Patricia has a BA from WSU and an MPA from the University of Puget Sound. She spent her professional career primarily in local government and public health. She held many positions with Public Health-Seattle & King County including Director of Regional Services where she was responsibility for epidemiology and the infectious/communicable disease programs including HIV/AIDS. She spent a sabbatical at CDC and finished her career as the Director of the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department. 

Patricia is retired. She and her husband split their time between their Seattle home and their second home in Kauai.  She remains active on non-profit boards, politics and travel. Her primary interest, as it relates to WSU, is support of young women and gender equity.