Election Center, the National Association of Election Officials, is thrilled to announce that Tommy Gong and Tonya Wichman, both CERA certified, have joined its Board of Directors.

Tommy Gong is the County Clerk for Lane County, Oregon. Completing his 22nd year in election administration, Tommy previously served in California counties, including Contra Costa, San Luis Obispo, and Stanislaus. Tommy is an advisory board member for the Election Official Legal Defense Network, a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Task Force on Elections, a member of the Election Workforce Advisory Council, a member of Issue One’s Faces of Democracy campaign, and a Board of Director for the California Voter Foundation. Gong also led the award-winning effort to form the Coalition of Bay Area Election Officials, bringing together neighboring counties to collaborate on building public trust in elections in shared media markets.

Tonya Wichman is the Director of Defiance County Board of Elections. She is an election administration leader with more than a decade of experience strengthening, modernizing, and securing elections in Defiance County. Wichman has led major initiatives, including the implementation of new voting equipment, the transition to electronic poll books, and significant expansions in cyber and physical security. She is certified as an Ohio Registered Elections Official and a Certified Election Registration Administrator (CERA), and serves on state and national committees, mentors other counties, and contributes to innovation through the ASU AI and Democracy Lab and the Election Center board, and co-founded the Election Ambassadors Scholarship Program to support and inspire future leaders in Defiance County.

Visit our About Our Team page to view their full biographies and learn more about our full team.