assist businesses in hiring high school students. Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Rob led one of the first delegations to visit Latvia. He helped organize humanitarian aid, bringing critical medical and public safety supplies to the newly independent country. He also organized the first high school visits to share insights with others.
Rob has always championed small business matters. Hundreds of business leaders elected him to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. There, he served as the Western Region States Co-Chair of Community Development.
Fast forward to today, Rob has dedicated the last 25 years to improving King County’s communities through public service.
He has made a profound impact wherever he has served.
While serving as the treasurer of Encompass, he helped the organization navigate through some of the most challenging financial times. He brought about greater financial stability, preserving its core mission of serving families while increasing pay and benefits for the staff.
When the Pandemic forced businesses to close, Rob took action. By partnering with the Chamber in weekly Zoom calls, Rob served as a trusted advisor for business owners. He spent evenings and weekends volunteering for his company to ensure local businesses got the aid they needed. In the end, over $3 million in vital aid was delivered to ninety local businesses, far exceeding the amount and number of PPP (Payroll Protection Plan) loans made by any other financial institution.
Then Rob continued to work helping businesses recover.
As the businesses needed help finding employees, Rob did another remarkable thing: he created SnoValleyJobs.com, a website dedicated to Snoqualmie Valley businesses.
Since its inception in 2021, SnoValley Jobs has helped eleven thousand job seekers search and find new jobs annually. All this happened partly due to the SnoValley Innovation Center, a nonprofit Rob co-founded, and Rob’s tenacity in managing this in his free time at no cost to any of the 130-plus businesses and agencies utilizing this valuable service.
As a governmental leader, Rob is continuing to make an impact.
Today’s work on State Highway 18 is one example.
Rob helped elevate this in 2014 as one of his first actions on the Snoqualmie Economic Development Commission. Through a bi-partisan effort and regional cooperation, we are finally seeing the results of the collaborative work.
Other efforts from Rob’s Commission work are evident today.
He has personally organized multiple Housing Forums and recently concluded a two-year Housing Task Force to assist cities in Snoqualmie Valley. He formed the SnoValley Innovation Center to provide technical assistance to businesses and startups with weekly Innovation Friday meetings that are open to all. Rob also led the historic Economic Alliance, the first time a coordinated effort between the cities of Carnation, Duvall, North Bend, and Snoqualmie, and the Snoqualmie Tribe, along with support from the King County Department of Local Services.
To better understand how other cities manage public safety, the Sound Cities Association appointed Rob as one of eight local elected officials representing thirty-eight cities outside Seattle on the Regional Law, Safety, and Justice Committee. He regularly meets with leaders across jurisdictions, managing all facets of community policing and judicial matters. This is incredibly valuable in Rob’s work as the Snoqualmie Public Safety Committee chair.
Rob has the experience, know-how, and proven results that will serve us well on the King County Council. He knows how to bring people with a broad range of backgrounds together. He is an effective and enthusiastic leader. He is exactly who we need to work for us on the King County Council!
