Board of Directors
ROP is guided by a Board of Directors whose members represent different regions of the state and a wide variety of participating organizations. Current members are:
Kathy Paterno, Crook County
Kathy has lived in Powell Butte, Crook County for the last three decades with her college sweetheart and partner of 38 years, Phil. They work together for justice and peace in Central Oregon and are founding leadership for the Human Dignity Advocates, Crook County's revitalized human dignity group. Kathy’s political awakening happened after 9/11 when “GW asked us to cheer up and go shopping, and then went on to manipulate our nation's sorrow into a cause for war. He turned me into an activist - a raging granny!” Kathy was a member of the Central Oregon Seven, arrested for refusing to leave Congressman Greg Walden's office until he listened to the testimony of his constituents following the People's Co$t of War Townhall.
Jessica Campbell, Lane County
Jess spent her 18th birthday at an ROP Board retreat speaking to her deep passions for politics and grassroots. She first became involved in justice issues when she organized her peers to remove corporate advertising from Cottage Grove High School. In high school, Jess organized two successful walkouts for peace and immigrant fairness and served on the Cottage Grove City Council. Jess just spoke at the Lane Community Peace Conference next to Medea Benjamin and Bob Wing to several standing ovations. Jess currently serves on the National Advisory Board for Not Your Soldier, is hard at work creating a community garden in Cottage Grove, and is pursuing her Bachelor's of Science degree at Oregon State University.
Frank Roa, Morrow County
Frank decided to return to his rural roots and family in the small Eastern Oregon town of Irrigon (population 1,702) as he faced disability at a young age. It was a good time to go home. As an HIV positive Latino, gay male in poor and rural America, he knew that if he wanted services, he was going to need to set them up. This became the start of Umatilla Morrow Alternatives – a vision turned organization that was soon featured in the front page of the areas largest paper.
Rennie Ferris, Lincoln County
What motivates a landscaper, rushing from job to job in Lincoln County, to put customers on hold so that he can drive 6 hours round trip to hand deliver a dvd of Town Hall testimony to his Congressional representative? Passion – Rennie leads with his heart. A brawny man, with the huge hands of a laborer, it is a rare meeting where he doesn’t make his point through tears and his points always connect the dots between issues and hold up the person furthest removed from justice. Rennie truly does live up to his signature as the "overcommitted volunteer from Lincoln County"!
Mary Geddry, Coos County
Mary lives and works in Coquille (population 4,184) in Coos County where unemployment, underemployment, and white supremacy have been the legacy of a resource economy gone bad. Mary has home schooled her kids to give and be their best. As her son faced a third tour of duty in Iraq despite poor mental health, Mary became active in Military Families Speak Out and resolved to do whatever it took to expose the flaws of war. Mary has developed a low profile high efficiency wind turbine encompassing a unique new high bandwidth generator. Coos County is working toward being the first community in the US to implement wide scale distributed energy.
Bill Whitaker, Union County
Our very own Mad as Hell Doctor, of Social Work, that is, Bill has been a champion of social justice for over 50 years. As a welfare rights organizer in Ohio to co-founding the Wyoming Coalition for WIC, the Maine Coalition For Food Security, and the Idaho Interfaith Coalition on Hunger, Bill’s belief in a better world has led him from the university classroom to the community where he inspires students and fellow organizers alike to put their passion into action. Bill currently represents Oregon Rural Action on the board of Rural Organizing Project and resides with his wife Cheryl in La Grande, Oregon.
Larry Goss, Tillamook County
When not traveling the country to be with his grandkids, Larry is holding down the home front for democracy with partner in life and organizing, Andrea, and their fellow members of Tillamook County for Human Dignity (TCCHD). Larry has everything that ROP could want in a member leader, a passion for bring justice to his community, an unequivocally rational mind, and a willingness to phone bank his neighbors to build those essential relationships! He is the one asking the reasoned questions, encouraging us to be more thoughtful, and offering measured critique to ever improve the way that ROP and TCCHD function as vehicles for the movement.
Rosalie Pedroza, Marion County
When you meet Rosalie, odds are that she’ll be proudly wearing the purple and yellow of her union, SEIU 503, where she serves on the board and has been a bargaining delegate in every contract since 1990. Rosalie brings her passion for democracy into the workplace where she organizes with her fellow workers and out into the public through her strong support for immigration fairness and global justice which has led her from rural home in Turner to Venezuela and Columbia as a fair trade delegate. In her own words, Rosalie has “found ways to reach out to her neighbors as never before, and organize around issues, not just parties, so we can begin to open people’s eyes to the extremes we are facing.”
Steve Milligan, Polk County
Steve came to Oregon nearly 20 years ago by way of Texas and California seeking opportunities all along the way to organize for democracy and justice. Steve currently makes his home in the City of Monmouth, where he is City Council President. Steve has worked in database management and in the printing industry, and now makes his living managing a business that provides Alternative Herbal Medicines. Outside of work, he is dedicated to finding common ground among diverse community members, and looking for opportunities to build a stronger local economy. He is also in the process of revitalizing the ROP human dignity group Polk Café Commons.
Margret Ball, Crook County
Margret Ball brings her heart and humor to every thing she does. She is a longtime resident of Prineville, Oregon. While she might claim to you that she doesn't like talking to people, Margret actually spearheaded her local group's "Welcome Wagon" effort- tirelessly contacting and visiting every single member of the group in early 2010 to find out what issues they cared about, how they are doing in this economic crisis and re-connecting them to their local human dignity group. If you are new to the room at a meeting or event, Margret is right there welcoming you and inviting you in. This is true not only for people, but her collection of 13 cats shows represents her desire to make sure everyone has a home- whether for organizing and community building or just a place to lay your furry head.
Join the Board of ROP! ROP is guided by an all volunteer board of individuals. The board is approved yearly by the member groups at the annual Rural Caucus and Strategy Session. Each board member needs to have a relationship with an ROP affiliated member human dignity group and be willing to travel to all day Saturday meetings five times each year. Meetings are hosted by member groups around the state. If you would like more information on hosting a meeting or serving on the board please contact amy@rop.org.