SEATTLE TIMES LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Frank A. Blethen
Publisher and Chief Executive Officer

Frank is a fourth generation member of the Blethen family, which founded The Seattle Times in 1896. He has been publisher and chief executive officer since 1985, having joined the family business full-time in 1968. He held a variety of training positions at The Seattle Times until 1974 when he joined The Seattle Times-owned Walla Walla Union-Bulletin as publisher. He returned to The Seattle Times in 1980 and held executive positions in circulation, advertising, marketing and labor. Frank is a graduate of Arizona State University, and has done post-graduate work at Harvard. Frank is known for his civic involvement as well as his generosity in donating to many causes in the community, most notably in the areas of higher education, cultural diversity and health and human services. Frank is deeply committed to diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion. His other passions include his family, preserving family business and independent journalism.


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Ryan Blethen
Director, New Product Strategies and Associate Publisher

Ryan Blethen is the Director of New Product Strategies at The Seattle Times.

As Director of New Product Strategies, he oversees all product development and management for digital and print. He also serves as Seattle Times associate publisher, with oversight of the Yakima Herald-Republic, a Seattle Times-owned newspaper.

Blethen has worked as a reporter or editor at newspapers in Yakima and Spokane, Washington, and Portland, Maine. He is a member of the National Conference of Editorial Writers and is on the board of the International Press Institute’s North American Committee.

He is a fifth generation member of the Blethen family. His great-great-grandfather Alden founded The Times in 1896. Blethen is a graduate of Washington State University and attended journalism school at the University of Kansas.

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Alayne Fardella
Chief Operation Officer

Alayne Fardella is Chief Operating Officer at The Seattle Times Company. Fardella has oversight of day-to-day company operations, partnering with Publisher, Frank Blethen and the senior vice president team in identifying the long-term strategic planning for the company.

Fardella has served in a number of leadership roles at The Seattle Times, most recently as Senior Vice President, Business Operations with oversight of Budgeting, Human Resources, Labor, Operations and Seattle Times Affiliate Newspapers in Walla Walla, Yakima, Issaquah, Sammamish, Newcastle, Snoqualmie, and North Bend. Fardella left the Times in 2010 and began consulting for the publisher, focusing on strategic planning, leadership development and digital strategy. Prior to joining The Times, she held management positions with top high tech and manufacturing companies, including Intel Corporation and National Semiconductor. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Fardella holds an M.B.A from the University of Phoenix and a B.A. degree from Santa Clara University.

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Alan Fisco
Executive Vice President, Revenue & New Products

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David Boardman
Executive Editor and Senior Vice President

David is responsible for the News Department of Washington state’s largest newspaper and for its website, seattletimes.com. Under his leadership, The Times won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. In previous years, Boardman directed two other projects that won Pulitzers, and 10 stories that were Pulitzer finalists.

As a member of the company’s senior executive team, David contributes to overall company operations, strategy and long-term planning. Before joining The Times in 1983, David was a reporter and editor at several papers in the Northwest, and worked on a construction project in Liberia, West Africa. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and has a graduate degree from the University of Washington. He serves on several national boards, including the American Society of News Editors, the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.


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Buster Brown
Senior Vice President, Finance

Buster oversees all financial aspects of the company. Prior to coming to The Seattle Times, Buster served in key financial leadership roles with Vulcan Inc., Football Northwest and First and Goal, Inc. He holds an MBA and a BA in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound.

A board member and volunteer in many community organizations, Brown is currently involved with the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Experience Music Project, The Seattle Foundation, YMCA of Greater Seattle and the Seattle Seahawks Charitable Foundation. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, American Institute of CPA’s and the Washington State Society of CPA’s.


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Michael Shepard
Senior Vice President, Business Operations

Michael came to the Seattle Times Company in 2000 as publisher of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. He subsequently became publisher of the Yakima Herald-Republic in 2003. In addition to being publisher in Yakima, Michael was promoted to President, Seattle Times Washington Affiliate Newspapers, having oversight for the company’s affiliate newspapers in Washington state: the Yakima Herald-Republic, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, The Issaquah Press, the Sammamish Review, SnoValley Star and Newcastle News.

In his current role as Senior Vice President, Business Operations for The Seattle Times, he has responsibility for Human Resources, Labor Relations, Circulation and Operations. He also oversees Rotary Offset Press, the Times’ commercial printing operation in Kent, Washington.

Michael is a second-generation newspaper professional. He attended Washington State University, earning a degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. He began his career working as courthouse reporter for the Idahonian/Daily News, the Moscow, Idaho newspaper serving Moscow and Pullman, Washington. He subsequently worked for 12 years with Kitsap County-based Sound Publishing, Inc.

He has been active in numerous community and civic organizations, including Rotary, United Way and the YMCA and has served as a board member and officer of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington and the professional advisory board of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications at Washington State University. He also currently serves on the Inland Newspaper Association Foundation board of directors.


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Jill Mackie
Vice President/Public Affairs

In her role as Vice President, Public Affairs, Jill oversees the company’s strategic communications planning and monitors local, state and federal issues affecting The Seattle Times Company and the Seattle newspaper agency, including land use, general business climate, tax and regulatory matters, as well as issues affecting public access to public information. She is also involved in efforts to reduce consolidation of media ownership and to repeal the estate tax, both issues that impact independent ownership of media. Prior to joining The Seattle Times, Mackie served as Vice President for Government Affairs and Human Resources for the Pacific Lumber and Shipping Company in Seattle, where she focused on international trade and the environment. She has more than 15 years experience working in governmental and public affairs and holds a BA in Sociology from Seattle Pacific University.


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Kate Riley
Editorial Page Editor

As Editorial Page Editor, Kate Riley has oversight of the opinion voice of The Times and the editorial staff.

An award-winning journalist, Riley joined The Seattle Times in May 2002 as an editorial writer and columnist, focusing on energy issues and urban-rural tensions. Riley started her daily newspaper career at The Times-owned Walla Walla Union-Bulletin in 1985 where she covered agriculture and business. In 1988, she moved to the Tri-City Herald, covering business and education, served as assistant to the publisher, editorial writer and, finally, as editorial page editor.

A Redmond High School graduate, Riley graduated from the University of Washington with majors in economics and communications. Riley is a former board member for the Association of Opinion Journalists (formerly, National Conference of Editorial Writers), and previously served as editor of the Masthead, its quarterly journal. Additionally, she chaired the organization’s ethics, innovations and nominating committees.


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