Employee Testimonials

Jennifer Wilson

Compliance Consultant

Jennifer Wilson was a Program Support Supervisor at the University of Washington before transitioning to her current role in the Cannabis Unit of the Enforcement and Education Division. She felt like the change from behind a desk to working with people was where she was supposed to be, as a people person with a background in education and training.

In her current role, Jennifer works with licensed cannabis businesses to perform premise checks, annual inspections, pesticide testing and advertising or packaging complaints. While Jennifer said learning everything for her role as someone new to cannabis was like “drinking from a fire hose,” she has appreciated the training LCB has provided and the support she’s received throughout the process.

“From the first day I walked into the LCB, I was greeted with nothing but offers for support and help, people checking in, a lot of positivity,” Jennifer said. “I love being able to develop new relationships and networking, learning a whole new culture.”

Jennifer said her favorite thing so far about working for the LCB is having an impact on the Washington State community and building relationships with licensees, stakeholders and fellow state employees. With the world of cannabis consistently evolving, she’s been learning something new every day.

Charleen Pleasance

Officer

With a firefighter mom and dad in the Seattle Police Department, Charleen Pleasance’s goal was always to go into law enforcement. When she was waitlisted for the police, she decided to pursue other career opportunities and ended up with the LCB.

Charleen works in King County and says things are constantly changing and things don’t get stale when it comes to her work. With a focus on education, she enjoys talking with licensees to help them understand policies, rules, WACs and RCWs.

“I feel like I can offer folks knowledge, help, support, and that’s probably the best thing about it,” Charleen said.

She said that everything starts with an educational conversation – special occasion or banquet permits, even citations. Working with licensees is an ongoing growth process, and she takes every opportunity to connect with people in her day to day work.

Tiffinni Archie

Officer

Tiffinni Archie was a canine officer at Eastern Washington University, working with trauma and crisis, advocacy and sexual violence. She decided to change her career path but stay within law enforcement, and applied for a position at the LCB after hearing positive things about the work environment.

As an Enforcement Officer, Tiffinni establishes positive relationships to gain voluntary compliance with licensees across the state. In working with licensees, her goal is to develop rapport and provide a resource so they can come to her with any issues. She said she’s enjoyed getting to dive deeper with her investigative skills in her role.

Tiffinni said her favorite part of working at the LCB is how supported she’s felt throughout her time in the role.

“I like the positive work environment, everybody’s so nice,” she said. “My supervisor’s always like, ‘if you need to take a self-care day, just let me know.’ It’s very supportive in that realm, which I’m not used to at all. There’s a true care for the employees and the coworkers.”

You may recognize Tiffinni at recruitment events and job fairs, as she’s been involved in recruitment since she was hired. She’s always willing to volunteer for additional opportunities and has felt that she’s recognized as a valuable asset at the agency.

Diana Peters

Officer

Diana Peters has been with the tobacco unit for over five years, and the LCB with 17. She investigates complaints and performs tobacco inspections at licensed businesses, where they validate tobacco products, check for counterfeit stamps, look through invoices and ensure vapor products don’t contain any illegal compounds such as Delta-9.

Diana said her favorite part of working for the agency is the people she’s gotten to meet along the way. While there have been many changes over her time with the agency, she’s been able to collaborate with Enforcement employees to learn and grow throughout the process.

“I have been lucky to have worked with some awesome lieutenants and captains,” Diana said. “I think that has helped me grow as an agency with understanding the policies, procedures and some of the RCWs and WACs. They are constantly changing, being tweaked, but when you have some solid leadership above you that keeps you in line and reminds or encourages you, it’s a better foundation to learning.”

One of Diana’s favorite memories in her time with Enforcement is when she went undercover at a goth bar and got to pretend to be a fan to take a picture with band members holding beer bottles. She’s enjoyed her work throughout the state and hopes to retire with the agency.

E.P. Hackenberg

Lieutenant 

E.P. Hackenberg ran his own law firm for about six years before joining the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.  He started with the LCB as an Officer, and was promoted to Lieutenant in September 2021.  He oversees the Southwest Cannabis Team, which is comprised of Officers and Compliance Consultants who work with cannabis licensees from the Olympic Peninsula southward.

