Betty was elected as Thurston County Clerk in 1990 after more than 25 years as a paralegal, office manager and financial manager for law firms in Olympia.

Betty attended Centralia College and became a certified paralegal through the National Association of Paralegals in 1978.  She has continued to enhance her education, including receiving her Certification as a County Official from the School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.  She has also completed the Judicial Education Leadership Institute (JELI) through the Administrative Office of the Courts. 

Betty is a member of the Washington Association of County Officials (WACO), the National Association of County Officials (NACO), the National Association of Court Management (NACM), and the Washington State Association of County Clerks (WSACC).  

Betty served as the President of the state Clerks Association for two years.  In 2000 Betty was honored by the Clerks Association by being selected Clerk of the Year by the other 38 County Clerks.  The Clerks Association has also recognized Betty for her work with the Legislature on issues that directly affect the court and Clerks Offices.

Betty shares her vision for the Courts by speaking and working with court staff and administrators across the state, sharing processes and procedures she has created.  She also had the honor of traveling to Missouri to assist the state in designing a training program for County Clerks and was part of the State team that traveled to Arizona to work on issues of self represented litigants. 

Betty's community means a lot to her.  She has lived in Thurston County for her entire life.  Her commitment to this community is to continue to improve the court processes so that “access to justice” for all those who need the assistance of the court is not just a convenient phrase, but reality.

Betty has been married for 40 years to Michael Gould.  They have four adult children, Christine who lives in California, Jeffrey who is working on his Master’s Degree at the Starr King University in California, Bryan who lives in Olympia and is a journeyman plumber for a company in the area, and Rachel who currently resides in Olympia and working in management.  Betty and Mike have seven grandchildren, who light up their lives.  Betty’s mother, brother and sister also live in the area.