Dedicated and hardworking, Anne L. Ayers, a current court-appointed probate administrator, parlays more than five decades of professional excellence into her highly responsible professional positions. She started her journey as a counselor for the Seattle First United Methodist Church, a co-counselor for a Nutka Indian Migrant Camp for the Council of Churches on Vashion Island, a counselor, speech pathologist, and audiologist for Good Will Industries, and a counselor at Seattle Central Community College. She continued her journey in 1971 as a staff consultant in student development at Central Washington University (replacement for the Dean of Women), and continued on to become the director of six U.S. Aerospace Defense Command Resident Education Centers for North Dakota and Montana at Chapman University in 1972. In 1973, she counseled people as an education specialist for the General Education Development Center of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va., during the day, while teaching psychology in the evenings for Hampton University. Ms. Ayers worked as an education specialist evaluator for the U.S. Army Transportation School at Ft. Eustis, Va., in 1977, and as an education services specialist and program manager at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters in 1989. Her programs included the Teacher Resource Center Network in the U.S. and its territories, Student Science Involvement, and Ballou Senior High School. She retired in 1996, and substitute counseled and taught grades K-12 for Berkeley County Public Schools from 1997 to 2013.
Over the years, Ms. Ayers participated in a number of creative endeavors as well. Six of her photographs were published by the International Library of Photography between 1992 and 2010. She appeared on TV to promote undergraduate and graduate programs in North Dakota and Montana, and was a featured actor in the National Mine Health (MSHA) and Safety Color TV spot in 1987. Further, Ms. Ayers researched and authored “Varying Amounts of Inhomogeneity in a Ganzfeld” for the Journal of Psychomotor and Perceptual Skills in 1973, and authored “Educational Feasibility Study of Computer Uses in MSHA” in 1987. She also wrote “Developing Criterion-referenced Instruction Based on Valid Job Performance Analysis” for II International Symposium for the Prevention of Risks in the Mining Industry, “Educational Cost-Effectiveness of Two Methods of U.S. Army Training,” 29 on-the-job training MSHA books, and one NIOSH pneumoconiosis book.
Ms. Ayers prepared for her career by earning a Master of Education from Seattle Pacific University in 1971 and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kansas in 1970, and by completing doctoral coursework at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the College of William & Mary, Hampton University, American University, and the University of Washington. She also became a court-appointed estate administrator in the states of California, Washington, and Maryland, and joined prominent organizations like the National Association for Women Deans, Administration & Counselors (now known as NASPA), the National Society of Inventors, the International Platform Association, and the Mayflower Society.
As a testament to her success, Ms. Ayers was selected as the Alumnus of Growing Vision for the Century in Education by Seattle Pacific University, the runner-up of the theme song contest at WVCIR Radio, and an honoree of the transportation section of the National Directory of Women Administrators in Vocational Education. She also received the Toastmaster’s Trophy for Best Speech in the Hampton, Va., group. Washington state awarded her excellent ratings for her oboe solos; she was even the oboe soloist on a record her high school band made. Ms. Ayers got scholarships from Humble Oil Company for a leadership conference, and from the Seattle First United Methodist Church for the University of Kansas. Additionally, Ms. Ayers placed first in the King County Science Fair, for which she received the following awards: a gold cup, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Werner Von Braun Boeing Pure Science. She was particularly proud to be invited to the 40-year reunion of MSHA. Her achievements were featured in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who in Finance and Business, Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, Who’s Who in the East, Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders in America, and Who’s Who Among Human Services Professionals, as well as many other publications.
In her spare time, Ms. Ayers enjoys traveling, coin collecting, church activities, artistic activities, mining rubies and sapphires, playing oboe and clarinet, and gardening (she once built a rock garden that remains after 18 years). Some notable achievements include the invention and patents of the decorative pen, thermometer holder, corsage set, and a psychedelic jewelry process. She currently designs and coordinates the manufacture of diamond, sapphire, and ruby jewelry for sale online and upon request.
