The Board of Directors of the Palmer Museum
President, Anne Lane came to Alaska with her husband Robert courtesy of the U.S. Air Force in 1985. She has most recently worked as a realtor with Jack White Prudential and Dynamic Properties in Anchorage. She has held many volunteer positions in Officers' Wives' Clubs, church groups and hospital volunteer groups, and is currently the Vice President of the Snow Goose Pond Home Owners' Association.
Vice President, Wayne Bouwens was a member of the Palmer Museum start up board. After a three year hiatus he was re-elected and has served on the board for the past two years. Wayne has lived in Palmer since arriving in 1935 as part of the Matanuska Colony Project. He is also a Board Member of the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, a non-profit bank that administrates farm lending and agricultural land trusts.
Treasurer/Secretary, Tom Healy has served on the board for two years, and is also the Chair of the Collections Committee. Tom retired from a career in municipal management in September of 2007, prior to which he served as Palmer's city manager for eight years. He now works as Executive Director for the Alaska Rock Products Association.
Dace Boyd was born in Riga, Latvia and immigrated to the United States in 1950. She came to Alaska in 1967 to work as an RN at the Cordova Community Hospital. Since then, she has worked for the Mat-Su School District as a school nurse. In fact, Dace was the second school nurse to be hired in Wasilla, Big Lake and Willow. She is also a gardener and has turned her hobby into a business. She owns Mat Valley Potato Growers raising potatoes for the local markets. When she isn't working, Dace volunteers for church activities, quilting groups, and Hospice Resource.
Romie Deschamps III has been a Palmer resident since 1977and has raised six children here along with his wife, Patricia. A semi-retired Valley pharmacist after 34 years of service, he received the "Bowl of Hygeia" award in 2011 for Community Service and Contributions for Pharmacy Service. Romie has served as charter member, Club President and board member of the Palmer Rotary Club for several years as well as serving President of the MatSu Chapter American Cancer Society for two years, Board Member of the State Cancer Society, and Team Pharmacist for AK1DMAT. He enjoys being injvolved with the arts community, serving as President of the Valley Fine Arts Association, and a member of the Alaska Plein Air Artist Society and the Alaska Artist Guild all while still finding time to develop his own art.
Jo Ehmann has lived in Palmer for over 45 years, and currently works full time as a substitute teacher at Colony High School. Her previous professional positions include Alaska Court System translator and executive secretary to the CEO of Exxon. She has served on the board for four years.
Tom Sojka
Executive Director, Selena Ortega-Chiolero came to Palmer two years ago with her husband Richard and their "children", a Great Dane mix named Smokey and a Chihuahua Terrier named Harlequin. She holds a Bachelors degree in Art History with an emphasis on Japanese Art and a Bachelors degree in Asian Studies with an emphasis on Japan, from California State University, Sacramento. After graduation, she spent several years interning with 40 Acres Art gallery and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. She most recently comes from the Dorothy G. Page Museum in Wasilla. It is her hope to utilize her education and experience to help transition the Palmer Museum into its next phase filled with new exhibits, exciting programming and more community involvement.
