WVC Board of Trustees Elects New Chair, Vice Chair

The duly elected incoming chair of the Wenatchee Valley College Board of Trustees is immigration lawyer Paula Arno Martinez.

She replaces Tamra Jackson, a leading light of education in the region. Jackson was the award-winning longtime principal of Bridgeport High School.

In addition to her responsibilities at her eponymous law firm, Arno Martinez is affiliated with an organization called Chelan-Douglas County Volunteer Attorney Services, which provides free legal counsel to the poor.

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Arno Martinez has worked with CDCVAS for over a decade, primarily as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking clients; she sits in on legal consultations. (Unfortunately for clients who lack English language proficiency, their right to an interpreter is not explicitly enshrined in the Constitution.)

A graduate of UT-San Antonio, Arno Martinez subsequently received her Juris Doctor degree from Texas Southern University. She was licensed by the Texas Bar in 2013 and has practiced immigration law ever since.

Her résumé includes a stint with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, where she represented DACA applicants.

Arno Martinez was appointed to the WVC Board of Trustees in 2020. She sits on numerous other boards including Wenatchee Pride.

Her new vice chair is Steve Zimmerman, an attorney at a Wenatchee-based multi-practice firm called Forman, Appel, Hotchkiss, Zimmerman, & Bauscher. Zimmerman has been practicing for over 40 years. A theater enthusiast, he cofounded Mission Creek Players and is a member of the Wenatchee Arts Commission.

"Trustee Phylicia Hancock Lewis will serve as the primary Association of Community College Trustees Legislative Representative," reads a press release. "Zimmerman will serve as the secondary representative."