Council Chair Claire Hall
Claire Hall has served as a Lincoln County commissioner since 2005. She has made housing and homelessness the primary focus of her work at the local, state, and national levels.
The US Interagency Council on Homelessness honored her with the "Home for Every American Award." She received the award at a conference in Washington, D.C., in 2008. Hall was one of two county officials to receive the award.
The commissioner has served as chair of the Association of Oregon Counties. She represents a rural coastal district that faces steep housing challenges. She also previously served as co-chair of the Oregon Ending Homelessness Advisory Council.
Council Term: 7/01/2018 to 6/30/2026
Councilmember Sami Jo Difuntorum
Sami Jo Difuntorum is a member of the Kwekaeke band of Shasta from the Upper Klamath River canyon of Northern California. Difuntorum presently serves as the National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) board member representing Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and previously served as the NAIHC chairwoman for two terms. Difuntorum has been employed as the Housing executive director for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians since 2010 and previously worked for a Tribally designated housing entity in California for 16 years.
Her experience in Tribal housing spans 26 years and includes providing testimony to the U.S. Congress during the reauthorization of the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA), representing the National American Indian Housing Council at the first Tribal leader meeting with the White House, and membership on the Indian Housing Block Grant Formula Negotiated Rulemaking Committee.
Difuntorum has served on numerous boards and committees including co-chair of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Housing Committee, chair of the NAIHC Legislative Committee, vice-chair of the Northwest Indian Housing Association, chair of the National Congress of American Indians Housing Sub-Committee, and as board member of the former Lincoln Community Development Corporation.
Difuntorum currently lives in Oregon.
Council Term: 11/25/2019 to 06/30/2027
Councilmember Mary Ferrell
Mary Ferrell is the founder and executive director of the Maslow Project. A lifelong Oregonian, Mary graduated from Southern Oregon University and began working with children and families in 2000 as an advocate for the civil rights of homeless students
in the public school system.
Ferrell founded the Maslow Project in 2009 in response to a need in her community.
Her vision was to offer a service delivery model that works best for those needing
help: low barrier, trauma informed, and responsive to changing needs. Maslow has gained national and international attention, and Ferrell has received numerous awards for outstanding service and community impact. Ferrell’s experience brings a lens as a service provider to a population that often has extensive barriers to housing, education, and employment.
Ferrell is an American Leadership Senior Fellow, vice chair of the Jackson County Continuum of Care, and has served on numerous advisories and initiatives in support of her state and community. She currently sits as a governor-appointed member of the Oregon Housing Stability Council.
Council Term: 10/01/2020 to 6/30/2024
Councilmember Mary Li
Mary Li is the director of the Multnomah Idea Lab (MIL) at the Multnomah County Department of County Human Services. The MIL is charged with seeking policy and innovation within the human services and government sectors. The MIL aims to change community conditions resulting from poverty and racism positively. They accomplish this by practicing:
- Human-centered design
- Seeking out critical thinking and research
- Conducting applied research tests in the real world
Council Term: 07/01/2018 to 6/30/2026
Councilmember Javier Mena
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 a 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.
Council Term: 05/14/2021 to 06/30/2026
Councilmember Sharon Nickleberry Rogers, CPA
Sharon Nickleberry Rogers is a native Portland resident who lives in northeast Portland with her husband and is an empty nester while her daughter attends college in Texas. She has observed changes throughout Portland regarding population growth, housing developments in northeast 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. Rodgers' parents' commitment to helping others ignited her interest in helping others.
She is a public servant employed as a financial analyst with the City of Portland. She has over 20 years of experience in various financial roles with the Internal Revenue Service, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, NE Community Development Corporation, Harsch Investment Properties, and Home Forward.
Rodgers received her undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and two master's degrees in business and taxation from Portland State University. Additionally, she's a licensed, certified public accountant.
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 lives in Portland. She graduated with a degree in journalism and communications 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 well-being 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. Harris is currently the project manager for two permanent supportive housing projects within the Portland Metro area.
Working across a range of geographic and project scales has helped Maggie understand the importance of distinct housing solutions tailored for specific population sets.
Harris 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: 7/1/2024-06/30/2028
Councilmember 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.
Meechan appreciates the beauty of nature, and her second passion for the community is multimodal transportation. In addition, she likes singing, coaching young athletes, and advocating for racial and identity justice via policy reform through legislative change.
Council Term: 7/1/2024-06/30/2028
Kristy Willard
Kristy Willard 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.
Willard is mission-driven to ensure everyone has a place to call home and is motivated to become self-sufficient. She has made housing, homelessness, and advocacy for rural counties her primary focus.
Willard 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 also serves on the Minority, Women-Owned, Emerging Small Business Committee at OHCS.
Council Term: 10/5/2023-06/30/2027