During his time with Enforcement he has developed a variety of skills, including supervisory experience, quick decision making and emotional intelligence.  He said that working with the LCB has provided many opportunities to learn new abilities.

“Because the variety of the work is really engaging, there’s a lot of opportunity to network with others, tackle something new,” E.P. said. “I’ve been doing this for over six years now as an Officer and a Lieutenant.  The last 11 months have been in cannabis and it’s gone through in the blink of an eye.”

E.P. said one of his favorite things to do is compliance checks, which involve a minor attempting to purchase age-restricted products at a retail location.  He also enjoys getting to collaborate with his team and help someone develop professionally.

Colin O'Neill

Budget Analyst

Colin started with the LCB in 2001, after a temporary position with the Department of Licensing. In his current role, Colin helps manage agency’s appropriations, works with other divisions on decision packages, writes fiscal notes and coordinates the fiscal note process during legislative sessions. He ensures the agency doesn’t overspend on any appropriations, works to forecast vapor revenues on a quarterly basis, and works on invoices for the FDA contract.

Colin said his favorite part of working at the LCB is the people he gets to work with, from his fellow budget conspirators and Fiscal division director Jim Morgan. He appreciates the familial work environment and the situations he works through in his position.

“The finance unit and the agency, they’re a good group to work with it,” Colin said. “The people I’ve worked with over the last 21 years in this agency have been the best.”

In 2006, Colin received the TIP award for process improvement through the Secretary of State. He received the award for working on proactively reconciling credit card transactions from stores to check for double-charges, saving both customers and the agency quite a bit.

Suvi Amatya

Tester

Suvi Amatya was born and raised in Nepal, but moved to the United States in 2007. She has lived in multiple states before settling in Washington in 2017. With a Master of Science in Information Technology Management, Suvi settled into her role at the LCB as a Tester for the Information Technology division. 

In her current role, Suvi works to create and execute test cases, find defects in applications, and deliver high quality product to the LCB. She has most recently been working on the annual mandatory legislative update, iSeries, and the Cannabis Central Reporting System (CCRS). One of Suvi’s favorite projects was working on the Leaf Data Systems for cannabis traceability when it was introduced. She said it was fast-paced, fun and challenging.
“There’s so much to learn here,” Suvi said. “I do work with other agencies in collaborative testings, I’ve gotten to know many different applications and tools.”

Suvi said the IT division is open to feedback and supports her, from coworkers to the director.  She enjoys working with other testers, and appreciates the open environment with her team. As this was her first government position, she was excited for the opportunities the position presented her and has enjoyed growing and learning more throughout her time with the agency.

Gerard Scheeler

Infrastructure Services Supervisor

Gerard Scheeler started with the LCB as a seasonal employee working in warehousing in 1989. With an interest in computers, Gerard went back to school and graduated with a certificate in electronics from ITT Technical Institute. With newfound IT experience, Gerard was asked to fill a new role in the warehouse as an IT professional. Gerard said that all the opportunities he’s gotten with the LCB have been a new opening for growth and challenge.

In his current role, he supervises group managers to oversee server infrastructure, network and database administration for the agency. They work on the back end of LCB computers to make them safe and operational for employees.

Gerard said that he most appreciates the people he works within his division, around the agency, and across the state. He has had the opportunity to collaborate and work through challenges with coworkers and fellow state employees, including collaboration on state-level technology issues with other agencies and WA Tech. In 2019, Gerard was awarded ITS Employee of the Year for his work within the division.

“What I like most about the job is the challenges that are brought to our group,” Gerard said. “I like to try and solve problems with the IT division but also as an agency. This agency’s got a lot of good people, all the challenges that we are faced with and we work together to try and overcome those.”

Jeffrey Hann

Solution Analyst Supervisor

Jeffrey Hann has a background as a network and systems administrator with experience in military cyber intelligence. He worked for the Department of Licensing for 9 years before starting his position at the LCB. In his current role, he works on building and supervising the solution analyst team. They work on moving legislative items forward and bringing a DevOps mentality to the agency.

