With the recent resignation of Jamie Smith due to a new job out of the County, several changes and additions on the Indiana County Democratic Committee have been announced.
Lynne Alvine (Indiana), ICDC chair, has served the Indiana County Democratic as a precinct committeewoman, headquarters manager, and vice chair. She is also a longtime leader in the Federation of Democratic Women of Indiana County and is retired from the IUP Department of English.
Hank Knerr (White Township) moves from secretary to vice chair on the committee. He is retired from IUP having served as executive director of the Lively Arts and now as an arts management consultant through his enterprise, Raising Arts.
Linda Mitchell (Rayne Township), newly elected Treasurer, is the Marketing and Planning Manager at IndiGO, and was formerly the Executive Director of Downtown Indiana, after spending several years living in Pittsburgh.
Cate Planisky (Indiana) was recently appointed secretary and was born and raised in eastern Indiana County. In Indiana, she volunteers a significant amount of time to make her community a more fun and better place to live.
Ron Fairman (Indiana) has held various positions with the ICDC for over 25 years including past chair, is retired from the Department of the Auditor General, and has been an active volunteer on numerous community boards.
Nate Vanderneck (Indiana) graduated from Indiana High School and IUP’s Cook Honors College with a bachelor’s degree in English now in his 14th year with the Community Guidance Center as a family based outreach therapist. Nate represents the County’s Central District.
Austin Jesko (Saltsburg) is a graduate of the Kiski School '17 and Macalester College '23. He works at Fox's Pizza and is a volunteer at the Saltsburg Free Library and Heritage Holiday Committee. Austin is representing the Southern District of Indiana County.
Zoe Ritchie (Smicksburg), Precinct Committee Person for West Mahoning Township and representing the Northern District of Indiana County, is retired from West Shamokin Jr-Sr High School as a mathematics teacher.
Anna Goldman (Armstrong Township) grew up in Pittsburgh, is an Army veteran married to an Army veteran, spending considerable time working, realizing in 2016 she needed to get involved in politics. Anna represents the Southcentral District of the County.
Sherene Hess (Indiana) is in her third term as Indiana County Commissioner, chairs the Indiana County Conservation District, and serves as first vice president of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
Barbara Barker (Indiana) served on the Indiana Area School Board and now serving her first term elected as an Indiana County Auditor.
Also serving on the committee in an ex-officio capacity are Jamie Smith, immediate past chair; Jane Mitchel and Theda Ray, co-presidents of the local chapter of the Federation of Democratic Women; and Andrew Muth, vice president of the IUP College Dems.
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