Born in Ecuador, Javier Mena immigrated to Portland in 1982. He served in the Army for two years and graduated from Portland State University with a degree in Economics and minor in International Studies. He has over 25 years of finance and public policy experience in the private and public sectors.
Mena currently works as the affordable housing manager at the City of Beaverton. To ensure the City continues being the most diverse city in the state, he focuses on ensuring affordable rental and homeownership housing opportunities are available to all, especially Black, Indigenous, People of Color and marginalized communities. Until July 2018, he was the assistant director of the Portland Housing Bureau, where he had worked since 2010 in various roles. He worked with more than 40 nonprofits and service providers that partnered with the Housing Bureau to ensure the City's housing and rent-assistance programs were fulfilling their mission. Mena also has an extensive record in the finance industry, working for Wells Fargo until 2006 as an assistant vice president.
Mena currently serves on the Boards of Network for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH) and Community Housing Fund (CHF); he also serves on the Oregon Zoo Bond Oversight Committee
Sharon Nickleberry Rogers, CPA
Sharon Nickleberry Rogers is a native Portland resident who resides in NE Portland with her husband and is an empty nester while her daughter attends college in Texas. She has observed the changes throughout the city of Portland with the population growth, the housing developments in NE Portland, and the increased number of people experiencing housing issues throughout the state.
Her compassion for housing stems from her childhood when her parents provided housing for family members relocating to Portland. She recognized early on the importance of housing and knew having a safe place to call home was special. Sharon's parents' commitment to helping others ignited her interest in helping others.
She is a public servant employed as a Financial Analyst III with the City of Portland. She has over 20 years of experience in various financial roles with the Internal Revenue Service, PricewaterhouseCoopers, NE Community Development Corporation, Harsch Investment Properties, and Home Forward.
Sharon received her undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and two master's degrees from Portland State University in Business and Taxation. Additionally, she's a licensed, certified public accountant with the State of Oregon.
She is passionate about serving the community and making a difference for vulnerable residents who lack adequate or affordable housing and is honored to serve on the Oregon Housing Stability Council.
Council Term
06/10/2022-06/30/2025
Margaret (Maggie) Harris
Maggie Harris is a lifelong Oregonian who currently resides in Portland. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and Communication from the University of Oregon, and earned a Master of Architecture, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Real Estate Development, from Tulane University.
As a Project Manager at Holst Architecture and a Ph.D. student at Portland State University's School of Urban Studies, she is entrenched in both housing design and research. Her research focuses on the intersections between housing and health, examining the impact of housing on the mental health and wellbeing of low-income populations. During her career, she has managed a range of housing projects throughout the country, including affordable, market-rate, and student housing. Maggie is currently the project manager for two permanent supportive housing projects within the Portland Metro area.
Working across a range of geographics and project scales has helped Maggie understand the importance of distinct housing solutiosn tailored for specific population sets.
Maggie is also a mother of a busy toddler and passionate that he grows up understanding that housing is a human right, reflected by the community in which we live.
Council Term
10/5/2023-06/30/2028
Erin Meechan
Erin Meechan is a resident of Northeast Gresham who has lived in East County for nine years. In addition to her two adult daughters and seven grandchildren, she and her partner have two teenage girls at home who attend Gresham High School.
She currently serves as the administrative assistant to the director of community programs at Eastside Timbers Youth Soccer Club. She is a member of Residents Organizing for Change, the Community Alliance of Tenants, and part of the Resident Advisory Committee at Home Forward. She helps organize and advocate to support safe, secure, and affordable housing for all Oregonians.
Meechan believes that access to safe, affordable, and sustainable housing is a basic human need; it is the first step toward enabling individuals to live, regardless of the challenges they may encounter and that it is the foundation for functional overall well-being.
Erin appreciates the beauty of nature, and her second passion for the community is multi-modal transportation. In addition, she likes singing, coaching young athletes, and advocating for racial and identity justice via policy reform through legislative change.
Council Term
10/5/2023-06/30/2028
Kristy Rodriguez
Kristy Rodriguez was born and raised in Ontario, Oregon. She is the Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Malheur & Harney Counties and has been with the agency for more than 11 years.
She began her journey with the Housing Authority in 2012 as a single mother out of college living in public housing. She started as the front desk receptionist for the agency and then became the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Family Self-Sufficiency, and Homeownership program manager. In 2018, she was appointed as the Interim Executive Director for the agency, and a year later became the Executive Director.
Kristy is mission-driven to ensure that everyone should have a place to call home and be motivated to become self-sufficient. She has made housing, homelessness, and advocacy for rural counties her primary focus.
Kristy currently serves on her local Treasure Valley Rental Association Board, is Chair of the MAC/LPG for both Malheur and Harney Counties and is the treasurer for the Housing Oregon Board of Commissioners. She currently serves on the Minority, Women Owned, Emerging Small Business Committee at OHCS.
Council Term
10/5/2023-06/30/2024