About Us

As the leader of Prothman since 2007, Sonja has utilized her knowledge and deep passion for local government to be the strategic and creative driver for all Prothman affairs. As Owner and CEO, she handles the development and preparation for the future growth of Prothman, manages all Prothman team members, organizes and performs the day-to-day operations, coordinates all client correspondence and responds to all RFP’s, and she assists with all recruitments, interim placements, and organizational assessments. A Seattle native, Sonja earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the University of Washington. After starting her early career in newspaper advertising then moving on to Boeing, she chose to be a dedicated stay-at-home mother to her three daughters for 14 years. Having been born and raised in Normandy Park, Washington, she felt passionate about the local area and registered to run for a city council position against a 10 year incumbent and won. As a council member Sonja developed a great understanding of the logistics and importance of local government. Her experiences as a city council member and working firsthand with local government agencies for nearly 15 years has proven to be an invaluable perspective for understanding our clients’ needs.

Steve has been a senior consultant with Prothman since 2012 and brings more than 30 years of successful leadership in local government. He is currently in his second four-year term as a council member for the City of University Place, Washington, and is now serving as Mayor Pro Tem, as well. Prior to retirement, after 6 years as the City Manager for the City of Fife, Washington, Steve served as Community Development Director for six years in Fife and for nine years for the City of Cheney, Washington. Steve was also an economic development specialist for the Spokane WA Economic Development Council, a member of the Association of Washington Cities Legislative Task Force, and an Economic Development Board Tacoma/Pierce County Trustee. Steve has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications from the University of Washington, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Eastern Washington University.

Cliff Moore joins Prothman after a 30 year career of public service in Washington State. Cliff’s background includes senior administrative positions at Washington State University in Pullman and executive leadership positions at the university’s Extension offices in both Jefferson and Thurston Counties. Cliff has also served as County Manager and Development Services Director at Thurston County and as City Manager in Yakima. Prior to his years of public service, Cliff worked abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa; he was Assistant Country Director for the CARE mission in Honduras; and he was the Director of the US Refugee Resettlement Office in Khartoum, Sudan. Cliff lives in Port Townsend with his wife Mea and their two dogs, Addie and Lucy.

Elizabeth Pauli joins Prothman upon her retirement from the City of Tacoma. Ms. Pauli was the first female City Manager for the City of Tacoma, the third largest city in the state of Washington. As City Manager, she was the Chief Executive Officer for the City of Tacoma, overseeing 12 operational departments and offices, and was responsible for assisting the City Council with its policy development. Elizabeth joined the City of Tacoma in May 1998, as Chief Assistant City Attorney. She was appointed City Attorney in 2005. She stepped into the Interim City Manager role in 2017 before being appointed City Manager. She retired from the City in July of 2025. Prior to joining the City of Tacoma, she was a partner at McGavick Graves, P.S., a well-established law firm in Tacoma. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and has Bachelor of Science degrees in education and social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Elizabeth lives in Tacoma with her husband, Dave, and is a proud mother and grandmother. She enjoys running the trails near her mountain cabin. She is an active volunteer with her church and in her community.

Warren is a 3rd generation firefighter and began his fire service career in 1974 as a volunteer firefighter with King County Fire District #10 (now Eastside Fire & Rescue) serving the fire district for 20 years concurrent with his employment in Bellevue. In 1980 he began his professional career with the City of Bellevue Fire Department rising through the ranks to Deputy Chief, retiring from Bellevue in 2012 to become a fire chief in Idaho. During his time at Bellevue Fire he was assigned to Operations, Training, Emergency Medical Services Division and City Manager Intern; he served for seven (7) years as a Deputy Chief of Operations in Bellevue. Warren was appointed and served as the Fire Chief for Kootenai County Fire & Rescue in Post Falls, Idaho from February 28, 2012 until his retirement on January 3, 2020. Warren has an Associate Degree in Fire Command & Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Public Safety Administration, is a graduate from the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program and is a certified Chief Fire Officer (CFOD) thru the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE, 2022). Warren’s experience provides unique insight into fire district and municipal fire services in volunteer, combination, and career fire departments.

