Board of Commissioners
San Juan County Fire District No. 4 Board is comprised of publicly elected officials that oversee the finances and other major decisions of our district. As members of the public, the board represents the Lopez Island community and ensures that decisions made by San Juan County Fire District No. 4 align with the preferences of voters.
Becky Smith
Chair
Becky recently retired as the Manager/Administrator at the Hamlet House Adult Family Home. She is a WSU undergraduate and an RN from the Merritt Hospital School of Nursing. Being heavily involved in our community she has served on numerous boards including the School Board, CWMA, Chamber of Commerce and the Lopez Museum.
Becky grew up in the NW and has lived on Lopez with her family since 1984. She raised 2 children here and worked in various nursing capacities over the years including Visiting Nurse, Hospice and AIDS/Sexual Education in the school. Her husband was the General Manager for Decatur NW and commuted to Decatur Island for 35 years.
Becky first became involved with the Fire Dept. when she took the EMT course in 1985. She was asked to fill a vacancy on the Board in 2001 and has remained a Commissioner ever since.
Becky quotes: "I have been honored to work with employees and volunteers over the years to evolve into the professional department we are today."
Cathy Doherty
Vice-Chair
Cathy is currently a Family Practice Nurse Practitioner, after having graduated from the University Of Washington. Cathy has raised 4 children here, all of them benefitting from the rural lifestyle and small school.
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Cathy started her association with Lopez Fire and Rescue in 1990, attending EMT training, and taking calls. She also worked at the Lopez Clinic as a provider, retiring in 2017. Cathy worked closely with the EMS department, providing acute and emergent care, coordinating transfers to mainland facilities, and consultations with EMS staff. She has been working in the healthcare field since 1970.
In the volunteer role of a commissioner, Cathy gets to work with a group of highly motivated and talented community members. "Our organization is an integral part of of island life. It is an honor to serve on this board".
Shirwin Smith
Commissioner
Shirwin first visited the San Juan Islands in 1978, during her fourth season as a field
ranger with the National Park Service. That season, and her travels around the area,
made a very favorable impression, so much so that 38 years later, she was fortunate enough to find her forever home on Lopez Island.
In her first years on Lopez, she joined three local organizations that were wonderful introductions to the island and many of its residents - the Home Tour Committee, Lopez Singers and the Lopez Yacht Club. She was involved with all three organizations until the Covid years.
Prior to moving to Lopez, Shirwin spent 24 years (1975-1985 and 2001-2014) with the
National Park Service. Initially, as a field ranger, her duties involved interpretation and enforcement and required Red Card and EMT training. In 1985, she left the NPS to found the Open Water Rowing Center in Sausalito. Her management of OWRC
included setting up strict safety guidelines and practices for use of rowing shells on
San Francisco Bay. In 2000, she sold OWRC to the members, and the center continues today as an LLC under the guidance of an elected member committee.
In her final 14 years with the NPS, she was involved, and a point of contact, in a
contentious management process that involved environmental compliance, rule-making and public involvement. Following her retirement in 2014, she returned to OWRC as a manager for 3 years, until her move to Lopez in December 2016.
Shirwin is grateful to asked to support the so very necessary work of Lopez Fire and
Rescue, a wonderful way to give back to the island.