MORNINGSIDE'S EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

    Jim Larson
    Jim Larson – the President and Chief Executive Officer of Morningside since 1989 – was born and raised in Seattle and holds a B.A. from Western Washington University.
Jim has been the CEO of three rehabilitation programs. For 10 years he worked in Ellensburg transforming a facility based program into a program based in the community with mobile crews working in a variety of jobs for private business and state agencies. He also worked in McMinnville, Oregon for three years before coming to Olympia. The program in Oregon was a multifaceted manufacturing facility and residential program for people with disabilities. 

    Jim was appointed by the Governor to the Rehabilitation Council of Washington and served as its Chair from 1995 until 2000. Always active in professional organizations in both Oregon and Washington, Jim was elected Chair of the Rehabilitation Enterprise of Washington in 1994. Appointed to the State of Washington Special Education Advisory committee in 1999, Jim served until 2001. He is currently serving as a member of the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council and on the Board of Cascades Camp and Conference Center.

    Cindi Kirchmeier
    Cindi Kirchmeier is the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Morningside. Cindi’s responsibilities include the oversight and direction for all rehabilitative services for individuals with disabilities. With the organization for more than 25 years, Cindi holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from Texas A & I University and a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Administration from the University of San Francisco.

    Cindi’s direct services experience during her tenure at Morningside includes Community Access, Vocational Evaluation, Work Adjustment and Job Placement positions. Her involvement in the provision of employment services to people with disabilities is well-known statewide and she has provided technical assistance to other agencies throughout the region.

    Cindi is currently a member of the National Rehabilitation Association, the Association for Persons in Supported Employment and a Steering Committee member for Partnership 2020.

    Cindi’s vision and philosophy for her division is focused on “a job for everyone who wants to work”.

    Susan Cundy-Harris
    Susan Cundy-Harris is the Human Resources Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. In her more than 20 years in the human resources field Susan's work history includes experience at the municipal, county, and state levels. Susan earned a Bachelor's Degree in Government and pursued graduate studies in Public Policy Administration. She also completed the State of Washington Executive Management course offered by the University of Washington. Additionally, Susan has developed and presented professional training on a wide-range of topics including basic human resources practices, mid-management skills, and performance evaluations. 

    Raised in Thurston county, Susan has also been a local elected official and owned her own business providing assistance to injured workers seeking employment.

    Christy  White 
    Christy White is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Morningside. She is a Northwest native and holds a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound. Christy has over 25 years of experience in financial management as well as consulting. Her career has a wide variety of leadership experience primarily in for-profit and non-profit healthcare. She has served as a volunteer for various professional and civic organizations. Christy’s philosophy for financial oversight is focused on organizational fiscal accountability and responsibility.

    Don Hayden
    Don Hayden is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer. He came to Morningside after graduating from Saint Martin’s College with a degree in Political Science and a minor in History. Don was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and has lived in Washington State since 1979.

    Don has been a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer since 1999. He has since added certifications in Windows 2000 and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator in 2001. He has attended professional training in adaptive technology and trained and tested on Optical Imaging Software.

    In addition to his duties as the IT Director, Don provides technical support to a variety of state agencies that contract with Morningside for his technical expertise in networking, file management, and digital imaging. Don has also been active in raising disability awareness. He has assisted in training and producing training videos for the rehabilitation department at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup Washington. He has participated in motivational public speaking and most recently worked with the Abilities Awareness team at Morningside. He was the first quadriplegic to attempt to climb Mt. Rainier.
 
    Don’s philosophy in work and life in general is “a positive attitude will take you anywhere you want to go.”

    Jonathan Pleger
    Jonathan Pleger is the Vice President of Development for Morningside. Jonathan was raised in Buffalo, New York and holds a B.S. degree from Daemen College in Amherst, New York.

    Jonathan has ten years of fundraising experience in the non-profit world. Prior to joining Morningside, he worked for the Boy Scouts of America in a number of different positions and communities in western Washington and in Tucson, Arizona.

 
< BACKbr>