Board of Directors and Officers

During the middle of August, the call went out to WSU Animal Sciences Alumni to serve on the Friends of Animal Sciences Board of Directors for the group that was being put together by several people.  The board represents a diversity of backgrounds, interests, and geography.  Nineteen individuals responded to the call and your Board of Directors are as follows:

Brian Treasure: (class of 1973 BS Animal Nutrition) I have been a High School Ag teacher for 10 years, but also now own a feed and garden store in Vancouver. I Also have a small farm in timber and hogs. I am a Member of the Board of Directors for the Clark/Cowlitz County Farm Bureau, and also work as a Safety Consultant for an insurance company in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. I have two sons who have graduated from WSU, one in Business and one in Agriculture.

Dianne Appel: I am a 1974 Graduate of WSU with a BS in Animal Science. I am living near Colfax on a wheat & barley farm with my husband, Steve and our son Peter. I have Suffolk & Icelandic sheep at this time. I am involved with FFA, being the Colfax FFA Alumni President. I also judge at the State FFA Convention. I am the Secretary\Treasurer of the Whitman County Farm Bureau.

Joe Blake: Joe spent his entire career working wnd for the dairy industry as a student, herdsman, and educator.  He received is BS degree in Animal Science from WSC in 1955, spent 2 years in the Marine corps, and married Rose Novak of Sultan in 1951.  They have three children who are also alumni of WSU.  Joe was the Dairy Herdsman for the JC Knott Dairy Center for 37 years.  Joe has served on various committees of the State Holtein Association, Dairy Federation, and Purebred Dairymen's Cattle Association.  He judged many fairs, member of the Dairy Strhine, and Advisor to his Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.  His biggest joy was coaching the WSU Dairy judging teams. In 2006 he was honored with the outstanding Alumnus award from the Deparment of Animal Sciences.  He and his wife are loyal Cogar fans and enjoy their retirement years in Whitman County.

Callie Fernandez: While I attended WSU, I participated in the following clubs/organizations: Block and Bridle (Secretary/Treasurer 2002-03) & (Member 2000-03); Cougar Cattle Feeders (Herdsman 2002-03) & (Secretary 2001-02); Agriculture and Home Economics Student Senate (Treasurer 2001-02) & (Senator 2000-03). I am currently a Relationship Manager at US Bank, focusing primarily on small business and ag lending. While holding my position with US Bank, I also am actively involved in the family cattle ranch in Sunnyside

Charlie Gaskins:

Bob Hinrichs:

Joseph Niemann: (class of 1986; Yakima) My wife, Marti and I have been married for 16 years, we have 3 girls, Danielle, 7, Monica 9 and Suzanne 14. Each of the girls is active in 4H as I am, currently a 4H leader. We are a multi-disciplined group from raising cats, rabbits, horses and beef. I am a member of Yakima county 4H horse council, serve with fellow leaders at the West Valley Fair. We currently home school our 3 children. When asked to describe myself, one may say I try to be fair and find common ground if there are differences, explains situations when individuals do not understand. I have a good sense of humor and laugh when things are fun.

Marvin Hoekema: (class of 1996 BS) I own a consulting business (Dairy Decisions Consulting, LLC) that is based in Visalia, CA with a nationwide presence. I was active in Dairy Club and CUDS and currently using the knowledge gained at WSU in my consulting practice after some grad work at the Univ. of Florida. My interests are business development, coaching, and financial improvement. I stay busy traveling and always enjoy meeting and working with new people and personalities.

