Meet Marla

The daughter of an Air Force pilot and a special education teacher, Marla’s years as a military brat began and ended in the Pacific Northwest. A childhood-long fascination with storytelling led her to pursue broadcast journalism as a career. After graduating from Puyallup High School and being named 1998 Washington State High School Journalist of the Year, Marla first headed south from Puyallup, Washington, to Arizona State University for a degree, and then east to New York City for an opportunity in sports television. Manhattan would become home for 16 years, as Marla’s producing career in sports included covering 5 Olympic Games with NBC Sports, earning three Sports Emmy awards, and executive experience leading the first network rebrand of CBS Sports in 35 years.

Marla and her husband shifted gears in 2016, heading west and settling in White Salmon. Their family of five guinea pigs and two rabbits welcomed a sister, daughter Bailey, in 2018. While continuing to work in communications, and elected to White Salmon City Council in 2017, Marla’s enthusiasm for contributing to the future of White Salmon was strengthened by serving as a council member. In her first term as Mayor, their family welcomed younger brother Charlie in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, and realized the roles of Motherhood and Mayoring were full-time in and of themselves. Though not currently working full-time, Marla briefly returned to her sports TV roots in Winter 2022 and won an Emmy for her work on the 2022 Winter Olympics with NBC Sports.

If you share the same vision for our city, email me to get involved!