Pictured from left to right: Tootie Smith, Clackamas County Commissioner; board member Shelley Parini-Runge; board member Alexis Ingram; board member Judy Bluehorse Skelton; volunteer legal counsel Jesse Buss; board member Carlotta Collette; board member Jim Desmond; board member David Judd; board member Alice Norris; board member Bob Hall. (Not pictured: board members Jonathan Stone and Bob Tackett)
The nonprofit friends group Rediscover the Falls has announced the selection of nine inaugural board members. They were chosen from a diverse pool of almost 90 highly-qualified applicants reflecting the depth and breadth of community support for the Willamette Falls Legacy Project.
Rediscover the Falls was created in 2015 to support the Willamette Falls Legacy Project through fundraising, outreach and education initiatives. One critical goal of the newly seated board is to raise funds to match and stimulate additional public and private investment in the Willamette Falls Legacy Project. Another major goal is to engage with the hundreds of people who have signed up as volunteers and community champions for the project, and find meaningful ways for them to be involved.
The Rediscover the Falls board members are:
- Alice Norris, Past President of the Willamette Falls Heritage Area Coalition and former Mayor of Oregon City
- Alexis Ingram, Donor Relations Manager at Oregon Humane Society
- Bob Hall, President and CEO at YMCA of Columbia-Willamette
- Bob Tackett, Executive Secretary-Treasurer at Northwest Oregon Labor Council AFL-CIO
- David Judd, Retired Parks Director at City of Vancouver/Clark Co. Parks and Recreation
- Jim Desmond, Oregon State Director at The Nature Conservancy
- Jonathan Stone, Executive Director at Downtown Oregon City Association
- Judy Bluehorse Skelton, Senior Instructor at Portland State University's Indigenous Nations Studies Program
- Shelly Parini, Associate Vice President for College Relations and Marketing at Clackamas Community College
Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette is serving as the interim liaison from the Willamette Falls Legacy Partners Group to the Rediscover the Falls board of directors until the Partners Group can officially appoint a liaison at its next meeting.
We are thrilled about the opportunity to work with this group of talented and enthusiastic community leaders, and we are humbled by their dedication to advancing the vision of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project. The selection of the board represents a big step forward for the Rediscover the Falls friends group – and for the project!