The Westside Coalition is comprised of 18 Directors, six of which are the current chairs (or their designees) of the six Community Councils comprising the Coalition. The next six are Community Appointees selected by each westside community council. The remaining six are At-Large seats are elected from community residents, local community and business leaders and representatives from other community-based organizations on the Westside. These are two year positions with elections conducted at the annual meeting. Nominations are accepted at any time for open positions. Coalition Officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) are then elected by the Board subsequent to the election. The current leadership is shown below:
 Dan R. Strong President | Dan was elected President of the Westside Coalition in March of 2022. Dan has been an advocate for the Westside and his Rose Park neighborhood since moving there in 2012. Dan has served as Secretary and Chair of the Rose Park Community Council and Communications Director for the Westside Coalition. In his day job, Dan works as the Director of the Utah Sentencing Commission, coming to that job after ten years as a prosecutor. Dan believes West Salt Lake City's neighborhoods are the best in the state. Dan is eager to help build on their potential, while preserving what makes them great. |
 Jason Wessel 1st Vice President | Jason Wessel has resided in Rose Park since 1993. After graduating from West High School he proceeded to acquire several expensive pieces of paper at the University of Utah culminating in a PhD. In addition to the Westside Coalition he currently serves as the vice chair on the Rose Park Community Council executive board and is the vice chair of the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission. He has a bunch of letters and credentials that can be listed after his name that really only make sense to people who have the same ones. In between degrees Jason has worked at the Department of State, managed too many political campaigns, was a public school teacher, a failed small business owner, worked for a nonprofit, and squeezed a term of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA in there somewhere. For fun, Jason is a co-host of the SLC chapter of Drinking Liberally and manages to hold a weekly D&D session as well as a weekly Star Trek watch party, when coordinating several people's adult schedules does not interfere. |
 Charlotte Fife-Jepperson 2nd Vice President | Charlotte Fife-Jepperson has deep roots in Poplar Grove, having lived there for nearly 50 years. Her three boys are 5th generation Westside residents. Charlotte's parents, Fred and Ila Rose Fife, taught her the importance of volunteerism through their example of service on numerous civic boards and commissions throughout their lives. Charlotte has always sought out ways to apply her talents and skills to help improve her beloved community. She co-founded The West View community paper in 2001, and after graduating from the first class of the Westside Leadership Institute in 2004, developed it into the nonprofit organization, West View Media. She recently retired as Managing Editor of The West View after 15 years of service. Charlotte invests countless hours enriching the lives of local youth. She has taught several generations of piano students (privately and in local schools) for over 30 years, coached the Junior Panthers Swim Team and several Junior Jazz teams, and helped run the Rose Park Baseball little league when her boys were young. These days, she spends her time passing on the joy of piano to Glendale Middle School students as well as maintaining a private piano studio, helping develop the Westside Coalition, and serving on the Fairpark’s International Market Planning Committee. She also loves to bike or walk the Jordan River Parkway Trail. Her past board service includes: |
 Jake Erickson Secretary | I recently moved to the Salt Lake City area to take on the role of Community Engagement Coordinator at Neighborhood House. While my job requires me to work on the Westside in a professional capacity, I believe it is even more important to have a personal relationship with the communities I serve. For this reason, I joined the Westside Coalition to immerse myself in my new home. |
 Izumi Okamura Treasurer | As a life-long Utah resident, I fell in love with Salt Lake City while attending the University of Utah, where I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After teaching junior high and high school math for several years, I transitioned to the private sector and currently work in the financial technology industry. Over the years, I have been actively involved in volunteer work across the city, including organizations like the Road Home, Circles, Hser Ner Moo, and the VOA, and have participated in projects like the Jordan River Parkway cleanup and River Court. I’m also an avid runner and recently began competing in triathlons, which has deepened my appreciation for the Northwest Recreation Center’s excellent swimming amenities. In 2019, I moved to the Fairpark neighborhood and was immediately struck by the strong sense of community on the West Side. I joined the WestSide Coalition because I believe in contributing to the vibrant, diverse, and inclusive neighborhood that welcomed me so warmly. My goal is to help foster continued growth and improvement in this wonderful community. |
