The Metropolitan King County Council unanimously approved Councilmember Claudia Balducci’s motion to appoint former Deputy King County Executive and longtime Mercer Island resident Sheryl Whitney to the Harborview Medical Center Board of Trustees. The Council approved the appointment at its Jan. 29 meeting.

Whitney spent nearly 20 years working for King County, starting out as a budget analyst in the Office of Financial Management, working her way up to Deputy County Executive under former Executive Ron Sims. Most recently, Whitney has worked as a partner consultant in her own practice, providing a range of services in governmental relations, investment support for philanthropic organizations and anti-poverty research.

“Sheryl was a clear choice for this appointment,” Balducci said. “Harborview is known for its excellence in medical care and its mission to serve those in need throughout our county. With her long and distinguished service to the people of King County, Sheryl brings a strong commitment to Harborview’s mission as well as exceptional management skills and financial oversight.”

“I’ve spent many hours over the course of my county career working with the superb staff at Harborview. The opportunity to contribute to their work in some small way is an incredible honor,” Whitney said. “I’m passionate about expanding behavioral health services and ensuring that quality health care is available to all residents throughout our region.”

Owned by King County and operated by UW Medicine, Harborview is the county’s public health hospital. Along with serving the trauma needs of the people of the region, Harborview Medical Center also serves as the regional trauma and burn referral center for Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

The Harborview Medical Center Board of Trustees consists of 13 appointed positions. The board acts as the representative authority of the county, overseeing the provisions of health-care services in order to assure that high quality health care is made available to all residents.

A graduate of Mercer Island High School, the University of Washington, American University and Seattle University, Whitney will serve as the District 6 representative on the board, which encompasses a majority of the core Eastside cities, including Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond and Mercer Island, as well as other small cities and the Points Communities.