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06/14/2008: "New CC Chief Of Staff Takes Over"

The six county council members have a new Chief to help them get organized and on track as they struggle to work though their list of priorities, and their mandated day-to-day work load.

Ann Larson has returned to San Juan County after working in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, where she worked for a year as a research assistant and field manager. The return to the states was not completely voluntary, but necessary, Ann said, “due to an infection that nearly claimed my life. I fully recovered from the infection, but the majority of my healing began with my return to the San Juan Islands.”

In addition to overseeing the council office, and helping six independent council members prepare for meetings, keeping piles of documents properly recorded and preserved and making sure the public is fully advised as to upcoming meetings and council actions, Larson also plans to finish her Master degree this fall in environmental policy.




Larson graduated from the University of Washington with a BS in zoology and a BA in biological anthropology. Larson said that while at university she led the behavioral team for the National Geographic Sun Bear Artificial Insemination Project. In addition to my research with these highly endangered bears, I concurrently worked as a research assistant with several different species of primates in both the lab and in the field.”

In an area more specifically related to San Juan County, she “made a crossover to marine mammal studies when asked to assist in a graduate student’s killer whale research in the San Juan Islands,” and as a result of her contribution to the pilot research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offered her a permanent position when they joined the study.

It was after spending several seasons with NOAA that she accepted an offer to work in Ecuador. Larson said that “living through the ordeal in Ecuador made me recognize both my need for community and my own determination against adversity;” and added “I slowly returned to work, getting a job at Friday Harbor Realty,” where she was responsible for the business administrative functions. When the council position opened up, she applied and was the top choice for the position.

The office is back to full strength ith the hiring of Larson, returning the number of clerks to the original total of three that has been the norm since the days of three County Commissioners. Larson now joins the front line with Office Assistant Maureen See, and recently returned Lisa Brown, as the three who keep the office of the County Council humming away to serve the council members and the public.