School Board Members 

About the Board Members

Laura Jaecks - Board Position #1

Laura Jaecks is currently a real estate broker with Premier One Properties. In addition, to her real estate license Jaecks is a certified project manager with 15 years of experience managing commercial and industrial properties and construction projects for the Port of Chelan County.

Laura has a diverse background. She previously served as a non-profit leader as Executive Director of Camp Fire USA–NCW Council. Jaecks has been and continues to be an entrepreneur. She was the founding co-owner and general business manager of a health club currently known as WORX Wenatchee Valley. She owns a small business that rents and delivers Airstream trailers in NCW. She is devoted to community service. She is a veteran board member with the Wenatchee School District.

Laura holds a Real Estate license, Project Management Certificate-University of Washington Extension, Masters of Education in Educational Technology-City University, a BS in Accounting-Central Washington University, and an Associates of Arts Degree-Wenatchee Valley College. 

She is married to Steve Schwind and enjoys activities with him and their dogs Riley and Jazz. They have six adult children and six grandchildren. 

Martin Barron - Board Position #3

Martin Barron is the parent of 4 children who greatly benefited and successfully graduated from Wenatchee public schools. He was born and raised in Zimbabwe, Africa completed his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, London and earned his M.Sc. in The Economics of Poor Countries and their Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Before moving to Wenatchee in 1990 Martin lived and worked in 6 countries. He speaks English and Spanish comfortably and has some comprehension of 5 other languages. Public Service is Martin’s 5th career. He worked as a Chemical Engineer, Development Economist, Agribusiness in production, logistics and general management in Latin America, and finance and administration which enabled him to choose his family home, Wenatchee. He became a naturalized citizen in 1994.

Martin has volunteered in our schools on task forces, scholarship programs, and as mentor, stagehand, exchange student host and translator. His wife Tina produced district musicals for a decade and was a long term member of WHS foundation board.

Martin believes that no investment is more important for our community than K-12 education and ALL our children are our greatest asset. His hope as a board member is to be a catalyst for improvement and an advocate for our public schools in and to our community.

Maria Iñiguez - President, Board Position #2

María Iñiguez was born in California, is a first generation Mexican-American and an English Language Learner. She’s a graduate from Enumclaw High School in Enumclaw, WA and has resided in Wenatchee since 2006.

María attended the University of Washington Tacoma where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies and a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Art and Sciences with an emphasis on education. While conducting research for her master’s thesis “Leaving Hispanic Students Behind: The Effect of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning on Hispanic Students”, María studied abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Cienfuegos, Cuba. During her time in Cienfuegos, María collaborated on an academic paper “Abriendo un espacio para el alumno latino en el currículum de las universidades de los Estados Unidos,” (Opening a space for Latino students in US University Curriculums) and presented at the International Colloquium on University and Community, at the University of Cienfuegos. 

Education has opened many doors for María, which is why she has centered her professional career around education. She began her career as a student recruiter for the University of Washington Tacoma before relocating to Wenatchee. In 2006, she was hired by the Wenatchee School District where she worked for over 12 years under different capacities. María currently works as the Executive Assistant to the President of Wenatchee Valley College. 

María serves the community as a parent volunteer and team sponsor for Wenatchee Youth Baseball, team sponsor for Greater Wenatchee Soccer Club, a volunteer scholarship reader for Community Foundation of NCW, mentor for WHS College Mentor Program, volunteer for Community for the Advancement of Family Education and the Washington State’s Latino Civic Alliance.

María and her husband, Ricardo have a child that attends Wenatchee Public Schools. 

María was appointed to the Wenatchee School Board on January 14, 2020 and was elected to serve an unexpired term in November 2021. Maria is the first elected Latina to serve on the Wenatchee School Board.  

Katherine Thomas - Board Position #4

Julie Norton - Vice President, Board Position #5

Julie Norton is an attorney and partner at Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC (with offices in Wenatchee and Seattle).  She has been a licensed and practicing attorney for 14 years. Her practice emphasizes municipal law, employment law, land use and development (including real estate transactions), general civil litigation, and general business law.

Julie’s municipal law practice, which includes representation of numerous code cities, special purpose districts, and other governmental entities, provides an important foundation for her understanding of the Wenatchee School District as a government agency and participation on the School Board.  Julie is skilled in reviewing, analyzing and drafting contracts, policies, and regulations.  She is also focused on ensuring compliance with governmental codes, rules, and regulations, including public bidding/purchasing laws, open government requirements, educational regulations, and budgeting.  Julie was also appointed as the Board’s legislative representative, where she will closely monitor legislation related to educational and district operational requirements to help apprise the Board of pending updates, and determine whether to comment on any proposed legislation that may impact the District operations.

Julie volunteers time to speak at seminars and workshops sponsored by the Association of Washington Cities and MRSC  focused on  Public Records Act and Open Public Meeting Act Compliance.  She also trains newly elected officials on open government, conflict of interest, and other ethical requirements. 

Julie’s professional memberships include the Washington State Bar Association, the Chelan-Douglas County Bar Association, and the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys (WSAMA).  She is also active in the Wenatchee community, including serving on the board of directors for the YMCA, Wenatchee Valley Youth Sports Foundation, and Arena Youth Enrichment Fund.  She was recognized by the Wenatchee World as one of the top 30 professionals under 35 in the Wenatchee Valley.

Julie was born and raised in Boring, Oregon. She received her B.A. in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Washington in 2003.  While in college, she was an active participant in the Husky Marching Band and a Deans List recipient. Julie subsequently earned her law degree, graduating cum laude, from the Seattle University School of Law.  Julie and her husband, Brad Norton (a Chelan County Sheriff’s Deputy and 3rd generation Wenatchee native) moved to Wenatchee in 2006.  They have 3 children in the Wenatchee School District.