NORTHWEST INSTITUTE OF LITERARY ARTS
WHIDBEY WRITERS WORKSHOP
CATALOG, 2010-2011

Board of Directors
Northwest Institute of Literary Arts

David R. Powers, Ph.D.
David R. Powers, Chair, earned the degrees of B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pittsburgh. He retired Emeritus in 2005 from the position of Executive Director of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, the state agency which coordinates higher education for Nebraska. Prior to that, he was Executive Director of the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board, and he was Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the West Virginia Board of Regents, the statewide governing board for all public colleges and universities. Powers' administrative positions on campuses included service as Vice President for Academic Affairs at George Mason University, the state university in northern Virginia, and as Vice Provost of the University of Pittsburgh. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Western Governors University, 1996-2005, and was keynote speaker on "Technology Diffusion: The Adoption of Technology in American Higher Education" at the International Association for Management of Technology, Washington, DC, April 4, 2004. His books include: Making Participatory Management Work: Leadership of Consultive Decision-Making in Academic Administration, co-authored with Mary F. Powers, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1983, and Higher Education in Partnership with Industry: Opportunities and Strategies for Training, Research, and Economic Development, co-authored with Mary F. Powers, with chapters by Frederick Betz and Carol Aslanian, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988.

Winfred G. Allen, Ph.D.
Winfred G. Allen, Ph.D., Vice-Chair, earned a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Science degree from Emerson College, Boston, in Speech Communication and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in Speech Communication, focusing on Rhetoric and Public Address. Wayne State University established the "Winfred G. Allen Collection", documenting certain of his scholarly research and writings in their Archives of Labor History and Urban Affairs. He has recently retired as a professor of communication from Pepperdine University where he was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award and was honored with Honorary Membership in the national Golden Key Honor Society. Dr. Allen is published in fiction, nonfiction, scholarly, and professional publications. As president of the W. G. Allen Company, a communication consulting firm, Dr. Allen has assisted post-secondary educational institutions in management, marketing, public relations, and with accreditations and re-accreditations. Breadth of his consulting include international marketing for a merger-acquisition corporation, training news and sports broadcasters for 3 networks, serving on boards of directors of several non-profit organizations, as well as being the co-founder and president of the George Westmore Research Library and Museum in Burbank, California.

Nancy Ruff, EdD
Nancy Ruff, NILA Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Arts in educational administration from Texas Tech University and a Doctor of Education from North Texas State University. During her 30-year career in education, she was a public school speech, drama and English teacher; a consultant in accreditation with the Texas State Department of Education; director of communications for a large suburban Dallas school district; and adjunct professor of speech communications in the College of Business at the University of Texas, Arlington. She is an experienced conference planner; professional development coordinator; speaker at local, state and national levels; and contributor to professional publications. Ruff also serves on the board of the South Whidbey Schools Foundation.

Susan Wilmoth
Susan Wilmoth, NILA Secretary, brings 25 years of legal, administrative and organizational experience to the organization. She has served on the Board of Directors since the organization's first year and was a member of the MFA Program Design team. She's a past chair of the board and has served several terms as secretary. She currently works for an attorney in Langley and serves on the Board of the Everett Civic Music Community Concerts. She is currently working on a collection of short stories, poetry and a novel.

Allan Ament, J.D.
Allan Ament, Chief Executive Officer, holds a B.A. in political theory from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from Northwestern University, Chicago. He has served as Director of Academic Affairs for a multi-state, multi-campus region of the University of Phoenix and is presently the Area Chair for the Doctorate in Educational Leadership program in the School of Advanced Studies of the University of Phoenix. Ament has been involved in online education for over 10 years, as both an instructor and course developer for several universities.  In addition to being a classroom teacher, he has been a mediator and arbitrator, trial attorney, small business owner and has served as advisor to elected and appointed governmental officials in this country and abroad.  His articles have been published in both professional journals and  other publications. He has worked with non-profit organizations in both Seattle and on Whidbey Island for many years, serving as a board member, legal counsel and in other volunteer positions. He is presently an active board member of the Whidbey Institute at Chinook. 

Garr Kuhl, M.S.
Garr Kuhl has been a teacher, counselor, and administrator for the Los Angeles Unified School District and Los Angeles Harbor College as well as being in private practice as a clinical therapist. While with LAUSD, he established counseling and vocational assessment services for adult ESL and high school diploma students; developed and coordinated an independent study program for working adults; acted as interim director of curriculum; wrote and procured state and local grants for innovative educational programs. As a teacher at Harbor College, he developed and taught a three-stepped beginning/intermediate ESL course, integrating life skills and basic education curriculum with the core program. In his clinical practice, he developed and implemented a complete counseling program for local medical centers; created psychological and vocational testing programs; provided individual and group counseling for families and young adults.

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