Big changes have come to the ROP headquarters!
You may have noticed there are some new voices on the phones and some new faces on the road for ROP. That’s because the ROP organizing staff is growing! This year we are so excited to have brought on two new organizers, both from small town Oregon.
We’re so proud to announce that in fact, these two new faces are actually not new at all – but have both held leadership roles at ROP for quite some time. It’s an honor and a privilege to welcome…
KEYLA ALMAZÁN joined the ROP staff as an organizer in September 2011. Originally from Mexico City, she moved with her family to The Dalles nearly 15 years ago, and currently lives in Newberg. Her saavy comes from a long history of organizing: working with MEChA during her time in Corvallis, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, being a volunteer leader on a project to build a community garden and bridge the gap between Latinos and Anglos in Yamhill County. Keyla first got involved with the ROP in 2009 through Newberg Human Dignity, where her warmth, her passion for organizing, and her skill at developing camaraderie with a wide variety of people was clear right away. She was a volunteer co-facilitator of ROP’s 1st Rural Latino Leadership Summit in February 2011 and has been a core adviser to ROP’s work in rural Latino communities. She is so excited to now dedicate herself full time to organizing – and could not imagine a better place to build the movement than rural and small-town Oregon! You may see her in your town soon, since she’s currently in the middle of coordinating ROP’s rural Know Your Rights tour! Email Keyla to give her a warm welcome at keyla@rop.org.
JESSICA CAMPBELL 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, Jessica organized two successful walkouts for peace and immigrant fairness and served on the Cottage Grove City Council. Jessica spoke at the Lane Community Peace Conference next to Medea Benjamin and Bob Wing to several standing ovations. During the summer of 2011 Jessica made her second trip to Gaza where she taught over 70 Gazan children digital photography as a facet of the United Nations-sponsored cultural exchange she founded in Eugene and Corvallis In 2009. After 5 years of serving on the ROP Board, we are thrilled to have Jessica a part of the staff team! Communicate directly with Jessica at Jessica@rop.org.
We’ve always run a tight ship, but this last year has been exceptionally lean. We’ve managed to stay vibrant and visionary with a small staff doing field support with our human dignity groups, an organizing intern (who grew up in Nyssa, OR – look for Andy Kiyuna’s bio on our website soon!) and one incredible operations organizer who has been indispensible in helping us weather a major organizational transition.
It’s with much gratitude that we’d like to thank Kayla Gleason for being such a stellar guide and coworker for the past year. She systematically built new ways to keep ROP financially organized, trained and guided office volunteers, did behind-the-scenes organizing for our major events, and spearheaded new communications systems (look for our updated website soon!) Kayla’s year long position with us is up at the end of November, and she will be missed. Thank you Kayla!
As we close out 2011, we have a great staff team, a strong Board of Directors and over 50 member human dignity groups around the state that make us a powerful force for justice and democracy in 2012 and beyond!
All My Best, Cara