Staff

Over the last 15 years, Jess has played almost every role at the Rural Organizing Project, first as a human dignity group leader, then on the Board of Directors, she joined the staff as an organizer in 2011, then became Organizing Director, Co-Director, and now serves as ROP’s Executive Director. Not knowing at the time that it was called organizing, Jess began organizing with her peers in high school to launch a successful campaign to end mandatory viewing of Channel One, which launched an ongoing student group that led campaigns on immigrant rights and interrupting the poverty draft. As an ROP organizer, Jess worked with some of the most rural communities in Oregon to fight for the commons from post offices to libraries, to organize and counter organize in frontline communities reeling from vigilante and state violence and white nationalist organizing, and to advance experimental campaigns at the intersections of racial, economic, and social justice. Mobilizations of paramilitaries in rural Oregon and beyond led her to research and publish analysis on Oregon’s far-right organizing, including co-authoring Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement. Jess has had the privilege to keynote local, statewide, national, and international movement gatherings like the Citizen Participation University in Kunbábony, Hungary, and has shown up at the invitation of organizers looking for emergency strategic organizing support in the border zone, in rural Appalachia, and beyond. Under Jess’ leadership, ROP’s model has evolved to include a rural, decentralized staff team to better organize, support, and collaborate with our members. Send Jess an email at jess@rop.org.

Emma [they/them] joined the ROP staff team in Spring 2019 after doing multiple years of organizing internships, including documenting rapid response networks built to support undocumented Oregonians so that local organizers could reflect on their work, learn from each other and make connections with peers across the state. Born and raised in Salem, Emma started organizing in their first year of college, focusing mostly on climate justice issues through a campus-based fossil fuel divestment campaign, fighting the Vermont Fracked Gas Pipeline, and more. Later their focus shifted to participating in performance activism against campus rape culture and helping shut down a lecture by white nationalist Charles Murray. Now based in Deschutes County, Emma can usually be found on the back roads, digging in with group leaders across rural and frontier Oregon about how to build stronger and more powerful groups. Send Emma an email at emma@rop.org.

Abelio first worked with ROP when he interpreted a letter from a local police chief explaining that the police department will not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement into Mam, an Indigenous Guatemalan language that is only spoken. For the last year, Abelio has worked at ROP’s food pantry and resource-share in Cottage Grove, interpreting between English, Spanish, and Mam and expanding the ability of the pantry to serve migrant and asylum-seeking community members. Since he joined ROP staff full-time in October as a Community Resource Organizer, Abelio has served as one of the few Mam speakers in the entire state who are supporting migrants and asylum-seekers to access the Oregon Worker Relief Fund. When he isn’t busy keeping the ROP pantry running smoothly and supporting families accessing community resources, Abelio enjoys traveling the state playing soccer, drawing, and spending time with his family. You can email Abelio at abelio@rop.org

Sidra joined the ROP staff team in March of 2022. She first got involved in organizing in high school, participating in walkouts to protest sexual harassment and in support of Black Lives Matter, as well as starting a Fair Trade club to advocate for fair working conditions and sustainable livelihoods. At college in Vermont, she was deeply involved in climate justice organizing, joining a campaign to advocate for divestment from fossil fuels and organizing conversations about justice and inclusivity in campus spaces. She also worked with other students to prevent a white nationalist from speaking on campus and to create alternative, inclusive events. Sidra grew up in California and spent her childhood visiting family across Oregon. She is so excited to now be living in Deschutes County and working with human dignity groups across the state. Send Sidra an email at sidra@rop.org

Sam was born and raised on the New Hampshire seashore and made her way to Central Oregon by following her devotion to working for justice.

After a stint in Washington DC, Sam began working for Best Buddies, organizing fundraising bicycle rides that raised millions of dollars for people with disabilities. After seven years with Best Buddies in New England and the Bay Area, Sam was hired by the JMT Wilderness Conservancy as Development Director to set up their development department.

Unable to resist the pull of Oregon, Sam came to Central Oregon as Development Director for KPOV, High Desert Community Radio. She led the radio station to record levels of fundraising each of her years there. She also expanded and improved KPOV’s communications, outreach, and social media presence. Sam is excited to bring her fundraising and communications skills to ROP’s organizing for real and lasting change in rural Oregon.

Sam is a new mother to LJ, married to her husband John, and is also a happy parent to their original child, a Siberian Husky named Kylo Ren. Sam enjoys backpacking and all kinds of music.

Send Sam an email at sam@rop.org.