2025 VIRTUAL SPRING CONFERENCE HUB
Welcome to the WAPRO Spring 2025 Virtual Conference! We are excited to have you join us for a dynamic and informative event filled with insightful sessions and expert speakers. Use this hub to access all conference materials and stay informed throughout the event. We will continue to update this page with more information as it becomes available.
Have a question for the Q&A Session? Please submit below prior to the conference:
Program Materials
Access presentation slides, handouts and any additional resources. This page will be updated as we receive materials from our presenters, so be sure to check back regulaarly for the latest content.
Presentation Slides:
- Exemption Top Ten (Judge Matthew Segal) – View Presentation
- PRA Litigation (Morgan Damerow; Ann Marie Soto) – View Presentation
- Finding the Sweet Spot: Effective and Painless Email (Suzanne LeDoux) – View Presentation
- Emotional Wellbeing in Customer Service (Alysn Everbeck) – View Presentation
- Digitizing Your Records, Part 2 (Rosie Bigelow; Cynthia Jones, Scott Sackett) – View Presentation
- Case Law/Legal Update (Morgan Damerow; Jennifer Steele; Ramsey Ramerman) – View Presentation
- Customer Service in Practice Q&A (Kirsty Jones; Samina Mays; Anne Masias) – View Presentation
- School Records Q&A (Sara Di Vittorio) View Presentation
- Health and Medical Records Q&A (Phyllis Barney; Nathaniel Hile; Melanee Auldredge)
- 45 CFR 164.514
- Common Identifiers and Associated Records Type
- Department of Health – Healthcare Information
10. PRA 101 Q&A (Luara Baseler; Michael Fulmer) – View Presentation
Zoom Links
Zoom links for each session will be provided as we get closer to the conference. Each session will have a unique link, so please check back for updates and ensure you have the correct link for the sessions you plan to attend.
Wednesday, May 21:
Thursday, May 22:
CE Credit Information
Important Credit Information for Attendees:
- WAPRO Certificate with CPRO Credits: All attendees will receive a WAPRO certificate that includes their CPRO credits. Please be patience while we distribute these
- CMC/MMC Credit: If you’re seeking CMC/MMC credit, you will need to submit an evaluation via this form. A CMC/MMC certificate will be emailed to you at the end of June.
- CLE Credit: To receive CLE credit, please submit your BAR number using this form. Must be submitted by May 23rd in order to receive CLE credit.
CMC APPROVED CREDITS
May 21, 2025
Exemption Top Ten – 1hr.
PRA Litigation – 1hr. CMC ONLY
Finding the Sweet Spot – 1hr. CMC ONLY
Emotional Wellbeing in Customer Service – 1hr. CMC ONLY
Digitizing Your Records Part. 2 – 2hrs.
May 22, 2025
Case Law Update – 2.5hrs. CMC ONLY
Total hours = 8.5 CMC / 3 MMC
Total points = 2.13 CMC education or 0.75 MMC advanced education points with a completed learning assessment.
CLE APPROVED CREDITS
The WAPRO Virtual Spring Conference was approved for 4.5 credits of Law and Legal Procedure and 4 credits of Other (Personal Development & Mental Health and Office Management) education. “Finding the Sweet Spot,” “Emotional Wellbeing in Customer Service,” and “Digitizing Your Records, Part 2” are approved for Other credit. The remaining sessions are approved for Law and Legal Procedure credit.
Speakers
Thank you to our generous WAPRO Speakers!
Melanee Auldredge
Melanee was born in Bremerton, Washington. She is a graduate of Western Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and has a post-baccalaureate degree in elementary education. Melanee started her career in the mental health field and then shifted careers to teach elementary school. Currently, she works for Washington State Department of Health as the Public Disclosure Manager, which is her favorite position in her career so far. This is because she gets to lead a great team doing meaningful work, as well as overcome a wide variety of interesting challenges due to the subject matter and everchanging political atmosphere. She has been working in the public sector for 24 years, 17 of those years doing some form of public records work. Melanee lives in Washington state with her husband, daughter and two cats. She also spends as much time as possible with her treasured blended family of kids and grandkids.
Phyllis Barney
Phyllis Barney was born and raised in Missouri but has lived in Washington (state) many years. Phyllis has held a handful of diverse positions at Washington State Department of Health in her career such as being an IT Business Liaison, working in our Radiation Protection Program, and being the Public Records Officer. She has worked in some form or fashion in the public disclosure field for the Department of Health for over 25 years! She is a Washington State Certified Public Records Officer and really enjoys public disclosure work. In her spare time, Phyllis enjoys traveling and spending time with her many grand and great grandchildren.
