Our Officers & Advisors
As a community leader, I’m pleased to be a part of this non-profit. Many of our local students need a boost beyond what state and local taxes can provide. The Foundation has no overhead costs, so every dollar goes directly to those in need to advance education goals. I know our community will give generously because we care about our kids.
– Bonnie Onyon, Vice President
Charles Gibson (President)
Charles has been actively involved in the Blaine Community for over 25 years. He served on the Blaine School District Board of Directors for 17 years, four years as chairman. During that time he also served as Pastor of Northwood Alliance Church (now Northwood Chapel) for 25 years. He is a Director on the Board of Regent College Foundation, USA serving since 2018.
Charles is the founding president of the Peace Arch Education Foundation. He led the creation of the Community Assistance Program (CAP) derived from the Ministerial Association. In conjunction with Bill Elfo, Whatcom County Sheriff, removed the adult bookstore from downtown Blaine.
Before coming to Blaine, Charles served as Executive Director of New Mexico Boys and Girls Ranch for 20 years, which included establishing an adoption agency, Families for Children.
He is the father of four Blaine High School graduates and nine grandchildren with two attending Blaine schools currently.
Bonnie Onyon (Vice President)
Bonnie has spent the past 25 years in business and participating in Blaine city government. She was a member of City Council for 23 years and served 8 years as Mayor of Blaine.
She was a local businesswoman and co-owner of Thrifty Market & Deli for 12 years and President and Board member of the Blaine Chamber of Commerce for 10 years.
She was Office Administrator at Natures Path Foods for 10 years and Office Manager of a diamond jewelry importer for 3 years. She served in several executive administrative positions prior to locating to Blaine.
She was Vice President and Board member of Whatcom Learning Lab for five years (a non-profit devoted to tutoring dyslexic children). She served on the Governing Board of Northwood Chapel for 10 years.
Bonnie is the mother of three Blaine High School graduates and grandmother of ten, with six enrolled in Blaine schools.
Bob Feaster (Secretary)
Bob spent 35 years in public education as a School Psychologist, Special Education Director and 10 years as the Assistant Superintendent in Chico Unified School District in California. He has an MA in Psychology and three educational credentials from California State University, Chico, California. He has worked as an adjunct instructor at CSU, Chico in the Education Department and at the graduate level in the Psychology Department.
Bob officiated high school and college football and spent 10 years assigning and supervising over 100 football officials serving 28 schools.
Bob retired to Birch Bay in 2015 and served one year as Interim Coordinator of the Family Service Center with Blaine School District. For the past 5 years Bob has been employed as a Student Supervisor at Blaine Elementary School.
He volunteers for the Community Assistance Program, helping with the Community Toy Store and the Food Connections program. He also volunteers packing weekend food bags for Wild Bird Charity.
Dr. Sharon Aller (Grant Coordinator)
Sharon has been involved in patenting instruction and public education in various roles most of her adult life. She and her husband Warren worked in the Blaine School District for 30 years, Warren as principal at all levels and Sharon working with community volunteers.
She earned a Doctorate in Transformational Leadership, in June 2016 from Bakke Graduate University, Dallas, Texas. Her Dissertation: “Reset Families – Parenting After Trauma: Curriculum Development and Evaluation” led to publication of her book Reset Families: Building & Emotional Skills while Avoiding Nagging and Power Struggles as well as a handbook now being used by community leaders for parenting education in several locations.
She earned her MA in Family Studies and Social Work from University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Canada, May 2000. Her thesis: “Adolescents’ Perception of Mattering in the School Mentoring Context” based on her original research on the benefit of mentoring relationships.
She served as Executive Director of Rebound of Whatcom County for five years, providing social and emotional support along with parenting education for families with school-age children facing difficult life challenges.
She is the mother of two Blaine High School graduates and grandmother of five boys.
Mike Eagle (Advisor and Bookkeeper)
Mike grew up in the Seattle area, and married his high school sweetheart Jane. He moved to the Blaine area in 2015 to open the new Bellingham Safeway store and retired in 2018, after 42 years in the grocery business.
Mike and Jane have 3 daughters who reside in the Mill Creek area, and 4 grandchildren.
Dr. Geof Morgan (Birch Bay/Blaine Thrives)
Geof has been active in the Blaine Community, as Founder of Birch Bay/Blaine Thrives, a collective impact initiative for Blaine public schools. He is also a key person in creating the Peace Arch Education Foundation by authoring all the applications for state and federal documents.
In Whatcom County, he served as Executive Director for Whatcom Family & Community Network for 25 years.
Geof is a semi-retired professional singer, musician and songwriter.
Margaret Gibson (Retired Blaine School Nurse)
Margaret has used her profession to serve the community. She is a recently retired Blaine School Nurse, serving in that position for 23 years. She is a graduate of Columbia University School of Nursing in New York. She was a certified EMT Instructor in New Mexico.
She was awarded the Community Builder Award in 2021 by Whatcom Family & Community Network.
She currently serves as a volunteer reading assistant in Blaine Primary School.
Margaret is the mother of four Blaine High School graduates and nine grandchildren with two currently attending Blaine schools.
Dan DeMent (Community Assistance Program)
Dan is a fifth generation resident living in Blaine and Whatcom County. He has served as Executive Director of the Community Assistance Program in Blaine for the past 12 years. He and his wife, Nancy have served on the Governing Board of Blaine Christian Fellowship for the past 30 years.
Dan retired after 38 years of service as Manager of Performance Improvement and a member of the Senior Leadership team for the BP Cherry Point Refinery.
He is the father of two Blaine High School graduates and grandfather of three.
Max Shelton (Wells Fargo Investment)
Work and family go hand in hand for Max. He has worked as a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley in Bellingham since October 2002. He now serves as Senior Vice President.
He graduated from Blaine High School in 1997 and Western Washington University in 2002
Along with his wife Josie, Max has served as Co-coordinator of Blaine Barracuda wrestling club for 3 years. He was Blaine youth sports football coach for seven years.
Max is father of four students now in Blaine Schools and one high school graduate attending Whitworth University.
Julie-Anne Butschli (Family Service Center)
Stay Tuned
Tina Padilla (Blaine Schools Administration)
Tina Padilla is an experienced administrative professional with over 10 years of service
in public school district administration. Now a graduate student, she is pursuing her
calling to help individuals navigate life’s later stages with compassion and care. A
devoted mother of two grown sons, Tina is driven by her faith in Jesus and a passion for
uplifting and encouraging those around her on the journey of life. She is honored to
contribute her perspective as an advisor to the foundation.