Columbia Banking System Welcomes Laura Alvarez Schrag And Tracy Mack-Askew To Its Board Of Directors

TACOMA, Wash., Dec. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Banking System, Inc. COLB ("Columbia") today announced the appointment of Laura Alvarez Schrag and Tracy Mack-Askew to its Board of Directors. Both appointments are effective January 1, 2021.

"We are pleased to welcome Ms. Alvarez Schrag and Ms. Mack-Askew to Columbia and look forward to benefiting from their expertise in the areas of organizational development, governance and operations," said Craig Eerkes, Chairman of the Board. "Both directors have a strong history of business and community leadership in the Northwest, and their appointment honors Columbia's tradition of naming community-based directors."

Laura Alvarez Schrag is the President of Pondera Consulting and has extensive experience providing human resources, organizational and leadership development expertise to companies and nonprofits. In her prior role as Human Resources Manager at Hewlett-Packard, she implemented a comprehensive Talent Management system for global business units, led HR due-diligence for international acquisitions and developed diversity plans for global business units. Ms. Alvarez Schrag currently serves on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of Idaho, Bishop Kelly High School Governance Board and St. Alphonsus Community Board. She is a past board member of Human Resources Association of Treasure Valley and is a past president of Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho and St. Paul's Catholic School Board. In 2014, she earned recognition as Idaho Young Mother of the Year from American Mothers Inc. and was named a Woman of the Year honoree in the Idaho Business Review. Ms. Alvarez Schrag is a resident of Nampa, Idaho and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Management and Organizational Leadership from George Fox University, an Associate of Applied Sciences in Business Administration from Lamson Business College, an applied Neuroscience and Brain Health Certification from the Neuroscience Academy and is an ACC Certified Executive Coach from the International Coaching Federation.

Tracy Mack-Askew is the General Manager-HD Vocational Platform Development of Daimler Trucks North America and has a depth of operations executive experience providing direction and oversight to cross-functional teams while increasing market share, reducing product complexity and ensuring excellence in design. Ms. Mack-Askew currently serves as a Finance Committee member on the Governing Board of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington. She is Executive Sponsor of the Daimler African American Employee Resource Group and National Chair for the Policies and Procedures Committee of Jack and Jill of America Inc. In 2016, she was honored with an award for leadership in business and philanthropy from the Triad Business Journal's Women in Business Awards. Ms. Mack-Askew is a resident of Portland, Oregon and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, a Master of Arts in Management from Harvard University and a Mergers and Acquisitions certificate from Harvard Business School.

About Columbia
Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, Columbia Banking System, Inc. COLB is the holding company of Columbia Bank, a Washington state-chartered full-service commercial bank with locations throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The bank has been named one of Puget Sound Business Journal's "Washington's Best Workplaces," more than 10 times and was recently honored as #1 in Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the Northwest region by J.D. Power in the 2020 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. Columbia was named the #1 bank in the Northwest on the Forbes 2020 list of "America's Best Banks" marking nearly 10 consecutive years on the publication's list of top financial institutions. More information about Columbia can be found on its website at www.columbiabank.com.

Columbia Bank received the highest score in the Northwest region of the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study of customer satisfaction with their own retail bank. Visit jdpower.com/awards.

Investor Relations Contact: 
InvestorRelations@columbiabank.com 
253-305-1921

Media Contact:
Moira Conlon Financial Profiles, Inc.
310-622-8220
mconlon@finprofiles.com

SOURCE Columbia Banking System Inc