Yvonne Marisol Gallardo-Van Ornam has a master's degree in business administration, is fluent in two languages and spent nine years in the United States Navy. She is also the new executive director of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.
Hired at the end of February, Gallardo-Van Ornam, 37, comes to the chamber with extensive background in event planning and coordination, volunteer recruitment and management, fundraising and community advocacy. She lives in Arlington with her husband, Brian, and their two children, Alexis, 6, and Andrew, 9, and is the treasurer of the Cougar Creek Elementary PTA board of directors. She also serves on the Arlington PTA Council and the Pioneer Elementary School PTA.
She is excited to learn about Monroe and Snohomish County as a whole, and is looking forward to representing the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.
"I truly believe in the chamber, I truly believe in the power that the chamber has to help the community and to help businesses,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said. "I want people to give us a chance to really show them the value that we add to the community.GÇ¥
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Gallardo-Van Ornam enlisted in the U.S. Navy out of high school. She had always had her sights set on college, but was hindered by the cost of a higher education. She had fond childhood memories of taking road trips with her family, so when she realized the military would give her the opportunity to travel and further her education, it seemed like the perfect fit.
"I actually had applied at a few colleges and been accepted, but financially it just wasn't going to work, and I really wanted to travel,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said. "I knew I didn't want to stay in El Paso.GÇ¥
After boot camp, she was sent to Guam for six months, and then to Chicago to complete her training as an electrical engineer. She spent several years as an electrical engineer before attending calibration technician school, an aspiration that she had since her first ship.
"I actually worked at a Cal Lab when I hit my first ship,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said. "I had never really known anything about calibration, and when I met them they were like, "You don't want to be anywhere else except here.' GÇ¥
Calibration technicians are tasked with maintaining and repairing electrical and mechanical equipment. Anything electronic, from the Xerox machines to the ship's cable system, fell under the purview of the calibration technicians.
"Everybody loved them because they kept all the equipment going,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said.
She attended calibration school at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Missouri. In 2003 she was stationed in Everett, and spent her last three years in the service as a calibration technician before leaving the Navy in 2006. During her time in the service, Gallardo-Van Ornam traveled to Thailand, Korea, Japan, Guam, Hawaii, California and Washington.
The ships were typically underway for six months at a time, she said, but including the preparation necessary before and after each trip, the deployments typically lasted up to nine months at a stretch.
Although her career path in the Navy was a technical one, she embraced her work with the Command Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) committee. As the assistant coordinator of the MWR, Gallardo-Van Ornam helped organize free and low-cost activities for sailors while they were on the ship, along with recreational activities in places like Thailand, Japan, Hawaii, California and Washington.
Sometimes it was something as simple as a bingo night while they were out to sea, and other times it was a tour of Khao Phing Kan, Thailand, which is also known as James Bond Island. Her MWR work gave her the opportunity to make a difference to a sailor who might have been missing his or her family, by allowing them to forget where they were ' even if for only three hours at a time.
Even the bingo nights were a welcome distraction.
"For three hours, we forgot that we'd been out there for three months. For three hours we got to feel normal,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said.
She continued those efforts while on shore duty, acting as the liaison between her command and the local community. She established relationships with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and United Way, helping to recruit and train program volunteers.
"Since then I've just kind of always been a part of the community,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said. "I kind of fell in love with that.GÇ¥
It was when she came to Everett in 2003 that she first met her husband, Brian, who was also in the Navy. The two began dating a few months after they met, and have been together ever since. She completed her bachelor's degree in 2006 and in 2008 opened Andrew's Playroom in Arlington, an indoor children's play area for kids age five and under.
Unfortunately the recession hit hard and staying open wasn't feasible, so Andrew's Playroom closed in 2009. While Gallardo-Van Ornam acknowledges it was the wrong year for such an endeavor, she enjoyed the entrepreneurial opportunity.
"That was a really neat experience,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said. "I got to meet a lot of really amazing people.GÇ¥
In 2011 she put her technical background to use at the Fluke Corporation in Everett, but still found a way to continue the community advocacy work she loves. She joined the Fluke Employees Activities Committee, and founded SnoCoKids, a free online resource for parents looking for family-friendly activities. She worked collaboratively with businesses and other organizations to help facilitate new events in the city of Stanwood, and used her marketing savvy to help grow existing events.
In 2014 she left Fluke and completed her MBA, taking some time to enjoy her daughter and focus on her work with the PTA. She came across the Monroe Chamber of Commerce job posting recently on Craigslist shortly after deciding it was time to reenter the workforce. She carefully reviewed the job description and thought, "I can do this.GÇ¥
So far, Gallardo-Van Ornam has attended a chamber board meeting, met with city leaders, parks and planning staff, and will attend her first chamber luncheon on Tuesday, March 8. She plans on immersing herself in the community as much as possible and wants to familiarize herself with governmental operations in Monroe and Snohomish County.
Gallardo-Van Ornam is high-energy, outgoing, articulate and fluent in Spanish. She looks forward to collaboration with parallel groups like the newly formed Downtown Monroe Association (DMA), and plans to support DMA efforts and activities.
"I think that it's important that we work together. It's not a "them and us,' GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said.
She is hopeful her efforts will lead to increased membership numbers.
"The more members we have, the stronger our network, and the stronger our network, the more our businesses are going to grow and develop,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said.
She is prepared to face challenges. Not only was the Navy a male-dominated environment, the technical industry she chose as a professional career was also dominated by men. She had to learn to be bold and stand up for herself, and to not take things personally, even when her confronter may have meant it that way.
"You get a thick skin,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said. "It's kind of one of those things ' you've kind of got to roll with the punches sometimes.GÇ¥
She knows that there are those in the community that may have mixed feelings about the chamber, but she is hopeful they will give her a chance. She believes in "praise in public and discipline in private,GÇ¥ and is hopeful people will give her that courtesy. She is implementing an open-door policy and is willing to listen to reasonable concerns.
Being from Arlington is an advantage, said Gallardo-Van Ornam, because it gives her fresh eyes and a clean perspective.
"I don't know the bad, I don't know the good and I don't know the ugly,GÇ¥ Gallardo-Van Ornam said. "Give me a shot, that's all I'm asking for.GÇ¥
Gallardo-Van Ornam is learning the ropes from chamber operations manager Shelley Nyhammer, who has been with the chamber for more than three years. Nyhammer and the board of directors are looking forward to Gallardo-Van Ornam's contribution to Monroe.
"I am incredibly excited,GÇ¥ said Monroe Chamber of Commerce Board President Mike Buse. "We couldn't have found a better candidate.GÇ¥
Photos by Chris Hendrickson Yvonne Gallardo-Van Ornam is looking forward to tackling new challenges as the executive director of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.
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