Luara Baseler
With degrees in political science and law, Luara has dedicated her career to public service. During her career, she has worked in a number of different types of agencies including the Courts and Corrections where public records has served as just one aspect of her duties. Luara became a full time Public Records Officer in April of 2019 and a member of the WAPRO Board of Directors in December of the same year. At this time, she is employed at the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office where she serves as a Public Records Specialist and is the agency’s subject matter expert on records management and retention. She currently serves on the WAPRO Board of Directors as the President-Elect.
Rosie Bigelow
Rosie Bigelow is the Records Officer for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. She has spent many years working with state level agencies on all things records management, and is an expert at plain talk for the non-records-inclined. Coming from a science agency, Rosie has had to provide the advice “biological samples are not a record” on more than one occasion.
Morgan Damerow
Morgan Damerow serves as a Consultant for the Office of the Attorney General’s (AGO) Local Government Consultation Program. The LGCP provides guidance to local governments on responding to public records requests, helping to develop resources, and identify technology options related to public records. Morgan frequently provides training to local governments and speaks to conference participants. In 2022 he was appointed to serve as the AGO’s Open Government Ombuds, expanding his work to include providing information and training on the Open Public Meetings Act, and the PRA to governing bodies and the general public. He joined the AGO in 2003 and is 1997 graduate from the University of Montana, School of Law.
Sara Di Vittorio
Sara Di Vittorio is an Assistant General Counsel and the Public Records Officer for Snohomish County PUD No. 1. Sara is also a Partner at Cedar Law, PLLC. Sara has served for 20 years as an attorney in Washington’s public sector including four years in her current role at the PUD, seven years as a Snohomish County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, and nine years as an Assistant Attorney General handling public records requests, advice, and litigation. Sara has an extensive background in providing training on the Public Records Act, having given approximately 250 classes to government agencies and organizations throughout the state. Sara was appointed by Governor Inslee to the Public Records Exemption Accountability Committee where she served for five years. Sara was also a member of the legislature’s Public Records Task Force and has assisted in the drafting of multiple pieces of legislation, including testifying at the legislature. Sara was also invited to present to the legislature on the Public Records Act and its exemptions when the legislature was contemplating how the PRA applies to them. Sara is a two-time graduate of the University of Washington (B.A. and J.D.).
Alysn Everbeck
I began my career in public safety communications at What-Comm 911 in 2009, after completing my BA in Psychology at Western Washington University. While at What-Comm, I served as a CTO, operations supervisor, training supervisor, and Deputy Director.
In 2024, I was selected as the Executive Director of Skagit 911. We are an agency of approximately 50, providing 911 call taking and dispatching for law, fire, and EMS in Skagit County as well as radio infrastructure support and maintenance for a large portion of the county. As Executive Director, I am responsible for agency direction, budgeting, personnel selection and development, labor relations, and daily operations of our center at the behest of our Board of Directors. Since 2017 I have also served as a contract instructor teaching telecommunicator and supervisor courses and mentoring new instructors throughout Washington State.
Michael Fulmer
Michael has been working in public records since 2014 when he started with the City of Lakewood. In 2017, he moved to the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office where he became their Public Records Officer and helped establish a centralized public records unit. In 2020 Michael was hired by the City of Olympia where he has been working as their Deputy City Clerk. Michael is a WAPRO Certified Public Records Officer, and has been on the WAPRO Board since 2021.
Cynthia Jones
Cynthia Jones is an IT wizard from the Department of Financial Institutions. She is known as a digital records expert amongst those who know her professionally, and formerly operated a Scan and Toss business. Secretly knows more about Office 365 than Microsoft does.
Kirsty Jones
Kirsty Jones is an experienced records manager with expertise in law enforcement records management, including creation, maintenance, usage, retention, and disposition along with public records disclosure and property/evidence management. Having worked in a variety of small and medium-sized agencies, including a consolidated 911 dispatch center and city and county law enforcement, she has developed a broad overview of records and information management in the public sector. Kirsty received her MEd in higher education as well as a BA in history from the University of North Texas. She is a Certified Records Manager (CRM), Information Governance Professional (IGP) and Certified Information Professional (CIP). She is also a Certified Public Records Officer (CPRO) in the state of Washington and holds the GARA certificate from NAGARA in addition to other certificates from AIIM and ARMA.
Suzanne LeDoux
Suzanne LeDoux is a records management business analyst at the City of Bellevue. She has been at Bellevue since 2014, starting as an information management intern while still in graduate school. She earned her Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Washington in 2015. She enjoys developing systems and processes that prioritize the end user experience while ensuring compliance with records requirements. Outside of work, she spends her time reading, listening to music, watching movies, and spending time with her husband and daughter.
Anne Masias
As the Public Records Officer I am grateful to oversee the Public Records Unit at the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. Prior to my 12 years with DFW I spent 25 years working in law office & executive administration.
