Staff at the State Board Office

Edie Harding,
Executive Director

Edie joined the SBE on 8/15/06. Previously she was the director of government relations and policy at The Evergreen State College. She has also worked as project manager for education research with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, a fiscal analyst with Washington Legislature, a Presidential Management Intern at the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. She served on the Olympia School Board for six years.

Loy McColm
Executive Assistant

Loy joined the SBE on 4/2/07. She is the newest addition to the SBE staff. She comes from the Department of Corrections where she worked for 10 years. Prior to this she owned her own business for 15 years.

Evelyn Fuji Hawkins Ph.D.
Research Associate

Evelyn joined the SBE on 1/1/07. She has worked in different aspects of education for over 20 years. She worked most recently at the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. She has also worked at the Higher Education Coordinating Board. Evelyn brings a unique perspective and is now the Research Associate for the SBE.

Kathe Taylor Ph.D.,
Policy Director

Kathe joined the SBE on 2/1/07. She has worked in education for 30 years, where she has taught high school, undergraduate and graduate students. In 1998 she wrote a book with Sherry Walton called, Children at the Center:  A Workshop Approach to Standardized Test Preparation. Taylor was directing the GEAR UP grant project at The Evergreen State College.

Ashley Harris

Secretary Senior

Ashley joined the SBE on 8/7/07. Prior to SBE, she served 4 years in the U.S. Army as a Medical Logistics Specialist. She went to basic training in Ft. Jackson, SC and then completed her AIT training in Ft. Sam Houston, TX. Her duty stations included Korea, Qatar and Washington State.

Brad Burnham

Policy and Legislative Specialist

Brad joined the SBE on 8/2/07. He has taught and written about science topics for 16 years. He has been an instructor at museums, aquariums, and nature centers; a lecturer at a community college, and has written children’s books. He previously worked at The Evergreen State College, in the GEAR UP program, helping middle and high school students learn about and get ready for college.