GOVERNING COUNCIL

Our Guidance and Governance

The Governing Council is composed of nine (9) voting community members who serve three (3) year terms for up to three (3) terms. Each member appointment is confirmed by the City of Seattle.

The Council meets in monthly open public meetings to oversee operations and requirements of the PHPDA. They are instrumental in developing PHPDA’s long-term Strategic Plan, creating a roadmap to guide the PHPDA’s programmatic and financial processes. By reviewing the activities of the two standing Committees, the Program Committee and the Finance Committee, the Council integrates committee and staff work plans, in efforts to increase community connections, consult staff, and bring deeper awareness into our community health landscape. 

The meetings of the Governing Council and Committees are open to the public. 

Upcoming Meeting: Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 5:30 PM | Download Governing Council Agenda

Doris Koo (She/Her)

Governing Council Chair & Program Committee Member
Strategic Advisor, Crescent Collaborative

Doris W. Koo is a nationally respected leader and seasoned executive in the community development sector. Her professional career prior to retirement includes serving as president and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners; Deputy Executive Director at the Seattle Housing Authority; and head of Asian Americans for Equality in New York City.  She served on numerous boards and commissions locally and nationally.

Doris has a B.A. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in social service administration from the University of Chicago.

Doris served on the Board from 2015-2017 as a mayoral appointee and as a King County Executive appointee since 2019. She served as Treasurer in 2020-2021, as Chair in 2022, Vice-Chair in 2023, and is currently serving as Governing Council Chair in 2024.

Douglass Jackson, DMD, MS, PhD (He/Him)

Governing Council Vice-Chair & Program Committee Chair
Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Clinical Professor, University of Washington Dept. of Oral Health Sciences

Understanding and eliminating health inequities has been an unwavering focus of Dr. Douglass Jackson’s work for over 20 years. Dr. Jackson’s work focuses on applying quality improvement strategies to identify and address factors that contribute to harmful health inequities that impact those at society’s margins. He is also involved in work aimed at increasing the diversity of the health profession’s workforce and advocating for workplace climates in healthcare organizations that value inclusion and cultural humility. This work earned him the Arcora Foundation’s inaugural Endowed Professorship of Educational Partnerships and Diversity and the directorship of multiple groundbreaking programs sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and the Josiah Macy Foundation.

Dr. Jackson earned his dental degree and specialty training in anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh, his master’s degree in clinical research design and statistical analysis at the University of Michigan and his doctoral degree in oral biology with an emphasis in pharmacology and neuroscience at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Jackson has served as a Strategic Advisor to the Program Committee since 2015 and a Governing Council appointee since 2022. He currently serves as Vice-Chair as of 2024

Robert Cook, MBA (He/Him)

Governing Council Treasurer & Finance Committee Chair
Former Senior Director of the Finance and IT Services Division, Washington State Housing Finance Commission

Robert Cook was the Senior Director of the Finance and IT Services Division of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Cook served as Controller in nonprofit and cooperative organizations. He continues to serve nonprofits through board participation including current memberships on the Plymouth Housing Group, as Treasurer, and Open Door Ventures, as President of the Board. He previously served as Treasurer on the Cascadia Revolving Fund Board and as President and Treasurer at Flying House Productions/Seattle Men’s Chorus.

Mr. Cook graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelors’ degree in Business Administration and Accounting and has a Master’s in Business Administration from Northern Illinois University.

Mr. Cook has served as a Strategic Advisor to the Finance Committee since 2013. He is a Governing Council appointee since 2019 and serving as Treasurer since 2022.

Paul Feldman (He/They)

Governing Council Secretary, Program Committee Member & Finance Committee Member
Community Volunteer

Paul Feldman is a community member whose career has been dedicated to HIV/AIDS advocacy and nonprofit finance and policy. He also owned businesses writing customized accounting software and providing bookkeeping and accounting services. Paul has served on the boards of directors of Lifelong, Building Changes, and Country Doctor Community Health Clinic and has volunteered as a reading tutor and tax preparer. He studied economics and business management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Paul is a mayoral appointee since 2022 and has been Strategic Advisor to the Finance Committee since 2015 and to the Program Committee since 2020. Paul is currently serving as Governing Council Secretary as of 2023.