The DFW PRU’s goal is to promote and facilitate transparency while complying with the legal requirements of the Public Records Act. We are often the only direct contact the public has with the agency. It is our goal to provide the highest level of customer service, while supporting the work of staff.
Samina Mays
Samina Mays has been working in the public records industry for over 20 years. Her work has been spread out amongst various governmental agencies including, Centralia Police Department, Department of Corrections, and the Washington State Legislature. She is now currently the Public Records Manager for the Liquor and Cannabis Board. Samina understands the unique challenges that come with each agency and the records they maintain. She believes that those who work in the public records industry are some of the hardest working people in state government. “It’s like we’re given 1,000 puzzle pieces with no image on them and told to put them all together – and we do it.”
She is committed to ensuring that we never stop learning and never stop growing – and there’s always more than one way to do that.
Ramsey Ramerman
Ramsey Ramerman is a deputy city attorney with the City of Everett, where he works on open government and First Amendment issues, advises the police department on records laws and works on general municipal law questions and disputes. Ramsey also advises and defends other municipalities in PRA and First Amendment litigation through his firm Ramerman Law Office PLLC.
He is one of the founders and the first President of the Washington Association of Public Records Officers and served eight years on the state Sunshine Committee. In addition, he is the co-editor-in-chief of the Second Edition of the WSBA PRA Deskbook and co-authored two chapters in the deskbook.
Prior to working for the City of Everett, Ramsey worked at Foster Pepper PLLC. Ramsey graduated with high honors from the University of Washington School of Law in 2000.
Scott Sackett
Scott Sackett is the Principal Records Consultant with the Washington State Archives. He works with agencies of local and state government to facilitate proper retention, management, and preservation of their public records in their various forms.
Scott is based at the Archives’ Central Region Branch, located in Ellensburg. He earned his Certificate in Archives and Records Management from Western Washington University, and also holds a Master’s Degree in Teaching from Seattle University. He has been a member of the Washington State Archives team since 2004.
Judge Matthew Segal
As a judge, Matt presided over jury and bench trials including criminal, civil, and family law. Trials encompassed topics such as commercial disputes, insurance, trusts and estates, real property, employment, personal injury and wrongful death, and professional malpractice. Matt was also responsible for an extensive ongoing civil docket, and assignments including criminal motions and post-conviction proceedings, ex parte, plea court, anti-harassment calendars, and appeals from administrative bodies or courts of limited jurisdiction.
As a lawyer, Matt has appeared in courts across the country, including the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and D.C. Circuits, the Washington Supreme Court, all three divisions of the Washington Court of Appeals, and the United States District Courts for the Western District of Washington and Eastern District of Washington, District of D.C., Southern District of California, Southern District of Texas, and District of Maine. Matt has also represented parties in international disputes including in the UK, Canada and the South Pacific.
Prior to co-founding Pacifica Law Group, Matt was a partner at the law firm of K&L Gates, and an associate at its predecessor firm Preston Gates & Ellis. During his time at the Preston firm, Matt undertook a trial fellowship with the King County Prosecutor’s Office, where he tried felony criminal cases. Before entering private practice, Matt served as a judicial clerk for Justice Charles W. Johnson of the Washington State Supreme Court, and an extern for the Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel. Matt began his legal career as a law clerk for Rush, Hannula, Harkins & Kyler in Tacoma, Wash.
Matt served on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Washington and the Seattle Opera and is currently on the Opera’s Advisory Board. He has been repeatedly commended by the Washington State Bar Association for his pro bono legal work. Matt has also served as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law.
Ann Marie Soto
ANN MARIE SOTO, one of the co-founding members of Madrona Law Group PLLC, has devoted the entirety of her professional career to public service, first as a federal government employee and now as a municipal attorney since being licensed to practice in 2010. During this time, Ann Marie has developed a special emphasis on open government issues and is a frequent speaker on Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act compliance. In addition to representing numerous cities across Washington on a variety of matters, Ann Marie currently serves on the Board of the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys (WSAMA) and is the City Attorney for the City of Roslyn and the Deputy City Attorney for the City of Issaquah.
Jennifer Steele
Jennifer Steele is Public Records Counsel for the Attorney General’s Office. As Public Records Counsel, Jennifer provides expertise to AAGs regarding client advice and litigation strategy. She advises and serves as a resource to the AGO on public records issues, provides trainings, and represents the AGO in PRA litigation involving the AGO. Jennifer has served in the AGO for over 14 years, during which she has consistently worked in the public records arena. Jennifer previously worked in the Consumer Protection and Licensing and Administrative Law divisions. Prior to joining the AGO Jennifer was a clerk at the Washington State Supreme Court. Jennifer attended Syracuse University where she was on the Women’s Varsity Rowing Team. She received her J.D. from Seattle University where, upon learning there was no rowing team, she became an editor for the Seattle Journal for Social Justice.