Thomas R. Paine is Director of Government Relations of Avista Corp., overseeing all the corporation's state and federal legislative and political activities. Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is the operating division that provides electric service to 356,000 customers and natural gas to 316,000 customers. Avista's service territory covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.5 million.

He joined the company in June 1980, working as the head of state government relations in Washington State and chief lobbyist for the company in Olympia. Paine was named as Director of Government Relations in April 1990. Prior to joining Avista Corp., Paine was a consultant to the Office of the Governor in the state of Idaho.

Mr. Paine received a B.A. Degree and M.A. Degree in Political Science from the University of Idaho in 1972 and 1979 respectively.

Mr. Paine also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Systems Medicine, a non-profit biomedical research institute located in Spokane's University District. Mr. Paine also developed the concept of a Health Sciences and Services Authority (HSSA) for Washington State in 2006 that became law in 2007.

Tom Fritz is chief executive officer of Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS), a unique company that administers a 102 bed, freestanding physical rehabilitation and medicine hospital; a multi-state critical care air ambulance service and telemedicine network; and a nationally recognized model of integrated health information technology.

INHS was recently selected as one of 15 Beacon Communities in the nation to lead a collaborative regional effort to address reducing costs and improving health outcomes for people with Type 2 diabetes. INHS is also a partner in working with the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Centers for Disease Control and the Social Security Administration for data integration and analysis.

Tom serves in a variety of advisory capacities on national, regional and local organizations, including his role as a member on the board of directors for Washington State Health Care Forum; co-chair of the Washington Life Sciences Discovery Fund Coalition; member of the board of directors for the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association and board of directors for the Institute for Systems Medicine.

Tom holds a BA and MA degree from California State University and an MPA from Lewis & Clark University in Portland, Oregon.

Howard Grimes is the Vice President for Research and the Dean of the Graduate School at Washington State University. Since his appointment Dr. Grimes has oversee the largest outside research and grant funding growth in WSU history. In the last two years alone, WSU has increased its research funding by 42%. In addition, Dr. Grimes has increased graduate student enrollment, new student enrollment, and the presence of interdisciplinary programs at the university. He implemented graduate student waivers to help remove the financial stress of graduate school for many students. He established the Institute for Globally Engaged Leadership, which provides doctoral students at WSU leadership and team-building training outside their discipline. Most recently, Dr. Grimes participated in a delegation to China, which included Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. During this visit to China he established an education and research exchange program with one of China's prominent universities.

Throughout his time as Dean of the Graduate School and Vice President for Research, Dr. Grimes has become involved in a number of boards, committees, and grants. He is a member of the Washington Technology Council, the WSU Research Foundation Executive Board, and is a central participant in the STARS grant program, which helps WSU employ top quality researchers.

As a professor of molecular biosciences, his research interests focus on overcoming the most painful, common, and deadly human diseases. His efforts in plant biochemistry and human health offer new hope for predicting, treating, and preventing illnesses such as arthritis, obesity, malnutrition, cancer, asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and starvation. Dr. Grimes received his master's in plant pathology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and his doctorate in botany from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Dennis R. Horn, Dean of Engineering & Applied Science at Gonzaga University, has had a 40-year career spanning the public and private sectors, with experience in teaching, research, consulting, and senior management and administration. He holds a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University, specializing in environmental engineering and water resources. As part of his consulting activity, for seven years he served as a member of (and ultimately chaired) the Army Science Board, the 100-person advisory board to the Secretary of the Army, receiving the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal for his work. More recently, he has served on the SIRTI Board of Directors, holding the positions of Vice-Chair and Chair.

Dr. Stefan G. Humphries is the Medical Director at St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Humphries serves as a liaison between medical staff and hospital staff, and provides administrative leadership for St. Luke's.

Dr. Stefan G. Humphries' patient-centered philosophy and long-time interest in medicine have steered his course in physical and medical rehabilitation.

Dr. Humphries earned a Doctor of Medicine and interned at the University of Colorado after being inspired by his sister's career as a physician. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic, and later served as Medical Director and President of Medical Staff at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Colorado Springs. He completed his MBA at the University of Washington.

Dr. Howard M. Kenney is an Arthritis Northwest founding partner who has held numerous leadership positions with Inland Northwest medical and arthritis related organizations. He holds an undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Utah where he also earned his M.D. Dr. Kenney completed multiple training and residency fellowships through UCLA at the Kern Medical Center program in Bakersfield, California.

Dr. Kenney is an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington and has won multiple academic awards during his career. He is affiliated with Sacred Heart Medical Center and Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane. He has been licensed to practice medicine in Washington since 1983.

Bryan K. Slinker, Professor and Chair of VCAPP, received his B.S. in Zoology from the College of Idaho in 1976, and his D.V.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington State University in 1980 and 1982, respectively. He completed 3-1/2 years of postdoctoral work at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California, San Francisco.

From 1986-1992, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine (Cardiology Unit) at the University of Vermont.

Dr. Slinker has more than 50 publications in books and scientific journals, principally in the American Journal of Physiology, Circulation Research, Cardiovascular Research, and Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology.

Katherine R. Tuttle, MD, FASN, FACP, is the Medical and Scientific Director of Providence Medical Research Center, Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane, Washington and a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Nephrology Division at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Her research interests are in the areas of diabetic kidney disease, hypertension, renal vascular disease, and nutrition. She co-chairs the NKF-KDOQI Workgroup for Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease and chairs the Healthcare Professional Workgroup for the National Diabetes Education Program.