Gary brings 31 years of successful Human Resources leadership experience to the Prothman Team. He recently served 5 years as the Director of Human Resources for the City of Tacoma, WA, population 212,869, until his retirement in June, 2021. Gary also served 14 years at the Port of Seattle as the Human Resources Director. The Port of Seattle encompasses both the Seattle Seaport and Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Prior to that he served 9 years as the Senior Human Resources Leader (Northwest Region) for Milgard Windows headquartered in Tacoma, WA. Additionally, Gary served 30 Years in the Naval Reserve. His Naval career included 3 Command assignments and he was deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2019 he retired as a Captain earning the Legion of Merit Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. Gary received his Bachelor of Science degree from Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT and his Naval Science degree from the University of Utah.

Andy brings 28 years of Human Resources experience to the Prothman team, having worked for multiple local governmental agencies providing experience working for county government and with elected officials. While in these various roles he has led many executive recruitments, assisting and partnering with Boards of Directors and executive leadership teams to recruit and select future leaders. Most notably he was the Human Resources Director at Whatcom Transportation Authority in Bellingham WA for ten years and a Human Resources Manager at the City of Bellingham for 15 years. Prior to his retirement, he was HR Manager for Clallam Transit located in Port Angeles WA, and HR Manager for Jefferson County, WA. In addition, Mr. Rowlson served as a 13-year City Council member for the City of Everson WA and concurrently on the Whatcom Council of Governments Board. He has also served on the Whatcom County Planning Commission, the Washington State Transit Association as the HR Committee Chair and was the President of the Washington Self-Insurers Association in 2005-2006. In addition, Whatcom County’s chief executive twice appointed him to lead the County’s Salary Commission, helping establish salaries for the County’s various elected officials.

Kevin brings 37 years of public service experience to Prothman, most recently serving seven years as Fire Chief for the City of Palm Springs, California managing a $23 million budget and 106 department staff. His career began with the Salt Lake City Fire Department, where he served for 24 years, rising to Deputy Fire Chief which included managing operations for the Salt Lake City International Airport and a nationally credentialed dispatch center. Notably, Kevin served as Venue Commander for the 2002 Winter Olympics, overseeing fire and emergency operations, and collaborating with federal and state agencies to ensure safety. Kevin also served six years in Kirkland, Washington, as Director of Fire Department, Building Department, Emergency Management, and Fire District 41, fostering interagency collaboration and enhancing public safety. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science from Utah Valley University and completed the National Fire Academy Executive Officer Program.

Barry has been a key member of the Prothman team since 2004 and is responsible for candidate management. His attention to detail and understanding of timeliness to the customer and candidates is remarkable. Barry works with the lead consultant in following through with scheduling interviews, arranging candidate travel, managing candidate application packets, and assembly of candidate information to give to the client. Barry came to Prothman from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he served as a Program Assistant for four years in the US Library Program. Barry earned his Bachelor’s Degree from California State University in Los Angeles.

Jared has been a key member of the Prothman team since 2015 and is responsible for profile development and candidate outreach. Jared works one-on-one with the client for position profile development and works with Sonja and the lead consultant on each client’s outreach strategies. Jared also functions as recruitment support as a secondary consultant lead on special projects. Jared graduated from the University of Washington earning his Bachelor’s in Communications.

Madison has been a key member of the Prothman team since 2015 and is responsible for Prothman’s social media, direct mail outreach, website development, and Online Application Service support. Madison works one-on-one with the client to ensure optimal outreach in all available social networking resources and works one-on-one with the clients who choose to use the Online Application Service application portal. Madison also functions as recruitment support as a secondary consultant lead on special projects. Madison graduated from the University of Washington earning her Bachelor’s in Communications.