 Bill Watts | I have lived and loved the West Side throughout my whole life. I made the permanent move to the Fairpark in 2012. What I love most about the Fairpark is that it is an untouched gem and a little Salt Lake City treasure. The history, culture and diversity of the Fairpark runs deep-- I love & appreciate it. I believe that we can all do a little bit better each day. I want to leave my neighborhood as good if not better than I found it. I lead by example. You can catch me on the roadside picking up trash or pulling weeds. I hope that our little neighborhood becomes an oasis for my community. I enjoy traveling and experiencing a City how a local lives in it. I currently work in compliance. I would consider myself a subject matter expert when it comes to checks and balances. The level of detail and understanding I have from my professional life has been adapted to my neighborhood work. I am extremely passionate and strive to always see positive progress within every opportunity. When I am not on a trash clean up or hanging in a meeting you may catch me on a bike ride or an evening walk with my dog & family. |
 Billy Palmer | A resident of Salt Lake City’s Glendale neighborhood, and father of three adult children, Billy enjoys spending time with family, live performances of many sorts, film festivals and traveling as often as possible. Billy Palmer joined the ACLU of Utah as a Community Organizer in January of 2022 after spending five years as a host and associate producer of the public affairs show RadioACTive on KRCL 90.9 FM. While at KRCL, he also served as the Director of Civic Engagement. Billy also has a background in filmmaking, music promotion, as well as swing dance performance and choreography. Billy comes to the WestSide Coalition with 20 years of activism and grassroots movement building on a local and national level. Among many focuses he has worked around issues of economic equality, human rights, gender equity, anti-black and indigenous policy, youth empowerment, and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse. |
 C.J. Hellige | I’m a new face around Rose Park, but I’ve always proudly called the Salt Lake valley Home. After graduating from Hillcrest High School, I attended the University of Utah for my bachelor’s degree in Architecture. From there, I’ve spent the last 5 years designing affordable housing across the Wasatch Front at a local firm called Giv. From our little office on North Temple, I’ve watched the dramatic changes of the Fairpark and Guadalupe neighborhoods. Now that I also live in Rose Park, I realize how these changes are happening across the entire west side. I have seen first-hand that as a collective, the west side can not only react to our challenges, but also proactively offer a vision of what our community wants to become. In the face of rapidly developing neighborhoods, I believe the Coalition can have an impact on the future of housing, development, and gentrification. I’m excited to put my skills and energy towards building a Westside that invests in, and keeps, the community I’ve come to cherish. |
 Chaise Ware | Chaise has been a Utah resident for 20 years. After graduating from Utah State University with a bachelors in science, he relocated to SLC and has been a West Side resident for the past 7 years. He now works and lives in the Guadalupe Neighborhood as the Managing Director for Signature properties, a sister company to Signature Books. In the short time he has lived in the area he has become deeply involved in the community. In addition to his service as a Vice Chair on the Fairpark Community Council, Chaise coaches swimming for both the Northwest Recreation Center and West High School. Chaise has really grown to love living on the West Side. With its diversity, and deep roots to Salt Lake’s past, he has gained an appreciation and passion for historic preservation and considerate, thoughtful Community development. Chaise and his husband currently live in the historic Nelson Wheeler Whipple House. In his spare time he enjoys working with his various animals, working on house projects, tending bees, and spending time with his neighbors and friends. |
 Chilton Hawk | Waiting on Bio |
