Executive Board
The Executive Board is composed of the Walla Walla County Democrats officers. It oversees the work of the committees.
Reach out to any of the officers with an email to wallawallacodemocrats@gmail.com.
Kari Isaacson
CHAIR
Kari Isaacson retired from Walla Walla’s Blue Mountain Community Foundation in the fall of 2020 after seven years. Her work there to help the people of four counties in SE Washington and NE Oregon resulted in tremendous growth in assets, scholarships, and early resources for the 2020 US Census, and helping people through the 2020 flood and early days of the pandemic.
After retirement she volunteered for the local Democratic Party as a poll watcher in the 2020 general election. She became Party Treasurer in 2021 and was elected Chair in 2022. She is a lifelong Democrat whose first political volunteering was going door to door for candidates in the 1968 presidential election in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.
She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University and University of Oregon School of Law and had a successful 40-year career in the nonprofit sector. She has raised millions of dollars over her career to help people and has supervised annual grant budgets of over $25 million at several major foundations to help children and strengthen rural economies, including Native Communities. She also worked in business, with Frank Russell Company of Tacoma and as an executive with UnitedHealth Group. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards.
Growing up in a Scandinavian and Lutheran community in Portland, she comes from a family with a strong work ethic. As a kid she worked in the fields during summers picking strawberries, raspberries, and beans, and worked through college and graduate school. Her grandparents and great-grandparents homesteaded in the Midwest in the late 1880s and early 1890s, finally selling the land 100 years later. Like all homesteaders, they worked incredibly hard and also were incredibly fortunate as immigrants from Europe to be able to participate in a government program that provided opportunity.
Jon Paull
FIRST VICE CHAIR
Jonathan (Jon) Paull is originally from The Dalles, OR, and has lived in multiple states throughout the last 15 years while serving in the Marine Corps for 3 years and working at various dams and hydroelectric power plants. He has called Walla Walla his home since 2015, choosing this community because it felt like a good place to put down some roots and raise a
He graduated from American Public University with a BS and MS in environmental science and currently works in the hydropower industry as an environmental protection specialist. Jon is also the proud owner of a local hemp tea company, serves as PCO for Maple precinct, and is a member of the Walla Walla Sustainability Committee.
In his free time, he likes skiing the slopes at Bluewood, rockhounding, making wine, and traveling to new places. He loves this community and country and wants to work with all our neighbors to promote and vote for a progressive legislative agenda that supports the working class and provides a better and more secure future for our children.
Frances Chvatal
SECOND VICE CHAIR
Frances Chvatal was born in Walla Walla, raised on a farm in Touchet, graduated from Washington State University, and, since 1993, has called Walla Walla home.
She has been a registered nurse for 40 years and worked in direct patient care, clinical leadership, and public health. Currently, she serves as the chair of Providence St. Mary Community Mission Board. She has volunteered time with the winter warming center and served on the City of Walla Walla Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
Frances and husband Ron raised their daughters in Walla Walla and have been politically active for years.
“Some people have to do more so others can do better.”
Craig Woodard
SECRETARY
Craig Woodard is . . .
Tim Copeland
TREASURER
Tim Copeland is a former executive director of the Blue Mountain Land Trust. He joined the land trust in November 2014 and retired in March 2022. His prior work experiences include service as a commercial lending officer, a bank senior vice-president and director, a certified financial planner, and the development director of a regional art museum. He was engaged in commercial banking for 15 years, was the managing director of a Walla Walla-based financial planning practice for 20 years, and directed the development operations of the Maryhill Museum of Art for over five years.
Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Washington State University, earned a graduate degree in commercial banking from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, and received the Certified Financial Planner designation from the College for Financial Planning.
A Walla Walla native, he lived on and helped manage the family farm for over 40 years. He has been the president of the Washington Association of Land Trusts, Walla Walla Community College Foundation, Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, Lillie Rice Center, and Exchange Club of Walla Walla, and served on the boards of several other non-profit organizations in Walla Walla.
Tim presently serves on four non-profit boards. He is a board member and secretary of the Oregon Agricultural Trust, a member of the Blues Zones Project’s Steering Committee, the treasurer and a board member of the Kirkman House Museum, and a board member and treasurer of Roots of Resilience. He is also a student at the Walla Walla Community College in its Agroecology series.
Jan Corn
STATE COMMITTEE PERSON
Jan Corn is State Committee Person for the Walla Walla County Democrats. Her involvement prior to an elected position was attending the Women’s March on Washington D.C. in 2017, Women’s Marches on Walla Walla, and Black Lives Matter rallies and vigils, and serving as an At Large Board member for Network of Exceptional Women, whose mission is to help progressive women get elected and serve on boards and commissions.
Jan has supported our local Democrats’ campaigns by phone banking, writing postcards, distributing pamphlets, and holding meet and greets. She also served as Board Member and Past President of Walla Walla Rotary, Board Member for Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Board Member for Community Council, and volunteered for the American Cancer Society at Providence St. Mary Medical Center. She is currently serving on the local party Elections Committee and State Elections Committee. She fervently put her feet to the activist ground when Donald Trump was elected and has become acutely aware that:
“in order for Democrats to win, there needs to be a 24-7-365 campaign operation that is registering new voters, reaching out to ‘swing’ voters, and running ads pushing the progressive message and defining Republican politicians and policies” (Dan Pfeiffer, “Untrumping America”).
Jan loves this community and country and wants to work with all our neighbors to make our lives better together.
Woody Simmons
STATE COMMITTEE PERSON
Woody Simmons found Walla Walla after his youngest daughter entered Whitman College in 2010. He retired from the Travis County Sheriff’s Dept., Austin, Texas, as the Director of Programs. In 2014, with his wife Cathy, he moved to Walla Walla.
Woody is a veteran and holds degrees in Political Science and History; he also is a licensed nurse, avid gardener, and urban chicken rancher.
Woody’s first election was 1972, voting for George McGovern, and he has campaigned for local, state, and national Democrats since. This is his second term as State Committeeman for Walla Walla. He is PCO for Birch precinct.
Jeff Robinson
CHAIR - LEGISLATIVE
DISTRICT 16
Jeff Robinson was born in 1987 to a working-class family with deep Southern and rural roots. Jeff was primarily raised in Pasco.
Jeff first visited Walla Walla when he was 3 years old. From the moment he saw the birds in Pioneer Park's bird sanctuary, he knew he would one day build a life here.
When Jeff was 6 years old, he was diagnosed with Autism. Despite the misconceptions that existed about Autism at that time, Jeff was blessed to have the love and support of his family. No matter how many times Jeff was told he would never be able to do something because of his disability, he chose to push himself and work hard. Jeff went on to graduate from Pasco Senior High School in 2006 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in "Law, Diversity and Justice: Politics, Sexual Orientation, and the American Legal System" from Western Washington University.
Jeff was appointed to the City of Pasco Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Commission (IDEC) in 2018 and eventually served as its Chair until December 2021. Jeff also served as a member of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission from 2019 to 2021. While living in Pasco, Jeff was the Chair of the Franklin County Democratic Central Committee (2018-2023) and the Chair of Chairs for the Washington State Democrats (2019-2022, 2023). Currently, Jeff is the Chair of the 16th Legislative District Democratic Central Committee. He is also a member of the Walla Walla City Council.