AyeNay Abye (They/Them)

Governing Council Member & Finance Committee Member
Chief Executive Officer, Tubman Center for Freedom and Health

AyeNay Abye is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom. AyeNay has led community organizing efforts for the past seventeen years. In their previous role as Deputy Director, for Seattle University’s Center for Community Engagement, AyeNay led external partnerships and strategy. This includes the Seattle University Youth Initiative (SUYI), a place-based community engagement model in partnership with the surrounding neighborhoods. AyeNay was the National Field Director for The Praxis Project, a movement that supports organizing and changing work by people of color at local, regional and national levels. In this role, AyeNay worked to advance Communities Creating Healthy Environments (CCHE), a national capacity building initiative to support diverse, community-based organizations and indigenous groups in developing effective, cutting-edge and culturally competent policy initiatives in over 22 cities in the United States.

AyeNay is a Governing Council appointee since 2021.

Martine Pierre-Louis, MPH (She/Her)

Governing Council Member & Program Committee Member
Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Harborview Medical Center

Martine Pierre-Louis is Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Harborview Medical Center. A leader in language access for three decades, she was a founding member and board member for both the Society of Medical Interpreters and the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care. She has collaborated on multiple community-based public health efforts focusing on health care access and quality outcomes for refugee and immigrant families. She has partnered with the Medical Center’s Quality Improvement department to track and measure disparities by race, ethnicity and language and has collaborated with health care teams and community partners to develop innovative programs to decrease disparities in vulnerable communities. Programs under Ms. Pierre-Louis’ leadership have garnered many accolades over the years: America’s Essential Hospitals 2022 Gage Award for Innovation in COVID Response, Washington State’s 2017 Qualis Award of Excellence in Healthcare Quality, and American Hospital Association’s 2007 Foster G. McGaw Award for Excellence in Community Service.

Pierre-Louis earned a BA from Fordham University and an MPH from the University of Washington. She is fluent in Haitian Creole and French as well as English.

Martine Pierre-Louis is a Governing Council appointee since 2023, and has served as a Strategic Advisor to the Program Committee since 2022. 

Nicholas Ramirez (He/Him)

Governing Council Member & Finance Committee Member
Senior Vice President, Sea Mar

Nicholas Ramirez, Senior Vice President, joined Sea Mar in 2013 as a clinic manager at Kent Medical, where he was able to assist in developing Sea Mar’s South King County presence. As Senior Vice President, he is responsible for the oversight of Sea Mar’s Women, Infant, and Children’s program, Maternity Support Services, Preventative Health Services, Child Development, the Promotores Program, the Call Center, Seattle Medical, Seattle Dental, and has a large part in Epic development, systems and integration as well as direct oversite of several other programs throughout the organization.

While in graduate school at Seattle University, Nick served as the graduate student council president and was a graduate student representative on the University’s Board of Regents and Board of Trustees. He completed his coursework with honors and is a member of the National Criminal Justice Honors Society. Prior to joining Sea Mar, he served as a research assistant at the National Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative, where he was able to assist in voter disenfranchisement cases across the country. He worked under the direction of one of the country’s most prominent voting rights advocates and attorneys, the late Professor Joaquin G. Avila. Most notably, he contributed to the first-ever successful federal voting rights challenge in Washington state.

Mr. Ramirez is a Mayoral appointee since 2024.

Sue Taoka (She/Her)

Governing Council Member & Finance Committee Member
Community Volunteer

Sue Taoka recently retired from about 40 years as a community development and community development finance professional.  Her experience was primarily based in the Chinatown International District community where she led several community based organizations.  She was also the EVP of a regional community development financial institution. Ms. Taoka also served as a Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Norman Rice and served as an advisor to several community development projects. She is a founding member of the National Coalition of APA Community Development and the Cresent Collaboative. She also serves as an advisor to several community development projects.

Ms. Taoka earned her B.S. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a J.D from Seattle University School of Law.

Sue is a mayoral appointee since 2017, served as Treasurer in 2019, and as Governing Council Chair in 2020-2021.