Gov. Jay Inslee recently appointed Maureen West and John M. Meyer to Western Washington University’s Board of Trustees.

They will both serve six-year terms that end on Sept. 30, 2021.

West has extensive experience in health care. She has worked for more than 30 years as a nurse, and been a faculty member/instructor for nursing programs at Western, Seattle Pacific University, the University of Washington and the Bothell School of Nursing and Health Studies.

She served for eight years as a legislative assistant with the U.S. Senate, the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, the Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy, and as a professional staff member to former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole.

“Maureen West brings a wealth of knowledge about the healthcare field and expertise in higher education to Western’s Board of Trustees,” Western president Bruce Shepard said in a press release.

The other new appointee, Meyer, is a retired judge who served as Skagit County’s Superior Court Judge from 1997 to 2015. Before that he served as a Skagit County District Court Judge and was a partner in a private practice.

“He is a proven leader and will provide valuable insights as a trustee,” Shepard said in a news release.

Meyer, 2009 winner of the Washington State Association for Justice’s Judge of the Year, said in a news release from Western that he finds higher education critical to the state’s future.

Western’s eight member board of trustees governs the university and appoints the president; president Shepard is retiring at the end of the current academic year.