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Commissioners
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Stephanie Vardavas - Portland
Stephanie Vardavas has enjoyed a varied career spanning more than 30 years in the sports business. She was one of the first two people hired in the Major League Baseball executive development program and spent ten years at MLB, then eight years in the sports agency ProServ and almost 14 years at Nike. She retired from Nike in 2011 and is now the principal of Irenic, LLC, engaged in mediation and arbitration.
Stephanie has a bachelor’s degree from Yale and is a graduate of Fordham Law School in New York City.
Stephanie was a cofounder of the Children’s Charities Foundation of Washington, DC and is an active volunteer in the Portland community, where she served two terms as President of the Friends of the Multnomah County Library. In recent years she has volunteered for EMERGE Oregon and the Classroom Law Project.
Her interests include reading, writing, traveling, photography, the arts, architecture, city walking, and other urban pursuits. She is a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She lives in the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Northeast Portland with her husband Mike Radway.
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| Vice Chair |
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Jeanne Burch - Fossil
Jeanne Burch was born in Port Angeles, Washington but has called Oregon her home since 1947. Jeanne actually started school in a small Territorial School in Talkeehna, Alaska when her father was employed by the Alaska Railroad. She graduated from Wheeler County High School in Fossil, Oregon and went on to attend the University of California at Berkley.
While in California Jeanne met and married Howard Burch who worked for an oil company. Howard was soon sent on assignments out of the United States and an adventure of living in many foreign counties followed for the Burch family, which by this time included two daughters.
[Read the full bio]
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| Commissioners |
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| Commissioner Jenny Greenleaf |
Jenny Greenleaf - Portland
Born to civic-minded parents in a small North Dakota town, Jenny Greenleaf first arrived in Oregon in 1974 to attend the University of Oregon in Eugene. She has called Oregon home since, despite a brief detour to California’s Silicon Valley.
Jenny dates her interest in the status of women age 10, when an older cousin said he would take the 10-year-old boy cousin to the golf course, but not her, because "women don't belong on the golf course." Always a trailblazer, Jenny was the first girl to sign up for auto mechanics at her high school. In college, she earned a certificate in Women's Studies, served as the student director of the U of O Women's Resource and Referral Center, and covered the women's beat for the school newspaper. She holds a BA in Journalism from the U of O.
Jenny began her career as a technical writer in Eugene, then moved to Silicon Valley during the recession of the early 80s. After returning in 1990, she continued to work for high-technology firms in the Portland metro area. She currently runs a small technology consulting business with her husband Tom Cocklin.
Jenny has served on the boards of the Neighborhood Health Clinic, the Human-Computer Interaction Forum of Oregon (CHIFOO), and the Democratic Party of Oregon.
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Commissioner Megan Jacquot |
Megan Jacquot - Coos Bay
Megan Jacquot is a mother and attorney who works with primarily disadvantaged populations in Coos and Curry County, Oregon, and the Oregon Court of Appeals. She is dedicated to improving the situations of women and children through advocacy work at all levels of government. Ms. Jacquot concurrently serves on the North Bend School District Board of Directors. She enjoys camping and fishing with her family and has served on the Commission for Women since September 2007.
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Commissioner Jessica Rodriguez-Montegna |
Jessica Rodriguez-Montegna - Portland
Jessica Rodriguez-Montegna was born and raised in Texas to Mexican immigrant parents. Jessica grew up traveling to Mexico throughout her life visiting her extended family, allowing her to understand and adapt to both cultures.
Jessica has a decade of experience working with non-profits and communities of color domestically and internationally. Her areas of focus have been on women’s rights issues, community development, conflict resolution and mediation, facilitation, and training development. Jessica served for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador and has lived and worked in China, Chile, and Nicaragua. Her additional experiences include working with Community Action Agencies in Texas to establish a unified legislative agenda and working across rural Oregon to facilitate collaborative project implementation.
Currently, Jessica is a Project Manager for Oregon Consensus at Portland State University, Oregon’s official program to help Oregonians work together to address contentious public policy issues. Jessica has an M.A. degree in Conflict Transformation from SIT Graduate Institute, and a double B.A. degree in Communications and Psychology from Dallas Baptist University.
Jessica lives in North Portland with her husband Scott Montegna and they are expecting their first child in the fall.
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Commissioner Cynthia Scheines
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Dr. Cynthia Scheines, PhD - Portland
Born and lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the first 33 years of her life. Cynthia earned her DDS from the prestigious Buenos Aires University, School of Dentistry in 1997; and PhD from University de El Salvador, in conjunction with the Argentinian Dental Assoc. in 2005. Cynthia practiced periodontics in Buenos Aires for 4 years before moving to Portland, Oregon with her son in 2006. In 2009, Cynthia became an Assistant Professor in the Periodontology Dept at OHSU.
Cynthia has been a life-long believer and supporter of woman’s rights and the power of women in society. |
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Commissioner Barbara Spencer |
Barbara Spencer, Ed.D - Portland
Is a consultant for leadership and organizational development with experience in the public, private and academic sectors. She was responsible for leadership development in the New York insurance and banking industries and was an assistant professor of organizational development at Columbia University. After a career change, she worked in public transportation for over 20 years, serving for 11 years as Executive Vice President, the second person in charge of the mass transit system in New York City. She has a BA from Lehman College and an MA and Ed.D from Columbia University.
In 2009 she left her transportation career and moved with her husband to Portland, OR for a lifestyle and professional change. Presently she is actively involved in local women and transportation leadership issues. She is co-president of the Portland branch of AAUW (American Association of University Women) and a member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar. She is Board Secretary for the Portland Streetcar Inc., a member of the TriMet Budget Task Force, and a citizen representative for Multnomah County on ODOT’s 2015-18 Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP). |
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Commissioner Mariahm Stephenson |
Mariahm Stephenson - Beaverton
Mariahm Stephenson is a graduate of A. T. Still University and has a Masters of Public Health in Health Planning. She is a pre-medical student at Oregon State University and plans to apply for admission into Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine Pacific (COMP) in Lebanon, Oregon in 2013. Her ultimate goal is to become an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, which will enable her to become a preeminent provider of quality and cost effective women's health services through proactive and visionary leadership.
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| Oregon Legislative Assembly Representatives |
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Representative Betty Komp |
Representative Betty Komp, D - Woodburn, District 22
Betty was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in November 2004 and sworn into office on January 10, 2005. “We’ve come a long way since I was elected, but there’s more work yet to be done,” she said.
[Read full bio]
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Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson |
Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson, D - District 25
Laurie Monnes Anderson was elected to the Oregon Senate in 2004 after serving 2 terms as a Representative for District 50. She currently represents Senate District 25, which encompasses the cities of Fairview, Gresham, Troutdale & Wood Village. She is a long-time resident of Gresham and attended Gresham High School. She is a retired public health nurse and manager.
Outside of the Legislature, she serves on many boards, including the West Columbia Gorge Chamber, and the Human Solutions Board. She is a member of the Oregon League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, the Gresham United Methodist Church, the Oregon Child Care Commission and Stand for Children.
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