Carl Creasey, Chair, is a Regulatory Compliance Consultant with Wells Fargo’s Corporate Credit and Risk division. Carl brings more than 23 years of financial services experience, which includes 11 years in regulatory compliance where he was responsible for ensuring the bank was adhering to anti-money laundering, fraud, information security and various other high risk regulations. Carl is an advocate for any agency or organization that promotes equal rights for every human being. He served as an Executive Board Member of Stonewall Recovery Services in Seattle, Washington. Carl and his partner Jim enjoy gardening, cooking, traveling and spending time at their home on the Oregon coast with their dog Allie.
Annie LaVerdure-O’Brien, Vice Chair, Principal of LVD Media, LLC, is a true Northwesterner, raised a proud Spudder from Ridgefield, Washington and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. She worked in the high-pressure world of marketing and advertising in Seattle before moving back to Oregon and starting her own company, LVD Media is a full service marketing firm. Recently Annie was awarded Willamette Weeks 2011 Best of Portland – People of the Year and Indianpreneur with the Oregon Native American Business and Entrepreneurial Network. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, which includes husband Kyle, their two dogs, Miles and Boo-Boo and two cats, Elizabeth Taylor and Steve.
Ron Brey, Treasurer, moved to Portland from Austin, Texas in 2006. Ron was employed at Austin Community College for 26 years. He started as a government instructor and retired as vice president of Instructional Resources and Technology. Ron served on the boards of technology and distance learning organizations, both in Texas and nationwide. Ron has been a member of the Equity Foundation Juvenile Justice Committee since 2007. He is a volunteer with the Nature Conservancy, serves on the Board of the Adventure Group, and he is manager for the Sabin Community Garden.
John Christianson, Secretary, is a native Portlander and an attorney with Black Helterline LLP. John focuses his practice on estate planning, which includes wills, trusts, asset protection, estate and gift tax, and domestic partnership planning. He also advises businesses on entity formation, state and federal tax issues, acquisitions, and employment matters. John and his partner Grant enjoy running, cooking, wine tasting, home improvement, and weekends in Manzanita with their Weimaraner Lily.
Bill Patton, Past Chair, is an attorney and shareholder with the Lane Powell law firm and focuses his practice in the areas of employee benefits and ERISA litigation. He has successfully represented employers, employee benefit plans, ERISA fiduciaries, plan administrators, and plan participants in a wide range of actions. In addition, Bill has an active employment law practice focusing on non-compete and non-solicitation agreements and claims under the Trade Secrets Act. Bill also has substantial appellate law experience, having successfully represented clients before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Oregon Court of Appeals in a variety of matters.
Allison Cleveland of Eugene brings an extensive history rich with active participation in the transgender community. She has served on various committees throughout the state, including the Oregon Department of Justice’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Service Victim Fund Committee (ODSVS), the Rural Organizing Project Board and the Social Justice Alliance. Allison has worked intimately with state legislators to pass a multitude of critical laws for the advancement of sexual and gender minority rights. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Gender Center, which works to create a safe and accepting society for gender and sexual minorities through outreach, education, supportive resources, and anti-violence advocacy. Equity Foundation is proud to include Allison, a highly skilled and effective advocate for the sexual and gender minority. She is a noted expert and speaker on gender identity issues around the state which will be valuable to our organization.
L. Kris Gowen, PhD is a Research Associate at the Regional Research Institute, Portland State University. She joins Equity Foundation’s Board of Directors with a plethora of experiences, including her studies at Harvard and Stanford Universities. She worked with Equity Foundation’s Juvenile Justice program, Oregon’s only LGBTQQ youth-based program of its kind, helping to secure grants for this unique service. She has been a sexuality educator for over 15 years. She lives in NE Portland, and her hobbies include karaoke and bowling.
Hudson Tate Munoz is a non-attorney member of the Portland Law Collective. He graduated from the Evergreen State College in 2009. Before settling down in Portland, he held a fellowship position at the DC Public Defender Service where he investigated serious felony cases. As a member of the Portland Law Collective, he investigates and monitors human rights violations against prisoners, handles FEC filings for a minor political party in Oregon, and actively seeks reparations for non-payment of wages to immigrant workers . He is a member of the Equity Foundation Marketing Committee. In his free time, Hudson plays frisbee, hikes all over creation, and studies the history of math and physics. Hudson hopes to soon become a lawyer.
Robert North is Wealth Strategist with Fenton, Wangler Financial. Prior to entering the financial advisory business at Morgan Stanley he worked in Trade Finance with Union Bank and US Bank. Robert has served on the boards of the Portland Area Business Association, USA Water Polo, Oregon Water Polo and the Oregon Water Polo Officials Association. Robert and his partner Will enjoy cycling, fusing glass, wine making and spending weekends at their vineyard in Lane County. Robert has a B.S. in International Business and Finance from Oregon State University.
Joy Wallace recently retired as a Development Director for a faith-based non-profit and has had a long career as an educator, mainly doing professional development for teachers and materials development in equity-related topics. She currently chairs the Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition Board of Directors and serves on the Board of the Sophia Christi community. She works with the Portland Catholic Coalition of Welcoming Parishes to increase welcoming queer ministry in Catholic churches. She has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and a Master’s degree from Oregon State University. For fun, she volunteers in her granddaughter’s classroom, loves going camping, reading and gardening.
Larry Williams grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon, and moved to Portland in 2001. Larry has a bachelor’s degree in music education from Lewis and Clark College, and is currently enrolled in PACE at Portland State University, a master’s program in adult education. He hopes to be develop a career in workforce development activities and/or eLearning program development after completing the PACE program. Larry is the web/IT manager for the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic development efforts in Oregon. In his spare time, Larry plays clarinet with the Portland Gay Symphonic Band.
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