Doug McFarland:  Doug McFarland is a native of Connecticut, receiving his B. A. Degree in Biology from Southern Connecticut State University.  Following graduation he worked as a laboratory technician in the Department of Physiology at Yale University for one year.  He then moved to Pullman, Washington in 1972 to pursue his M.S. Degree in Chemistry with C. A. “Bud” Ryan working with plant protease inhibitors.  Following graduation in 1975, Doug moved to Corvallis, Oregon to work with the USDA/ARS in the Botany and Plant Pathology Department at Oregon State University.  In the summer of 1976 he returned to Pullman to pursue his doctorate and work as a lab technician for Drs. Craig Coon and Merton Pubols in the area of poultry nutrition and metabolism.  Several years later Doug also worked in the laboratories of Drs. John McNamara, Phil Senger, and Mike Dodson.  After completing his Ph.D. in Nutrition in 1984, he continued to work in the McNamara and Dodson labs and taught the non-ruminant nutrition class. 

            In 1986 Doug accepted an Assistant Professor research and teaching position in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences at South Dakota State University in Brookings.  He was promoted to Professor in 1997 and Distinguished Professor in 2007.  Doug feels very fortunate to have received an excellent and broad-based education at W.S.U.  In particular, the skills he gained in muscle biology and cell culture techniques from Mike Dodson allowed him to quickly develop a successful research program in poultry skeletal muscle development at S.D.S.U.  Doug currently teaches graduate courses in Metabolism and Animal Growth and Development.  He has also taught graduate courses in Vitamin and Minerals and in Monogastric Nutrition.  On July 1, 2008, Doug became interim department head of Animal and Range Sciences.

            Doug and his wife Sandy (Ishimaru) have two sons, Nathan (20) and Ian (18).  Doug and Sandy are both active in the Boy Scouts leadership in Brookings.  Doug is also active in the Masons and the Shriners and enjoys bagpiping.       

Rebecca Meats: (class of 2001; BS) I am a 2001 AS Grad with an emphasis in Dairy Management. I was involved in CUDS and Dairy Club as a student. I currently live in Ridgefield, WA, where I am a small farm/ conservation planner with the Clark Conservation District.

Rich Lewis: (classes of 1986 BS and 1995 MS; Pullman) I was born and raised in Washington, and graduated from Moses Lake High School in 1960. I retired from the US Navy, and then enrolled at WSU in January 1984. I completed my studies with emphasis on beef production and graduated 1986. While an undergraduate I worked at the Cattle Feeding Lab under Orvil Sears, and occasionally at the Beef Center under Dan Coonrad. I enrolled in Grad School in September of 1987 and received a masters with emphasis on animal genetics in May 1995, and another in statistics in December 1995. Charlie Gaskins was my major advisor in Animal Science. My wife and I decided to make Pullman our home so I took temporary faculty teaching positions with the Program in Statistics and WSU Spokane. I joined the WSU Pullman classified staff and an Office Assistant with the history department in September 1996. I rose through the ranks quickly and accepted my current position as Administrative Manager of the Sociology Department in August of 1999. I am active in the community primarily with the Chamber of Commerce and the Lion’s Club.

Richard Meyer: (class of 1968 BS; Federal Way, WA) President, Washington Farms, Inc. I am on the Governor's Council for Agriculture and the Environment, a member of the Pierce County Farm Commission and I am also principle investigator on a grant from the National Cattlemen's Association, which is focused on studying BSE inactivation. I am also member of Class XVII of the Washington State Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation. My daughter is a third year veterinary student at WSU and my cousins are the Harders and the Schlomers in the Ritzville area. I have previously served as president of the advisory committee to the State Director of Agriculture and President of the WSU College of Agriculture & Home Economics Dean's advisory committee (9 years) and President of the WSU CAHE Alumni Association and currently serve on the WSU Foundation.

Mark Nelson:

Shawn Reser:

Caroline Troy-Nilsson:

Ex-officio Board Members

Dr. Mike Dodson: Department of Animal Sciences. Dr. Dodson will serve as "helper" to get the group started, web site established, by-laws written, initial funds donated, and first year "kinks" ironed-out.

Erika Studeman:

2009 Officers

President: 

Marvin Hoekema

Vice-President:

Richard Lewis

Secretary:

Dianne Appel

Treasurer:

Dr. Doug McFarland