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KEN OPLINGER
ACE President/CEO
Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Bellingham, Washington

Ken Oplinger currently serves as the President/CEO of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry, where he has been since October 2003.  He has been leading Chambers of Commerce in the Western US for over 16 years, 10 of those years in California.

Ken is a graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he received a BA in Political Science and Spanish.  Ken is also a graduate of the Institute for Organizational Management at UCLA.  He is a Past President of SUPERCHEX, the Chamber Executives organization representing Northern California Chamber Executives and served as the Chairman of the Board of WACE, the Western Association of Chamber Executives, in 2006.  Ken is an Accredited Chamber Executive, having received his accreditation in February 2003 from WACE.  Ken currently serves as the co-chair of the BESTT Coalition (Business for Economic Security, Tourism and Trade), a bi-national coalition of business and industry concerned about the affects of implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) on the Canada/US Border.  He also serves on the Planning Commission for the City of Blaine, WA.

As the President of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Ken serves as the Chief Executive Officer for a Chamber with a membership of some 1000, representing almost 175,000 people across Whatcom County, Washington.  The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry is the regional leader in creating a strong local economy, promoting the community, representing the interests of business with government, political action for the business community and providing networking opportunities.

Originally from Tempe, Arizona, Ken and his wife Diana Stein (of Richmond, B.C., Canada) live in Blaine, Washington with their daughter, Rachel.  In his spare time, Ken has been active in political campaigns throughout the west coast, and has worked to forge consensus on issues ranging from regional transportation spending to community development to capital projects for school districts.  He enjoys traveling, basketball, and has all but given up breaking his average round of 110 on the golf course.

 

 

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