Commission

Criminal Justice Commission Members

The Commission consists of nine members, seven of whom are voting members appointed by the Governor. The remaining two members are nonvoting members appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House.

Paul Solomon (Chair) - Former Executive Director, Sponsors Inc.

Paul Solomon is the Former Executive Director at Sponsor Inc., an Oregon based non-profit organization dedicated to serving individuals with conviction histories. Paul worked at Sponsors for 23 years before stepping down in 2024. Sponsors is recognized nationally, regionally and throughout Oregon as a model for prisoner reentry services. In 2024 Paul began providing consulting services with a variety of organizations on issues related to research, reentry, housing development, corrections, deflection, and other criminal/legal related subjects. Paul also works as an expert witness on a variety of subjects.
Paul serves as co-chair of the Governor's Racial Justice Council on Criminal Justice Reform and Police Accountability, and serves on the Governor's Reentry Council, and the University of Oregon's Institutional Review Board. He is a past chair of the Dave's Killer Bread Foundation, past chair of Lane County's Public Safety Coordinating Council and Lane County's Reentry Task Force and previous vice-chair of the Oregon Public Defense Services Commission and serves on many other housing and criminal/legal related boards and committees.
Paul is a national expert on the development of housing and the delivery of evidence-based reentry interventions for people with conviction histories. He regularly speaks to national audiences at conferences and webinars. He lives in Portland, Oregon and is married to Jennifer Wassermiller. They have four amazing adult children, including an autistic son.

Jessica Beach - Yamhill County Department of Community Justice Director

Jessica Beach received a double Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice and a Master's Degree in Correctional Administration from Western Oregon University. She began her career with the Marion County Sheriff's Office as a Deputy Parole and Probation Officer working primarily with sex offender and high risk special needs caseloads. In 2017, Jessica became the Director of Yamhill County Department of Community Justice, overseeing an Adult Parole and Probation Department, Juvenile Probation Department, 24-bed youth Detention Facility and Pretrial Justice Program as well as Parks and Work Crew Divisions.
Jessica is pleased to have been given a tremendous opportunity to participate in the Evidence Based Decision Making Initiative (EBDMI) technical assistance grant through the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) when Yamhill County was selected as one of seven sites nationwide, commencing local work in Pretrial Justice and SMART Sentencing alternatives.
Jessica is currently the Secretary for the Oregon Association of Community Corrections Directors (OACCD) and the Northwest Regional Director representing eight states on the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) Board. She also represents Oregon on the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Pretrial Executive Network.

Tim Freeman

Tim was raised in Oakland, Oregon. He worked as a field mechanic for Don Whitaker Logging to put himself through school at OIT where he studied computer systems engineering technology. He and his wife Angelia have been married for 37 years and have raised their two children in Roseburg. Tim has implemented cost-saving initiatives, managed budgets, and supervised financial planning for County-wide Departmental operations to increase County funds consistently since first term began in 2015. He has insured consistent and reliable in-person County operations without disruption of County services to residents throughout the Pandemic. He is instrumental in preserving & protecting our timber lands, winning two O&C Federal Land Management lawsuits. Currently presides as President of O&C Counties for the 6th year and serves as AOC Tri-Chair Federal Forest Sub-Committee of AOC, Federal Forests Working Group, State Forest & Trust Lands Committee, Western Region Board Member, Governor’s Wildfire Council Mitigation Sub-Committee Co-Founded Oregon Timber Counties Coalition.

Floyd Prozanski - Senator, North Douglas and South Lane Counties

Floyd was first elected to the Oregon Legislature in 1994. He served in the House of Representatives between 1995-2000 and 2003. Floyd was appointed to represent Oregon Senate District 4 in 2003. He was elected in 2004 to complete the current term and reelected in 2006.
Floyd graduated from Texas A&M University and later earned a law degree from the South Texas College of Law. An avid cyclist and home-brewer, he lives in Eugene with his wife. When the Legislature is not in session, Floyd works as a municipal prosecutor and serves on various boards and commissions.

Rick Lewis

Representative Rick Lewis was appointed to House District 18 in February 2017 and is serving his fourth term in the Oregon House of Representatives. Before coming to the legislature, Rep. Lewis was the Mayor and interim City Manager for the City of Silverton. He also served 14 years as Silverton's Police Chief, retiring from law enforcement in 2012. Rep. Lewis is a Life member of the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police and served as the organization's President in 1991. He is a life member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and has more than 39 years in law enforcement, including 28 years as a Chief of Police in three Oregon cities.
In 2005, Rep. Lewis took a six month leave of absence as Silverton's Police Chief, to train and supervise the Iraqi Police Executive Leadership Training Program in Baghdad, Iraq, under the U.S. Department of Justice, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also served on numerous state committees and task forces over the course of his career, including: Chairman of the Oregon Board on Public Safety Standards and Training, the Police Policy Committee and the Oregon Law Enforcement Memorial Fund Board. He has also served as a member of the Oregon Attorney General's Task Force on Deadly Force, Oregon Asset Forfeiture Oversight Advisory Committee, and the Juvenile Crime Prevention Advisory Committee.
Rep. Lewis is a Vietnam Era veteran, having served three years in the United States Army and two years in the Wyoming National Guard. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice.
Rep. Lewis was appointed to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission in 2022, the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court's Criminal Justice Advisory Committee in 2023 and continues to serve on the Asset Forfeiture Oversight Advisory Committee and the Oregon Homeland Security Council. He is a current member of the Marion County Public Safety Coordinating Council.
Rep. Lewis is a past recipient of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award, the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Meritorious Achievement Award for his service in Iraq, as well as many other awards throughout his 50+ years in public service. He is past adjutant of the Silverton Delbert Reeves American Legion Post.
Rick and his wife, Pat, have six grown children, a granddaughter, and three grandsons.

