Mary Verner

Mary Verner joined the Board of Washington Water Trust in March 2025. Mary serves as Director of Ecology for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe whose reservation and ancestral lands are considered to be within the state of Washington. Mary’s work includes policy level strategic planning to protect water supplies against over-appropriation and the effects of climate change. Mary’s career has included serving as Natural Resources Director for the Spokane Tribe of Indians, where she was deeply involved in establishing and protecting tribal water quality standards and repatriating wetland and riparian habitats. She was a member of the team who secured US EPA Superfund designation to clean up uranium mine and mill sites on the reservation and conduct a natural resources damage assessment to determine the Tribe’s specific fish consumption rates and human health standards. Mary subsequently served as Executive Director of the Upper Columbia United Tribes, as a City Council Member and Mayor of the City of Spokane, and in executive positions with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington State Department of Ecology including leading Ecology’s Water Resources Program. She currently serves on the National Tribal Water Council as Region 10 representative and is deeply committee to water resource protection.