Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Service Advisory Committee

About the advisory committee

ASWS carries out our role in the H-2A temporary agricultural program. ASWS must provide adequate protections for foreign and domestic workers. They also must help growers maintain the stable workforce they need. ASWS does this by providing education and outreach opportunities.

Each even-numbered year, the advisory committee reports to the Legislature and Governor on:

• How to improve our recruitment process, as part of the H-2A application.
• How state law can increase the recruitment and hiring of domestic agriculture workers in Washington.
• Our costs to administer the H-2A and other farmworker programs.
• The federal funding to administer the H-2A program and all our other programs.

To learn more, you can:

• Read the ASWS committee charter (PDF, 101KB).
• Read ASWS committee procedures (DOCX, 15KB).
• Get email notifications about the ASWS.

Meetings

View all upcoming and past Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Service Advisory Committee meetings, meeting minutes and recordings. You can also download the 2024 meeting schedule (PDF, 91KB).

Past reports

• 2022 reports (PDF, 1,206KB).
• 2020 reports (PDF, 1,194KB).

Committee members

ASWS has 12 members:

• 4 appointed members representing agricultural workers.
• 4 appointed members representing agricultural employers.
• 4 appointed non-voting members representing state agencies.

Employment Security representatives

• Bertha Clayton, Director, bertha.clayton @esd.wa.gov.
• Vickie Carlson, Administration, vickie.carlson@esd.wa.gov.

Voting members

Worker representatives

• Michele Besso, Attorney, Northwest Justice Project.
• Rosalinda Guillen, Executive Director, Community to Community.
• Victoria Ruddy, Pacific Northwest Regional Director, United Farm Workers.
• Edgar Franks, Political Director/Director Politico, Familias Unidas por la Justicia.

Employer representatives

• Jon DeVaney, President, Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
• Mike Gempler, Executive Director, Washington Growers League.
• Delia Pena, Director of Orchard HR and H-2A, Zirkle Fruit Company.
• Jeff Perrault, Owner, Perrault Farms

Nonvoting members

• Uriel Iniguez, Department of Labor and Industries, Director, Community Relations.
• Ignacio Marquez, Department of Agriculture, Regional Assistant to the Director for Eastern and Central Washington.
• Juan Gamez, Department of Health, Supervisor, Lodging Program.
• Joy Adams, Advisory Committee Chair, Employment Security Department; Director, Policy, Data, Performance and Integrity Division.