EDASC’s Audra Ramerman named SWAN Woman of the Year

Audra Ramerman, EDASC’s director of finance and administration, is being honored Oct. 5 as a SWAN Woman of the Year. 

The Skagit Women’s Alliance and Network honors four women each year with the Woman of the Year designation as well as recognizing two “Rising SWANs.”

SWAN was founded in 1984 to serve as a network and liaison between various women's business and professional organizations in Skagit County. The first Woman of the Year award was presented in 1985. 

“A great deal of EDASC’s success as an organization is due to Audra’s hard work and expertise in so many different areas,” noted John Sternlicht, CEO of EDASC.  “That’s why our entire team nominated Audra for SWAN this year – we are excited for the entire community to recognize what we already know about Audra’s tremendous value to EDASC and all the nonprofit organizations around the community that she touches directly or indirectly. It’s also important for a ‘behind the scenes’ leader to be celebrated!”

Ramerman started with EDASC in 2017 following progressive leadership roles in private and publicly traded global manufacturing companies for 18 years. At the age of 50, she decided it was time to make a significant change and find ways to use her skills for her local community, which is why she joined EDASC.

Ramerman has always wanted to make a difference in the world in some way. She started her career putting her degree in aquatic toxicology from WWU to work as a water quality chemist for local environmental testing laboratories. Looking for other avenues to advance her career, she earned her MBA in 2002 while working full-time. 

Ramerman has sought out nontraditional ways to develop her leadership skills by volunteering at road and trail running events and organizing nearly a dozen teams for 200 mile-24hr running relays and serving as race director for Community Action of Skagit County’s Have a Heart fundraiser.

More recently, she has found ways to use her professional skills to help local nonprofits by serving on the board of directors for Friendship House and the Skagit Valley Family YMCA. 

Ramerman’s mission is to help create fiscally strong and sustainable organizations that have the resources to fully execute their mission for the enrichment of our communities. She uses her years of experience in for-profit manufacturing organizations to create lean and efficient operations that maximize the funds entrusted to them, all with a deep consideration for the people doing the work and being served. 

Ramerman says, “I appreciate the opportunity to use my role at EDASC to connect organizations in Skagit County to create better support systems and pathways for our community to foster a more equitable and sustainable Skagit County.”