John Ehrmantraut, President grew up in Ohio and served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy, followed by a lengthy career in human resources. After decades spent living in sunny southern California, he landed on Orcas Island in 2021 to be closer to family. John currently volunteers at both Orcas Senior Center and Orcas Community Resource Center. Volunteering enables John to remain active, stay connected, and be informed about programs and activities available in our community. He believes the rewards he receives from volunteering his time equal, or even perhaps outweigh, the value received by the organization.John is pleased to join the Board of Directors at the Orcas Senior Center and be a part of helping seniors live and age well on Orcas Island. John can be reached at chair@orcasseniors.org.

Allan Rosato, Vice President. In 1995, at age 25, Allan sailed from Bellingham to Orcas for a week-long vacation in the San Juans. Now, many years later, that vacation continues and he still finds himself fortunate enough to call this beautiful place his home. For the majority of his years on Orcas, Allan has worked as a property manager/caretaker for a handful of island families. His first involvement with Orcas Senior Center was with the Hearts and Hands program in 2018, and he became an Orcas District Committee member in 2020. He is also the coordinator for the Home Maintenance & Repair pilot program, which began in Spring 2022. It has given Allan great satisfaction to be part of an organization that cares so profoundly for the people they serve.

Darcey Miller, Secretary. Originally from Pennsylvania, Darcey Miller earned her degree in Environmental Science then moved to West Seattle in 1999. Since meeting long-time resident Allan Rosato of Orcas Island in 2017, Darcey has enjoyed being involved in the island community. She is the secretary of her property owners’ association and has served on the Orcas District Committee of Orcas Senior Center (OSC) since 2019, except for one year in which she acted as OSC’s Development Manager. She also participated in OSC’s Buddy Check-In Program which began early in the pandemic, and is grateful to have met one of her favorite people through that. She truly looks forward to serving as secretary of the Orcas Senior Center board and volunteering in the realms of event planning, fundraising, and social media. “My wish is that OSC continues to reach more people in our community, benefiting them however needed…and in unexpected ways, too!”

Lynnette Wood, Treasurer grew up in California. After receiving her PhD in Applied Mathematics, she followed a career that evolved from satellite imaging to foreign aid and climate change adaptation studies. She has lived, worked or traveled in 67 countries and published widely in her fields of expertise. A San Juan County property owner since 1986, she moved full time to Orcas in 2010, and has served on a number of San Juan County and nonprofit boards and committees. She served on the Orcas District Committee of the Senior Services Council since 2018, and was Chair from 2019-2021. She is now serving as the Acting Executive Director of the new nonprofit Orcas Senior Center. Her vision for the future is for the center to be a vibrant resource and active meeting place for the entire Orcas community.

Greg Raffelson is pleased to be part of the unique community on Orcas. A San Francisco Bay Area native, Greg graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Economics. Greg became very aware of the needs of the seniors as he helped his aging parents through their journey. He would like to use his skills to strengthen the good work of the OSC and help his fellow seniors lead self-sufficient lives with a sense of dignity and grace. Hobbies include cooking, hiking, and raising two rescue pooches.

Suzette Lamb moved to East-est Orcas with her husband in 2020. Originally from Texas and growing up in an Air Force family, she has lived and traveled all over the US and abroad. Suzette is a licensed psychotherapist and has worked in a variety of nonprofit settings serving an array of client populations with specializations in attachment, trauma recovery, and parenting. She is learning to grow her own food, loves cooking, yoga and the outdoors, and on most weekends would like to be fishing for kokanee. She is excited to continue getting to know the Orcas community and help strengthen services and programming for all islanders.

George Eberle. After retiring, George and his wife, Karen, chose to make Orcas Island their home in 2000, drawn by its quiet beauty, lack of red lights and parking meters, and relaxed pace of life.

Since moving to the island, he has been an active volunteer, contributing to the Glenwood Springs Salmon Hatchery, delivering firewood with the Odd Fellows, serving on the board of the Music Advocacy Group, and twice on the Vestry at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. He also co-founded a 12-week grief recovery program with John Ehrmantraut. Before moving to Orcas, he served for 30 years as a first responder with the Daly City Fire Department.

His vision for the Orcas Senior Center is to ensure a safe, welcoming space for the entire community—prioritizing emergency preparedness, first aid training, and, most importantly, more games, food, activities, and fun!