The Vashon-Maury Island Community Council selected Allison Shirk, a grant writer with experience in strategic planning and fund development, as the newest member to its executive board.

Shirk served on the nine-member executive board from 2002 to 2006, when she stepped down to start a family. In a letter to the council’s board, she said her interest in the council stems in part from her father, whose civic activism is a value she, too, holds.

Shirk ran against Gay Gilmore, a software developer, for the position, which was created when Tom Herring stepped down.