Lisa Norton – Chief Administrative Officer of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

Elizabeth “Lisa” Norton, MSW, is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, where she resides and works as the Chief Administrative Officer. As the CAO, she wears many hats, including: Law Enforcement Liaison, Broadband Expert, and other special projects Manager. She has almost 20 years’ experience with the Tribe in a variety of capacities. In addition to her experience in Indian Country she has served as Training and Technical Assistance Provider around domestic and sexual violence, been an Executive Director for a community-based advocacy organization, and has a long history of advocating for those she serves. She has served on a variety of boards and committees related to advocacy and justice over her career. Currently, she is on the following committees: Oregon Youth Authority’s Restorative Justice Advisory Committee, Justice Reinvestment Program Grant Review Advisory Committee, and the State-Tribal Public Safety Cluster Her love of her community is matched only by her love of her grandbabies and family.

Carl Macpherson

Carl Macpherson is the Executive Director of Metropolitan Public Defender (MPD), which is the largest, single provider of trial-level public defense services in Oregon. MPD is a non-profit criminal defense law firm founded in 1971. MPD has over one hundred staff attorneys, and over ninety non-attorney support staff. MPD provides representation in all types of criminal, legal, and juvenile matters in both Multnomah County (Portland) and Washington County(Hillsboro). MPD also provides civil legal services through its grant-funded Community Law Division.
Carl has been a criminal defense attorney for over twenty years, practicing in three different jurisdictions. He has been a public defender for his entire career, except for four years when he worked in a criminal defense law firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan (2007-2011). Carl began his public defender career at the District of Columbia Public Defender Service (PDS) (1998-2001). Carl was then an assistant public defender at the Washtenaw County Public Defender Office in Ann Arbor, Michigan (2001-2007). Carl worked as an attorney for MPD in Washington County handing major felonies (2012-13) and was subsequently assigned to the MPD Capital Crimes Team (2013-15). In November of 2016, the Berrien County (MI) Board of Commissioners hired Carl to create and open the first public defender office for their county, which was the eighth trial-level public defender office in Michigan. In August of 2018, Carl left Berrien County to accept the role of Executive Director of MPD.
Carl is a member of the Tri-Branch Public Defense Work Group, the Chief Justice Advisory Commission Pre-Trial Subcommittee, and Public Defenders of Oregon (PDO).

Chris Parosa – District Attorney

District Attorney Chris Parosa graduated from Oregon State University with a BS in political science. After obtaining his JD from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2003, Chris briefly joined an insurance defense firm in San Diego, California. In November of 2004, Chris became a Deputy District Attorney in Josephine County, but left to return to the Willamette Valley and join the Lane County District Attorney’s Office in April of 2006. Following assignments on the General Felony and Major Crimes team, Chris became a felony Trial Team Leader before ascending to the Chief Deputy District Attorney position in November of 2021. A prosecutor for over 20 years, Chris has prosecuted thousands of criminal cases including homicides, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence and elder abuse. Chris has trained hundreds of police officers, parole and probation officers, victim advocates, community partners, prosecutors and law students on criminal law and effective prosecution. He has been a part of the Lane County Sexual Assault Response Team, Uniform Trial Court Rules Committee, Lane County’s arson prosecutor, Grand Jury Coordinator, reformed and modernized the Interagency Deadly Force Investigation Tea and coordinates the Lane County Senate Bill 819 discretionary resentencing review program. In May of 2024, Chris was elected District Attorney of Lane County. Due to the early retirement of his predecessor, Governor Kotek appointed crime to become the District Attorney in June of 2024. In addition to serving as the District Attorney, he is a proud member of the Board of Directors at Kids First, Lane County’s child advocacy center.

Holly Harris, M.Ed., LPC

Holly Harris, M.Ed., LPC is the Interim Health Services Director for Deschutes County, overseeing both Public and Behavioral Health. She moved to Oregon from Texas 15 years ago and has been with Deschutes County since that time. Prior to her role as Director, she was the Manager over all Crisis and Forensic Diversion services for 9 years, including the Deschutes County Stabilization Center and later the Behavioral Health Director. She has focused on the intersection of the criminal justice and behavioral health system for most of her career. While living in Texas, she was the Director of Juvenile Probation for Wharton County and has worked in both rural and urban settings serving children, adults, and families in both crisis and private practice settings. In addition, Holly has trained nationally on topics such as Evidenced-Based Practices, Motivational Interviewing and Risk Assessments and has been working in the behavioral health field for over 20 years.