Ms. Kimberly Ellwanger, Director of Heritage Financial Corporation, Selected as 2011 DirectWomen Member

OLYMPIA, Wash., Nov. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Heritage Financial Corporation ("Company") (Nasdaq: HFWA), announced today that Ms. Kimberly Ellwanger, Director of Heritage Financial Corporation, was selected as a 2011 DirectWomen Member.  DirectWomen announced the 24 members of the 2011 DirectWomen Board Institute, a program designed to identify and promote qualified women lawyers to serve on corporate boards of public companies. The Board Institute will be held February 9-11, 2011 at The Waldorf=Astoria in New York City.

Kimberly Ellwanger has been a Director of Heritage Financial Corporation since April 2006 and has served as a member of the Compensation Committee, Risk Committee and the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.  Since January 1, 2010 she has served as Chair of the Compensation Committee.  In this role she was recently invited to participate as a panelist at the November 9-12, 2010 Bank and Executive Board Compensation Conference in Chicago.

Prior to joining the Heritage Financial Corporation Board of Directors, Ms. Ellwanger was Senior Director of Corporate Affairs and Associate General Counsel at Microsoft Corporation from 1991 until her retirement in 1999. She previously served for seven years with the Perkins Coie law firm in Seattle where her practice included state and local tax planning, tax litigation, bankruptcy, general business and corporate advice.  She graduated with high honors from the University of Washington School of Law and Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College with a degree in economics.  She remains an active philanthropist and community leader in the local area.

Mr. Donald V. Rhodes, Chairman of Heritage Financial Corporation, commented, "We've been very pleased to have Kimberly as an effective and valuable member of our board of directors.  Her strong business and legal background has made her well-suited for board service.  She has also been particularly effective as Chair of our Compensation Committee."

The DirectWomen Board Institute is an annual two-day program providing an orientation and update on key issues facing current and future directors, with the goal of positioning an elite group of exceptional senior women lawyers for service as directors of major U.S. corporations. The Board Institute faculty features leading experts on corporate governance, experienced directors and officers. The program covers topics including the role and work of nominating and corporate governance committees, the evolving nature of shareholder relations, the strategic role of audit committees and the role of executive search firms in board searches. In addition, the Institute affords participants the opportunity to network with DirectWomen alumnae and honorees as well as top representatives of executive search firms.

Heritage Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Olympia, Washington.  The Company operates two community banks, Heritage Bank and Central Valley Bank.  With the recent FDIC-assisted acquisitions of Cowlitz Bank and Pierce Commercial Bank, Heritage Bank's branching network increased to 25 full-service banking offices in Washington and Oregon as well as providing services through its Online Banking Website www.HeritageBankWA.com.  Central Valley Bank serves Yakima and Kittitas Counties in central Washington through its six full-service banking offices and its Online Banking Website www.CVBankWA.com.  Additional information about Heritage Financial Corporation is available on its Internet Website www.HF-WA.com.

SOURCE Heritage Financial Corporation