SEATTLE TIMES LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Frank A. Blethen
Publisher and Chief Executive Officer
Frank is a fourth generation member of the Blethen family, which founded The Seattle Times in 1896. He has been publisher and chief executive officer since 1985, having joined the family business full-time in 1968. He held a variety of training positions at The Seattle Times until 1974 when he joined The Seattle Times-owned Walla Walla Union-Bulletin as publisher. He returned to The Seattle Times in 1980 and held executive positions in circulation, advertising, marketing and labor. Frank is a graduate of Arizona State University, and has done post-graduate work at Harvard. Frank is known for his civic involvement as well as his generosity in donating to many causes in the community, most notably in the areas of higher education, cultural diversity and health and human services. Frank is deeply committed to diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion. His other passions include his family, preserving family business and independent journalism.


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Ryan Blethen
Editorial page editor of The Seattle Times

Ryan Blethen is the editorial page editor and associate publisher of The Seattle Times.

As associate publisher, he oversees the company’s Washington Affiliate Newspapers, which include the newspapers and Web sites for the Yakima Herald-Republic, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and the Issaquah Press.

Blethen has worked as a reporter or editor at newspapers in Yakima and Spokane, Washington, and Portland, Maine. He is a member of the National Conference of Editorial Writers and is on the board of the International Press Institute’s North American Committee.

He is a fifth generation member of the Blethen family. His great-great-grandfather Alden founded The Times in 1896. Blethen is a graduate of Washington State University and attended journalism school at the University of Kansas.

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David Boardman
Executive Editor and Senior Vice President
David currently serves as Executive Editor of The Seattle Times and seattletimes.com. He has oversight and responsibility for the news department of Washington State’s largest newspaper and for its website, seattletimes.com. As an editor for The Times, David has directed three Pulitzer Prize-winning team projects and edited six other stories that were Pulitzer finalists. As a member of the company’s senior executive team, David contributes to overall company operations, strategy and long-term planning. Before joining The Times in 1983, David was a reporter and editor at several papers in the Northwest, and worked on a construction project in Liberia, West Africa. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and has a graduate degree from the University of Washington.


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Buster Brown
Senior Vice President, Finance
Buster oversees all financial aspects of the company. Prior to coming to The Seattle Times, Buster served in key financial leadership roles with Vulcan Inc., Football Northwest and First and Goal, Inc. He holds an MBA and a BA in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound.

A board member and volunteer in many community organizations, Brown is currently involved with the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Experience Music Project, The Seattle Foundation, YMCA of Greater Seattle and the Seattle Seahawks Charitable Foundation. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, American Institute of CPA’s and the Washington State Society of CPA’s.


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Alan Fisco
Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing
In his role of Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, Alan has oversight of print and online advertising, marketing, branding and research. Alan joined the company in 1992, having been hired as the Single Copy Sales Manager. In 1995 he was promoted to Home Delivery Manager, followed by Director of Consumer Marketing in 1997. He was promoted to Vice President of Circulation in 2005, and in 2006 added marketing to his responsibilities. Alan started in the newspaper industry in 1983 as Single Copy Sales Manager at The Everett Herald. After three years in Everett, including a promotion to Circulation Sales Manager, he moved to Oregon, becoming Circulation Manager at the Corvallis Gazette-Times. After one year, he moved to The Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon where he was Circulation Director for four years. He is past-president and chairman of the board of the Northwest International Circulation Executive Association. Currently Alan is a member of the International Newspaper Marketing Association and the Direct Marketing Association. He is a past board member of the Eugene Jaycees and is involved in numerous charitable and civic activities within the community. Alan has a B.A. in economics from the University of Washington.


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Jill Mackie
Vice President/Public Affairs
In her role as Vice President, Public Affairs, Jill oversees the company’s strategic communications planning and monitors local, state and federal issues affecting The Seattle Times Company and the Seattle newspaper agency, including land use, general business climate, tax and regulatory matters, as well as issues affecting public access to public information. She is also involved in efforts to reduce consolidation of media ownership and to repeal the estate tax, both issues that impact independent ownership of media. Prior to joining The Seattle Times, Mackie served as Vice President for Government Affairs and Human Resources for the Pacific Lumber and Shipping Company in Seattle, where she focused on international trade and the environment. She has more than 15 years experience working in governmental and public affairs and holds a BA in Sociology from Seattle Pacific University.


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Michael Shepard
Senior Vice President, Business Operations

Michael came to the Seattle Times Company in 2000 as publisher of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. He subsequently became publisher of the Yakima Herald-Republic in 2003. In addition to being publisher in Yakima, Michael was promoted to President, Seattle Times Washington Affiliate Newspapers, having oversight for the company’s affiliate newspapers in Washington state: the Yakima Herald-Republic, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, The Issaquah Press, the Sammamish Review, SnoValley Star and Newcastle News.

In his current role as Senior Vice President, Business Operations for The Seattle Times, he has responsibility for Human Resources, Labor Relations, Circulation and Operations. He also oversees Rotary Offset Press, the Times’ commercial printing operation in Kent, Washington.

Michael is a second-generation newspaper professional. He attended Washington State University, earning a degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. He began his career working as courthouse reporter for the Idahonian/Daily News, the Moscow, Idaho newspaper serving Moscow and Pullman, Washington. He subsequently worked for 12 years with Kitsap County-based Sound Publishing, Inc.

He has been active in numerous community and civic organizations, including Rotary, United Way and the YMCA and has served as a board member and officer of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington and the professional advisory board of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications at Washington State University. He also currently serves on the Inland Newspaper Association Foundation board of directors.


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William D. Yearous
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Bill joined The Seattle Times in 2000 after playing the lead role in information technology for several companies, including a leading international consumer goods company. He is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines and holds a Masters Degree of Business Administration from the University of the Pacific. In his current role, he is responsible for all technology systems for the company.


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