"I saw my first play at Sonoma County Rep in Santa Rosa in the late 1990's. Over the last few years, my attendance was limited to plays at the Sebastopol Shakespeare Festival. We are recent subscribers, and are happy to see how the quality has improved over the last few years. The word needs to get out! Once people see a play, they will be hooked!"

A resident of Sebastopol since 1978, Kathy Gilliam has a strong background in strategic planning, project management and finance from her long, successful track record with Agilent Technologies/Hewlett Packard, dating from 1978 until her retirement in 2004. She was a Program Engineer for the World Wide Cost Accounting Team, did major work on an Oracle software installation and other re-engineering projects, and held finance management roles.

Kathy is particularly interested in working with the Rep on Community Outreach and Project Management, especially in light of the growth that the Rep is currently facing. "Now that I no longer have the responsibility of a full time job, I can focus more time on giving back to the community. I realize the importance of volunteerism in making a community a quality place to live."

Two of Kathy’s passions are the environment and adventure traveling, something she shares with her husband, Jim. Kathy is a docent for the Laguna Foundation. She and Jim started adventure traveling with some friends 18 years ago, on a trip in the Himalayas. They have also been on treks in the Andes, New Zealand and European mountain ranges; sea kayaking in Fiji, Tahiti and Canada; and river rafting/canoeing in Alaska, the Grand Canyon and Canada. Their most recent trip was to Africa and included a hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro!

They have two grown children: Ryan and his wife, June, live in Scotts Valley, and a daughter, Kelly, in San Francisco. Kathy & Jim became grandparents in March 2005.