 Dan Potts | Dan grew up on the Westside, attended Northwest Jr. High and West High Schools. Has a BS in wildlife management from Utah State and a master’s in aquatic ecology from Auburn, AL. Spent two years representing the US as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador, SA building fishponds and studying native fishes. Returned to the Westside in 1985 where he has dedicated his life to the promotion of wildlife, especially along the Jordan River near his home in Poplar Grove. He is known as the west side’s naturalist, published a list of the critters found along the Jordan available on the Jordan River Commission’s website and published a wildlife article in our Westview paper for years.He isprobably best known, however, as a West High School Wrestling coach for over 30 years.As a president of Utah’s oldest wildlife nonprofit, Salt Lake Fish and Game, three times over the past 35 years andwas the original organizer for the creation of the Fred & Ila Rose Wetland Preserve on the 9-Line (which after 15 years still does not qualify as a ‘nature preserve’??) |
 Daniel Tuutau | Daniel Tuutau is originally from Los Angeles, California, and has been a resident of Poplar Grove for the past decade. He is a small-business owner of DB Productions Utah, which provides photography, videography, and digital design services to businesses, non-profits, and individuals throughout the Wasatch Front. He holds BA & MM degrees in music from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Utah in Vocal Performance. He is also an active performer and voice instructor, frequently performing with Utah Opera and other local venues. He is the chair of the Poplar Grove Community Council and frequently organizes events to raise community involvement for the west side of Salt Lake through arts and engagement. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Brandy, and their four children. |
| David Osokow | I have participated and worked to improve the west side in various ways over the years. I'm currently serving as a vice chair for the Fairpark Community Council and in my free time I like to explore Salt Lake City and the west side via bike and on foot. I love this area of the city and especially the residents who live here. With my time on the West Side Coalition I want to focus on advocating for our neighborhoods and empowering others in the community to effectively engage and participate in local issues. |
 Kevin Parke | I have lived in Rose Park in Salt Lake City's West Side since 1999. My wife and I chose Rose Park because it was a good location between where I was working in Ogden, and the University of Utah where my wife was attending school. We quickly fell in love with Rose Park and decided this was where we wanted to raise our family. Four kids, a daughter in law and a grandson later we still love the westside and continue to look for ways to serve our community. I ran for Salt Lake City Council District 1 in 2013, and while the outcome was unsuccessful, I had some wonderful experiences and met some amazing people while knocking on doors and attending community events. This experience renewed my commitment to my neighborhood. I have served on the Rose Park Community Council since 2014, serving as Chair since 2019. I have also served on the Police Civilian Review Board for Salt Lake City since 2016. |
 Terry Marasco | Born and raised in Manhattan of first-generation Italian-American parents whose grandparents parents immigrated from the poverty of Southern Italy in about 1896.. Terry has been an educator with 2.9 Education degrees. He left education to go into business – retail, wholesale, production, the digital economy as a Senior Project Manager setting 2 banks and 10 Internet startups online. He bought a small resort in Baker NV by Great Basin National Park in 2004 then sold it in 2017 when he moved to Salt Lake full time. He has been a community activist ever since he was one of the leading figures in defeating the Las Vegas Pipeline project. For the past four years, he has been focused on westside issues particularly the Inland Port project which has the potential to pollute the westside already the most polluted large community in Utah. He has over 25 OPEDs published by the Salt Lake Tribune and Desert News, has appeared on national and local TV, and written OPEDs in other states. Terry knows how to manage the media to bring issues to the public, and served as a legislative lobbyist for Air Quality, pollution, and motorcycle safety issues. He serves as the Chair of Jordan Meadows Community Council, on the Advisory Board of Salt Lake City Public Utilities, and on Fairpark International Market Advisory Committee. |
 Turner Bitton | A lifelong Utahn, Turner fell in love with public service at a very young age. Turner’s life has been defined by a commitment to the people around him and he spends his time in service to his community. Driven by a deep sense of compassion and justice, Turner believes in the power of bringing people together to solve complex problems. He is recognized as a leader and serves on the board of directors of over a dozen nonprofit organizations as well as in appointed positions in local and state government. Turner has a certificate in public policy design from the Harvard Kennedy School and attended Arizona State University for a BS in Political Science. An unapologetic conversationalist, it is likely you’ll strike up a conversation with him that will last too long and make you late for your next appointment. |