2011 King County Districting Committee Members
Terrence Carroll, Chair, is a professional arbitrator and mediator and a Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Seattle University School of Law. He specializes in alternative dispute resolution, and has heard more than 3,000 mediations and 1,000 arbitrations over the past 20 years. He previously served as a King County Superior Court Judge, deputy prosecuting attorney, public defender, and private practice attorney.
A Seattle native, Carroll has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Seattle Police Accountability Review Board, the Public Utilities District Board (Safeco Field), and the Washington Council on Crime and Delinquency. He founded and chaired the Special Committee on Asbestos Litigation, developing a nationally respected process for handling asbestos cases, and was the appointed the first Internal Investigations Auditor for the Seattle Police Department, serving 11 years in that role.
Rod Dembowski is a partner at the Seattle-based law firm Foster Pepper. He has served as a special deputy prosecuting attorney for King, Pierce and Island Counties, and been named a “Rising Star” five times by Washington Law & Politics Magazine.
Born and raised in King County, Dembowski has a long history of public service and civic involvement. He has served as a policy analyst for King County Executive Gary Locke and as a staff assistant for the U.S. Senate. He has been a member of the Four Creeks Unincorporated Area Council, the King County Performance Measurement Oversight Committee, and the CityClub of Seattle Board of Governors.
John Jensen is the President of Jensen Roofing Company, a locally owned and operated business founded in 1988. He is a nationally recognized expert in tile roofing, and provides training and support to roofing and manufacturing companies across the country.
A member of the 2007-2008 King County Charter Review Commission, Jensen is an active civic and business leader in King County. He has served the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce as a long time board member and two time president. He is a member of the Valley Medical Center President’s Advisory Council, the Municipal League of King County, and Team Seattle (a Children’s Hospital fundraising guild).
Sally Nelson is a long-time civic leader in south King County. She helped lead the effort to incorporate the City of Burien, was elected as a charter member of the Burien City Council, was the city’s first Deputy Mayor, and later served two years as Mayor. She retired as a Burien elected official in 2009 after 16 years of service.
Nelson has been active on a wide variety of regional bodies and civic organizations, including the Suburban Cities Association, the Puget Sound Regional Council, and the Association of Washington Cities. She served as the Chair of the Public Safety and Crime Prevention Steering Committee for the National League of Cities. Before entering civic life, Nelson worked as a teacher, a counselor, and in real estate.
Sally Poliak serves as the CEO and President of The Poliak Group, a strategic communications and public affairs advocacy firm. She previously served as the COO of Nyhus Communications and spent 10 years at Microsoft in marketing and public affairs positions, including running the global Government Leaders Forum, a series of policy events for heads of state and ministers from around the world.
A member of the 1991 King County Districting Committee, Poliak has been an important voice in civic life for decades. She has served as a political analyst on Seattle National Public Radio affiliate KUOW and as a board member of the Northwest AIDS Foundation. She currently serves as the Chair of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, and on the boards of the Photographic Center Northwest and the Women’s Bioethics Project.