Jeffrey has been focusing on learning the new systems at the agency. He said this has been an opportunity to get his feet wet and provide guidance for moving forward with new software, bringing everyone in the agency in line with modernization efforts.

“I’ve enjoyed getting a gauge of where everything is and being an instrumental part of the future,” Jeffrey said.

All of his coworkers have been committed to moving their work forward and providing a positive culture within the IT division. He has appreciated the flexibility of transitioning to the LCB during the COVID era and being able to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Gary Hacker

Technical Business Management Analyst

Over the multiple decades Gary Hacker has been with the LCB, he has been involved in departments across the agency, including the Director’s Office, Finance, and Enforcement, before settling into his current role in Information Technology Services. As a Technical Business Management Analyst, Gary coordinates activities around policy compliance, reporting, contracts portfolio and legislative activity.

Gary says the LCB has always been a supportive and encouraging environment. He has had strong coaches and mentors to help develop his career and find roles where he has been able to grow. Gary has been with the LCB through the privatization of liquor, modernization of the LCB distribution center, and cannabis regulation. Throughout it all, he said he has been challenged and engaged in his various roles.

Gary has most appreciated the people he’s worked with at the LCB. “From all aspects of the agency, from the very top of the board members and agency directors, they’re caring individuals who support their employees.”

Gary described Information Technology Services as extremely supportive and open to feedback from everyone in the division. While Gary has experienced a variety of change throughout his career, he has enjoyed always having the opportunity to tackle a new challenge.

Mistie Jones

MAST/RVP Manager

Mistie has worked in the Licensing division for 25 years. She started with a temporary position where she entered MAST permits into the system. About a month later, she interviewed for a position in Licensing and has been with the agency ever since.

Currently, her major responsibilities include ensuring alcohol server training, which are conducted by third parties, are teaching servers accurately and completing training for alcohol sales. She’s looking forward to starting work on alcohol impact areas, where she’ll get to work with cities regarding new proposals and renewals of existing areas. She’s enjoyed her time with Licensing, and said she feels supported by the division and the agency.

“Everybody really cares about each other and we’re all in it together mentality,” Mistie said. “Even across different units, everyone’s always helping each other out and if anyone needs help, you know there’s always somebody there that’s going to have your back and be able to help you.”

Mistie has taken advantage of a variety of opportunities throughout her time at the LCB. She serves as the agency representative for the small business liaison, where small business owners can interact with state agencies, ask questions, and learn more about liquor and cannabis licensing. She also was part of the small group that initially created the cannabis licensing process.

“It’s taking advantage of those opportunities that are going to help me grow.”

Jasmine Pippin-Timco

Liquor Licensing Supervisor

Jasmine began her journey in Licensing as a Customer Service Specialist 2. She became a Licensing Specialist, then was quickly promoted to a supervisor. Jasmine supervises a team of six who review documentation for people applying for liquor licenses. She supports her team and reviews challenging or unique liquor license applications that come through.

Jasmine shared that she most enjoys working through challenging or complex applications. She said the world of liquor and cannabis is always evolving, and that keeps things interesting. She has had the opportunity to continue to learn new things, contribute to her division and be a creative problem solver.

“My supervisors and managers have given me every opportunity to learn and grow and advance,” Jasmine said. “My ideas are taken seriously, I feel like they really listen. This is the first place I’ve worked for where I really feel that 100 percent.”

Jasmine is passionate about diversity and inclusion, and has made that a priority in her work with the LCB. She is a representative for the Interagency Committee of State Employed Women (ICSEW), and is a member of the LCB Diversity Council. In 2021, Jasmine received the Extra Mile Award from ICSEW for her work on the Public Outreach Committee’s charity drive. She has appreciated the support she’s received and the commitment the LCB has shown to diversity initiatives.

“I think the effort will continue to have a positive impact on work culture within the division. We’re continuing to have difficult conversations and not shying away from change.”